Ballast New truck: weights, towing capacity

[daTeacha]

My daughter and SIL are engineers who work on brakes and suspensions for Ford and TRW, respectively. Oftentimes, a heavier pickup will have a lighter tow rating because the truck weight is so high.

The combined weight of truck, trailer, and everything you put in or on either one is limited by either the tires, axles, or brakes that come with the truck. If you're going to do heavy hauling, skimp on the options on the truck that don't contribute to it's ability to get the job done to save the weight for what you want to haul.

 

[john_bud]

Teacha,

That was probably a duramax diesel. I have one, and it was not even straining under the load you saw.

Highbeam,

You're right about the safety margins. Also, I agree that modern 1/2 ton's are better than ever, but a modern 3/4 ton is 2-3 times the truck a 1/2 ton is. My 3/4 ton is rated to tow 15,000 pounds. The similar 1/2 ton is just about 1/2 of that. And I get better milage with a diesel than the 1/2 ton. Of course, if you don't need it, won't use it --> why spend the money?

(just for the record, I would tow his trailer with his truck and while being cautious, I would not be overly concerned. )

jb

 

[wushaw]

I recently traded in my Dodge for a Chevy with the 5.3L V8, automatic transmission, Z71 package. The owner's manual says maximum trailer weight is 7,400 lb.

According to my Kubota manuals, the weights are:

Tractor: 2580 lb.
Loader: 1155 lb.
Backhoe: not listed, but I'll assume 1200 lb.

This puts me at 4935 lb. But I vaguely remember a thread where someone mentioned that Kubota lists their tractor weights without the tires/wheels. Is this true? My rears are loaded, so if they didn't include those weights, I'll guess another 350 lb. for each rear wheel/tire/fluid, and 100 lb. for the fronts. That gets me to 5835 lb. I have an 18 ft. dual axle Texas Bragg trailer. No clue what it weighs, but I'd guess 1500 lb. Now my total weight is 7335 lb.

Looks like I should be OK to tow it once I get a trailer brake controller installed.

Anyone see anything I've missed or underestimated?

Your BH is more like 800lbs. The 22ft. trailer is probably 2200lbs.
I have a 16' Big Tex 70PI that weighs 1900lbs that I use to carry my L2800.
I put a total of 500lbs in the rears of my L2800.
Your fts. probably took 5gals each which is 60lbs.
I figured your total trailer weight to be 7295.
I don't think you will have any problems as long as you secure it good and drive smart.

 

[RobertN]

Oftentimes, a heavier pickup will have a lighter tow rating because the truck weight is so high.

Another thing to look at is the truck configuration. 4x4's have a lower gvwr and gcwr than a 2wd. Xcab's and Crew cabs have a lower gvwr and gcwr than a standard cab. A 2wd standard cab will usualy have a higher gvwr and gcwr than a 4x4 crew cab.

 

[Highbeam]

Another thing to look at is the truck configuration. 4x4's have a lower gvwr and gcwr than a 2wd. Xcab's and Crew cabs have a lower gvwr and gcwr than a standard cab. A 2wd standard cab will usualy have a higher gvwr and gcwr than a 4x4 crew cab.

It's not that the GVWR or GCWR is lower it is just that the empty weight is higher which leaves less cargo capacity and towing capacity for a given GVWR/GCWR.

Diesel engines, crew cabs, 4x4s, and even long beds all add to the empty curb weight. It turns out that many a manly diesel 4x4 crew cab pickup is overloaded before a meazly toyota minitruck is.

This is especially bad with slide in truck campers that can weigh 4000+ lbs these days. If you see slide in camper in a single rear wheel diesel crew cab there is a very good chance that he is overloaded.

 

[whodat90]

"If the trailer does only weigh 1500lbs, that only leaves you 5500lbs for tractor. If you even put 5000lbs on it, you're pushing into the safety margin of those axles/tires on the trailer."

I don't understand, you say 5500 capacity but that 5000 is "into the safety margin". By that logic even one pound of cargo is into the safety margin. You can use every bit of the rated capacity. The ratings already take into account a safety margin.

I mean that IF the load is exactly 5000lbs (wet, with fuel, whatever dirt is stuck to it, hy fluids topped off, etc) and IF the trailer only weighs 1500lbs, and IF the tiedown chains and spare tire and ancillary accessories all come in under the 7000lbs total allowed, that safety margin assumes new tires, at max PSI, freshly adjusted brakes, etc. Running a trailer at max gross weight is just as safe or dangerous as running a truck at max allowable load to tow it. It relies on too many ifs. By that logic, no; one pound is not into the safety margin. When you're at 91% of the maximum allowable load that starts to cut into the margin. YMMV, KDTTAH. PDOCC.

 

[neverenough]

As far as needing a 3/4 ton just because your daddy did, well that's an old wive's tale. Time to go check out the new trucks which will put a 3/4 ton of just a few years ago to shame. For example, the 98 3/4 ton chevy 4x4 with gas 5.7 engine and 3.73 gears is rated to tow 6000 lbs. Today's 1/2 ton equipped very similarly is 7400 lbs. That's 1400 lbs more weight for the 1/2 ton.

If you knew much about pickups, you would not have made that statement. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[roxynoodle]

When Ford just started getting the Superdutys off the assembly line in 1998 I bought an F-250. It had the V-10, heavy duty manual transmission, 4.30 rear axle and extra heavy front and rear end. It was rated to tow nearly 15,000 pounds and the capacity of the bed was nearly 6000 lbs. That was by far more truck than my current half ton Dodge Ram! I agree that current half tons are more truck than they were 15 years ago but they can't touch a 3/4 ton.

 

[Dargo]

It'Diesel engines, crew cabs, 4x4s, and even long beds all add to the empty curb weight. It turns out that many a manly diesel 4x4 crew cab pickup is overloaded before a meazly toyota minitruck is.

ROFL You're a funny man!

I suppose that a semi truck can't even haul a lunch box then because they are so heavy. LMAO

 

[DaveNay]

ROFL You're a funny man!

I suppose that a semi truck can't even haul a lunch box then because they are so heavy. LMAO

That's why I prefer to use my team of Oxen to haul my trailer. It's slow, but I can carry an infinite load.