Loading the pickup

[nate379]

There was a thread talking about not being to hold much weight in a pickup truck. I think someone said 2000lbs would sink most trucks to the bumpstops or something like that. Really my only complaint lately is I NEED an 8ft bed. 6.5ft box fills up way too fast!


Well I got some pics of the load in my truck right now.

50 gals of diesel = 400lbs
tank = 125lbs
water tank = 100lbs
275gals of water = 2200lbs
firewood = 500lbs

3325lbs

Truck is just a run of the mill Dodge Ram 2500. Rear axle (Dana 80) is good for 10,000lbs in the book, though my tires and wheels are only good for around 6000lbs

It is sagging a bit since my mud flaps are usually around 2-3" off the ground and they are dragging now but it's not like the truck looks like it's popping a wheelie or anything!


No photochopping, no tricks.

BTW I took that pic at around 10:45 tonight. It's near midnight now and just starting to get dark.

 

[GTO]

Can't figure why anybody would want a 6.5' truck bed.

 

[hetkind]

I have two trucks with the 6.5' bed, a 68 dodge utiline (short bed, step side) and a 07 Ram 1500 short bed, both with a small cab. Unless you are hauling lumber, the shorter beds do 99% of the work I need them to do, plus they park MUCH easier. I also normally fill up on weight, before volume.

The load rating of the 07 Ram 1/2 ton is 1450lbs (just about 3/4 ton) and I can easily haul a ton of gravel with the 68 Utiline, also rated as a half ton.

Howard

 

[nate379]

The GVWR on my truck is 8800lbs. The truck weighs 7000lbs so according to the book, 1880lbs.

Sure...

Other than the tires saying F-U, I would put another water tank in there and not think twice about it.

Have hauled close to 2 tons in my Dad's farm truck, a 79 Chev 1/2 ton with a flatbed on it. We used to haul water with it too... 8 55 gal drums for 440 gals in all.

Don't know how those little 10 bolts ever held up, but no issues.

 

[nate379]

IT's handy to park in some places. I swear parking lot engineers must thing everyone driver a Smart car or something. Some places I end up taking 4 "spots"

Can't figure why anybody would want a 6.5' truck bed.

 

[Gary S]

I've owned pickups with 6 1/2' beds and pickups with 8' beds. I plan to own 8' bed pickups forever. The 6 1/2' beds are too difficult to haul long building materials.

 

[nate379]

If I'm going to get more than just a few 2x4s I have them drop it off or I bring my trailer which has an 18ft deck.

 

[Jbullfrog]

My Ford has a 6'-9" bed. The extra 3" makes a difference.

 

[SteveU]

IT's handy to park in some places. I swear parking lot engineers must thing everyone driver a Smart car or something. Some places I end up taking 4 "spots"

The local K-mart was like that, anything bigger than a chevette or Geo Metro & you were over the line.

 

[Dragster Racer]

I can't do without the extended cab, and really don't want the additional 1.5 ft for parking lots either. I owned an 8' extended, and it was a PIA. When I drop the gate, I can lay 8' lumber flat, so I don't have a problem.

 

[snorky18]

IT's handy to park in some places. I swear parking lot engineers must thing everyone driver a Smart car or something. Some places I end up taking 4 "spots"

Engineers "know" in many cases, but what happens is the city ordinances specify a minimum # of parking spaces for a given site.

Developers make money on retail space available, more SF = more $$ for them, they make no money on parking spaces, so you better believe in most cases the developer is going to insist the lots be as small as is legally allowed to allow for more retail space and more $$ for them.

Plus we keep "Americanizing" trucks and making them an inch bigger here or there every year, they grow, and meanwhile many parking lot dimensions are based on 20+ year old ordinances.

If you guys would just get rid of your crew cabs, 8' beds, and duallys, and go buy 80s model S-10s, you'd have an easier time parking them

 

[JebNY]

I have two trucks with the 6.5' bed, a 68 dodge utiline (short bed, step side) and a 07 Ram 1500 short bed, both with a small cab. Unless you are hauling lumber, the shorter beds do 99% of the work I need them to do, plus they park MUCH easier.

Howard

You use reverse gear less than 1% of the time so it is really not needed?

I had one short bed pickup in the last 30+ years and loved how it drove, but it was worthless for many of the things I want a truck for. I stick to regular cabs with an 8 foot box, gives me about the same handling in a parking lot as you guys with extended cabs and little beds. I want a truck not a big car with a trunk that leaks.

Jeb

 

[akdiesel]

I never knew the 3/4 ton Dodge's came with Dana 80's. That seems to be a way overkill for a truck that has under 9000GVRW.
What are the front axles, 44's?
Actually the truck looks fairly level with the lift it has, and I take it you do not have air bags.

 

[cat06]

If you guys would just get rid of your crew cabs, 8' beds, and duallys, and go buy 80s model S-10s, you'd have an easier time parking them

Or use that big round thing you sit behind, In other words DRIVE the truck, if you can't or want it easy drive a car instead.

A crew cab long box truck is not hard to drive or park, you just have to think and drive it. Sometimes maybe park out a ways and walk a little, most everyone could use the walk any way.

 

[cat06]

I never knew the 3/4 ton Dodge's came with Dana 80's. That seems to be a way overkill for a truck that has under 9000GVRW.
What are the front axles, 44's?
Actually the truck looks fairly level with the lift it has, and I take it you do not have air bags.

Front axle is a Dana 60, the rear is a "hybred" 80, I don't remember the spec's but it is a tad weaker than a "real" Dana 80.

not really over kill I have torn a few up

 

[bgott]

I have an '06 Dodge 2500 quad cab/ long bed, I just automatically back into most spaces. But I can read the mirrors, I imagine that some people have a problem with doing that. The biggest problem I have is **** blocking the space while backing in so some twerp doesn't steal it while I'm lining up. I really would like to get a sonar set-up like they have on the newer models, it can be a pain hopping out to see if I'm far enough back. I also have problems with dickweeds that have no idea why the lines are painted on the ground

 

[nate379]

D80 hog and tubes with D70 spindles is pretty much what it amounts to. The Dodge 3500s (duallie) use the same axle.
Also 35 spline shafts where a reg D80 has 37 spline shafts.

Front axle is a Dana 60, the rear is a "hybred" 80, I don't remember the spec's but it is a tad weaker than a "real" Dana 80.

not really over kill I have torn a few up

And actually the automatic trucks came with a D70, but I blew that one up so I swapped in the D80 from a newer manual trans truck. Tough to find and $$ but I got one. Disc brake, 4.10s and a Limited Slip.... as decked out as they came from Dana.

EDIT: No not because of too much weight on it. Too much power actually.

 

[Shocker]

I have an 01 Dodge 1500 with 6.5 ft bed. I have hauled 3800lbs of gravel in it. Load range D tires on it and it was riding low. Drove slow back to the homestead with it. No problems.

I picked up 2000lbs of sand today with it.

 

[Ramblur]

The title of this thread triggered one of my early memories of my mother
loading us kids up in grandpa's beater 50 Dodge stepside for a ride to the
local sand and gravel pit for sand for a sandbox. We all got to stay in the
truck and watch the crane operator deftly maneuver the clamshell bucket
over the bed and drop a load that ran over all the bedsides.I don't remember
mom having any trouble handling the manual steering or stick shift but it
was a lot slower ride back to the house.

 

[Art From De Leon]

The title of this thread triggered one of my early memories of my mother
loading us kids up in grandpa's beater 50 Dodge stepside for a ride to the
local sand and gravel pit for sand for a sandbox. We all got to stay in the
truck and watch the crane operator deftly maneuver the clamshell bucket
over the bed and drop a load that ran over all the bedsides.I don't remember
mom having any trouble handling the manual steering or stick shift but it
was a lot slower ride back to the house.

Thanks for the memory, my Dad had a 1948 or '49 Chevrolet 'Thriftmaster', which was a 3/4 ton body on a 1 1/2 ton frame, 4 speed, and he hauled home a load of crushed limestone, and the scale ticket was something on the order of 9000 lbs, +/-.

God, I wish I had that pickup, LOTS and LOTS of GOOD memories, not all of them involving driving around SW Iowa, drinking underage hot, cold, warm, Schlitz 'beer'.

 

[fireball 440]

I hauled 2200 lbs of OSB in the back of my shortbed F-150, sagged a bit but no problem.

 

[BetterDays]

.....The extra 3" makes a difference.

That's what SHE said...

 

[Falcon67]

We had the parking lot resurfaced and re-striped in front of the building at work summer before last. The crew that did it must have had one hand on the striper and a pint of Jim Beam in the other. One spot would be big enough for a 16 passenger van, the next not big enough for a Geo and no straight lines in the bunch. You could see where they stuck off the lines - including where they started striking off the lines going the wrong direction to traffic flow - then didn't hit a single one of them with the striper. We had to put up with that for a year, until they could get it re-done the next summer. (university - classes in session, no repair work unless your building is on fire)

If you guys would just get rid of your crew cabs, 8' beds, and duallys, and go buy 80s model S-10s, you'd have an easier time parking them

Let the eco-drivers glare at me, then hope I don't back over their midget-mobiles on the way out.

 

[Chris Adams]

On the 6.5 foot bed vs. the 8 foot bed, I think if you feel you have need of the 8, that's fine, but I have access to a lot of trucks and I find I take the 8 foot bed truck to actually use, several times a year.

I use the short F150 several times a week.
My F150 has 6.5 foot bed, which means I can keep it in the garage.
With an 8 foot it would have to park in the sun.

In traffic, with loads, which are seldom over 8 feet, which it handles just fine, and for just plain being handy the 6.5 wins most times.
I bring home ten foot stuff all the time with the 6.5, either sideways or with flag.


When I take the F350 dually out, it's a problem to park, handle, fuel, hassle with.
It's even hard to drop or raise the tailgate, for Pete’s sake.
It's all truck with a V10 six speed, but I can't fit it in the garage, can't get it UNDER the garage door even if it fit lengthwise, which it wouldn't.

And as I say, it get used for actual truck work several times a year.
That is to pull a dump trailer; I don't think we EVER use the bed.

The trailer holds maybe twenty times what the bed would hold, so the bed isn't really needed.
Which is why a 2003 has about 8k miles on it... and most of those where just picking up groceries or whatever to keep the truck run.
Big beds don't seem to justify unless you are certain types of contractor, have a farm or own something very long that you need to carry often.
For as little as I use a long truck it would be cheaper to rent one every time by about 50-150 times.
Other hand, I NEED and USE the short bed with tonneau all the time.

 

[voetsek]

^^^^ Unless you happen to have a gooseneck type trailer. Then the 8' is needed to so the cab doesn't get crushed. That's pretty much where I'm at. I'm fine with a 6 1/2' bed for day to day usage, but pulling a goose requires an 8'

 

[cyclopsblown34]

I miss my four door long bed 85 Shivalay dually. My lifted 93 Toyota with small block just has no hauling capacity. I think my Suburban has more hauling room.

 

[sammerdog]

I miss my old Dodge.

 

[nate379]

Nah 8ft bed would be handy. Lately it seems like I have to haul 3-4 trips where 2 on an 8ft bed would have covered it. 8ft bed truck would fit in the garage fine, course I don't park anything in the garage anyhow unless I'm working on it.

On the 6.5 foot bed vs. the 8 foot bed, I think if you feel you have need of the 8, that's fine, but I have access to a lot of trucks and I find I take the 8 foot bed truck to actually use, several times a year.

I use the short F150 several times a week.
My F150 has 6.5 foot bed, which means I can keep it in the garage.
With an 8 foot it would have to park in the sun.

In traffic, with loads, which are seldom over 8 feet, which it handles just fine, and for just plain being handy the 6.5 wins most times.
I bring home ten foot stuff all the time with the 6.5, either sideways or with flag.


When I take the F350 dually out, it's a problem to park, handle, fuel, hassle with.
It's even hard to drop or raise the tailgate, for Pete’s sake.
It's all truck with a V10 six speed, but I can't fit it in the garage, can't get it UNDER the garage door even if it fit lengthwise, which it wouldn't.

And as I say, it get used for actual truck work several times a year.
That is to pull a dump trailer; I don't think we EVER use the bed.

The trailer holds maybe twenty times what the bed would hold, so the bed isn't really needed.
Which is why a 2003 has about 8k miles on it... and most of those where just picking up groceries or whatever to keep the truck run.
Big beds don't seem to justify unless you are certain types of contractor, have a farm or own something very long that you need to carry often.
For as little as I use a long truck it would be cheaper to rent one every time by about 50-150 times.
Other hand, I NEED and USE the short bed with tonneau all the time.

 

[Klunker]

Used pick-ups for work for over 35 years. Construction & manufacturing.
8ft bed hands down, 23 percent more room/capacity than a 6 1/2 fter.
Extended cabs? are you hauling stuff in the cab or box? A standard cab is best, room for 3 is enough.
1/2 tons can carry plenty of weigh. But the big problem with a 1/2 ton is brakes and handling. 3/4 ton is a world apart from a 1/2 ton. If you haul anything over 1500 lbs on a regular basis forget the 1/2 ton. A heavy duty 3/4 ton or 1 ton is best.

Thing is vast majority of trucks are glorified station wagons. Whenever I go to the dump I see the vast majority of pickups pull in pulling a small trailer with the trash in it. I'll bet most of these guys have less than 150lbs of stuff in the trailer. 4 garbage bags and a old microwave, that sort of stuff. The guy has a cap on his truck limiting type of cargo he can haul and most of the time he doesn't want to get his box dirty. Might as well haul his trailer with a geo.

If your in the market for a pickup then you need to decide what its primary use is going to be and work from there. If its not going to double for daily driver duty then forget the extended cabs and small boxes.

Myself, after using pick-ups as long as I have I don't want one for hauling any more. Anything that doesn't fit in my daily driver (a station wagon) I use my heavy hauler, a 1 ton extended cargo van. 12 ft x 4ft behind the seats. these things are readily available, cheap and I can still get one that is work oriented. No A/C, No power windows, no power locks, no 4 wheel drive, none of that extra junk, just a no nonsense work vehicle.

 

[nate379]

4wd is hardly "extra junk". I refuse to own a 2wd unless maybe a FWD car... and even then it's iffy.

 

[walrus]

4wd is hardly "extra junk". .

It is to me

 

[caper]

The GVWR on my truck is 8800lbs. The truck weighs 7000lbs so according to the book, 1880lbs.

Sure...

Other than the tires saying F-U, I would put another water tank in there and not think twice about it.

Have hauled close to 2 tons in my Dad's farm truck, a 79 Chev 1/2 ton with a flatbed on it. We used to haul water with it too... 8 55 gal drums for 440 gals in all.

Don't know how those little 10 bolts ever held up, but no issues.

It might be able to hold it up but I bet it doesen't stop it from 60 mph worth a damn.Glad your not driving behind me.

 

[nate379]

All on 25-30mph roads. I don't think that truck could do 60mph. Hard to say, speedometer broke 15-20 years ago.

 

[caper]

All on 25-30mph roads. I don't think that truck could do 60mph. Hard to say, speedometer broke 15-20 years ago.

Next time you load it up like that do 30 mph somewhere safe and stand on the brakes like someone pulled out in front of you,compare that with what it does empty.Just cuz it'll go doesn't mean it'll whoa.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Thanks for the memory, my Dad had a 1948 or '49 Chevrolet 'Thriftmaster', which was a 3/4 ton body on a 1 1/2 ton frame, 4 speed, and he hauled home a load of crushed limestone, and the scale ticket was something on the order of 9000 lbs, +/-.

God, I wish I had that pickup, LOTS and LOTS of GOOD memories, not all of them involving driving around SW Iowa, drinking underage hot, cold, warm, Schlitz 'beer'.

Your not just a woofin there, I used to rent an old farmer friend that had one of those ol tanks. They rode better the heavier you loaded them. Also, if you built your sideboards cab high and loaded the truck full they would still handle the load just as easily, course top speed was about 50mph too, but they weren't built for speed then were they.