I don't think it states a weight rating anywhere in the manual. Nor does it tell you to take off the tailgate to load heavy items. It does say that the strut acts as a dampener while riding with the tailgate down and they do sell tailgate extenders so that you can use the tailgate area to carry stuff. Here's a thread from TS on tailgate facts:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...ailgate-facts/