For those who haul your own pellets....

schoondog said:

Gio,
That rating is GVWR... weight of trailer and load. Usually on a trailer withh single axle and no brakes 1000# load limit. ( actual 990#) Short easy distance you can overload, illegally. Be very careful that your tow rig can stop what you are hauling. To be sure if you are in an accident and cops think yur weight was an issue, you will get a nice ticket. What jtakeman said. I put a ton in my 1/2 ton chevy, but if I rear end someone and cop wants to he can write one for overweight. But 1/2 ton in truck and 1/2 ton in trailer, your good to go. I use the shop 1 ton and car trailer to haul 4 tons, 1 in truck and 3 on trailer (7,000# rated trailer ) all OK.

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Gio said:

trbinrat said:

Ok here's my take on this. You should look at more than just cost and gvwr. But quality also. look at the gvw 2000# and then look at it's pay load 1700# well that says the trailer weight is 300#, not much in my book. This is a cheap trailer that is for carrying lumber home from Home Depot and not for being over loaded with pellets.

These trailers have a weak spot. The tongue will bend just in front of the bed if over loaded to much.

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Yeah, it`s pretty cheap , wired for lights and all but it`s still rated at 2000 GVW. Believe me , I`m not gonna to overload it.
I have a friend who works there and has the same one. He`s been hauling his pellets 13 miles home with it 3 yrs and his isn`t bent yet.

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I have to agree with schoondog on this. That trailer is not made to haul a full 2000# regardless what the GVW says. That trailer is for hauling snow blowers, garden tractors, tillers, ATV's... not a ton of pellets! While I will agree that there is probably some safety built into tose numbers (you would hope) I will tell you that trailer will probably shimmy like hell with that weight... especially if you have to maintain any sort of speed on a freeway.

What is your truck anyways? How far would you be moving the pellets?

It depends on your tow vehicle .If it is a pick up and you can put part of the load in the truck then you will be good to go . If you are going to tow it with a car then I would say no .

I put these in my truck very easy to install and stopped making every one think I had my high beams on. http://www.truckspring.com/timbren_285.html?affid=5

KarlP said:

rottiman said:

if your insurance company gets wind (likely from the accident report) that you are overloaded, you will probably find out that they are not going to pay up and it is your problem.

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Urban legend. If you pay your premium and being overweight isn't specifically included in the policy, the insurance pays up. Most people know they cover the damage if you hit someone while running a red light, going the wrong way, at three times the BAC limit and three times the speed limit. Why do people think they won't pay up if you are 300lbs overweight?

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you should come to Ontario and test your "URBAN LEGEND" theory up here, let me know how you make out...............................

Some states look VERY CLOSELY at how your pickup is registered. Many have 3/4, 1, or larger trucks registered as 1/2 ton to save costs. If you get caught hauling more than it's registered for even though it's a 3500 dually, you are going to pay BIG TIME! With that big stack of pellets sitting high up in the bed, it just asks DOT to stop you (if you have my luck). It's better to unstack and level them out in the bed so it's less obvious or unseen. ;-P

All the load levelers, overload springs and air shocks aren't going to save your wheel bearings. Just think about it after the 13th load of pellets you've carried home in you're pick up truck. Now your doing 75 80 down the highway with your wife and kids in the truck now's the time to think about thou's poor wheel bearings.


Yes there's a lot of safety factor built it and yes people do it all the time and yes I'm guilty as the next guy but there are reasons they make 3/4 ton trucks or trailers in different sizes.

Just remember the life you save maybe MINE :ahhh:

I haul my pellets with my 06' dodge 2500 cummins. Usually put 1 full ton on the pallet right in the bed, then brake down another pallet and put what will fit in the bed and the rest goes in the backseat of the cab ( I have a Quad Cab ). No problem accelerating or stopping , but you need to drive carefully. Good thing I only have about 1.5 miles to drive from where I pick them up to my house.

I have a 08 tundra 5.7 tow pkg I hauled four ton on a friends 5 ton equiptment trailer it never flinched I will post a pic of it towing it will have to habve old lady help probably

trbinrat said:

All the load levelers, overload springs and air shocks aren't going to save your wheel bearings. Just think about it after the 13th load of pellets you've carried home in you're pick up truck. Now your doing 75 80 down the highway with your wife and kids in the truck now's the time to think about thou's poor wheel bearings.


Yes there's a lot of safety factor built it and yes people do it all the time and yes I'm guilty as the next guy but there are reasons they make 3/4 ton trucks or trailers in different sizes.

Just remember the life you save maybe MINE :ahhh:

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From my experience you will HEAR and FEEL a wheel bearing going bad especially at lower speeds (~15 - 30 mph). For a wheel bearing to outright fail without any warning you would REALLY have to torque it somehow and in that case it would probably fail completely while the truck was overloaded not after the fact.

Don't get me wrong.. I agree, eventually things wear down. But I own a truck not a soccer mom vehicle. Hauling 3 to 4 tons of pellets per year is the most overloaded my truck ever gets. Everything else that I haul is well under the trucks capacities.

Honestly, I'm more concerned about the suspension system on the truck then anything else.... which is why I'm currently looking into getting a 16' utility trailer.

macman said:

Gio said:

.....I`ll bet that Cummins you have don`t have any problem towing a ton or two.

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No, that motor makes some good power & torque, but you need ear plugs to own one....I call them Cummins rattletraps.....loudest diesel I ever heard. :ahhh:

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You'd be amazed how quiet the new common rail injection diesels are. And clean.

Crazy question here. If the intent is to transport them from a place 10 minutes away, what's the harm in making two trips to move that ton of pellets?

I'll come get your pellets for you. I'm plated for 50 ton so nobody should be worried.

sham wow hit the nail on the head put 3/4 of a ton on the trailer that way your safe and legal if you get 3 ton you will only have to make one extra trip . I think that i would be more worried a bout the weight capacity of the tires. (P) rated tires most likely are not rated high enough to exceed the Gvw of the vehicle and will blow out with out warning.
By the way the common rail cummins are very quit but with a few mods they will scream!!

whippingwater said:

I'll come get your pellets for you. I'm plated for 50 ton so nobody should be worried.

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I would hate to buy tires for that trailer!

For years i've loaded 2 ton's on a 1996 F250HD had to be carefull over RR tracks.....creak creak!
Now i have a F150 and i do carry 1 tons ok, 1.3 pallet might be pushing it.