Calculator
Payload Calculator
Payload is everything your truck carries — people, cargo, and the trailer's tongue weight. On most half-tons it runs out before the tow rating does. Enter the number from your door-jamb sticker and see what's really left.
Enter your payload rating to begin.
Where to find your payload rating
Open the driver's door and look for the yellow-and-white Tire and Loading Information label: “The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXXX lb.” That number is your truck's payload as built — it already accounts for the options on your specific vehicle. Use it instead of the brochure figure: two trucks of the same trim can differ by hundreds of pounds, because every option (sunroof, 4x4, bigger cab) adds curb weight and subtracts payload. The math behind the label is simple: payload = GVWR − curb weight.
What counts against payload
Everything the truck carries: every person aboard, everything in the cab and bed (coolers, firewood, generators, the bed cap you forgot you installed), aftermarket accessories — and, when you tow, the trailer's tongue weight, typically 10–15% of the loaded trailer. Tongue weight is the piece most people miss, and it's why payload usually binds before the tow rating.
Reading your result
The calculator subtracts people and cargo from your payload rating, then shows the trailer weight your remaining payload can support at a typical tongue-weight fraction — rounded down, the same conservative math as our towing calculator. If you enter a trailer weight, it checks whether the estimated tongue weight fits in what's left.
Payload is one of four limits. Run the full towing calculator to check payload, GCWR, hitch class, and tow rating together — it names the one that binds.
Estimate for planning. Confirm your vehicle's ratings on the door-jamb label and in the owner's manual — see the disclaimer.