Hey Banana,
I’ve read conflicting things on the payload and whether or not it factored in the weight of fuel AND a 150 pound driver. Not challenging you, but wondering if this is fact from any type of Ford documentation? Thanks!
The yellow sticker on the door jamb indicating payload does NOT account for the weight of any occupants. It does include all fluids being full, including fuel.
As the sticker states: “The combined weight of cargo and occupants should never exceed...”. No mention of 150 pounds for the driver.
Below I reference the Towing Guide. In this case I’m specifically referencing the 2021 one linked here:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/...-guides/2021_Ford_RVandTrailerTowingGuide.pdf
Confusion is introduced in two places:
1. Towing rating.
2. Camper cargo capacity.
For tow rating, the maximum allowed trailer weight assumes a 150 pound driver as that’s what’s required by J2807 certification. But the tow rating is separate from payload. Payload capacity (really GVWR, since payload capacity is just GVWR - curb weight) is not certified through J2807. You can see the specificity of this with the footnote found at the bottom of any of the pages listing tow ratings:
“Maximum towing capabilities are for properly equipped vehicles with required equipment and a 150-lb. driver and passenger and vary based on cargo, vehicle configuration, accessories, option content and number of passengers. See label on door jamb for carrying capacity of a specific vehicle.“
While it does mention a 150 pound driver, it’s only in the context of “maximum towing capabilities”.
Next, page 13 introduces confusion when it lists ”maximum cargo weight” for various truck configurations. On this page it explicitly states:
“Cargo Weight Rating shown in chart is maximum allowable, assuming weight of a base vehicle with required camper option content and a 150-lb. passenger at each available seating position.”
Note that this is only referencing the chart, though, not the yellow sticker. To prove this we can reference the multiple threads where people have posted pictures of their yellow stickers from their Tremors. In the chart, the maximum cargo capacity for a Tremor is 3373 pounds; however, many people have payloads pushing or exceeding 4000 pounds. 150 pounds x 6 passengers (bench seat) is 900 pounds, meaning the actual maximum is more like 4273. That still hasn’t accounted for “required camper option content”, whatever that is, so there may still be more variance from the sticker but that aligns pretty closely with what folks are seeing on their stickers.
Here’s one such thread with folks listing payload capacities from their stickers:
https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/actual-ford-tremor-payload.107/
Of course the capacity on your sticker is easy to verify yourself by heading to a scale, filling up before you get on it, then getting the weight of your truck (or any other vehicle!) while you personally stand off the scale. Subtract the scale weight from the listed GVWR and you’ll have your true, real-world payload capacity.
Nice thing about doing that is it accounts for any modifications you (or your dealer!) may have made to the truck or stuff you regularly carry, so would end up being more accurate.
