My 1/4 Ton Tundra

Well, I had been itching to do this for a while. I hit the truck stop this morning, tanked up, and jumped on the scale. No wife, no kids, just my smartcap (iKamper isn’t on unless I’m camping) and some basic gear that always rides with me (<100lb). I weighed in at a whopping 6700lbs… correct me if I’m wrong, but that only leaves me 500lbs for the fam and whatever else when we load up. That seems kinda lame, but I know the weight adds up quick. Does that sound consistent with what others have seen on the scale? For the record, I’m 175lb.

 

Heavier tires and big brakes.
Full skid plates.
Amp Research steps.
Bedslide.
ARE Z-Series topper.
ARB dual motor compressor.
Dual Odyssey batteries.
Maybe 30# in solar gear.
A few extra lights.
50L Dometic beer fridge.
Heavier 2.5” shocks and coilovers.
Heavier Deaver spring packs.
Rear sway bar.
A tote in the bed with maybe 60# of stuff.
My 235# ass in the seat.

My weight with all those added pieces leaves me within 50# of GVW. Dangerously close to 7,200#.

I believe your numbers seem reasonable.
These trucks are fat bitches. It’s ok. Ride that pig.

 

It’s a heavy truck that eats up a lot of its own GVWR. Because it’s so heavy, the axles must account for the different possibilities of how payload could be distributed (in the cab, in the bed, on the tow hitch).

Front axle is rated for 4k lb, and rear is rated for 4150 lb.

This means that if you could perfectly distribute the weight, your truck can carry 8150 lb without overloading either axle.

Any of us who haul or tow with the family in the truck is probably exceeding GVWR, especially if the truck has any mods. I know I’m around 7400-7500 lb loaded up with a full tank on camping trips.

Some of the more armored up trucks on this forum are 9k lbs just sitting there with no one in them.

My own personal take is, if our trucks didn’t have quite a bit of margin built in, we’d see trucks on this forum eating axle bearings left and right. As it is, the more serious off roaders need shock tower braces, double cab beds that carry heavy loads start coming apart at the pinch welds at the front of the bed, and some of the late brakers among us see pretty short brake pad life.

This is why I’m considering jumping to an HD rig. As long as I keep this truck, I’ll just stay under axle ratings.

If you’re keeping this truck for life, maybe consider jumping on that Alcon big brake kit group buy.

 

Is there anything you can do to reinforce this or is it just something to be mindful of when loading it heavy? I had never heard of that before and I have a double cab so it made my ears perk up.

 

Look under the truck, apparently from what I read, the front portion of the bed is sitting in open air with no supporting framework. At the very least, I would fabricate a support frame to transfer loads to the truck's frame.

 

Thread with info:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/cracked-pinch-welds-under-bed.107934/

 

I looked at my dad’s old 3/4 ton suburban yesterday and it has a GVWR of 8400lb… got a little jealous. I’d like to throw that hog on a scale too.

 

As long as you never weigh your truck, you're always under GVWR

As already mentioned, everyone who actually hauls stuff is over the GVWR. Doesn't seem to matter.

I do find it funny the 2022 Chevy Traverse i have for work (AWD, LT) has a 1740lb payload although the GVWR is 1000lbs less than the Tundra. I'd much rather be carrying 1700lbs in the Tundra than the Chevy.

 

communada

 

Crap, now I have to re-think welding the MG mount to the bed in order to mount the .50 cal, not to mention about 400 lbs of ammo. Plus that camo net is another 100 lbs easy. So much for a Tundra Technical build !

 

I see Tundras all the time in Houston way overloaded pulling big trailers with heavy loads. They are probably hovering over the bump stops, if not on them, but they are still working.

There has to be some margin in there. I remember that video with the rancher given one of the Tundras to test and he was beating the hell out of it with a fifth wheel.

 

the payload rating is way off on these. even under extreme conditions they handle a lot more than what the factory says

 

I just hauled 9 loads of timber rounds with my 2020 Tundra about 17 miles each trip. My fist barely fit in the gap between the fender and the rear tire on one of the bigger loads. The truck never acted like it cared. 1300 pound load limit my behind.

 

This is why my next truck will be a 3/4 ton gasser. Same dismal fuel economy and ride quality with more than 2x the payload rating.

 

And only a quarter the reliability!

 

I can tell you the ride quality is very different, some of them ride like wooden planks when empty.

 

At 80 PSI cold, right? Air up your Tundra's tires to max pressure and it would drive like wooden planks as well.

 

Lol no at empty load. Those big boy trucks are designed to carry heavy loads. They ride so much nicer when loaded down

 

I have a 2017 GMC 2500 4x4 as my work truck. It rides every bit the same as my Tundra when empty and better when loaded.

 

380k with nothing but maintenance and brakes on my work truck. 3/4 ton gassers are pretty reliable.

 

I personally would not stress one bit with your set up and camping gear unless you decided to hook up a big trailer too.

I have been overloaded before. You will know. And it certainly wasn’t camping gear.

Also, my tundra rides like a HD. I was test driving a 2500 awhile back and the salesman made the comment “ yup rides like a HD” hell I was thinking it was smoother then my truck

 

I’ve thought about getting one of those older Chevy gassers for heavy work and building the Tundra out for hunting and off roading, but I’ve been burned in the past with GM trucks having electrical issues and drinking obscene amounts of oil between changes. How is yours holding up on that front?

 

It's had neither issue. It gets 5k oil changes and it's never low when it's time.

It does go through rear brakes every ~40k though. That's about my only gripe...lol.

 

Why not just use a trailer with your Tundra for work and avoid all the expenses of another truck or are you going to pull a super heavy trailer too? I'm thinking about rolling the dice and building a custom full floating bearing rear axle for my Tundra. Pull the bed, box the frame, flat bed it and done.

 

My completely unqualified opinion on GVWR:

Light truck GVWR is determined by the manufacturer (at least that's the way it is in the US). Yes, it's definitely guided by DOT FMVSS/NHTSA/SAE rules, policies, and recommended best practices etc., but there's no test or formula for determining GVWR that the manufacturers have to abide by. At the end of the day, they're all coming to that answer on their own based on their desired mix of safety, performance, comfort, liability, and marketing. Some companies tend to be a lot more risk tolerant when it comes to these things, whereas the Toyota engineers (maybe lawyers?) seem to have preferred a much more significant safety margin.

It's also important to remember that these trucks ship with P-rated tires and a spring rates/shocks meant to optimize the average Joe's driving satisfaction, not max GVWR. I can't help but think those things are contributing to the GVWR limitations at least a little bit.

As always, you should adjust your driving manners based on conditions. Assume that a 8000lb Tundra will handle, brake, and accelerate differently than a 6000lb Tundra and adjust your driving accordingly to stay safe on the road.

Respecting GAWR is probably a good idea if you want to make your bearings last though, and I would never exceed GCVWR when towing as those standards for testing are well documented and make pretty good sense to me.

 

That’s a stupid amount of effort//money to avoid buying a truck actually meant for work that in the end would still be illegal to have that much payload as the gov and insurance will still only see it as a Tundra.

Also, GM full float 14 bolt.

 

I will say that all of the GWVR rule bending goes out the window when we're talking about commercial use. State troopers, insurance, and lawyers will absolutely come after a business for that.

 

Thanks for the feedback! We differ in that I happen to like my truck and dislike the HD trucks. I also enjoy a challenge and this one has me interested. Is there anybody alive that doesn't waste money and effort?
Yes, I know about the GM 14 bolt version. Still a couple of years out, it takes me forever to make decisions and take action on serious endeavors. Gotta get my current good bearings worn down too, cuz if not....oh no, that would be a waste! LOL!

 

Anecdotal evidence ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

The 6.0 3/4 ton is a solid, reliable truck. No doubt. I would drive one for sure. It’s more of a hauling truck than a serious towing truck though.