where does the 3800 lb limit come from? Ive never seen a 1/2 ton with those numbers

 

He was joking. Its the typical rear gawr you see on these.

 

They actually weigh each truck and subtract that weight from GVWR to determine payload. That number is accurate for your truck. I've seen payload as low as 1100 lbs and some just a fuzz over 2000. But that does not include any modifications you've made nor any gear that you keep in your truck all the time. I have a 200 lb cap on my truck and I keep about 50 lbs of tools and other gear in it so my payload is going to be about 250 lbs less than on the sticker.

For most people that's close enough but if you want to be sure take your truck to some scales and actually weigh it. Subtract that weight from the GVWR on the driver's door sticker.

99% of the time your payload determines how much you can tow. Figure 13% of the trailer weight as tongue weight. For example, a 7000 lb trailer will put about 900 lbs on your trucks suspension. Add another 100 lbs for the hitch and you have 780 lb left over for the driver, passengers, and cargo in the truck. A driver and one passenger will be 300-500 lbs so that doesn't really leave much for other stuff in the cab and bed of your truck.

The truck may well be rated to tow 10,000-13,000 lbs, but that's with an empty truck with nothing but a driver in it. Somewhere around 7000-8000 lbs is a sensible max for any 1/2 ton truck. And even then you have to be careful about what you put in the truck while towing.

If you look at tow ratings 3/4 ton trucks aren't rated for much more than 1/2 tons. The difference is that a 1/2 ton might pull 8000 lbs, but you have to load the truck light. A 3/4 ton truck will tow 8000 lbs and allow you to take 3 fat friends, an ATV in the bed and 500 lbs of camping gear in the truck in addition to the trailer. Where your truck may have 1780 lbs of payload, a 3/4 ton will be closer to 3000.