What determines payloads?
I been wondering how do manufacturers determine pay loads? Are they determined by 1) the suspension 2) the frame 3) axle limits 4) tire weight load limitations 5) all of the above 6) or ot...
Forum Discussion
rhagfo wrote:
This is why we have the conundrum of gas vs diesel, diesel can pull more, but you loose 800#+ of payload due to the weight of the engine.
That is not the case for every instance though. For instance, SRW ram 3500 diesels actually have more payload than the SRW gas 6.4L counterparts. In these cases the front GAWR is higher on the diesel versions to compensate for the engine weight or in the case of GM where their SRW 3500 diesel trucks have a higher GVWR than the gas trucks. In these cases it is not a conundrum to pay extra(even though you don't in the end) for a diesel since it gives you more pulling power, a higher tow rating, and a higher or the same payload.
It is mainly in the class 2b 250/2500 trucks where diesels loose payload which is mainly due to the class 2b max GVWR limitation of 10,000 lbs. Even though most 250/2500 trucks have higher front GAWR weights in this class than their gas counterparts to compensate for the weight of the diesel engine, they are still limited to the 10,000 lbs GVWR. So technically they don't have less payload going by actual limits of the truck's parts, but class reasons they are.
