This one is making me crazy. Please assist if possible.

2018 F-250 Platinum Diesel with high capacity tow package.
Front GAWR 5,200
Rear GAWR 6,340
GVWR 10,000
Payload 1,919

I keep reading here that the GVWR is "derated' to 10k for the 250, but I'm not sure what that means. Shouldn't the GVWR be somewhere near the combination of the axle ratings?

2nd Vehicle
2019 F-150 XLT 3.5L
Front GAWR 3,450
Rear GAWR 3,800
GVWR 7,000
Payload 1,771

I find it hard to believe that the payload on my small truck is 92% of that on my big truck.

 

One thing I notice is that the F250 is a Platinum, not sure what all that adds, but all extras like electronic seats, cameras, etc add weight and decrease payload. That said that does seem low for an F250, but all I have to compare it to is mine and my sisters which is 2,600-3,000.

 

The GVWR should not be the sum of the axle ratings. There's a lot more to it than that, you have suspension, a frame, wheels, tires, bearings, etc. that need to support the weight and, if the GVWR is the sum of the axle ratings, that leaves no margin for error (in theory).

 

You have your GVWR's screwed up.
The F250 with the high capacity tow package gets a bump to 10,800 GVWR.
And, your 2019 will have a minimum GVWR of 9900, but a diesel will be 10,000 with the standard equipment.
Check the sticker on the door jamb for the factory ratings.
The cargo capacity is the GVWR minus the actual unladen weight.
Pretty easy to calculate from there.
And, yes, the F250 is underrated, it will carry more than the factory ratings.
Up to you if you want to do that or not.

 

Is the posted payload 10,000 minus the truck's original weight or is there more to that also?

 

Sorry, I had a typo in the original post. The 2nd vehicle is an F-150 (3.5 L), not another 250. That's why I'm surprised that my 150 has almost the same payload capacity as the larger vehicle.

The 250 does have a GVWR of 10,000 (not 10,800) per the door sticker.

 

Weights are just a guideline right?

 

You can configure some half tons to have as much or more payload than some 3/4 tons. Mostly due to the weight of the diesel of the 3/4 ton. And the weight of the larger frame and components.
Though even with the same numbers a heavy duty will tow soooo much better.

 

The diesel engine and trans are lots heavier than the V6 gas engine and trans, this affects payload capacity.
And, as I stated, the F250 is purposely underrated, it's for commercial licensing and DOT compliance reasons.

And, I guess on the 2018, maybe they didn't change the GVWR like they do on the 2020 and later F250's with the high capacity tow package.

 

And that's really what I'm trying to figure out. Is 10K a real number or a made up number. If made up, how do I calculate the real number so as not to exceed it.

 

The reason there are still 3/4 ton( really? don't know why they still use that term) are for registration and insurance purposes. Once a truck exceeds 10,000 GVWR they fall under Commercial class in some states. FDOT also rates anything over 10,000 as CDL territory, which means if you drive over 10K for hire you fall under Federal DOT regulations. This is why you can order an F250 with a 9900 GVWR, so it stays under that 10K limit. Doesn't mean the truck is limited to actually 9900 pounds, but in the eyes of the legal beagles, anything over 9900 pounds, or 10K, is considered overweight/over registration weight.

Once you drop a diesel into a pickup, you lose 800 pounds of payload. The higher the trim level, the lower that payload gets, so if you are looking for a tow vehicle and want a diesel, forget about getting a 250/2500 because they won't have the legal payload required, even though they are quite capable of handling it. A lightly optioned F150 can indeed have more payload than a Diesel F250. I saw it myself in 2017 when I went to replace my smashed truck. Tested an F250, then looked at an F150 Sport Lariat 501a, the F150 had 2100 pounds payload while the F250 had a little over 2K. Now that's not right, is what I said. I would have bought the F250 as it would have suited my needs, but it was used and looked like it had a visitor of the four legged hairless tail variety under the drivers seat.

If your state registration is the same for the F250 as the F350, and requires state inspections for either one, get the F350 and be done with it, same truck but rated for more weight (same except for spring and rear axle).

 

The "real" number is what Ford has assigned, the numbers on the door jamb sticker, there are no other "real" numbers.
The fact is that the truck is more capable than that, whether you stick to the Ford numbers or not is your choice.
The only other number to limit the truck's capacity is the load ratings on the tires, so long as you don't exceed those then you're good to go, at least that's my opinion and practice.

 

There are quite a few towing capacity checklists out there. Insert your specific variables and it will give you a realistic idea of capacities.
TowingCapacityWorksheet.xls (live.com)

sample sheet linked...

 

Thanks for all of the thorough info. Now you've given me a new number to look for. The tires are rated up to 3,750 at 80 psi, but I only run them at 60 front 65 rear per the manual.

 

GVWR cannot exceed the sum of the axle ratings. The F250 is basically a de-rated F350. Chassis, axles and many of the suspensions components are the same between the two. Usually the F350 has different rear springs, because it had a higher GVWR (hence more payload since the truck weight within a few lbs of each other). The difference in GVWR is to give customers options and make it cheaper/easier to register them in some areas.

When the GVWR is the sum of the axle ratings and the cargo is close to the max payload, care has to be taken to make sure the cargo is distributed or located to make sure the axle ratings are not exceeded even though the the vehicle and cargo are within the GVWR. This is why there are sliding fifth wheel, trailer with sliding axles, drop axles, etc.