kcstrom wrote:
GVWR of the truck alone is also concerning as you point out (in addition to the GWCR0. The thing I'm struggling a bit with now is figuring out why my truck weighs in 653lb more than the spec'd base weight. Ram's towing capacity chart specs a base weight of 5407, but my truck weighed in at 6060lbs with the excess pretty evenly split across both axles. I'm about 50lb more than the "driver" used for the spec'd base weight. I do have a few things in the cab, Line-X spray in bedliner, rubber bed mat, bed rails, and ~180lbs of gas. I don't think those should add up to near 653lbs though.
If that's normal, I don't see how a 1500 can really tow much of anything unless the trailer has a hitch that weighs pretty much nothing.
Ultimately, you did the right thing and got the real weights. There is probably something to explain the current weights if you dig around but unless you are ready to strip body parts off, you aren't likely to get that payload back.
1/2ton trucks come in a wide variety of flavors. I've seen payloads as high as 2500lb which will support a fairly big tow rating. Unfortunately, you are at the low end of the range.
A lot of 1/2 ton trucks never tow or only tow a small utility trailer, so they never test the limits. Manufacturers have learned that a cushy ride sells more of these trucks than payload/towing capability.
