Dealer saying the payload is a "suggestion"
 

We just bought a 2018 F150 4x4 SUPERCREW 3.5L V6 ECOBOOST and before we bought it the dealer told us that it had a payload of 2300 and could tow 11,300. A week later we are getting ready to start our camper search and started the process of figuring out what we could tow. We will have our family of 6 and a 130lb dog in the truck while towing so a large payload is important to us. We checked the door jamb stickers today and were surprised to see the payload is only 1792 and after going down the rabbit hole of hours of "what can I tow" research it seems that we can only practically tow a TT that is 5,200lbs dry.

We reached out to the dealer that sold us it and he is insisting that the payload is merely a "suggestion" and ours is actually 2300.

Am I crazy? or is he?

EDIT: I should add that the GVWR is 7000 and we weighed it tonight with a tank full of gas, it weighed 5200lbs

Anna-

Good on you for doing your homework early! So many don't and go into RV ownership totally uneducated. You've provided us some good numbers so far.

I would trust the numbers listed on the door stickers of your truck long before I would ever even listen to the sales department. For your family's safety and piece of mind, stick at or under the numbers that are and will be calculated.

Based on your numbers given:

GVWR = 7000
Actual scaled weight of the truck = 5200

GVWR minus the scale weight = 1800.....AKA: available payload.

One follow up question regarding you weighing the truck, was anyone or thing in it while being weighed? If you a child, spouse, dog, groceries, etc. were in it, deduct that weight and add that to your actual, usable payload.

So, with the information that you've provided here is a general calculation of about how much a reasonable trailer ready to tow will weigh for you.

Payload - family weight - dog - weight distribution hitch - misc. cargo = Reasonable tongue weight for the truck.

Reasonable tongue weight for the truck / .13 = Maximum loaded, ready to travel trailer weight.

Let's put these in numbers:
1800 - 800 - 130 - 100 - 50 = 720

720 / .13 = 5538 loaded trailer weight.

Also, download this Weight Distribution Spreadsheet to help you figure out what size trailer you can take.

Thank you so much for your response! No one was in the car at all. We kicked around the idea of loading it with the whole family, four car seats (our kids are all young) and dog just to see how much the truck plus us weighed but decided to go with the empty weight instead. I even made my husband take out his headphones so as not to throw off the weight ha!

I am not opposed to a smaller trailer or an ultralite but my fear now is that as our family gets older and we have four teenagers (did I mention they are very closely aged?) we will not have the option to upgrade our trailer without upgrading the truck. Of course we now have buyers remorse and wish we would have maybe gone for a 250. The Army is sending us to Alaska for the next three years so just to make things a little more fun we need a four seasons trailer as well. The low payload and towing capacity are scaring me!

Thank you for validating my thoughts! Although I have read a million different people say this, the dealer still made me question myself. I wish they A. knew what they were talking about or B. Didn't pretend they knew what they were talking about.

The speed limit is a suggestion too....because you can exceed it. But, you could get a ticket.
1700lb payload is pretty good honestly.

Like most salesman, he seems to have pretty much zero technical knowledge about the trucks he is selling.

Does the 5200# scale weight include any drivers or passengers, or just the truck? With a family of 6, I would load everyone up (including the dog) and weigh it again. Then consider some headroom too allow for growing family members (especially if you have some little ones.)

Watch out for the same thing from RV dealers. They will tell you there 40' 5th wheel trailer will tow just fine behind your Honda Civic.

Have your dealer put that in writing for you, lol

The GVWR which contains payload is a limit not a suggestion.