Cargo Carrying Capacity advertised/reality

it is, but at one time a 1/2 ton truck carried a half ton, a 1 ton carried 1 ton ect... As time went on ratings went up to remain competitive in the market for their respective class, but the ton class system stayed.

 

You're absolutely correct, they will handle more. And if we lived in Bangladesh or Sri Lanka that'd be the end of it. Load it 'til it hits the bump stops and rock on. But we live in the good old USA, land of the free and home of the personal injury lawyer. So let me give you a scenario -

You're putting along minding your own business, a mere 100 lbs over the rated CCC, or rated towing capacity, or unbraked trailer weight rating. But it's all good, cause we all know the truck will handle way more than those uber conservative ratings. Then some complete dipstick pulls out in front of you. I mean, like right in front of you, and you can't do a damn thing but T-bone him. And it turns out that dipstick has his kid in the car, unbelted, cause of course dipstick is a total dipstick. And the kid is injured. Guess who just ended up in the civil liability wagon, because of course dispsticks attorney will get some Toyota engineer to testify that if you were even the tiniest fraction overweight that you were "dangerously overloaded". And if perchance dipstick and/or his kid are crippled, or even killed, you could be criminally charged, even though dipstick caused the wreck. So I don't know about you, but me, I care, and that's why. I'm not willing to let the dipsticks of the world have that much control over my fate.

 

While I understand the argument, (and it is a good one) I don't let them have that much control day to day over my truck. I'm sure my truck as it sits is close if not already over whatever Toyota said it could carry.