Reading your own ratings
How do you read the tire and loading placard in your door jamb?
Every vehicle built since 2006 carries a federally required tire and loading information placard, usually a yellow or white sticker inside the driver door or door jamb. It is short, easy to overlook, and it is the single most important label on the whole vehicle for towing purposes, because it is specific to the vehicle actually sitting in your driveway rather than to the model name on the tailgate.
Two identically badged trucks, same year, same trim, can carry different numbers on this sticker depending on engine, axle ratio, cab configuration and options. A number pulled from a review, a forum post or a spec sheet for "the truck" is not this sticker, and it can be wrong by hundreds or even thousands of pounds in either direction.
What is actually printed on the placard
The wording varies slightly by manufacturer, but every placard built to the federal standard carries the same core information.
The placard states GVWR, front and rear GAWR, tire size and cold inflation pressure, and seating capacity, all specific to the individual vehicle.
Published standard A published, traceable figure: a standards body, a federal regulation or a manufacturer specification states it.
| What is printed | What it means |
|---|---|
| GVWR | Gross vehicle weight rating, the most the vehicle may weigh fully loaded, on its own wheels, before any trailer is considered. |
| Front GAWR | The most the front axle alone may carry. |
| Rear GAWR | The most the rear axle alone may carry, and often the axle that governs when a heavy tongue or pin weight is added. |
| Seating capacity | The number of designated seating positions the payload calculation assumes. |
| Tire size and cold inflation | The tire size and pressure the vehicle was built and rated around, measured cold, before the vehicle has been driven. |
| The payload sentence | A line stating that the combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed a specific figure, in pounds. |
The exact wording and layout differ by manufacturer, but the federal content requirements are the same across every vehicle sold in the country.
How do you read your payload rating off the sticker?
- Open the driver door and look at the door jamb itself. Not the door, the jamb, the vertical pillar the door closes against. On some vehicles the placard sits on the inside edge of the door instead.
- Find the sentence about occupants and cargo. It reads close to: the combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed a stated number of pounds. That number is your payload rating.
- Note the GVWR and both GAWR figures too. You will need these separately from payload, particularly the rear GAWR, which is what a heavy tongue or pin weight actually loads.
- Check the tire size and cold pressure line. This is the pressure the vehicle was engineered around for its factory tire size and load, and it may differ from the number printed on the tire's own sidewall.
- Write the payload figure down. You will use it directly in the payload sum before towing anything, comparing it against passengers, cargo, hitch hardware and tongue or pin weight together.
A worked example, not a real vehicle
How the payload figure is derived
Published standardpayload rating = GVWR - curb weight (as built, with options) Example only: GVWR 7,200 lb, curb weight 5,400 lb payload = 7,200 - 5,400 = 1,800 lb
This is the arithmetic the manufacturer already did for you. You do not need to redo it, the payload sentence on your own sticker is the finished answer for your own vehicle.
Why two trucks with the same name can carry different numbers
A published payload rating and a published tow rating both belong to one specific combination of engine, axle ratio, cab, bed length and drivetrain, plus whatever options were fitted at the factory. A heavier engine, a diesel option, four wheel drive, a larger cab or a longer bed can each move curb weight by hundreds of pounds, and since payload is GVWR minus curb weight, that same change moves payload in the opposite direction.
This is why a magazine review of "the truck" or a spec sheet found online is not a substitute for your own sticker. It might describe a different engine, a different cab, or a two wheel drive model when yours is four wheel drive. Your own placard is the only figure built around the vehicle actually in your driveway.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly is the tire and loading placard located?
Inside the driver door jamb, the vertical pillar the door closes against, on almost every vehicle built since 2006. A small number of vehicles place it on the inside edge of the door itself rather than the jamb. It is a required federal disclosure, so it exists on every vehicle sold new in the country.
What is the difference between GVWR and payload?
GVWR is the maximum total weight of the vehicle, fully loaded, on its own wheels. Payload is GVWR minus the vehicle's actual curb weight as built, and it is the figure the placard states directly as a maximum combined weight of occupants and cargo. Payload is the number to check before towing.
Why does my GAWR matter separately from GVWR?
Because a heavy tongue or pin weight loads one axle, usually the rear, far more than it loads the vehicle overall. A truck can be well inside its GVWR and still exceed its rear GAWR once a fifth wheel pin or a heavy tongue weight is added, since that load concentrates over one axle rather than spreading across the whole vehicle.
Does the tire pressure on the placard override the tire's own sidewall?
The placard states the cold pressure the manufacturer specified for the tire size the vehicle was built with. If you have changed tire size or load range since, the tire's own sidewall maximum becomes the figure to follow instead, since a placard cannot know about a tire it was not written for.
Can I trust a payload figure I found in a review of the same model?
Not directly. A review describes one specific test vehicle, with one engine, one cab, one drivetrain and one set of options, and yours may differ in any of those. Payload and tow ratings both belong to the exact configuration built, not to the model name, so your own placard is the only figure specific to your vehicle.
What if my door jamb sticker is faded or missing?
Check the owner's manual, which restates the same figures, or contact a dealer for your vehicle with the VIN, which lets them pull the build sheet. Do not estimate a payload rating from a similar vehicle, since the figure is specific to the exact configuration and options your vehicle was built with.
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Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published standards, manufacturer towing guides and product specifications, and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Figures described as a rule of thumb are towing convention rather than published standards, and they are labelled that way wherever they appear. Nothing here overrides your own ratings. Work your payload sum before your tow rating, because payload is the limit that actually binds on most half ton trucks and nearly every SUV. Load a conventional trailer to 10 to 15 percent tongue weight and a fifth wheel to 15 to 25 percent pin weight, and never lighter: a tail heavy trailer is what starts sway. Weigh the rig loaded rather than trusting a brochure dry weight. A weight distribution hitch and a set of air bags both restore ride height and control, and neither one raises a single rating. Trailer brakes are required by state law above a threshold that varies by state, and a breakaway battery that has quietly gone flat is the normal condition of most trailers on the road.