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Other weights of Longhorn Limiteds?

BCDC

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So in my e-manual it states my truck weighs 5,423 lbs. I have a full family and 50 lb dog, so we are nosing the payload capacity on this truck with that weight. However, I managed to drive by a weigh station and jumped over to weigh the truck. Yeah, I jumped out each time for the proper measurements ;-) . Front axle only was 3.350 lbs, rear was 2,450, and the truck alone(full tank of gas, 33 gallons tank) was 5,800 lbs on the scale! With the GVWR on these 1500s at 6,900 lbs, that would pose a bit of a problem. I figure that the scale must not be calibrated right, so was coming here to see if anyone else had any thoughts. The manual states a max tow lbs of 7,940, while the website link below was different. Something is off...hopefully that scale! I've got a lot of options, but no air suspension, no MFT, no off road, and no Ram boxes. Payload capacity max of 1,417 lbs and 8,217 lbs(according to the website). 5,800 lbs leaves that on soft ground though.


Anyone else? Thanks for the feedback.
 

6of36

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First off, payload capacity, Is what you can add to the truck. You can add 1,417 of people and gear. With 5 200 people in the truck, you can add 417 lbs of gear. GVWR is the weight on the rear tires only. When you load the back, it changes the center of gravity, and the front will actually weigh less, so don't use your existing front number in your equation. The towing capacity is trailer and any added weight in truck. Make sure you load trailer properly to not have excessive tongue weight. If the truck drops more than a couple inches, it"s loaded wrong, and has too much tongue weight. I see many people towing with unbalanced loads, with the tail sagging, and swaying all over the road.
 

CalvinC

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The obvious stuff first:
Any dealer add-ons or mods youve made will not be factored into your "Yellow Sticker" payload. Have you added anything not on the window sticker, like side steps, floor mats, bed rugs (even a spray on liner adds 40 lbs!), tires, etc.? Twinkies in the console? Etc.

Second, the reality:
Your truck's GVWR on the white driver door sticker minus the Payload on the yellow sticker on the driver door is SUPPOSED to give you the accurate curb weight of your vehicle as it rolled out the factory - without any passengers but full of all fluids.
Anyting you add after it leaves the factory will count against the yellow sticker payload.

Little stuff adds up quick:

My truck GVWR = 7,000*
Sticker Payload = 1,643
Curb Weight = 5,357 theoretically
*Not a Ram

On a CAT Scale, without me in it but in daily trim with full gas, weight was 5,700.
That's a 343 lb difference! Attributable to child car seats, bed mats, HD rubber floor mats, junk in glove boxes, roadside kits and tools, etc. That takes my real-world payload (if I cared to adhere to it) from 1,643 lbs to 1,300 lbs, so thats the figure I use in my planning, not the Yellow sticker.

So... you take the numbers on the websites and stickers as general guidance, but you really need your actual weights as-driven from a scale. Then you adjust your expectations and decisions accordingly.
 

SpeedyV

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So in my e-manual it states my truck weighs 5,423 lbs. I have a full family and 50 lb dog, so we are nosing the payload capacity on this truck with that weight. However, I managed to drive by a weigh station and jumped over to weigh the truck. Yeah, I jumped out each time for the proper measurements ;-) . Front axle only was 3.350 lbs, rear was 2,450, and the truck alone(full tank of gas, 33 gallons tank) was 5,800 lbs on the scale! With the GVWR on these 1500s at 6,900 lbs, that would pose a bit of a problem. I figure that the scale must not be calibrated right, so was coming here to see if anyone else had any thoughts. The manual states a max tow lbs of 7,940, while the website link below was different. Something is off...hopefully that scale! I've got a lot of options, but no air suspension, no MFT, no off road, and no Ram boxes. Payload capacity max of 1,417 lbs and 8,217 lbs(according to the website). 5,800 lbs leaves that on soft ground though.


Anyone else? Thanks for the feedback.
There's an old thread on payload where everyone listed their weights. I think @devildodge may have started it. I held the record for the lowest payload (1,069 lb) with my 2019 Longhorn until the multi-function tailgate was introduced...in which case we started to see some not-quite-half-ton trucks (9XX lb payload) appear. The door sticker is your closest guide, as @CalvinC indicated, and only if you haven't messed with the truck.
 

BCDC

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Hey guys,

Thanks for the quick replies, they are appreciated. So I've towed a fair amount, and understand a good number of these things already. Should have led with that, and also mentioned that at the point the truck was weighed the only two add-ons that weren't reflective of the sticker were a 30 lb soft tonneau cover and a dealer installed Rhino bed-liner(usually 40-60 lbs or so in a 5'7" bed from what I understand). Sure, I was expecting maybe 5,550 lbs, but 5,800 is a crusher.

I was also thinking last night how the descrepancy between what the manual stated vs. the Ram website could be attributed to the 'driver weight'. I've seen that the 'max towing capacity' weight includes the driver(otherwise how can it tow, eh?), but perhaps in one of those they reduced that amount by the weight of a driver.

In any event, love this Longhorn, but it is probably going to have to go. Removing the tonneau cover and running boards for an additional 90 lbs this weekend...haha...the kids already love it!
 

CalvinC

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I'd try to re-weigh it before you decide to sell.

But at 5,800 lbs for a 4x4 Crew Cab and a 7,100 lbs GVWR (isnt it? Drawing a blank) you have an on-paper payload of 1,300 lbs. That's actually quite decent for a Longhorn trim with sunroof.

The 5,550 lbs on websites is probably not trim-specific.
 

6of36

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Remember when they referred to them as "half ton"s? They used to have 1,000 lb payload. They actually do pretty good these days.
 

SpeedyV

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I have a Limited which should be very close if not identical to a Longhorn.
Challenge accepted.
I do remember that @Edwards had (what we thought was) an identically-equipped truck, only his was a Limited, and his sticker read 1141 (IIRC) to my 1069. We never did figure out the difference!
 

6of36

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I do remember that @Edwards had (what we thought was) an identically-equipped truck, only his was a Limited, and his sticker read 1141 (IIRC) to my 1069. We never did figure out the difference!
Seats are different in a Longhorn. That alone changes the payload.
 

Darksteel165

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Makes sense, given all of your aftermarket accessories, fuel, etc.
Yep. I expected it to be heavier but it's still not light.
My wife is trying to convince me to invest and buy a used camper/trailer and she doesn't understand I can't tow this large thing because her father "had a truck like mine when she was a kid" LOL. I could be wrong but I don't think pickups weighed this much in the 80-90s once I am loaded up with my wife and kids my payload is at or just under 400lbs lol.
 

SpeedyV

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Yep. I expected it to be heavier but it's still not light.
My wife is trying to convince me to invest and buy a used camper/trailer and she doesn't understand I can't tow this large thing because her father "had a truck like mine when she was a kid" LOL. I could be wrong but I don't think pickups weighed this much in the 80-90s once I am loaded up with my wife and kids my payload is at or just under 400lbs lol.
Not only did trucks have way less technology (and were way, way lighter) back then, but tow ratings were done differently.

That being said, my last truck was an '03 GMC Sierra 1500HD SLT Quadrasteer. Awesome truck with the "old" 3/4-ton frame and powertrain but labeled as a 1/2-ton so that GM could claim a crew cab offering in the 1/2-ton segment. As a result of this odd "heavy half" designation, the truck had 2,800 lb payload. You're not seeing that in a 1/2-ton these days, with the possible exception of EVs.
 

SpeedyV

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Yep. I expected it to be heavier but it's still not light.
My wife is trying to convince me to invest and buy a used camper/trailer and she doesn't understand I can't tow this large thing because her father "had a truck like mine when she was a kid" LOL. I could be wrong but I don't think pickups weighed this much in the 80-90s once I am loaded up with my wife and kids my payload is at or just under 400lbs lol.
Also...with my Ram's as-configured payload of 1,069 lb, minus maybe 25 lbs for a few accessories and items I always carry around, minus another 400 lb for myself, my wife, and our two dogs, minus another 200 lb for typical cargo when the 4 of us are road-tripping, I'm left with 444 lb of payload. With 15% tongue weight, I'd only be rated for pulling a 3,000 lb trailer on a long-haul trip. My realistic maximum at only 10% tongue weight, e.g., when it's just me moving the boat around, would be 7,840 lb.

If I were towing on a regular basis, and/or if I had anything heavy to move, I'd be in a 3/4-ton or 1-ton, without question.
 

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