F350 payload dispute

ShinerBock wrote:
I see GVWR's and payload ratings as useless and outdated in regards to most light duty trucks. It is generally just used to know how much to tax you and for EPA emissions/USDOT standards. This forces auto manufacturers to arbitrarily limit these trucks to meet standards rather than their actual safe carrying ability of their axles.

It is only people(like "internet experts" in forums) outside of the medium and heavy duty industry that mainly worry the manufacturers GVWR and payload when it comes to weight enforcement. Most people in the medium and heavy duty industry generally go by axle ratings and the weight on each individual axle since this is what is enforced in most areas.

GVWR's and payload ratings are good to go by if you are a novice to towing or hauling which is why I recommend those new to RVing to follow them for the first year or so of owning a new rig. Most experienced RVer's and tower's with a few years behind their belt in a vehicle knows what their rig can handle. The more experienced ones can generally look at ALL the specs of a truck and can tell how much a truck can actually handle regardless of what GVWR or payload number is. Of course, there are always those that like to push things way past the safe limit of all of the trucks ratings(even GAWR's) regardless of towing experience.

HD trucks are loaded to keep within the permitted axle weight allowance for the roads they travel on. People use the same trucks off road weighted much heavier. For example, we put 67000 lbs of payload on our Kenworth when off road. This puts it at 100,000 lbs gross weight. The sum of the axle ratings are 89000 lbs. Legal for road travel is only 66800 which only allows for a payload of 33,800 or about 1/2 what we use it for. I've never looked at the gvwr on the truck.