I have always wanted to know why Ford, Chevy & Dodge pickups have the number designations for their 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, etc. trucks. For example, Chevy 1/2 ton is a 1500, Ford is a 150, 3/4 tons are 2500 and 250. The don’t correspond with the weight of the truck, or the weight that the truck is rated to carry. Can anyone explain this?
AFAIK they don’t have any meaning other than that’s just what they call them. Ford’s F-series were originally designated F-1, F-2, … F-8. The 2nd generation was introduced in 1953 with the familiar F-XXX designations. GM likely just copied them and added another 0.
The “half-ton” description loosely refers to the truck’s payload capacity. This means that the truck can carry up to 1000 pounds (453.5 kg) of cargo and passengers in the cab and bed. But wait a minute: If you take a look at the stats on modern half-ton pickups, you’ll notice that their payload capacities exceed 1000 pounds (453.5 kg). Although early half-ton pickups could carry max loads of 1000 pounds (453.5 kg), since at least the 1960s, new and improved half-ton pickups have been able to safely carry more, surpassing their namesakes
[source: Autotropolis].
Me: The names/designations go back to a time when they meant something. Now, they are good, general ideas of what is going on in a truck lineup. Trucks like the Dodge Dakota has blurred the line further, but aside from that, your 1/2 tons trucks are generally the first level of the full-size truck in a line-up: F150, Ram 1500, Silverado 1500 (Sierra 1500), Tundra and Titan (with these two new-comers dropping the 1/2 ton thing altogether, because they have no history around it).
Trucks are now really looked at in terms of Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, payload capacity, towing capacity, tongue capacity, and what class hitch is found on it (Class III, IV, and up).
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Amplifying what Philster said, my old 1997 Mazda B2300 (a rebadged Ford Ranger) was a “compact” pickup truck, and it had a rated passenger/cargo capacity of 1,250 pounds, according to the owner’s manual. I’d certainly expect a “half-ton” pickup like an F150 to be able to carry more than that.