Great Tow Capacity - Bad Payload Capacity... Increase PL?

[SirKeats]

So I have a 2016 Ram 2500 Megacab with the 6.7 Cummins. I love it. Great truck. It has plenty of tow capacity for us and our current trailer and possible future 5th Wheel upgrade at 16,936lbs.

The problem is that the payload capacity is absolutely horrible at only 1637lbs!!

We're looking to upgrade from our TT to a slightly larger (like 4 extra feet) 5th Wheel at some point, and after taking into account our family (people/pets) and what little cargo we carry in the truck, I'd need a pin weight of like 1000lbs to say within spec!! I checked... not gonna happen.

That said, is there anything that can be done to increase the payload capacity? I can easily stay under the tow/trailer capacity, I just need to be able to increase the pin weight capacity.

Like I said, I really like my truck. Would hate to have to up-size just to get a 5th wheel.

Thanks!

[blt2ski]

mkirsch wrote:
The long and short of it is, you can put higher-rated tires on it, and shore up the suspension with aftermarket parts to handle the weight.

No matter what anyone says, that does not change the numbers assigned by the manufacturer, but you're planning on ignoring those numbers anyway, so who cares?

What you're really asking is if someone else will take the blame if something happens. The answer to that is no. It's all you.

My state Washington, ignores manufactures numbers. You buy tonnage in 2000 lb increments. Minimum tonnage you buy is tare times 1.5 to next highest ton.
Example. My GM 1500 at 5400 tare requires 5400+2700 =8100. Techniquely I should have a 10K plate. I have an 8k plate. I'm legal to 8k gvw. My 7200gvwr door sticker means squat!!!!
My Navistar has a door sticker of 18200. I'm licensed at 26000GVW. I e been pulled over, and gone thru WSDOT scale houses upwards of 26000 lbs. I have YET to get an over wieght ticket, nor do I figure too. Even the one time I was at 27200. I got a 10 day up my license tag to 28000....oh dear oh me oh my, all of $15 to up registration another ton! Oh dear oh me oh my. The sky is falling down.
LEOs enforce the "engineer" designed road bed limits. NOT the engineer designed limits of a manufacture! Been going on 150-200 years like this this.
No one is going to change these laws any time soon. Too much history.

With the above typed said in my part. The OP in reality needs a bigger chassis designed truck for what he wants to do in a safe and sane matter. There is a reason I own a class 6 truck vs a class 4 as I was initially thinking. Unfortunately, I wasted thousands of dollars in repairs with a DW 3500 chassis cab before buying the IHC.

Choose your poison correctly!


Marty

[Grit_dog]

And even n0arps official chart from Ram shows how these numbers don’t mean much. Because if they did, maybe they should be correct…..
Same truck without a pickup box doesn’t weigh more than one with a box and hard to believe the gasser is rated to tow more.

If everyone would just stop being overtly literal in their interpretations of information that is not that accurate in the first place, things would be much easier. But I deal with this in many other dealings daily as well, so not surprising.
Like they say, common sense ain’t as common as it used to be!”

[4x4ord]

mkirsch wrote:
The long and short of it is, you can put higher-rated tires on it, and shore up the suspension with aftermarket parts to handle the weight.

No matter what anyone says, that does not change the numbers assigned by the manufacturer, but you're planning on ignoring those numbers anyway, so who cares?

What you're really asking is if someone else will take the blame if something happens. The answer to that is no. It's all you.

If something happens? Like an accident? Accidents do happen and it's usually someone's fault .... so for instance if I run over a pedestrian in a crosswalk does it make any difference whether I'm over my GVWR or not .... either way it's my fault ... either way I expect my insurance to pay. If my insurance won't pay when it is my fault, I don't imagine they're going to pay when it's not my fault. Can you find evidence to support a theory that loading a truck over the GVWR set by the manufacturer is illegal?

[mkirsch]

The long and short of it is, you can put higher-rated tires on it, and shore up the suspension with aftermarket parts to handle the weight.

No matter what anyone says, that does not change the numbers assigned by the manufacturer, but you're planning on ignoring those numbers anyway, so who cares?

What you're really asking is if someone else will take the blame if something happens. The answer to that is no. It's all you.

[ktmrfs]

GM partially solved the problem a year or so ago by changing the classification of the 2500HD trucks and hence upping the std GVWR to 11,400ish for a 2500 SRW. Option is a <10K GVWR for those who have a reason for a lower GVWR.

So now the 3/4 ton GM and 1 ton SRW have basically the same GVWR.

[BenK]

You can only change the official OEM label ratings by hiring someone/company to re-certify & make the modifications they spell out in their certification paperwork, but that may cost more than just going out and purchasing a bigger vehicle.

You can also add/modify everything up to the AAM's 11000 GAWR, but the 'official OEM rating still stands'

Best to go out and actually weigh your TV axle by axle fully loaded as if going to tow.

Then subtract that from the OEM listed GCWR and that will be the OEM's official MTWR for your TV. Most are extremely surprised that their vehicle weighs more than the door labeled TV weight.

Then deal with the expected PIN weight vs your ACTUAL remaining TV rear axle payload .

[n0arp]

valhalla360 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
^It might be ok if you were actually right about what you’re talking about, but alas, you’re not. So in this case, it would be better to not say anything at all.

Please share your knowledge with the group.

10,000lb GVWR
7,400lb curb weight

So how do those two numbers limit the payload to 1,600lb?

I'll wait for you to do the math for us.

It's very simple. Actual scale tickets do not correspond with the weights on the resource you provided. A highly optioned MegaCab scaling 8300lbs isn't unheard of.

Here is FCA's official weight for a 2021 2500 4x4 MegaCab in *Big Horn* trim, which is a pretty low trim level. If OP has a Laramie, Longhorn, or Limitied, another few hundred pounds is easy to account for. 7954.57lbs. I pulled the numbers for 2016 as well, but they don't say what trims they're for. They publish a figure of 7,971 for 2016 in an unknown but likely base (Tradesman) trim.



Further, if you look at the chart, you can see that payload is an approximation (rounded to the nearest ten pounds) of GVWR - Total Base Weight.

10000 GVWR - 7950 Total Base Weight = 2050 Payload

My Longhorn DRW scaled over 8600lbs the day I brought it home. Payload is, not coincidentally, 5400lbs and GVWR is 14000lbs.

I have no idea who RoadSumo.com is, or where they got those numbers, but they're way off. The chart I provided is an excerpt from a document provided from FCA themselves, an actual authority on the subject. I don't understand why you would trust a third party resource like that when the data is provided by the manufacturer, unless you are attempting to cherry pick pieces to support your argument.

[IdaD]

Devo the dog wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

4x4ord wrote:


The payload capacity is kind of a meaningless number on a sticker found on the door jam of your truck .... that can't be changed. If you want to increase the capability of your truck so it can handle a 3200 lb pin weight you'll have to upgrade your rear suspension. Install a set of air bags.

This is the real answer from someone who knows and works trucks.
The speculation from the rest of the peanut gallery (aka, the RVnet anti-airbag mafia (you know who you are, lol)) is just that...speculation.

True story from a different dodge cult member forum:

Guy buys new 2019 Fiat 2500 with factory air suspension and brags about what he can tow, shows pictures, etc. The reality is that he has been overloaded for years. Everyone tells him that he's overloaded. A few months into the 2019 ownership, factory airbags blow out while driving on the highway, and the full load falls on the rear suspension bump stops. He demands that Fiat replace the air bags under warranty. Then, he sells the repaired 2500 and buys a Fiat 3500.
All the dodge cult members are happy because the idiot gets a new Fiat 3500.

Moral of the story. A cult member is a cult member and air bags might not be the correct solution.

Imagine caring this much about something so unimportant.

[JIMNLIN]

Troll alert !!!

[Devo_the_dog]

Grit dog wrote:

4x4ord wrote:


The payload capacity is kind of a meaningless number on a sticker found on the door jam of your truck .... that can't be changed. If you want to increase the capability of your truck so it can handle a 3200 lb pin weight you'll have to upgrade your rear suspension. Install a set of air bags.

This is the real answer from someone who knows and works trucks.
The speculation from the rest of the peanut gallery (aka, the RVnet anti-airbag mafia (you know who you are, lol)) is just that...speculation.

True story from a different dodge cult member forum:

Guy buys new 2019 Fiat 2500 with factory air suspension and brags about what he can tow, shows pictures, etc. The reality is that he has been overloaded for years. Everyone tells him that he's overloaded. A few months into the 2019 ownership, factory airbags blow out while driving on the highway, and the full load falls on the rear suspension bump stops. He demands that Fiat replace the air bags under warranty. Then, he sells the repaired 2500 and buys a Fiat 3500.
All the dodge cult members are happy because the idiot gets a new Fiat 3500.

Moral of the story. A cult member is a cult member and air bags might not be the correct solution.

[Devo_the_dog]

Grit dog wrote:

spoon059 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
1600lb payload vs 2700lb payload

CTD vs V10... .

Guy was referring to the weight difference...

Correct Guy (valhalla360) was referring to the payload difference.. Then out of the blue, guy (spoon059 ) points out that the engine type and manufacture needs to be considered.

If someone else can make the engine and manufacture an issue, then so will I. Deal with it. Ram still sucks.

[valhalla360]

Grit dog wrote:
^It might be ok if you were actually right about what you’re talking about, but alas, you’re not. So in this case, it would be better to not say anything at all.

Please share your knowledge with the group.

10,000lb GVWR
7,400lb curb weight

So how do those two numbers limit the payload to 1,600lb?

I'll wait for you to do the math for us.

[n0arp]

Grit dog wrote:
^It might be ok if you were actually right about what you’re talking about, but alas, you’re not. So in this case, it would be better to not say anything at all.

Agreed.

[Grit_dog]

4x4ord wrote:


The payload capacity is kind of a meaningless number on a sticker found on the door jam of your truck .... that can't be changed. If you want to increase the capability of your truck so it can handle a 3200 lb pin weight you'll have to upgrade your rear suspension. Install a set of air bags.

This is the real answer from someone who knows and works trucks.
The speculation from the rest of the peanut gallery (aka, the RVnet anti-airbag mafia (you know who you are, lol)) is just that...speculation.