Payload capacity
First off, do NOT trust the door sticker. It's well-known that the door sticker is vastly underrated. Mine says only 1,200 lbs, but when actually weighing the truck on a scale and comparing to GVWR, my payload is 1,439 lbs. That's quite a bit more!
Payload of hybrid vs non-hybrid
Below are all with the 5-ft bed. No vs yes indicates whether it has that at the base config for that model (meaning whether the curb weight includes those things). For the curb weight and payload of my model with Premium + Stabilizer, it's based on the CAT scale measurement I took, with subtracting ~41 lbs for the spray-on bedliner mine also had.
| TRD Off-Road | TRD Off-Road with Premium + Stabilizer (mine) | TRD Off-Road i-FORCE MAX | TRD Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Moonroof, power tailgate, power seats | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Stabilizer disconnect | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Suspension | Off-road shocks | Off-road shocks | Same? | ⚡ Pro Off-Road suspension |
| Tires | 31" tires | ⚡ 32" tires | ⚡ 32" tires | |
| Brakes | Identical | Identical | Identical (other than has hybrid regen) | Identical (other than has hybrid regen) |
| GVWR | 6,240 | 6,240 | 6,735 (+495) | 6,780 (+540) |
| Base curb weight | 4,630 | 4,760 | 5,030 (+400) | 5,100 (+470) |
| Payload | 1,610 | 1,480 | 1,705 (+95) | 1,680 (+70) |
Estimated weights of components...
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Hybrid system | 375 lbs? |
| Moonroof, power tailgate, power seats, stabilizer disconnect | 70-130 lbs? |
| Bigger tires and rims | 25 lbs? |
Looking at the Off Road standard vs Hybrid, the hybrid system (and 32" tires) adds 400 lbs to the curb weight, yet the GVWR increases by 495 lbs despite the suspension and brakes being identical? I looked them up on parts websites, they didn't have different brake or suspension part numbers for those two different models.
And then for the Pro vs OR Hybrid, the Pro adds an additional 70 lbs of equipment, yet the GVWR increases by 35 lbs. It does get different suspension, so that could explain it.
ChatGPT had a few theories that could explain these increases in GVWR without seemingly much mechanical change...
- The hybrid system could improve the weight balance of the vehicle so that more weight is more central and lower, increasing handling and allowing a higher rating... but I'm not sold on that.
- For marketing reasons, they limited the GVWR of the lower-trim models so that the Hybrid and Pro seemed more appealing.
- For performance reasons, they limited the GVWR of the non-hybrid, since the hybrid lets it accelerate/get gas mileage closer to rated stats despite the additional weight
One other theory I had was that the hybrid regen brake could help improve the brake performance and therefore account for the increased GVWR, but then again the hybrid system itself adds nearly 400 lbs, so I'd guess that would probably cancel itself out.
I'm guessing it's primary marketing reasons, and maybe acceleration/MPG reasons... if they all do indeed truly have the same GVWR of 6,780, then the non-hybrid OR would have a payload capacity of 2,150 lbs, while the Pro would only have a payload capacity of 1,680. That wouldn't look good for the Pro!
I'm guessing I should feel okay about occasionally driving mine at 60 lbs over payload capacity (with aftermarket springs) since it's probably actually capable of more, Toyota just didn't bother getting it certified for higher since it wouldn't look good for the more expensive models.