Payload calculator
Payload is everything the vehicle carries: people, cargo, accessories and a trailer's tongue weight. The federal owner's-manual example: a placard that says 1,400 lbs with five 150-lb passengers leaves 650 lbs for cargo (1,400 − 750). Hitch up a 5,000-lb trailer with 12% tongue weight (600 lbs) and only 50 lbs are left.
How to use this calculator · what to enter and how to read the result
Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
How the calculator works
The steps follow the load-limit procedure that federal rules require in every owner's manual (49 CFR 575.6(a)(5)(i)): find the occupants-and-cargo figure on the placard, subtract the driver and passengers, and what is left is your cargo and luggage capacity. Its last step says a trailer's load “will be transferred to your vehicle”; the calculator subtracts that tongue weight too.
With GVWR − vehicle weight, the starting payload is Ford's definition: payload “is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating minus the Base Curb Weight” (2026 Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide, page 6). Ford also counts optional equipment and “trailer tongue load or king pin weight” as cargo weight. If you use a brochure curb weight instead of a scale weight, enter your options under accessories.
Which starting figure to use
| Starting figure | Where it is | What it already includes |
|---|---|---|
| Occupants and cargo limit | Tire and loading information placard, driver's side B-pillar (49 CFR 571.110 S4.3) | Your vehicle as built, with its factory options. Add anything fitted later (bed cover, toolbox, rack, bigger tires) under accessories. |
| GVWR − scale weight | GVWR on the certification label; weight from a scale with a full tank and nothing aboard | Everything bolted on at the time you weighed it. Usually the most accurate. |
| GVWR − brochure curb weight | Maker's spec sheet or dealer | Standard equipment only. Ford's Base Curb Weight “does not include passengers, cargo or any optional equipment” (page 6). |
Payload vs towing
A vehicle can run out of payload before a trailer reaches its towing capacity. Each 1,000 lbs of conventional trailer puts about 100–150 lbs on the hitch (10–15%), and a fifth wheel puts 15–25% of its weight on the bed. That load counts against payload exactly like a passenger does. The result box shows the heaviest trailer your remaining payload allows at the tongue weight share you chose; your towing capacity, hitch rating and GCWR still have to allow it too, which the Can I tow it? check covers.
Payload is also limited per axle: the load on each axle must stay within its GAWR on the certification label. A heavy load behind the rear axle can overload it before you reach the payload figure. The only way to know is to weigh each axle at a scale.
Related
- Tongue weight calculator: the range to plan for with your trailer.
- Can I tow it?: trailer, hitch, payload and GCWR checked together.
- What is GVWR?: the loaded limit payload counts against.
- Towing capacity by VIN: decode your VIN to find your vehicle's towing chart.
- Ford towing data by model and year, from Ford's own guides.
Sources
- 49 CFR 575.6(a)(5)(i), steps for determining correct load limit (owner's manual text).
- 49 CFR 571.110, tire and loading information placard.
- 2026 Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide, page 6 (payload, base curb weight, cargo weight).