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Payload calculator

Start from your GVWR and empty weight, or the payload figure on the door jamb label. Take away people, cargo, accessories and the trailer's tongue weight to see what you have left.

Truck and load

Start from

GVWR

Gross vehicle weight rating, on the driver's door jamb.Enter a weight.

Empty truck weight

With fuel, no people or cargo. A scale gives your real figure.Enter a weight.

Passengers

Everyone in the cab, driver included.Enter a weight.

Cargo

Tools, gear, coolers, bags, dogs.Enter a weight.

Tongue or pin weight

From the trailer's hitch. Enter 0 if you are not towing.Enter a weight.

Accessories added later

Bed cover, toolbox, bumper, rack. Enter 0 if your empty weight was measured with them fitted.Enter a weight.

This is arithmetic on your numbers. It does not say a load is safe or legal. Your GVWR, axle ratings and payload figure are on the door jamb labels, and a public scale gives the real weight. Also check each axle against its GAWR. Check every towing rating

What goes into payload

Payload is everything you add to the truck as it left the factory. That includes more than cargo in the bed:

Passengers, driver included.
Cargo: tools, gear, luggage, coolers.
Accessories added after the factory: a bed cover, toolbox, steel bumper, winch or rack.
Tongue or pin weight: the part of the trailer that presses down on the hitch rests on the truck.

Two ways to find your payload capacity

The tire and loading label on the driver's side door jamb gives the combined weight of occupants and cargo for your truck as built. That is your payload capacity, and anything added later comes out of it.

The other way is GVWR minus what your truck weighs empty. If you weigh the truck on a scale with the accessories already fitted, they are already in the empty weight, so enter 0 for accessories.

payload capacity = GVWR − empty truck weight
payload left = capacity − passengers − cargo − accessories − tongue weight

Worked example

A truck with a 7,000 lb GVWR weighs 5,200 lb empty with a full tank. Payload capacity is 7,000 − 5,200 = 1,800 lb. Two people weigh 400 lb, the gear 300 lb, a bed cover and toolbox 150 lb, and the trailer puts 800 lb on the hitch. That is 400 + 300 + 150 + 800 = 1,650 lb, or 92% of the payload. 150 lb are left.

The tongue weight alone takes 44% of the payload here. That is why a truck can be under its towing capacity and still over its payload.

Payload is not the only limit

A load can fit the payload and still put too much on the rear axle. Each axle has its own rating, the GAWR, on the same door jamb label. A tongue weight far behind the rear axle loads the rear axle by more than its own weight and lifts some load off the front. The axle weight calculator shows how much.

Questions

How do I calculate my truck's payload?

Subtract the empty weight from the GVWR, or read the occupants and cargo figure on the door jamb label. A 7,000 lb GVWR truck weighing 5,200 lb empty has 1,800 lb of payload.

Does tongue weight count as payload?

Yes. Tongue or pin weight rests on the truck, so it counts in full. An 800 lb tongue uses 800 lb of payload.

Do aftermarket parts reduce payload?

Yes. The label figure is for the truck as built. A 150 lb bed cover and toolbox take 150 lb off what is left for people and cargo.

What happens if I go over payload?

The truck is heavier than its GVWR allows. This calculator only does the arithmetic; the ratings for your truck are on its labels and in its owner's manual.