What is the Difference Between my Payload/Cargo Capacity and Towing Capacity

Published 02/12/2020

Question:

According to my cargo capacity sticker on the door, my cargo capacity limit is 2050 pounds roughly. With a RV trailer Weighing only 10,000 pounds I am already over my cargo Cassidy limit. that doesn’t include passengers or other cargo in the bed. Is that right or am I miss reading the figures somewhere. You gave an answer to another question saying his three-quarter ton truck would pull13,500 pound trailer. That would be way over cargo capacity. Just because the towing capacity says 13,500 you still have to watch your cargo limit right?

asked by: Scott S

Expert Reply:

There seems to be a bit of confusion here, which I'll try to clear up. There are 3 main capacities related to the weight your vehicle can handle that you generally want to know; your payload (cargo) capacity and towing capacity are going to be two different ratings, and your truck will also have a combined weight rating (GCWR) which is the maximum combined weight of the truck, payload (cargo) and trailer.

From what I was able to find with my research, the 2012 Ram 2500 with the 6.7L Diesel Cummins with a manual transmission has a maximum payload of 2490-lbs; the automatic transmission has a maximum payload rating of 2580-lbs. Your payload (cargo) is defined as the allowable load weight a truck can carry, including the weight of the driver, all passengers, options and cargo (with 150-lbs buffer for the driver-according to Dodge). The towing capacity of the 2012 Ram 2500 6.7L Diesel Cummins is 13350-lbs for the manual transmission and 15450-lbs for the automatic; these would signify the maximum weight of a fully loaded trailer that your 2012 Ram 2500 with a 6.7L Diesel Cummins engine can safely tow. You can then add the payload (cargo) capacity to this number to find out the GCWR of your truck, which is the weight that you should not exceed when it comes to payload and trailer.

You can safely tow your 10000-lbs trailer with either the automatic or manual transmission of your 2012 Ram 2500, but you are correct that you would want to make sure that you are not over the payload (cargo) limit of your truck-which is roughly 2500-lbs, give or take depending on your truck's transmission.

Since you're towing a rather large trailer, you might want to consider adding a suspension enhancement to your truck like the Timbren # T94VR. These heavy duty jounce style springs are designed to help improve the handling of your truck when pulling a heavy load and because they become more rigid as weight is applied, they won't create a rough ride when the truck is unloaded. Since they're easy to install and don't require any maintenance, they're a good option compared to air bags, which must be filled up and have air released depending on your needs.

I've linked a review video of the Timbren's for you to have a look at if you'd like some more information on those.

expert reply by: Erik B