WTF Haul capacity!

[mizzou]

I can only take a bed load of 1500lb max per my GVWR 🙁

what the heck! That's less then a yard of dirt, it doesn't even look like that much.

02' silverado 1500




Cliffs: Dirt is heavy

 

[Bartman39]

Its considered a 1/2 ton pickup (1,000 lbs) but the 1500 means its a 1500 lb capacity for carry in the bed, but remember a ton is 2000 lbs... GVW tow rating is different as the trailer carries the weight... You should be able to tow around 7,000 lbs (there abouts) but this would include anything you put in the bed...

Still I know its funny how they rate trucks and how they list them...

Yes dirt is heavy and it also depends on the moisture content and type of soil... Clay is the worst and very hard to judge and handle for that matter...

 

[marvdmartian]

Always used to laugh, when I lived in Guam, at those people who owned their little Toyota pickups (probably rated at 1/4 ton), who would fill the bed with a yard of gravel (crushed coral from the quarry), or a load of hollow blocks, to the point where it was questionable whether the front wheels were even touching the pavement half the time!

That's why I loved my 98 Nissan Frontier 4x4, with a true 1/2 ton capacity. I helped a buddy move two 350 engines (not blocks, but complete engines), and when we set them in the bed, the rear bumped settled about 3". Still drove like normal, without the front end "float" you might enjoy in a lesser truck. 😎

 

[Bignate603]

Find an old beat up Jeep Comanche with the "Big Ton" package. It's rated for 2,200 lb in the bed 😉

 

[Arkaign]

I should clarify something. Many vehicles can tow a lot, often even more than the official ratings, but even when you're under the rating, and especially if you're at or slightly over it :

Go slow, brake early, and don't try to drive down a prolonged steep decline.

 

[mizzou]

just going to get a couple half-yards of dry fill-dirt instead of going for a full yard...meh

I don't want to put more pressure then is necessary on my shocks

It's just funny because when you look at it, it doesn't look like alot of material, yet even a half yard could possibly be 1000-1500lb

I think my tow rating is 8,800 lb, I guess this puts into perspective why cheap trailers are still fairly expensive 😉

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I looked up my 11 f150 and it's 1700lbs. I have a lighter duty f150. Didn't get the max tow package and has a 3.55 gear ratio. Has the 5.0L v8. I do work my truck but nothing extreme. Tomorrow I'm cutting down some oak trees and going to be filling the bed with wood and a trailer full. I'm amazed every time I use this beast at how effortless it handles big loads. I use to have a 4 banger Chevy Colorado and it was working its ass off with a small trailer and a motorcycle. I don't even think I'd notice that in my f150.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

just going to get a couple half-yards of dry fill-dirt instead of going for a full yard...meh

I don't want to put more pressure then is necessary on my shocks

It's just funny because when you look at it, it doesn't look like alot of material, yet even a half yard could possibly be 1000-1500lb

I think my tow rating is 8,800 lb, I guess this puts into perspective why cheap trailers are still fairly expensive 😉

Need a trailer. Yes truck beds come in handy but very insufficient for real work.

 

[thomsbrain]

Ha, my family's 1970's "Chevy" (Izuzu) LUV pickup with a 70 HP four cylinder can haul that much. It's all down to the spring rates.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Ha, my family's 1970's "Chevy" (Izuzu) LUV pickup with a 70 HP four cylinder can haul that much. It's all down to the spring rates.

I seriously doubt that. You might get away with it once just like he could probably load 2000lbs in his truck and do it one time. Do it on a consistent basis and your playing with fire.

 

[herm0016]

the newer GM trucks have a bit more capacity than that, but it is a fairly standard thing. I haul about 800lbs with my camper and it does very well. to increase your load carrying ability you can add air springs. I have done this and it makes the rear of the truck more stable with a load. for a cross town journey i would have no issues hauling the yard of dirt. I would not make it a regular thing though.

 

[Meghan54]

Ha, my family's 1970's "Chevy" (Izuzu) LUV pickup with a 70 HP four cylinder can haul that much. It's all down to the spring rates.

to increase your load carrying ability you can add air springs.

I see these kinds of statements and only hope I never meet either of you on the road, towing loads beyond what the vehicle was rated for.

Sure, you can add air springs to the rear of a vehicle, but it doesn't increase your load capacity one pound....they only provide leveling for a sagging rear end. True, leveling the ass of a heavily loaded car or truck can increase stability but it doesn't increase the load capacity.

Why? Well, did you also increase the cooling capacity of your tow vehicle when you added the air springs? Thought not....and that's one important component of how a load capacity is calculated for a vehicle.

But that's not the most important part. Any vehicle can get almost any load moving....that's not the hard part. The hard part, and most important part in load capacities for consumer vehicles, are the brakes.

Easy to get an overloaded vehicle moving.....but if and when you have to get that load to panic stop because of some idiot pulling out in front of you and not moving.....then you're in trouble. And you're in trouble because your brakes weren't upgraded when you added those heavier springs or air springs with the mistaken notion you subsequently increased your tow/load capacity, and now you cannot stop worth a shit and plow into that car that just pulled out in front of you.....and when you get taken to court, you'll lose your butt because you were overloading your vehicle beyond what the manufacturer recommended and you're liable for that.

Sorry, but so much ignorance abounds with people who think they know about towing but really don't know much.....and those types of comments quoted above show just that; thinking you can simply increase the rear spring capacity and that magically increases the vehicle's GCWR (gross combined weight rating----the rating you get from adding the vehicle's GVWR and the towed trailer's weight.)

 

[herm0016]

you would be amazed at the lengths i go through to make sure things are safe. Are you saying also, because my manual says not to use tire chains that i am safer on mountain passes without them?

oh, and ability to me does not mean rating, it means it makes it safer to carry a rated load. my camper, for example is much more stable with the addition of the air springs.

 

[hanoverphist]

I seriously doubt that. You might get away with it once just like he could probably load 2000lbs in his truck and do it one time. Do it on a consistent basis and your playing with fire.

there used to be a flooring place next to my warehouse. we would see those guys over load their stock trucks everyday. one guy had an older chevy truck, and always left with it loaded up to the top of the cab with carpet rolls. i dont know how he kept the front end on the road like that. i always assumed he had upgraded the springs/ suspension, but when i finally asked he said it was all stock. i was amazed. another guy with a small nissan would load up the bed with all kinds of junk and put 4 rolls on a tool rack. i dont know how he never flipped that sucker.

 

[kornphlake]

Overloading a pickup is a good way to bend the frame, helper springs don't make the frame any stronger. Don't forget the tires either, if you aren't using LT rated tires you've probably overloaded them before you hit the capacity of the truck.

 

[thomsbrain]

I seriously doubt that. You might get away with it once just like he could probably load 2000lbs in his truck and do it one time. Do it on a consistent basis and your playing with fire.

Nope, I wasn't exaggerating. In fact, Chevrolet specs are for a 1635 pound payload for the 7.5 foot bed, which is what we have. Yes, that's higher than the OP's full-size truck. Modern 1500-series trucks are sprung so soft they feel like a Lincoln Continental. I have never loaded the LUV enough to make any noticeable change in rear ride height.

I did exaggerate on the power. It had 80 HP when new , not 70. 😉 Of course, that was 220,000-320,000 miles ago (no one knows the true mileage of our truck). It gets roughly 30 MPG on the highway today.

Official Chevrolet Brochure from 1978:
http://www.luvtruck.com/pdf/78-Dlr-Brochure.pdf

Waiting 10 minutes to warm up before you can move and taking 30 seconds to get to 60 MPH gets a little old though. 😉