Why is payload so low?

I don't know about the Platinum specifically but every truck in Canada is 4x4 and the lower trims all have the SR5 Upgrade Package with the 38 gallon fuel tank.

 

I double checked and both spec the 38 gallon tank and 4x4.
Seems to be the case across the lineup in similar trims.

 

Very strange.

 

I suspect the Canadian site is accurate and the USA site is using the disclaimer of “maximum available and see the door jam for the correct information”

 

Different law, different pay load

 

Who knows. They list all of the specs on both sites but it boils down to the actual curb weight and the CDN model seems to have a little extra weight in the same trim for whatever reason.
Be interesting to have someone with the same US model post their door jam numbers.
Here's a 2020 Platinum:




Off the US site footnote:

 

How so?

 

GVWR is comparable to other half tons. But a 4x4 crewmax Tundra can easily weigh 6k lbs depending on options. It’s just a heavy truck. Domestics got clever lightening their trucks; that’s how they upped their capacity. Current tundra is a 2007 model year design on that front.

 

So I am currently driving one of the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT with every option you can get on it from work. The one I am driving has the 5.3, the other truck is to the 2 exa t same build sheet only difference is it has 6.2.

These trucks are close but not quite Denali level. They are loaded out and have quite a bit more bells and whistles compared to the Platinum Tundra.

Here is a photo I took a couple days ago of the sticker in the door. This is the 6.2 truck sticker. It has payload of 1,630 and the 5.3 is 1,680.

My Tundra came stock from the showroom floor with 1,180. That was before bed liner, cover, running boards. The yellow sticker said 1,100.

So a truely comparable size truck, the GMC 1500 SLT has 500+ more pounds of payload when compared to my application. They basically have the same GVWR rating as Tundra, but they legitimately are about 500 pounds less, resulting in 500 pounds more payload.

The higher end Fords at work weigh about the same as GMC, but they have GVWR or 6,900 I believe, resulting in about 1,450 of payload, this is in higher trim levels.

 

Only thing I was trying to say is the Tundra weighs 500+ pounds more than comparable 1/2 tons. That is only difference resulting in higher payload for other manufacturers.

 

I noticed and it's definitely killing the payload.
Add different rims, larger LT tires, side steps, or whatever other bolt on accessories a person decides on and there's not much room to play with.
My Tacoma has a touch over 900lbs of payload and staying within the legal limits can be a challenge.

The other big three 1/2 tons have more capacity although the folks throwing on a short box camper are probably overweight the second they add the family and swing into Taco Time or wherever for lunch.

Anyone can advertise 12000 lbs towing capacity in bold print. Unfortunately they aren't telling the average person you'll to use a rope to stay within legal limits...

I'm not looking for a 1/2 ton that can hold up house and tow, just a unit that can drag my 3000lb boat & trailer, a couple people, and minimal camping gear if or when required.
The reason I'm on the fence about waiting for a 2022.

It may have more capacity and likely be hitting the same figures as Ford or GM but with the extra tech, turbo's, and a new transmission it's hard to speculate what the reliability will be like.
The new Fords reliability has taken a complete crap and I'm not sure if GM or Ram is far behind.
Working with guys that own all brands and configurations and use them as trucks I have the opportunity hear both the good and bad.

The current Tundra has proven to be one of the best 1/2 tons around when used within it's limitations.

Now how about some bloody info about the 2022 already!
WTF, it's like a never ending strip tease with the new model...

 

Interesting, according to this video, the pickups (Ranger, Hilux, Nivara, etc.) in Europe have 1000kg payloads. Why are the payloads so low here in America?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8VXUiz3_es

 

Because we are fat weaklings who place too high a premium on ride comfort, safety, and choking emissions standards (especially in the case of diesel engines).

Also our roads are wide and smooth as silk compared to the rest of the world, so we don’t have a need for small HD-rated trucks.

Sucks though, because an unkillable Hilux with 2200lbs of payload would be the perfect capable rig for a small truck camper. If my Tundra had 2k lbs of available payload, I wouldn’t be reading up on domestic HD trucks at all…

Then again, if you look at Instagram, lots of people load their broverlander Tacomas and Tundras as if they have a metric ton of payload anyway with seemingly no issues.

…yet?

 

Tundra: Claims 1000lbs of payload. ie 4 thiccq bois.

Random dude: "If I saw someone over payload I would pull off the highway with my hazards on to not put my life and others at risk because of that lunatic"

Toyota 30 years ago: 2000lbs payload with this

 

If you don't drive over a scale are you over the payload?


The Chevy S10 I owned had a higher payload than a crewmax. A subaru has a payload of 900.

 

Remember how Toyota tested the gen 2 tundra? They took them to texas ranchers and asked them to beat the living piss out of them working fields. The truck held up

 

You have a point. I think the payload system is made for MFRs to justify selling HD trucks. We always hear many talk about needing HD for heavy work, but they are doing the same work with a smaller truck in the rest of the world. It's like having big muscles but can barely lift.

 

To be clear, I did not mean to suggest that our trucks are just as capable but simply rated lower. That is not the case. Our midsize and half-ton trucks are built for comfort, not work. The Hilux is overbuilt by comparison and is available almost everywhere in the world but the US and Canada.

Here’s a link highlighting the differences between the Hilux and the Tacoma, and when they diverged. A quote from that page: “In the United States, the last Toyota that was 1-ton capable was a version of the 1998 T-100. The T-100 uses the same suspension and frame as the current generation Hilux, only wider.”

 

1/2 ton is 1,000lbs.
3/4 ton is 1,500lbs
1.0 ton is 2,000lbs

But everyone wants their 1/2 ton truck to handle 1,500lbs or 2,000lbs. That's not a 1/2 ton truck anymore, so your requirements are for a different vehicle.
If you need a 3/4 ton or 1.0 ton truck then that's what you should buy.
It's like buying a Camry and complaining that it is not a 7-seater and Toyota should make it a 7-seater Camry because Chrysler minivan is a 7-seater - different vehicles for different purposes.

I know manufacturers push the limits and add a few more pounds payload with every new release to outdo the competition, but bottom line is that the Tundra is still doing what it is supposed to do.

("You" is not aimed at the OP or anyone specifically quoted; just "you" in general)

 

That’s what happens when the tundra hasn’t had much more then a facelift in 14 years. Looking at it a similar 2019 limited crewmax tundra is in the 5,600lb curb weight ballpark. And the Sierra 1500 crew cab is in the 4,950lb curb weight ballpark. I have a 2014 crewmax sr5 4x4 and I believe my door sticker is 1360lbs for payload.

 

True, but it has been quite a few years since the terms 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton have had any direct relevance to the payload those trucks are capable of handling.

Yes, technically any truck that can carry 1000lb is a half ton truck. But no one thinks like that any more, and today's "half tons" can be rated for more than 2k or even 3k lbs.
Trucks have evolved from lightweight regular cab 8ft bed work vehicles into multi-use daily drivers...commuting, family trips, hauling home improvement or landscaping supplies and tools, pulling a boat or a camper, etc.

When your truck has spacious interior room for 5 people plus a 5.5 foot bed, but the manufacturer says it's rated to fill only one or the other, that can easily be a problem that pops up regularly for the average buyer.

The domestics have made their trucks lighter by a significant %. The GVWRs haven't changed much; they've just shed a lot of curb weight so there is more room for adding stuff to the truck. The Tundra eats up most of its own GVWR, and this is basically my only true gripe with the truck. I don't want to go to a heavier, longer, wider-turning HD truck. So, I'm just going to live with the fact that I'm a bit over GVWR when we go camping.

 

All of those high payload are work trucks, smallest cab, 8’ bed and 2wd. Once you add crew cab, 4wd 1k lbs is gone.

 

People want everything into one, but there’s no such thing. Jack of all trade mean master of none.

 

Ford's crew cab F150s can handle a max of 2900lb payload. With 4wd, that probably drops to around 2400.

The Silverado crew cab 4x4s are rated for 2k lbs of payload.

I just want my truck with 2k lbs of payload.

That would be master of all.

 

what didn't you buy a Ford or Chevy then...cause there are no resale value and reliability. take a pick

 

Don't trust em at all. I made my choice, and again I'm going to keep my truck. I'll just be over GVWR when we go camping. But I do think the next gen Tundra will have comparable payload to the current non-HD domestic offerings. Because once again, the terms 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton don't really mean anything anymore.

 

I will do the comparison...

2021 Tundra 4x4 Crewmax Platinum: 1185 lbs payload
2021 Camry XLE AWD: 1102 lbs payload
2021 Sienna Limited AWD 7 passenger: 1345 lbs
2021 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition AWD: 1485 lbs
2021 Ford Transit Connect Titanium (the people mover one): 1420 lbs

Yes, most of those vehicles are different purposes. But the purpose of a Tundra is capability and it should be higher than those vehicles.

Payload expectations have changed and Toyota is behind (at least on paper). The old school definitions of 1/2 ton are irrelevant in 2021.

 

What he said. It's more like:

1500 series truck: 1500-3000 lbs
2500 series truck: ~2000-3500 lbs? (Haven't looked at these much)
3500 series truck: 3500+ lbs

 

GVWR is a big consideration wrt payload. My F250 has 10,000 GVWR which translates into 3,100 LB payload per the sticker. With just me the truck weighs right around 7,000 LB. So a 1.4x increase in GVWR translates into 2x increase in payload.