Be VERY CAREFUL if you are buying a Tundra for towing

Last month, after a six month wait from the date we put down a deposit, we took delivery of a 2022 Tundra Platinum. The Toyota Canada web site states that the payload of that model is 1664 lbs. When I looked at the door sticker (after buying the truck) the payload listed there is 1310 lbs, or more than 20% lower than the value advertised by Toyota Canada. My fault, I trusted the web site - I should have verified the payload value before paying for the truck.

We bought the truck specifically as a tow vehicle for the trailer we currently own. That plan is now in jeopardy.

I am hopeful no one makes the same mistake I did.

 

That is unfortunate, but it's a valuable lesson. The numbers on marketing flyers, commercials, or even websites are all overly optimistic and don't account for any options added to the trims. If you get floor mats, upgraded electronics, steps, accessories of any kind, it all takes a bite out of the payload. This is universal across all manufacturers as well. I hope you can make it work or find a solution that makes you and your family happy!

 

I’ve been pulling a 7k pound Camper with a 980lb tongue weight all over the U.S. for the last 7 years. My payload is 1325lbs as per the door sticker on my 08’ Crewmax. I am now over 200k & will buy a hybrid Tundra to pull the same camper.
I think you will be fine as long as you keep it under 65mph & don’t go over your axle ratings. Good luck!

 

Only option was dealer installed - a dash cam. I am sure it weighs all of 2 lbs.

 

This is true of literally any truck, not just a Tundra.

And you are not the first. We get posts on the F150 forum all the time because they though their fully loaded F150 Limited with butt massagers and 22” wheels was gunna have 3000 lbs of payload just because an XL regular cab 2wd heavy duty payload package truck does

this is even true for F250’s. Theoretically they can have ~3500 lbs of payload, but that is if you get a base trim with a gas engine. You buy a platinum trim with a powerstroke diesel that weighs 1200 lbs and suddenly your F250 barely has 2000 lbs of payload.

The manufacturers can’t tell you your exact payload because there are so many combinations of cab, drive, bed length, trim, options, and add on that they would need a database of epic proportions

 

I think they say “up to” or “maximum” of 1665 lbs of payload. You have to weigh your setup to make sure you’re not over any limitations (GVWR, GAWR, GCWR). The more options and accessories you have on your truck, the closer your actual payload capacity gets to the sticker value.

 

Hmm. I was referring to the advertised payload of the exact trim level, drivetrain and box length I ordered. And since there were no such trucks available at local dealers, I was unable to verify the actual payload. My original alert to others stands.

 

This video is about motorcycles, but the bit about weight applies to bikes, cars, trucks, trailers, etc. It's all marketing and has been for years.

https://youtu.be/Tv97i_-V7hA


The stuff about tires applies here as well.

 

On the bright side you can probably sell it for what you paid or maybe more right now. May be worth a try to put it out there and see. Huge demand, very low supply

 

Wally!

 

I suggest that you go weigh your truck and determine the actual payload. Those on the forum who have weighed their trucks have found the yellow sticker is between 18%-20% below the actual value of GVWR-Curb Weight which is the definition of payload. Apparently Toyota does not weigh each truck as it comes off the assembly line, but calculates it based on how much that configuration could weigh if everything possible was ordered with it from the factory.

 

I saw the same thing while looking for my '21. Luckily I became a member here before buying and had a better idea of what to expect.

 

300lbs over on a boxed frame with silly torque. I wouldn’t sweat

 

New tundra fully boxed?

07-21 wasnt

 

i believe it is

 

I bet if you punched in a SR5 or some other trim of the same drive, cab and bed config it would say the same number with the same gvwr.

all they are giving you is a maximum for that particular config because even within the same trim you could have a number of different options that could significantly alter the payload

the other thing is the door stickers on these trucks are always only one of a few possible numbers. If you look in the owners manual, your payload sticker probably exactly matches one of the values listed. Chances are you could go weigh the truck and have more payload than the sticker suggests

Basically, i think Toyota just goes ultra conservative on the payload sticker and just sets it to the lowest possible for the config

https://www.tundras.com/threads/payload-stickers.99329/page-11#post-2584033

 

Yes, they went fully boxed because they went to the 5 link coil sprung suspension. They no longer needed the open frame to compensate for the leaf springs. At least that was how Mike Sweers explained it

 

That’s it right there. There’s a vehicle code on the sticker VXK*** and you can look up the payload in the owners manual

 

Air up your rear tires near max, adjust up the rear air suspension, adjust your hitch and go weigh it.

Maybe ok.

I have a ford super duty that the yellow sticker was a few hundred off in my favor.

 

So I guess the question would be how much does your trailer weigh? Truck is rated for 12,000 lbs, not that I would ever want to get close to that with any half ton.

Will have to take my 2022 1794 4x4 sb over the scales as it’s sticker is 1310 as well, I wonder if they are just slapping on a generic sticker.

 

See my post above

 

I can see some vehicle coming in a few pounds underweight. It's possible the manufacturer considered heaviest case scenario when tagging the curb weight. Just to allow for slight differences in material densities and weights. Another reason is the accuracy of the scale used to determine the actual weight of each model. There's always a +- factor and I wouldn't expect any scale used for the weights we see to be anything better than +- 10 pounds. Even CAT scales give your weights in 10 # increments.
So yeah, there's some fudge factor built into these trucks. Just how much do you like fudge?

 

Seems like a class action lawsuit could be in order. Years ago I had a GMC Yukon that was part of a class action lawsuit where the advertised fuel tank capacity was bigger than it actually was. I think I got a couple hundred bucks from it. Funny though before I found out about the lawsuit, I would complain that the tank never took as much fuel as I was expecting . I never thought some one would file a lawsuit!

https://apnews.com/article/3ff19654b9f9e70dbcb8ae3f997be2a4

 

Just hook it and haul it. Ask questions later.


Seriously though this load here is around 8200lbs. Nothing drastic but proper trailer loading plays a big part in the towing game. While I don’t haul 800lbs in my truck while I’m towing large loads, going just a hair over the payload isn’t something I worry about. Go excessive, and can be an issue.

Maybe I’m old fashioned but never looked at payload stickers a day in my life until recently. I live by if it doesn’t feel safe, don’t do it. Numbers aren’t that important to me and if I ever need some serious towing power, I’ll jump in a double axle one ton dodge my father in law has. If you don’t have access, rent one they’re not that expensive and better than getting hurt

 

So if a camper says it has 640lbs of tongue weight and a weight distribution hitch is used, wouldn't the 640lbs of tongue weight be reduced?

 

Yes, 3rd Gen is fully boxed.
2 and 2.5 Gen are not.

 

No. Because the sticker on a camper is advertising/marketing just like the payload numbers on brochures. That 640 is for the bare bones version of the camper completely dry. You put batteries on it, propane, upgraded the counter materials, or put a better mattress in it and that number goes up. The tongue weight on trailer stickers is almost always an unrealistically optimistic number.

Now that I've been a bit of an ass on that, a properly adjusted WDH just helps to more evenly distribute the weight of a trailer across all axles. The weight of that hitch comes out of your payload as well, so any "reduction" in tongue weight isn't really going to be significant. The purpose is to improve the ride and handling characteristics of the trailer for safety, not to let you tow bigger trailers.

 

Not really. The WDH moves some of the weight to the front axle and some back to the trailer.
On my first forray I stopped at the CAT scale and had intentions of disconnecting the trailer and weighing the truck itself to get some good numbers but the vacation was calling my name so the heck with that. Turns out I was 40# over on the truck so I moved a 38# grill and a tackle box to the back of the trailer and never looked back.

 

But they aren't false advertising. I'm sure there is some fine print or * saying based on options or configuration.

These are major corporations with legal teams that go over ever scenario. I mean Toyota is pretty king on making you very aware of everything going on with the vehicle with bings, bongs, chimes, warnings and making you jump through hoops to turn any of it off. And I'm sure it's still not full disabled if you are able to turn it off.