Payload and Haul Question

Hi guys, I'm trying to find out the payload and haul capacities of my Tacoma. Was on the phone with Toyota earlier today for almost an hour and didn't get an answer, just kept getting placed on hold while they tried to contact their product specialist. Searching online gave me conflicting numbers.

My Taco is a 2020 TRD Sport Manual Transmission Access Cab with a 6' Bed.

Does the payload capacity only refer to what is carried in the bed of the truck, or does it also include the cab and its occupants?

If I have a heavy payload, does that affect my hauling capacity or vice versa? Thanks!

 

Payload includes all added weight including any accessories, passengers, and cargo. Hauling capacity includes payload and anything towed. If towing capacity is 3500lbs and the truck is carrying people and cargo totaling 1000lbs then the towing capacity is 2500lbs

 

That's not quite how it works. A 3500 lb trailer would add about 350-450 lbs to the trucks suspension and eat up 350-450 lbs of available payload. With 1000 lbs total in the truck you couldn't tow any trailer and not be overloaded.

You have a couple of stickers on the drivers door jamb. One lists the Gross Vehicle Weight rating (GVWR), the other is payload. GVWR is the total combined weight of the truck with everything in the truck. That includes passengers, driver, fuel, any tools or gear you keep in truck, tongue weight of a trailer, any cargo in the bed, and any modifications or accessories added to the truck.

Payload is simply the actual weight of the truck the day it rolled off the assembly line subtracted from GVWR. GVWR will be the same on all model year trucks, but payload varies and is different on every truck. You can't find an accurate payload listed anywhere except on each individual truck. Toyota can't tell you and it won't be listed in any literature or online. The heavier the truck is with more options on it the less payload it has. A DC 4X4 with skid plates will weigh more than a base model Access Cab 4X2 and will have less available payload.

If you want an accurate payload take your truck to some scales and actually weigh it. Be sure to include any gear you normally carry in the truck. Stay in the truck to get your weight. Subtract that number from GVWR and you have YOUR trucks true payload.

A typical Tacoma has 1100-1300 lbs payload although some could be under 1000 lbs, and some could be 1500 or more. But neither of those are common.

Toyota claims their trucks will tow 6500 lbs. But a 6500 lb trailer will mean almost 1000 lbs on the tongue (figure 13%). Most Tacomas will be overloaded with just a driver and one passenger in the cab with no other gear if trying to tow 6500 lbs. Remember, 4 skinny 150 lb passengers in the cab is 600 lbs, about 1/2 of the available payload in most trucks. Four big men could easily be 800-1000 lbs.

Any way you look at it Tacomas don't have a lot of usable payload. Many of the guys you see with heavily modified trucks with lifts, big tires, winches, rock sliders, RTT's etc, are overloaded with just a driver in the cab. There has probably never been a truck that wasn't overloaded from time to time. And occasionally for short trips going over a little isn't the end of the world. But I don't recommend it on a regular basis.

 

Awesome, thank you for the great explanation!

 

Get this guy a Stickie and a round on the house..

 

You can find your Vehicle capacity weight (payload), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating GVWR), and Gross Axel Weight Rating (GAWR) on the front door jam.
All applicable weights can be found in your truck manual for your specific model, along with Toyota's definition for each weight.
Photos of labels on the door jam (the photos are from a dual cab 4x4 Off Road) -

 

I weighed my (at the time) stock TRD OR AC on a certified scale with a full gas tank, and payload was exactly what the sticker said (1140#s). Funny thing is, my 4Runner has more payload by 25#s.

 

So I took my Taco to the scales after dumping some trash and got some weird numbers. When looking online at my model, the curb weight is 4,325 lbs. At the weigh station it said my Taco was 4,740 lbs without me in it. Maybe their scales are off?

The extra equipment I carry shouldn't be more than 100 lbs, the bulk of it is the Truxedo Sentry CT cover I have that's 75 lbs.

According to those scales, my normal weight with me driving, fluids topped off, and the stuff I normally carry would have the truck around 4,974 lbs. There is a reduction in payload of 34 lbs (I'm assuming from my predator tubers) on my door. With a GVWR of 5,600 lbs, I'd only have a payload capacity of 592 lbs. That doesn't sound right, so I assume the scale was off by a couple hundred pounds. Using the curb weight from online for my model and trim, I'd have a payload of around 1,007 lbs. This number makes a lot more sense with what I typically carry.

 

I'm sure there is a safety margin built in, but undisclosed by Toyota for the GVWR. Anyone care to speculate?

 

You probably also have one of these stickers on your truck in the area of the tire pressure sticker that will show the reduction of your total payload weight (if any) resulting from options added at the factory or the port. Any added by the dealer will not be reflected here but would further reduce your total payload capacity.

 

While I agree with you and am a numbers guy, that sticker is just silly as there is no straw that breaks the Taco's back in the general GCVW region. I'm considering actual, conservative safety factors that are built it.

But, if folks do start playing near the limit, please do adapt and drive smart.

It reminds me of the time that I borrowed on of the first Ford Rangers to pick up a washer and dryer for my MiL. 4cyl, MT, and no PS. I drove that puppy very differently, esp loaded.

 

I don't disagree - just pointing out that Toyota does look at the numbers...probably for liability and warranty reasons.

 

Most definitely.

 

OMG people! stop looking at the numbers. Honestly, do you really think Toyota made the Tacoma truck so fragile? You can put 3000 lbs in the box and it's not going to break... or at least it better not. I used to carry 2000 lbs in my '91 2wd toyota "pickup" regularly. With that the springs didn't even bottom out. I once carried 3000 lbs of gravel and drove it home. That was def. too much for the truck and limited my loads to 2000 lbs thereafter. One day, at the gravel pit years ago the scales operator told me of a guy that carried off 4000 lbs of gravel in his ford currier. Now, we used to carry that all the time in our '75 1500 chev farm truck loads with bag of fertilizer but that was a full size truck.

 

Pictures or that courier didn't pull that shit off....4k pounds, shit my high school days my friends Ford courier barely carried him me a couple random girls and a dime bag... LOL

 

So if thousands of people across America witness a sasquatch but you have not... does that mean they don't exist?

 

Personal anecdotes contribute nothing to the discussion. You're a sasquatch.

 

This forum was made for anecdotes. If not, why are we here? I've shared my experiences and expressed my opinions like everyone on here. Just because my views are outside of your parameters of acceptance, doesn't mean that I'm a Sasquatch. It means you live in a box.

 

Thanks. Ignored.

 

I just got my truck weighed today.
2019 Tacoma Dual Cab TRD Off-road 4450
Tacoma Front Winch Bumper | Blitz | 70
Winch 90
Tacoma Rock Sliders | Strike 120
Roof Rack 70
17 x 8.5 wheels & KO2 285/70-17 108
Front Skid Plate 37
Diamondback Tonneu Cvr - 115
Eibach Pro Lift -

$221 ICON 51100 ICON 1.5" Lift Add-A-Leaf Kit, Compatible with 1996-Up Toyota Tacoma/00-06 Tundra, 51100

ICON 51100 Add a Leaf –
Tacoma Bed Mat -
Actual Weight 5180

The weight is the same setup I had when I went to the dealership when they put a yellow stick that stated "Modifications to this Vehicle have reduced the original load carrying capacity by 2 lbs." When I asked the service manager what that meant, he told me my load capacity is only 998 lbs.