Can someone explain why so many people get surprised by their payload?

I buy a 7050 GVWR Truck. I get one with 1000 lb worth of larger cab, longer wheelbase, 4WD powertrain and options. It just seems intuitive to me that's going to reduce payload. It's been that way since Henry put a bed on the Model T.

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An easy oversight.
My eyes have opened reading these forums.

It's easy to 'forget' that we can't haul so much capacity.
Maybe age has something to do with it too. I was excited when I got my truck and "I want to hook up 10k, lb trailer just because I can". Now I know that is not possible.
I'm old enough to have driven a truck with 170hp and crap torque. Any trailer was heavy for it. Any. Hauled a friends boat once and could barely maintain highway speeds!
Now we go out and get a truck and wonder which 11k lb trailer we should get. Long ago, an 11k trailer would have been a 1-ton, no questions. Now we figure our aluminum body 1/2 tons are the king.

Our trucks are so well equipped but we forgot that all adds weight taking away from total capacities.

Thanks for your insight on towing. Hopefully your threads are located during searches and people take a moment to read them. I would suggest adding tags to your new threads for best search resutls.

 

IMHO, for the average truck owner don't the difference between 'hauling' vs 'pulling' and they combine those to make it 'towing'. So when you explain it to them they kinda get it and then when you send them here for more detailed info that's when they get upset,

 

Many are "surprised" by their true towing capability because they are uninformed, ignorant of the facts, or not bright. Some fit more than one category. Some don't give a damn.

People that understand what payload means yet are surprised by a low payload don't really understand how payload is calculated. Because if you do, then the idea that adding options decreases payload would not be a surprise.

OP used a word that made me smile. Intuitive.

 

Actually, GVWR is sized accordingly to each specific cab, drive train and chassis length. For the medium duty trucks, 3.5 & 5.0, (possibly diesel?) 4x4 145" Screw is 7050, while a 4x2 145" Screw is 6750. Both have very similar payloads within 30-40 pounds when equally equipped. The light duty trucks, the 3.3 and 2.7 are sized accordingly with 6350 GVWR 4x2 and 6650 4x4, or thereabouts, would have to see the tags to know the exact figures.

Damn Gene, now you got me wondering what the GVWR of a 4x2 HDPP is if the 4x4 is 7850. Did Ford reduce it 300 pounds like all the others, or does it maintain the 7850 rating.

 

many folks who are not in the business of hauling, or working construction, really do not have a need to investigate, unless then, like me, one day you have the need. I use my Lariat to drive to work, go quadding, camping, and occasionally a trailer for wood, a chipper, etc. So until I started to look to rent a Travel Trailer for vacation this summer, I never needed to look at the payload of the truck. I knowingly bought a 2.7 EB 2 years ago with basic towing capabilities - it was all I needed. I learned a lot these past 2 days from the good folks on this forum that took the time to reply to my question and knock some sense into me. I will admit I was surprised and disappointed when I really realized how little my 50K truck could tow - solely due to the options & configuration on the truck. Would I have bought a different truck, or a max tow package 2 years ago knowing what I know now about payload? Probably not because I was not thinking about towing anything of any significant weight back then.

Thanks again to everyone that helps us out on these forums!!

 

When I was looking for a 2018 F150 the 3.5EB was 7050 GVWR for a Reg Cab 141 4x2 101A Chrome Max Tow and a Screw 157 4x4 601A Max Tow.. Those where the two trucks I was using as an example. It s been awhile but it seems like payloads were around 25xx and 15xx.
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THIS! And the fact that nearly all RV salespeople are ignorant regarding payload and the Auto Manufacturers constantly emphasize Towing Capacity, not Payload Capacity. I think Ford was the first to really start emphasizing payload capacity in their F150 ads.

 

Most of this is due to advertisement. Someone goes out and buys a new F150 Lariat loaded with max tow and think its rated for 13,200 lbs. And guess what...a lot of people out there are towing over 10,000 lbs with a truck like that. And they do that for years.
A friend of mine has a camper with a gvw of 9500 lbs. He tows it with his GMC Sierra Denali. Their towing manual specs 9400 towing max. So right off the bat he thinks at most its a hundred pounds over weight. I knew right away he was going to be vastly over loaded on payload alone.

It happens all the time because of company advertisement. And all the auto makers are guilty.

My truck is rated for 7600 lbs. And I can tell you I wouldnt make a habit of towing a camper that weights over 7k.

 

I've only shopped Screw and 5.5 bed trucks, so never looked at the other configurations. When I shopped the Platinums, they were 7050 GVWR, then I got my 4x2 Platinum, same wheel base and cab configuration and it was 6750, 300 less than the 4WD but payload was right up there with the other two.