Determine Payload
What Are You Carrying?
Pickup trucks are the workhorses of the vehicle world; reliable, tough and great at getting the job done. Before you can choose the right one, you have to decide what you'll be using it for:
-
How many
passengers
will you be carrying?
-
What kind of
cargo
will you be hauling on a regular basis? And its
weight
?
-
Are you going to be
trailering
? And what's the weight of your loaded trailer in addition to the load in the truck?
Answering these questions lets you figure out the
Payload Weight
. Here is the actual calculation:
Payload Weight
=
Weight of Occupants
+ Weight of Cargo
+ Weight of the Options and/or Additional Equipment (such as roof rack, snow plow, bed liner, etc…). In other words, everything added to the truck's base Curb Weight.
+
Tongue Weight
(if trailering)
The Tongue Weight is the weight of the trailer tongue that is carried on the hitch ball. Tongue Weight is generally 10-15% of the maximum total weight of your trailer when it's loaded.
To calculate your Payload Weight, click on Your Workbook.
Maximum Trailer Weight
If you'll be trailering, you should also know the maximum weight of your trailer.
Maximum Trailer Weight
is important because it represents the trailering weight your pickup must be able to handle in addition to the load in the truck.
You'll need two important numbers from your trailer's brochure. The first is
Dry Weight
, which is the weight of the trailer with nothing in it. The second is the trailer's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
, which is the maximum allowable weight of the trailer fully loaded.
Maximum Trailer Weight = GVWR of Trailer + Payload in the Truck – Tongue Weight
To calculate your Payload Weight, click on Your Workbook.
-
Joe's Example
-
Steve's Example
-
Your Workbook
- View:
Meet Steve
Steve is a building contractor who needs to choose the right pickup truck for his business. He visits his local Chevrolet Dealer and sits down with his sales consultant to assess what he's looking for in a truck.
First they figure out the
Payload Weight
he needs to carry on a daily basis:
•
2 people - Steve and his assistant
@ 90.7 kg (200 lb.) each
= 181.4 kg (400 lb.)
• 30 sheets of 4'x8' building material
@ 22.7 kg (50 lb.) each
= 681 kg (1500 lb.)
• Miscellaneous tools and equipment
= 45.4 kg (100 lb.)
Steve is not planning on towing a trailer so tongue weight doesn't apply.
In total, Steve needs a truck to carry an approximate Payload Weight of 907.2 kg (2,000 lb.)
Meet Joe
Joe wants to take his wife and their two sons on family road trips. They've found the trailer of their dreams at a local Trailer Show. Now all they have to do is find the truck that will safely tow their new vacation home-on-wheels.
Joe has heard good things about the Sierra and thinks it might be the right truck for the job. So he sits down with his GMC sales consultant to assess what he needs in a pickup truck.
Determining Trailer Weight
Joe wants to buy a 28', tandem axle, ball hitch-type trailer. Fortunately, he picked up a brochure at the local Trailer Show, so it's easy to make accurate weight calculations.
First, Joe refers to the trailering brochure and looks up the
Dry Weight
of this 28' trailer, which is 2087 kg (4600 lb.). Since the trailer will be loaded, he looks up the Trailer's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
, which is 3084 kg (6800 lb.)
Tongue Weight (10% of 6800)
308 kg (680 lb.)
+ Total weight of family of four in the truck
272 kg (600 lb.)
+ Cargo (camping equipment carried in truck)
91kg (200 lb.)
+ Optional and/or Additional Equipment (additions to truck's standard equipment)
91kg (200 lb.)
= Payload Weight
762 kg (1680 lb.)
Joe now knows he wants to carry a total Payload Weight of about
762 kg (1680 lb.)
So Joe's GMC consultant adds the Payload Weight and the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of the trailer and subtracts the Tongue Weight being carried by the truck to determine the amount of weight the truck will have to carry and move:
GVWR of Trailer
3984 kg (6800 lb.)
+ Payload Weight
762 kg (1680 lb.)
- Tongue Weight
308 kg (680 lb.)
= Maximum Trailer Weight
3538 kg (7800 lb.)
