So the neighbor lady calls.....

Sweet. I've actually been wondering about weight limits on trucks. Ours is an F150, 1500 pound capacity in the bed... this is my first truck, so I'm still getting the hang of it. How careful should I be about overloading the bed? I've gotten a load of oak splits in the back and I calculated that to be about 1500 pounds. I'd be afraid of hurting the suspension if I put 3500 in the back, or even 2000. How delicate are these things?

Jags said:

Nate Finch said:

How delicate are these things?

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I do not recommend overloading any vehicle. It has a tendency to break things. That being said, it depends. There is no even playing field for trucks. I know this truck - it has very heavy truck tires (in the pic the tires are only inflated to 32 psi - they have the rating to go to 60 psi). My truck is a half ton also, but it is very heavily sprung. 2000 pounds will barely level it out.

Don't think they are bullet proof. As I stated in my post above - I don't make a habit of loading it like this, but it was less than a mile away. I would think that your F150 could safely handle 2000 pounds, but look at the springs and check the tire ratings.

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Most vehicle ratings are based on the tire readings....aka the "tread act" sticker on your door. Your axels and springs are rated much higher than that, most likely.

My F150 is rated at 1,600 lbs, but that is nothing for the axel and springs. If I'm driving on a smooth back road at low speed I don't hesitate to load 2,500 + on there for short distances and slow driving. It squats it down, but I still have plenty of room to the bump stops...and it stops just fine.

You want to know what the trucks are really capable of, look what farmers, landscapers, and contractors put on their trucks. I've worked for all three and they are notorious for overloading trucks. I've way, way, WAY (about 3 times over capacity) over loaded a truck on a number of occasions and never broken anything. It was some scary driving though and I don't recommend it.

lukem said:

You want to know what the trucks are really capable of, look what farmers, landscapers, and contractors put on their trucks. I've worked for all three and they are notorious for overloading trucks. I've way, way, WAY (about 3 times over capacity) over loaded a truck on a number of occasions and never broken anything. It was some scary driving though and I don't recommend it.

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you mean like this Ram 2500?
http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=59398

How about the bearings?

I have a 2003 Ram Quad 1500 4x4 and I swear my bearings are making noise since I've started using it for scrounging firewood. I've loaded mine like that many times (short runs)

Jags, that is a very nice haul. I would not worry about a short haul like that at the speed you went. I've done worse!

That is a nice display of what can be done in 45 mins.

Jags said:

Neighbor lady - Hey - you want some hackberry and a branch of White Ash? They were gonna charge me to haul it away.

Jags - Why sure - Always happy to help out a neighbor. I'll be over in the next day or two.

Easy pickins - drove up, cut up, loaded, home in 45 min.

I don't make it a practice to load the old Dodge like this, but it was a short trip at 10 mph. It takes about 3500 pounds to squat that rig like that. Pulled up to the splitting area and had it split in another hour. I love it when you are known as "the guy that burns wood". :lol:

Sorry for the crappy phone pic (dang crackberry phone anyhow.)

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This is how I get 90% of my wood

You're not going to break things by loading over your vehicles rating. If so you'd have a WHOLE LOT of farmer out there with trucks being constantly broken. It's a regular occurrence to overload trucks on the farm. Typically vehicles have a factor of safety of 4-8 on payload ratings. That means, theoretically you can load 4-8 times as much payload as they say before things break. Typically FOS doesn't take rust, large bumps, pot-holes etc into consideration so I wouldn't recommend loading to 4-8 times FOS, but it could theoretically be done. The thing you need to pay attention to is tire ratings. Because of the way tires work, their load ratings don't have as large of FOS, so if you go over the ratings and you have to drive a reasonable distance, you may damage your tires.


With all that being said, I've had right at 1 cord of green White Oak on my GMC K2500 before and it was barely squatting, and the tires barely even showed any strain. That load was every bit of 5-6k pounds, or nearly double the payload rating. If I could fit more on it I would have done it too; but that was less than 2 miles from home. My next wood score is about 5 miles from home there are some pretty big hills, curves, bumps etc so I won't be loading nearly that much, mostly because I would be afraid to lose some and I would like to be able to see better.

Jags said:

I love it when you are known as "the guy that burns wood".

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Yes!

I've only been burning for one year, but already I've had this experience. A neighbor guy that I hadn't met came over this summer and offered up a couple of birch trees that he had cut down. They were all bucked to 16" lengths but not split. Wonderful addition to my woodpile, and just a few doors down. Plus I met a neighbor I hadn't known. Life can be good!
-Speak

Bigg_Redd said:

Jags said:

Neighbor lady - Hey - you want some hackberry and a branch of White Ash? They were gonna charge me to haul it away.

Jags - Why sure - Always happy to help out a neighbor. I'll be over in the next day or two.

Easy pickins - drove up, cut up, loaded, home in 45 min.

I don't make it a practice to load the old Dodge like this, but it was a short trip at 10 mph. It takes about 3500 pounds to squat that rig like that. Pulled up to the splitting area and had it split in another hour. I love it when you are known as "the guy that burns wood". :lol:

Sorry for the crappy phone pic (dang crackberry phone anyhow.)

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This is how I get 90% of my wood

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Me too

Nate Finch said:

Sweet. I've actually been wondering about weight limits on trucks. Ours is an F150, 1500 pound capacity in the bed... this is my first truck, so I'm still getting the hang of it. How careful should I be about overloading the bed? I've gotten a load of oak splits in the back and I calculated that to be about 1500 pounds. I'd be afraid of hurting the suspension if I put 3500 in the back, or even 2000. How delicate are these things?

Click to expand...

When the front wheelscome off the ground, throw afew logs off for next trip.

cptoneleg said:

Nate Finch said:

Sweet. I've actually been wondering about weight limits on trucks. Ours is an F150, 1500 pound capacity in the bed... this is my first truck, so I'm still getting the hang of it. How careful should I be about overloading the bed? I've gotten a load of oak splits in the back and I calculated that to be about 1500 pounds. I'd be afraid of hurting the suspension if I put 3500 in the back, or even 2000. How delicate are these things?

Click to expand...

When the front wheelscome off the ground, throw afew logs off for next trip.

Click to expand...

Negative.... just throw those few logs in the cab with yourself. Bingo...front wheels back down :coolgrin:

I try to load as much as I can up against the cab.
When hauling wood, I take a piece of plywood to protect the window
& load the big heavies against the cab as tall as I can stack it & strap them down.
2 high rows & then smaller rows as you get closer to the tailgate end.
Anything ahead of the wheel wells helps balance the weight & puts some weight forward.
Easier to steer if the front wheels are touching the ground

I don't think there's anywhere near 3500 lbs in that 1st pic.There's maybe 1/2 cord there which
might come in at around 2000-2200 lbs for green wood.

5000-6000 lbs in a Chev 2500 and it's barely squatting!,tires not straining, COME ON
BTW,what kind of wood weighs 6000 lbs/cord anyways?
Just to put this into perspective;that would be the same as loading 2 FULL LIFTS OF OSB
(or 3 lifts of spruce plywood) into the back of that pickup truck!

Yeah.. me thinks 6k in a one ton or less truck... only way it aint squatting is if you got air bags or some other suspension mods.

Or maybe its just the bump stops preventing it from squatting any more :lol:

Or it just depends on your definition of squatting. With a cord on the F350 (and some weight from the 3-4k trailer too) the rear hitch drops oh prolly 4 or maybe 6 inches. But the truck still sits nearly level since it started out with a good rake and also the front may have sagged a bit as well to compensate.

I agree with who said pay attention to your tire rating first and foremost - and max sure to check the pressure. When I'm hauling the tires got 80psi in em. Last thing you want is a blow out when your cruising down the road with a few thousand on the back. Or a month later after you overheated the sidewalls and your family and you are cruising the highway at 75...

BTW Jags... nice deal! Wish I had neighbors like that! Actually I kind of like not having neighbors, but I miss out on these things...

it's really tough to estimate weight in a truck by sight or sag, go on over to the nearest recycle place and drive over the scales.
I was told by the builder and prev owner my trailer was 1000lb empty and when I went thru the scales found it was 1500lb !!
That being said I use trailers and by far the most critical item is the tires and load rating. I have had several flats and even one blowout that happened with a full load in a 8x10 trailer and the axle came out and bounced OVER the car behind me and down into the woods at the side of the road. Scared the crap out of both of us ! FWIW the "new" trailer Igot after that is a tandem axle and with proper trailer rated tires can haul quite a load .

Great load and you were able to help someone!

okotoks guy said:

I don't think there's anywhere near 3500 lbs in that 1st pic.There's maybe 1/2 cord there which
might come in at around 2000-2200 lbs for green wood.

5000-6000 lbs in a Chev 2500 and it's barely squatting!,tires not straining, COME ON
BTW,what kind of wood weighs 6000 lbs/cord anyways?
Just to put this into perspective;that would be the same as loading 2 FULL LIFTS OF OSB
(or 3 lifts of spruce plywood) into the back of that pickup truck!

Click to expand...

Uh, green white oak? I said it right in my post if you were reading it. What weight/cord do you have for green white oak? As far as the squatting goes, I couldn't believe it either, I was trying to see if I could get the truck to squat some and I really didn't succeed much; it wasn't on the bumpers, but it was just barely down on the overload springs. Not sure if it's had any suspension mods; dad and I have always wondered because it's an old phone company truck and we've never been able to get it to squat like other 2500s. But that's besides the point, you can still safely go well above your payload capacity even if the truck is squatting a lot; many farmers do it daily all over the country.

My work truck is an f350 dualie, crew cab, powerstroke, loaded etc......It started life as a pickup and now has
a utility body on it. Anyway it weighs 14,000 + lbs with tools and 100 gallon fuel tank filled. I am not sure what it weighed
as a pickup but that has to be at least 6,000 lbs more. It,s not even touching the helpers yet.

CountryBoy19 said:

okotoks guy said:

I don't think there's anywhere near 3500 lbs in that 1st pic.There's maybe 1/2 cord there which
might come in at around 2000-2200 lbs for green wood.

5000-6000 lbs in a Chev 2500 and it's barely squatting!,tires not straining, COME ON
BTW,what kind of wood weighs 6000 lbs/cord anyways?
Just to put this into perspective;that would be the same as loading 2 FULL LIFTS OF OSB
(or 3 lifts of spruce plywood) into the back of that pickup truck!

Click to expand...

Uh, green white oak? I said it right in my post if you were reading it. What weight/cord do you have for green white oak? As far as the squatting goes, I couldn't believe it either, I was trying to see if I could get the truck to squat some and I really didn't succeed much; it wasn't on the bumpers, but it was just barely down on the overload springs. Not sure if it's had any suspension mods; dad and I have always wondered because it's an old phone company truck and we've never been able to get it to squat like other 2500s. But that's besides the point, you can still safely go well above your payload capacity even if the truck is squatting a lot; many farmers do it daily all over the country.

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white oak seasoned is over 4,000lbs for a cord and close to 6,000 when green.

Here is a scale measured 4,300#'s of 6-7 year dead walnut in my Dodge. Bed is 8' x 9' tossed in but fairly tight.