Payload Ratings

[Garrett Street]

I was checking out the payload rating of my 91 S10 I used to have and was shocked to read 1800(ish) lbs. How can that be? That's only 180lbs less than the best of the GM halftons of today? Has the way they rate trucks changed or what? That seems like an awful lot for an S10, or I guess a little weak for a halfton.

[jro909]

uhh you misread something...1800 pounds will put an s-10 on the ground if not break it...my 91 s-10 would squat with 400 pounds in the back

[00Silverado4x4]

Is it possible that you are reading the GVW for the truck on the metric side (kilograms)?

[Garrett Street]

Nope, I'm reading payload rating. I was shocked, too. Here's a link to the site I went to.

 

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1990-to-1993-chevrolet-s-10-pickup-6.htm

 

Go check it out for yourselves. Surely this is a typo?

[00Silverado4x4]

Yeah that would have to be a typo as my payload on a full size is only 1600+. I would go by the sticker in the truck not what Consumer Guide says.

[Garrett Street]

I thought it was a typo, but the payload for the Toyota Tacoma of the same year is something like 1600lbs which also seems like a lot. Do you suppose the standard for how they rate trucks has changed? It has to have, 1800lbs is well over half of the S10's actual weight.

[00Silverado4x4]

I still would just go the factory label of the vehicle as that is what the manufacturer certified it to be. Any kind "review" is at someone's opinion or typing ability. As was already stated you put a ton (literally speaking) in the back of that truck you might make it but your truck is going to hate you something fierce.

[wavery]

The reason that the payload rating is higher on the S-10 is because the S-10 is so much lighter.....

 

"So what", you say.......

 

What makes up payload? GVWR - curb wt = payload.

 

The GVWR on the S-10 is high because it has basically the same differential, leaf springs and bearings as the 1500. It also sports the same tires with the same weight rating. The biggest limiting factor on most trucks is the tire weight rating.

 

I owned a 2000 S-10 4.3 V6 and I will tell you without a doubt that is was a stronger TV than my '06 Silverado 4.8 V8. HP to weight ratio is higher on the S-10 then the Silverado when you figure max torque is reached @ ~2400RPM (if I remember correctly).

 

What my Silverado has that the S-10 didn't (and the reason that I bought it) is a 157" WB. The S-10 had a 125" WB which meant that I HAD to use a WDH when pulling my trailer. My back just can't handle lugging that WDH around and I needed a vehicle that would safely tow my trailer without one.

[Garrett Street]

Does that payload relate literally to what you can place in the back of the truck? I mean, I would have never thought to put that kind of weight in my truck. If the springs max out and hit the axles at 1000lbs are you supposed to put 800lbs more in the back? I've always been taught to stop just before the springs hit the axles. I completely understand why compacts are not as good of tow vehicles, wheel base and weight are hugely important. But I guess I'm still not buying the payload rating of these trucks based solely on the fact they they're lighter.

[wavery]

Well....... just keep in mind. Vehicles are rated at what they can do BRAND NEW......... A new S-10 probably can handle 1800# max payload without bottoming out. Just remember, the driver and passenger are part of the payload and could easily be 500# . Put a 150G tank full of water (1300#) in the front of the bed and you are right at max payload. Payload is the max capacity when you consider the maximum amount of weight that the vehicle can handle when considering the max wt rating on both front and rear axles combined, not just what you can put in the bed of the truck.

 

If you take a vehicle to it's max rating in any area, there are always other things that must be taken into consideration. In this case, it would be load distribution. If you put that 150G water tank back against the tailgate, it will certainly exceed the rear axle rating and bottom out.

 

Don't expect a 20-year-old truck to be able to handle the same payload that it could when it was new.

 

It's important to understand the subtleties of all of the ratings on your vehicle. For instance, the tow rating on my S-10 was 5200#. What one must understand is that the max tow rating is often the maximum that a vehicle can safely tow with only a 150# driver and 5G of gas. Any other weight that is added ti the load (either passengers or cargo) must be subtracted from the max tow rating.

 

If that same S-10 was carrying that tank of water and 350# of excess passenger weight, that would be 1650# that would have to be shaved off of the Max tow rating. To further complicate things, a 3500# trailer would have about 400# of tongue weight that would have to be added as payload. Now you have to remove 400# of water from that tank.

 

There are very few ratings that can be considered on their own without considering a lot of other factors.

[Garrett Street]

Thanks for the reply, Wavery. I guess I was just surprised to read the capabilities of the compacts of old. They really were impressive workhorses!

[EX-F150 owner]

uhh you misread something...1800 pounds will put an s-10 on the ground if not break it...my 91 s-10 would squat with 400 pounds in the back

 

Good Grief I hope not. I know that rating is wrong but if it does break the truck in half then that would be saying Ford makes a better truck. I use to load 2000lbs in a ranger I had years ago. It made the front tires feel like there were gonna come off the ground and the side walls of the rear tires were rubbing until I added more air to them but, that truck never broke in half and the 2.3L engine pulled it ok for what it was.

[06pirate]

Well, for reference here's this:

 

My 1990 Toyota 4x4 X-Cab truck is rated at 1350 pounds. I was getting topsoil one day and the kid running the loader screwed up and dumped the whole bucket onto the truck . It was just like in the commercials, the rear fenders went down to the tires, the front end jumped off the ground, and the whole thing just sort of squatted. It settled down with about 1 inch of rear tire clearance. The kid asked if I wanted to shovel it out. I said screw it I'm only going 12 miles to home. I scaled out with 2,240 of dirt in that little truck. Steering was a little dicey on the way home and the brakes didn't do much, but I made it home. That truck has 358,000 miles on it now, no issues.