I’ve been making multiple trips to pick up free wood from recent storm damage. I’m looking to minimize my trips. Is it safe to cut and load my bed with rounds AND pull one of those 5x8’ or 10’ single axle utility trailers loaded with rounds? Is it safe, can a 1/2 ton handle that type of work load? Thanks!
Can you carry AND pull with a 1/2 ton pu?
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depends on your truck ratings. if you load to point of the front end looking at the moon -no. so 1/2 ton or 1000 lbs less the tongue weight of the trailer say 300 leaves 700 in the box in theory.
You can definitely load the trailer and the bed, but like blades said look at your truck's weight rating. You can see the gvwr at multiple places online or on the door frame. I'd probably load a half ton with about 750 lbs and fill the trailer in a "hill" pattern. Taller in the middle, shorter on the outside, then tarp it down. Remember that on those smaller trailers you need to put the heaviest bits over the axles, NOT on the tongue section.
Fun fact: A z71, the best of the best that Chevy offers, only has 500 pounds of haul weight due to the way it's set up to handle offroading from the factory. For some of us, that's one 250 lb driver and one 250 lb passenger. Bed stays empty. Go figure that.
Fun fact: A z71, the best of the best that Chevy offers, only has 500 pounds of haul weight due to the way it's set up to handle offroading from the factory. For some of us, that's one 250 lb driver and one 250 lb passenger. Bed stays empty. Go figure that.
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you can pull more than you think. Model T Ford‘s made into mining trucks. The limits are suspension springs and brakes and transmission keeping the speed down. I used to tow about 7000 pounds with a small Isuzu trooper, but I ran in the low range to protect the transmission from the torque load and about 20 miles an hour to not overwork the brakes or to get the tail shaking the dog. Brakes were of more concern to me than any other factor
Actually the limit is the human factor...
If you have lots of experience you can get away with overloading the truck and hauling it safely.
If you haven't been hauling overweight loads for years then don't do it,start small and build your experience and confidence.
All my life i have been asking trucks to do more than they were meant to.If the trailer has brakes that makes a world of difference.My heavy pickup hauling began in a time where trailer brakes was something you heard about,but it wasn't a luxury found in the bush at all.
The heaviest load i hauled with a pickup was 25 barrles of gas on a trailer,7 in the back of the truck and 4 spares,200 miles one way. Zero issues with the truck ,trailer or tires.Truck was a 1990 GM 3500 with a 6.2 diesel.30 MPH going up hill but had good trailer brakes and years of experience.
When i first got my business the work truck was a chevy 1/2 ton,i would haul 16 barrels of waste oil with it a couple times a year.
So let your experience and gut guide you.
Seeing you are on a forum asking about it shows that hauling heavy is new to you,so start small and build your experience.
I also haul heavy with aKW T800 and lowbed,been lowbeding for 38 years. The first few years always had pucker factors,but as you gain experience you get more confidence in the equipment and have a better idea on how things feel.
If you have lots of experience you can get away with overloading the truck and hauling it safely.
If you haven't been hauling overweight loads for years then don't do it,start small and build your experience and confidence.
All my life i have been asking trucks to do more than they were meant to.If the trailer has brakes that makes a world of difference.My heavy pickup hauling began in a time where trailer brakes was something you heard about,but it wasn't a luxury found in the bush at all.
The heaviest load i hauled with a pickup was 25 barrles of gas on a trailer,7 in the back of the truck and 4 spares,200 miles one way. Zero issues with the truck ,trailer or tires.Truck was a 1990 GM 3500 with a 6.2 diesel.30 MPH going up hill but had good trailer brakes and years of experience.
When i first got my business the work truck was a chevy 1/2 ton,i would haul 16 barrels of waste oil with it a couple times a year.
So let your experience and gut guide you.
Seeing you are on a forum asking about it shows that hauling heavy is new to you,so start small and build your experience.
I also haul heavy with aKW T800 and lowbed,been lowbeding for 38 years. The first few years always had pucker factors,but as you gain experience you get more confidence in the equipment and have a better idea on how things feel.
All of this post is dangerous and should be limited to towing and hauling in the back country of Canada where the only one you're endangering is yourself and maybe a moose. For the OP, stick with the gvwr.
Experience doesn't help if you blow a tire which wasn't rated for the load. Or a c clip comes off the axle because the housing flexed to much. Or you brake fluid boils due to over working the brakes. Or hundreds of other potential mechanical failure points at risk when you over load.
GVWR Is what your truck will pull
not how much you can load
You may have a GVWR of 10,000 and a trailer with a GVW of 5000
I being a Canadian tend to run full weight in both truck and trailer
But us people from The Great White North know how to handle a full Load
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Actually no gvwr is the ammont of weight the vehicle can carry. Gcwr is the combined weight rating.
And again knowing how to handle a load does not eliminate mechanical limitations or failure.
Then what you are saying is that your
truck or trailer is going to fail so
don't put anything in it
That's not why I have a truck and trailer
It has to work and are kept in top condition
Never in 55 years had a truck or trailer fail me
Knock on wood
When did I say that? I simply said experience doesn't negate mechanical failure from over loading a vehicle. I have broken springs on trailers I have broken axle shafts and many other things. And no level.of experience will help.you control a truck and trailer if that happens especially if it is overloaded. Most of the failures like that I have had have been off-road and due to abuse but it happens on road as well many times due to overloading. Yes you can do it and get away with it many times. But that doesn't make it safe or responsible. Especially when you are talking about a light duty 1/2 ton truck and single axle trailer. They simply are not built to take that abuse.
Sawset
Minister of Fire
Most guys around here ride around with wide mirrors, wide wheels, plenty of moaning engine sound, and empty trailers. So based on that, best go light, or risk loosing your manhood. I have a Nissan Frontier and 1ton trailer, usually all loaded with rounds, so guesse I'm a little too practical for most. So, hmm, yah it can pull it. GVWR is for icy conditions, down the side of a mountain, with goats jumping out in front, and can you stop and maintain control without filling a diaper. For me, no, so I stick to relatively flat, 3% or less rural roads with dairy cows grazing. In that case overloading a little will hurt no one and no thing.
Sorry to say a lot of people do not load and drive for road conditions
But you have to maintain your equipment. My truck and trailers are tools
and my tools are kept in good shape maintained. not abused not overworked
but used to there limits. This may be it Know your equipment and your limits
But you have to maintain your equipment. My truck and trailers are tools
and my tools are kept in good shape maintained. not abused not overworked
but used to there limits. This may be it Know your equipment and your limits
That is exactly what I said. Know the mechanical limitations of your equipment. When towing that means follow the gcvw. And have tires that are the proper load range and in good condition.
Yes experience helps you there...
I stop every 50 miles and check my load ,tires ,bearings, ect.
I can feel when there is something wrong because of all the seat time i have,"experience"
I routinely have to tow heavy oversize loads,with the blessing of the local police department because i am the only tow truck in a 100 mile radius.
I rarely drive using brakes,they are for emergency's.My fuel truck is still on the same set of brakes as when i bought it. When i learned to drive my dad built me a dune buggy,i helped a bit. It never had brakes.The first job i had running a loader in a gold mine moving tailings,it never had brakes.
None of that was safe,but it was all doable.It made you think 2 or 3 steps ahead all the time.Something i still do today as i am driving a legal load or a overweight load,always thinking worst case senerio and how to avoid it.
I got a call the other night from a friend that started driving truck as a tandem team with her husband.Last summer we did a few trips with her driving for experiance.All light loads 3 empty 20' containers.One of the things i told her was driving truck is long stretches of boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror.
She was listening and paying attention to everything we were telling her . She called after her first moment of sheer terror to thank me for teaching her all i did,She had just manged to avoid a major accedent because of the important things i had told her to watch for when driving,made me feel great that i helped her when she was on the other side of the country.
The funny thing is if you look at Utube videos of overloaded rigs it's always the populated areas where the dumb stuff happens. Us hicks out in the woods actually have to look after ourselves so we usually just get the job done safely because there is no backup.
City folks do dumb stuff because they always have someone to bail them out.Their brains are not wired for survival.
Up here you have to continuously be on guard for your life,because you are the only one that is keeping you safe.
If i folk up on one of my heavy loads i don't have a cop that will save me,or an ambulance that is minutes away to save me.Last year a emergency medivac took 6 hours from the time they told me i was getting medivaced till my ass was in a hospital bed.That is the reality i live in.Had there been something drasticly wrong with me i would have been dead by the time i was in a hospital.I was lucky and the Doc was being overly cautious, there wasn't anything wrong with me.
Stelcom66
Minister of Fire
I have an older Z71 Silverado. That is an interesting fact, and actually kind of a bummer. My 1500 appears to be a 2500 because of the larger tires and slightly higher ride height. I always thought that it also meant at least as much if not slighter more hauling capacity due to the tires and stiffer springs, but it appears to be just the opposite. I never checked the GVW. Seems to do fine loaded up though. It takes a lot of weight to notice the back end compress even slightly, more than other half tons I've owned. As stated elsewhere, the policy is don't overload and drive safely.
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