bernercamper wrote:
That's encouraging. I've read many different things. Also the tow weight in manual is different than specs I'm reading online.
So payload is the difference between gvwr and vehicle weight. And the payload has to be more than vehicle plus passengers and luggage and hitch weight?
The GVWR ("gross vehicle weight rating") is the maximum the vehicle is rated to carry altogether--it's own weight plus the weight of stuff. "Stuff" includes, besides the obvious things like people and cargo, the tongue weight of the trailer but not the rest of the trailer weight, which is carried by the trailer's wheels.
The GCWR ("gross combined weight rating") is the maximum the vehicle is rated to carry and pull, the sum of the vehicle weight, the stuff in the vehicle, and the trailer weight. (You don't count the tongue weight twice here, of course.)
The payload is basically the GVWR minus the weight of the vehicle alone. The technical definition I think does include a full tank of fuel and an allowance for the weight of the driver, but no other non-vehicle stuff. However, in general concept, you can just think of it as the carrying capacity left over for the things you put in or on the vehicle, and figure exact weights based on the GVWR and GCWR (and axle weight ratings and hitch weight limits).
In your case, it sounds like you'll probably be limited by the tongue weight the GVWR permits once you've gotten all your stuff and people loaded up. It may well be negative--you might be overweight without a trailer of any sort. In that case, I guess you should maybe attach a bunch of large helium balloons to the trailer hitch. (Just kidding....)
As was mentioned, full sized vans tend to have better payload capacities than many large SUVs. I personally rather like the Nissan NV vans for passenger hauling, at least based on paper comparisons, but that's just my own opinions and prejudices. I like that they have more options for seat positioning and gave at least a little thought to making the cabin a halfway nice place to ride in.
