Does the Ram 1500 Payload Account for Driver/Passenger, or Not?

[IvoryHemi]

Okay so a given WDH will have different (or more…or less?) tongue weight capacity bars, and how many/what strength you need will depend on the hitch weight of the trailer…?

Yes. For example my last camper had tongue weight around 800-850 lbs so I used bars rated for 1,000 lbs.

Now I’m over 950 lbs so I upgraded to 1,200 lb bars.

 

[IvoryHemi]

A truck loads to the rear and removes weight from the front. An SUV distributes it much more equally

SUV curb weight is distributed more evenly but loading the rear will remove front axle weight just the same.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Yes. For example my last camper had tongue weight around 800-850 lbs so I used bars rated for 1,000 lbs.

Now I’m over 950 lbs so I upgraded to 1,200 lb bars.

Okay, duly noted, thank you!

 

[devildodge]

SUV curb weight is distributed more evenly but loading the rear will remove front axle weight just the same.

Yes. I was meaning loading the truck from base weight, not hitching a trailer.

I should have been more clearer.

This is also why they consider anything behind the rear axle tongue weight...but by golly I am not ready for that rabbit hole

 

[Redfour5]

Thanks for clarifying. I saw some people in other forums/YouTube comment sections insisting that it accounted for a 150lbs driver, and some that it included 300lbs of people total. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to do that cause you have no idea how much drivers/passengers will weight but I saw it enough times that I wanted to check here.

No people, but ALL fluids including gas, Full tank. Devildog what is that thread name that beats this to death?

 

[Redfour5]

Angel Phoenix said... "Thanks for clarifying. I saw some people in other forums/YouTube comment sections insisting that it accounted for a 150lbs driver, and some that it included 300lbs of people total. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to do that cause you have no idea how much drivers/passengers will weight but I saw it enough times that I wanted to check here.

Until the "adoption" of the Automotive Engineer standard, that only happened around four years ago, understanding this was impossible as each manufacturer would do their own thing usually tweaking things toward their larger numbers for "marketing" purposes. When you bought a vehicle for towing you had to carefully read how they defined payload as many would do things like use an arbitrary number for the weight of a person(s) as part of the calculation.

Apparently a conflict existed between "Marketing Pukes" and "Engineering Nerds" over this with the marketing and "Bean Counters" winning over the engineers. The Engineers responded by using hard numbers in a well thought out formula that was based upon a consistent and logical set of tests and trials to counter the "Mo Money" argument of the marketing and bean counting pukes. At some point the Lawyers stepped in after lawsuits I am sure and said, hey wait a minute... We just paid someone millions of dollars because they couldn't understand our definition of payload. And then the actuarials stepped in and noted that even with the deaths and lawsuits, we still make more money than we pay out in settlements and so back and forth it went until finally one CEO (probably a former engineer) said, this is stupid, let's use the standard to define. It was Toyota, by the way and since they were already at the bottom of the pack in sales, what did they have to lose... He said, we will use a counter marketing argument tied to our quality and dedication to our customers... Well, at that point the dam must have broken and the other manufacturers began to fall into place and we reached the point we are at today where, I believe, all of them use the standard... And for the engineers, a rare win occurred... As customers, well, we don't matter anyway.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

Angel Phoenix said... "Thanks for clarifying. I saw some people in other forums/YouTube comment sections insisting that it accounted for a 150lbs driver, and some that it included 300lbs of people total. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to do that cause you have no idea how much drivers/passengers will weight but I saw it enough times that I wanted to check here.

Until the "adoption" of the Automotive Engineer standard, that only happened around four years ago, understanding this was impossible as each manufacturer would do their own thing usually tweaking things toward their larger numbers for "marketing" purposes. When you bought a vehicle for towing you had to carefully read how they defined payload as many would do things like use an arbitrary number for the weight of a person(s) as part of the calculation.

Apparently a conflict existed between "Marketing Pukes" and "Engineering Nerds" over this with the marketing and "Bean Counters" winning over the engineers. The Engineers responded by using hard numbers in a well thought out formula that was based upon a consistent and logical set of tests and trials to counter the "Mo Money" argument of the marketing and bean counting pukes. At some point the Lawyers stepped in after lawsuits I am sure and said, hey wait a minute... We just paid someone millions of dollars because they couldn't understand our definition of payload. And then the actuarials stepped in and noted that even with the deaths and lawsuits, we still make more money than we pay out in settlements and so back and forth it went until finally one CEO (probably a former engineer) said, this is stupid, let's use the standard to define. It was Toyota, by the way and since they were already at the bottom of the pack in sales, what did they have to lose... He said, we will use a counter marketing argument tied to our quality and dedication to our customers... Well, at that point the dam must have broken and the other manufacturers began to fall into place and we reached the point we are at today where, I believe, all of them use the standard... And for the engineers, a rare win occurred... As customers, well, we don't matter anyway.

Reminds me of fight club.

"If the money we lose in lawsuits is less than what we'd have to pay for a recall, we don't do one."