Chevrolet C/K 1500 Forum : “payload”

The C/K 1500 is a half ton pick up , you can haul up to a little over that but is is very much not recomended . Hope this helps .

Actually, it's closer to a ton. Half ton, three-quarter ton, and one ton really don't denote the payload capacity like they once did half a century ago. From what I can find your capacity is 1879lbs.

ha ha yea iv had about a ton and a half in my 98 but it scared the piss outa me

Does it have 5 lug wheels or 6 lug wheels?  Being 2 wheel drive, I wouldn't exceed 1500 with 6 lug wheels, just to be safe, and with 5 lugs I wouldnt go over 1000.  I have a Z71, which makes it a "heavy half", I've put over a ton in it and it handled it fine.

According to the following 1996 C/K release information from GM, the C1500 has a payload capacity of up to 2412lbs. depending on the configuration, and to my knowledge all C1500s came with five lug axles. Seeing as there were no major chassis changes from '92 to '96, the original poster's C1500 should be similarly rated.
http://media.gm.com/division/chevrolet/products/archive_prod_info/pguide/ckpickup/ckpspec1.htm

Also, the heavy duty chassis option is RPO code F44 (six lug 9.5" 14SF axle with 11" drums and a pair of extra leaf springs) and separate from the Z71 package, though the two are a fairly common combination.

Really?  I know you could get the heavy half package separate from the Z71 package, but I was pretty sure the Z71 came with it, which is what makes it the top of the line half-ton of the day (and today :)).

Yeah, not all Z71s came with it, only a few of them.

he asked about a 92. and im pretty sure 96-97 was when they went 2 the newer body style and lots of things could have changed between those years

The GMT800/NBS was introduced in '99. The GMT400/OBS ran from '88-98 as a standard model, and other than having the engines updated and minor appearance redesigns (etc.) they stayed the same. The only possible difference in capacity might be if different leaf springs were used after '92, but there wouldn't be a whole lot of capacity difference.