Payload is 1575 on mine which is fine for a half ton truck for me. All I carry is one or two passengers, RTT and rack, typical camping gear. Soon to be replaced with a Super Pacific pop up topper. I'm probably at about 1200 or so on average.
Thats not bad.
Could it be a matter of expectations? What exactly is a reasonable payload for a mid size or 1/2 ton truck and at what point do you acknowledge you just need a bigger truck?
I ask somewhat rhetorically because of course I want more payload on my Tacoma but the GVWR hasn't changed hardly at all from 1979 to 2021 for a Toyota small truck.
Their curb weight has grown for various reasons, some to meet market demands, some regulation. Not much you can do about the gubermint mandating air bags or crash zones and all that. But there's a lot of weight tied up in superfluousness. Going to leather seats and infotainment adds weight over a bench seat and AM/FM radio, so complaining about lack of payload in one breath and in the next saying the next generation needs more tech sends mixed signals to manufacturers who have size and weight categories to meet for IIHS, DOT and FHWA. Do you (we) want a truck or not?
Trucks serve a totally different purpose these days. Its the family hauler/tow rig/business vehicle/offroader. It does fairly well at most of those but sacrifices must be made.
My dad had a 1984 F150 regular cab. The thing didnt get used for anything once I was born. It got used to plow the drive way and haul some mulch here and there, and was infested with mice.
You can get both though. At least if you expectation isnt that you have 2000 lbs of payload. A loaded F150 Platinum is in the 1500 lb ball park and I have personnally laid eyes on current 3.5 ecoboost STX package super crew 4x4 with 2100 lbs of payload. Thats pretty stout.
Its all about the GVWR though. My 2014 has a GVWR of 7700 lbs. When they came out with the 2015 F150, it lost 700 lbs in weight, but they also dropped the GVWR to 7050 lbs so payload was just about the same. They are on the same axles and springs as the 2014, but they were more concerned about the CAFE ratings I believe. And probably keep the F150 and F250 from overlapping. Can you imagine if they kept the 7700 lb GVWR and I could roll into a Ford dealer and pick up any Lariat supercrew with 2300 lbs of payload?
A lot of 1/2 ton trucks have crappy payload. My Tundra is ~1450. My buddies Ram 1500 is 8 years newer and only has 1000lbs payload. Most the F150s I looked at were within 100lbs of our Tundra. My solution is the sweet payload of the F250 at 3300lbs.
There is a lot of crap on new trucks. Personally I like to be comfortable doing 80 with the ac running. My 82 and 90 Toyotas didn't have a chance in those regards. My Tacomas do it ok. Tundra did it just fine. The heated seats feel awesome on my lower back. I'm guessing the new Tundra will have enough updates for the majority of the Toyota people. The enthusiasts will probably be disappointed. I doubt people cross shopping the big 3 will be interested.
The rams were legitimately bad until the 2019 model came out. I think their maximum payload was like 1500 lbs with the hemi and I test drove a Bighorn Ecodiesel that only had 1200 lbs.
A ford with 1450-1550 lbs of payload is a pretty loaded truck. My 2014 is a supercrew, long bed, fully pimped out Lariat with almost all of the factory add ons(bed liner, wheel well liners, etc, 20" wheels, sun roof, heated/cooled seats etc) and came in at 1560 lbs of payload. XLT's can typically be in the 1800-1900 lb range.
But yeah. If you want more than 2k payload with some options you need a 3/4 ton or special order an HD Payload Package F150. I have seen the HDPP F150's in crew cab 4x4 XLT trim with 2500 lbs payload.
