Actually, I believe the full size pickup trucks are numbered according to thier suspension capacities. 1500 pounds

 

Wrong. They used to signify that long ago, but now the payloads are much higher. Here they are for half-ton, 2wd, regular cab, long bed trucks from the big three:

Chevy/GMC --- 2114 pounds of payload capacity
Ford ------------ 1700-1990 pounds of payload capacity
Dodge --------- 1800-1850 pounds of payload capacity
(got the numbers right off each of their websites)

 

i know in the military they rate there trucks 21/2 ton ,5ton it is stated for there load rates , thats the most weight allowed in taking that size of load thru the worst off road terrain possible ,that the truck will be able to handel.
and i'm perrty sure thats were the big 3 got there 1500 ,2500 and 3500 or what ever , because most trucks came from the military equialint back about 50 years ago ..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] no dising to any brand ..

 

Sorry, but most trucks didn't come from the military. And the military does not have their own brand. They buy from companies like GM, Caterpiller, International, Polaris, and so forth.

Here is a better example of 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton payloads for a GM truck.

1500 - Reg cab, 2wd, long bed - 2114 pounds (that is over a ton)
2500HD - Reg cab, 2wd, long bed - 4047 pounds (that is over 2 tons)
3500 - Reg cab, 4wd, long bed - 5543 pounds (that is over 2 3/4 tons)

Understand now?

 

it was an example of how trucks got their load ratings not a military brand name .