Calculator
Payload Headroom Calculator
Payload is the limit that usually binds first. This is the arithmetic, in the order the vehicle experiences it.
The "combined weight of occupants and cargo" figure. Where to find it.
Real weights, everyone.
Tools, coolers, dog, bed cover, toolbox - anything that rides along.
From the manufacturer’s published figure. Weight distribution systems are commonly 100 lb or more.
Enter your placard payload to see what is left for tongue weight.
Always confirm against your vehicle’s door-jamb sticker and owner’s manual, and against your trailer manufacturer’s documentation. This tool only does arithmetic on the numbers you type in - it holds no vehicle data of its own.
Tow ratings are headline numbers. Payload is a structural limit on the vehicle itself, and on most half-ton trucks and mid-size SUVs it is the one you run out of first. Because tongue weight is cargo as far as your vehicle is concerned, it comes straight out of this figure - along with your passengers, your gear and the hitch hardware itself.
Where the payload figure comes from
The tire and loading placard inside the driver's door, in the wording federal rules require: the combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed a stated figure. It is specific to your individual vehicle, not to the model, and two trucks on the same lot can differ substantially.
What this calculator deliberately does not do
It does not look up your vehicle. There is no VIN lookup and no stored table of payload figures on this site, because we have no licensed source for that data and a wrong capacity number is not a small error. Your placard is the authority; this tool only subtracts.