The "real" capacity of a 26000 lbs. GVW moving truck

[Stimw]

If the truck has air brakes you need Air Brake Endorsement!

 

[joe t]

Just keep in mind it is more important what it is rated for when you get pulled over, most likely scenario and you don't want to be driving a truck that requires a CDL license.
Then of course you have a weigh station and can't pass the axle capacities or what you register the truck at or you'll get in trouble.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Having owned a couple of 26k rated trucks and rented from both Budget and Penske, I think the term overbuilt is more appropiate than underrated. The same applies to smaller and larger trucks. Occasionally pushing or exceding the limit is not going to be noticable. I am not an engineer but I have a number of engineering courses and have worked in engineering support positions. I also hold a CDL and started driving overloaded and abused dump trucks back in 1967.

One of my jobs was hauling cedar fence posts out of Canada back in the old 73,280 days. Those loads could get heavy when the sap came up in the spring. Gross weights pushing 90k were not out of the ordinary. You would never know it by looking at the truck, a Mack Cruisliner but while doing some routine maintenance at around 200k, we decided the rear axle bearings needed to be replaced. They were scored pretty badly. You would not see that under legal service.

I used three U-Pack pup trailers to move five years ago. I had contracted U-Pack after signing a contract for our house only to find that U-Pack would not service the area. I ended up making seven 80 mile each way trips with the Penske & Budget trucks to the closest ABF yard to get my belongings moved, ugh!

I had those pups loaded to the roof. Using a combination of scaffolding, symetrical boxes and plywood, I packed right to the roof. I would go up two or three layers high with the boxes placing non delicate items strategically then lay a sheet of plywood down then place more boxes or lighter bulky items on the plywood.

The rental trucks are likely to be eight feet wide and seven and one half feet tall where the pup would be 102" wide and eight feet tall. That's why three pups took seven box loads to transfer. I did try to balance out the loads with a mix of heavy and light items. At no time did I see excess tire load or feel like the trucks were overloaded going down the road.

If you are going to pull a trailer, I would recommend loading the first three or four feet of the box somewhat light, then heavy to slightly past the rear axle then real light to the back of the truck. That should give you the best handling.

How far are you moving if you don't mind my asking?

 

[mystryda]

What state(s) are you registered as a Professional Engineer?

I'm not a PE.

 

[Verticaltrx]

So how does the load of a trailer count in all of this? The tongue weight counts against the GVW, right? But what about the rest of the weight of the trailer and its load? Can I load up the truck so that it weights 25500, and then still have 500 pounds of tongue weight and tow my car?

As mentioned before, the tongue weight will count against GVWR and GAWR. Where things get confusing in the medium duty truck world is GCWR. There are so many dozens of combinations of engines, transmissions, axles, ratios, springs, frames, brakes etc in MDT's that GCWR can be hard to figure if not given when the truck was new by the MFG. It's not something that will generally be listed in any sort of manual like with light duty trucks.

For your situation, I say load it up till you feel it's safe, hook a reasonable sized trailer behind it and just drive cautiously. I personally wouldn't be that worried about it, especially with such a new truck as those usually are.

 

[mystryda]

If you are going to pull a trailer, I would recommend loading the first three or four feet of the box somewhat light, then heavy to slightly past the rear axle then real light to the back of the truck. That should give you the best handling.

How far are you moving if you don't mind my asking?

Dayton, OH to DC. I'm planning on taking 70 and then 68, so I'll be going through the mountains, but it'll be around April, so hopefully there won't be snow.

When I've moved in the past I've loaded the heaviest/densest things in the front of the box so that they won't kill everything else should I have to make a sudden stop. For me this includes an 800# piano, appliances, dresses, and shelves that I packed loaded. I'm not sure how to partition the box to do things differently. I've seen bulkheads in moving trucks used by commercial movers, but don't think that I've seen rails in a rental. How else could you do it?

When I moved a year ago my HHG weighed 13500, but about 1500 or 2000 of that was on a 5x8 trailer; coincidentally, this put just about right the stated payload capacity of the Budget truck that I had. The box was packed to the gills. The trailer seemed to take a real beating from being hooked to the moving truck (versus my van). I was thinking that I might try to pick up a 16' or 18' trailer and load it full of boxes, especially lighter stuff; this would be a lot easier to pack and wouldn't cost that much since I'd turn around sell the trailer when I got to DC.

 

[downslope]

The magic CDL limit of 26,000 lbs is for whatever you are moving down the road. If the truck is loaded to 25,500 the max you can add is 500 lbs, which might be a Harbor Freight trailer and a toy car.



But that's for COMMERCIAL USE! (That's why they call it Commercial Drivers License) If all your use is PERSONAL just make sure you can document it if they pull you over.

This is not entirely true. As long as the trailer is less than 10,001 AND the truck is less than 26,001 you do not need a CDL. You can have a combined weight of 36,000 as long as neither of these are exceeded.
Of course you still can't exceed axle ratings, etc.

Like it says in the Class A reg you quoted: if the vehicle(s) being towed has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 pounds.
Additionally, for commercial use the truck would need DOT registation.

As far as the original question, I would say these 26K trucks are definitely not heavier trucks that have been derated for rental purposes.

 

[joe t]

So to clarify the rules are?


Truck and trailer (if trailer exceeds 10,000lbs) can't exceed 26,000lbs. Like a dually pulling a bulldozer.


Truck rated at 26,000 can pull a trailer that weights 10,000lbs though. Like the OP using a moving truck and also a pull behind. Also a truck rated at 20,000lb could pull a 10,000lb trailer just the same just for reference.




So you can drive a big box truck and pull a small trailer is what that is for. So just don't get a big trailer.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I am familiar with 70 and with 68 out of Morgantown but not 79 between 70 and 68. 70 is a "treat" going out of Ohio into PA and with 68, it seems if it's not snowing, it's foggy until you get out of the mountains. Anyway, if you picture a box truck, you have single tires up front, duals in the back right? Loading the heaviest items up front while not necessarily overloading the front axle, can affect the handling same as loading heavy too far towards the back. Maybe I should have said to put "medium" weight up front? You can put equal width items like dressers sideways against the walls up front then fill in the middle between them. Then place a mattress and or box spring sideways before you load something like a piano to buffer against a sudden stop.

You can also stabilize forward movement by placing straps wall to wall. Check with the rental agency to see the box layout. As you may already know, some trucks will have a couple of rows of "Z" track with plywood filler in between and some will maybe a half a dozen horizontal strips of wood to tie off on.

 

[joe t]

These trucks are pretty tough. I put around 12000lbs of sack concrete in one, they put it behind the rear axle mainly and it drove ok like that. Short distance though. Very tough trucks.



If for a long distance I'd put most weight on/aft the axle and keep it even every where else.