1983 Dodge Rampage had a payload of 1145 lb; a SR is 1155 lb

I came across this: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blo...ampage-it-can-haul-1145-pounds-of-hantavirus/


A 40 year old front wheel drive uni-body has almost equal payload capacity (in most cases) than a SR5 Tacoma.

Amazing what that Rampage could carry.

 

I owned 2 of those. One I bought new.... auto trans never ran well warranty not good. The other a manual.

Don't think I'd put half a ton in one !! They also sucked at pulling anything bigger than an 8 foot dingy out at a boat ramp.

 

They were K Car based. My dad had an '81 Reliant K with a 4 speed manual. Pile of crap.

 

And your point is what?

 

And think of how litigious things have become in 4 decades…….

40 years years ago you could drink and drive without wearing a seatbelt, with your kids in the bed/trunk.

 

Had a Rampage. It returned to the earth within six years.
I did all kinds of crazy shit in that trucklet. But it was never happy with any real weight in the bed.

 

Ridge line is a uni body vehicle and has way more payload than a tacoma

 

SAE standards have also changed significantly in that time period.

see also, europeans can still tow up to 7700 pounds with a small 4-cylinder car. legally.

 

Yeah I'm very amazed at the size of the Caravans the Brits and Europeans tow with their vehicle's

 

and it probably got better gas mileage when loaded. Tacomas suck at being a truck.

 

The same could be said for the Tacoma though.

 

The brakes have as much to do with payload as springs/suspension.
With that said, the brakes were woefully inadequate on any K car based vehicle……I would have imagined a 500# payload.

 

You’re talking about a 3rd gen taco right?

 

According to the same ad it gets 47mpg highway… yeaaaa ok

 

Tacoma is rear wheel drive which is always better at a boat ramp and even better in 4wd. Putting weight on a trailer hitch on that front drive Rampage took it Off the drive wheels rendering it helpless.

 

No. I owned 2 Rampage/Chrysler Scamps.

The one I bought new was terrible. Put a new engine in it at 50k miles. Had to have a spare ECM for rainy days and had pencils stuffed into various "emission" "vacuum" lines.

They did get good gas milage; about 30-35.

Part of why they got discontinued is that the platform they were built on and the assembly line were changed to build the minivans.