How To Find the Load Capacity of Your Truck

Finding the load capacity of your truck isn’t as easy as many people think. Most people just use the number on the owner’s manual, but that number is misleading and doesn’t account for any modifications you get. Before you start loading up your truck, make sure you learn how to find the load capacity of your truck.

Your GVWR

The first thing you need for this calculation is your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). This number is the pounds your vehicle can carry in total, not including towing. You can typically find this number in your owner’s manual or on a plate on the sidewall of your vehicle. However, this number doesn’t account for the curb weight of the vehicle.

Your Curb Weight

The curb weight of a vehicle is the weight of the vehicle when there’s nothing else in it except what it needs when running, like a full tank of gas. The GVWR doesn’t exclude this number when reporting, which can cause many problems if you don’t then calculate the new payload capacity without it.

Finding the Payload Capacity

The calculation to find the load capacity of your truck is your vehicle’s GVWR minus its curb weight. This should give you the leftover capacity of your vehicle. Be careful, though, as modifications you add on also take up load capacity and should be factored into your calculations. Though they can add extra weight, modifications like a vehicle aluminum storage trunk are worth it, as they help you reach your weight limit when loading items and gear.

Your Tow Weight or GCVWR

The tow weight of a vehicle is separate from the payload capacity, as towing a load puts pressure on different parts of your vehicle. Like the GVWR, you can find this number on the plate on the sidewall of your vehicle. It’s also typically in the owner’s manual as well if you can’t find the plate.

All of this is very important information that every truck owner should know about their vehicle. Otherwise, they risk doing permanent damage to the vehicles from overloading. For a business, this can cost a lot of money, as it also increases worker-health risks. So make sure no one loads more than the actual payload capacity of a vehicle by using this method to determine it.