What Is A One Ton Truck

If you’ve been shopping for a truck then you’ve probably heard these classifications before. They can be a bit misleading for consumers in the modern era. In the early days of the pickup trucks, manufactures across the industry used this type of branding to designate the available payload of their truck. If you purchased a 1 ton truck then that simply meant you could haul 1 tons worth of passenger and cargo volume.

In the modern era, this is rather misleading.

Modern technology has allowed manufactures to far exceed these original ratings.

Take the 2018 Ram 1500.

In a classic sense, this model would be considered your ½ ton pickup; but with modern technology the Ram 1500 has an available payload of 1,880 lbs and a towing capacity of 10,620. This far exceeds the traditional use of the term, as the modern Ram 1500 is very similar in payload to older 1 ton trucks. Differences in modern capabilities make traditional terminology even more obsolete, when we look at

Ram 2500 with its 3,990 lb payload and Best-in-class 16,320 lbs of towing and

Ram 3500 with its 7,390 lb payload and 31,210 lbs of towing
So why do we still classify these trucks as ½ ton, ¾ ton, and 1 ton?
That’s a good question.

It’s mostly just a hold out from traditional marketing.

Manufactures are beginning to steer away from these designation more and more though, since it underrates their trucks.

(More relevant terminology would be “light-duty pickup” and “heavy-duty pickup.”

Ram designates their larger pickups as Heavy Duty, but the 1 ton and ½ ton identifiers are likely to remain as well, until the newer terms above become more familiar to consumers.

Have more questions?

Rairdon’s Dodge of Bellingham has answers.

Schedule a Ram 1500, Ram 2500, or Ram 3500 vehicle demonstration today by calling 360-389-2927.
You can also visit us in person at 1615 Iowa St, Bellingham, WA 98229