Truck Tonnage?

We used to get deuce and half and 5 ton military truck from Civil Defense and the forest service to use as fire equipment in the local rural areas. I swear, everything on the 5 ton was just twice the size as the 2-1/2, steering wheel, brake pedal, even the shift knob seemed twice the size :B

To show how these ratings are really meaningless today...
Toyota sold a 1-ton pickup back in the day.
It had a 2,655 lb payload capacity.

So I can call my 3500 a 'Deuce and a half'? Door sticker says payload of 5000 pounds. Cool.

I seem to remember, not all that long ago, that Chevy offered both a Suburban 1500 and a Suburban 2500. I'd guess that they would align with the pickups of the same number, but probably with somewhat lower tow ratings (because of the heavier station-wagon type body, vs a pickup bed). There was even a Suburban 2500 Diesel.

On the Chevy website for 2014, all they show is Suburban (no numbers) and just the 5.3L engine. Payload of 1520 (2WD) or 1580 (4WD); max trailer of 8100 for 2WD, 8000 for 4WD.

Mbutts, thanks; that pickup truck history link was very interesting. Therink, Subway says that its’ bread starts out at 12" and shrinks when baked but I do get your drift. Mowemech, I joined the army back in 1964 and I think I did hear back then what you were saying about that being the tonnage those vehicles could haul. I wonder if the military still uses those terms? KD4UPL, I think some people are just conditioned using those terms. I never knew what they meant and when I heard people using tonnage to describe a vehicle I thought of it as technical specs. Pronstar, I wonder if there is an equivalent ½ ton or ¾ ton SUV that shares the same specs, or close to the same specs, as a pickup of the same tonnage? I guess what I'm saying is does this tonnage terminology only apply to pickups?

The same reason a Subway "Foot Long" sub is actually only 11". Marketing term that the consumer understands.

The typical Military "deuce and a half" had a cargo capacity rating of 2 1/2 tons cross country, but much more on the highway. The same applies to the "five ton".
I just saw an ad on tv tonight claiming a payload for a 3500 of 7,222. Sorry, marketing folks, but that is NOT a "one ton" (3500) truck! Being "old school", IMO a "one ton" truck should have a payload of 2,000 lbs.
However, that is not true these days. Perhaps that is why there are no 100, 200, or 300 pickups anymore. they are 150 (or 1500), 250 (or 2500), or 350 (3500).
All such designations are pretty much meaningless now.

Just as a point of interest, I have owned two mid 1970s Dodge W100 power wagons, both club cab short box, that had 3/4 ton axles and springs under them. One of them I did the conversion on. everything out of or off of the 3/4 ton was a direct bolt-on fit under the 1/2 ton, except for one driveshaft. I had to have the rear shaft custom built.

It's the same as Grande, Venti and Tall.
Just an escalation of their relative capacities.

Something to note:
3/4-ton and 1-ton trucks generally share most mechanicals/underpinnings, and tend to be similar vehicles with varying capacities.

1/2-ton trucks are built much less robustly, and don't really share any mechanicals/underpinnings with 3/4 or 1-ton trucks.

I wish those "ton" ratings would completely disappear from people vocabulary but for some reason they persist. I think it causes a lot of confusion because people think it's an actual weight rating.
The trucks really should just be classed by GVWR with the system that the DOT uses. It runs class 1 thru 8 with 1 being the lightest and 8 the heaviest. Even there, most 150 or 1500 trucks are really into class 2 now. Most 250 or 2500 trucks are into class 3 and most 350 or 3500 trucks are pushing into class 4 territory.
The only way to know what a truck will do is to look at the actual GVWR.

Used to be weight carrying capacity. Here's a brief history:

Pick up history