I need some gravel for my driveway. Freezing/warm temps have turned it into gumbo. Any great harm in driving Aton of gravel 20 miles in my half ton chevy?
Ton of gravel in a half ton pickup???
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devinsdad
Member
C'mon man its a Chevy. We hauled 4.12 tons of sand in a Chevy 1 ton dump the other day. But some quarries won't let you leave their yard if you are overweight.
Half tonners have non full floating rear axles....(Means the weight is carried by the drive axle not the housing)IMO i wouldnt go 20 miles.............OH AND ITS A CHEVY
Dakotas Dad
Minister of Fire
I found if you are going to live like a man, but roll with a 1/2 ton pickup, or in my case a Expedition Eddie Bauer, because I'm all manly and stuff, but air conditioned seats are the shiznat in the summer time.. you need a trailer. Or whats best, and the way I roll, a FRIEND with a trailer.. ;-)
a ton of gravel in a 1/2 ton truck is a sure way to break an axle.
a ton of gravel in a 1/2 ton truck is a sure way to break an axle.
weight plus speed = problems. but slow speeds, we hauled way more than that on the farm. and I've hauled almost 6000 on a one ton GMC made into trailer.
the issues are tires (pump to max), very slow speeds, not hit any bumps, and not have much much brakes.
I am not recommending, but have done it myself......
the issues are tires (pump to max), very slow speeds, not hit any bumps, and not have much much brakes.
I am not recommending, but have done it myself......
I would load the truck till the Axel just touches the rubber stops and then roll over the scale and see what you have .
Gravel is heavy and you will be disappointed how little a ton is .
A tone is about 3x3x2 or less if its frozen .
I had 5 ton in my 3 ton truck the other day, lucky i wasn't going far .
John
Gravel is heavy and you will be disappointed how little a ton is .
A tone is about 3x3x2 or less if its frozen .
I had 5 ton in my 3 ton truck the other day, lucky i wasn't going far .
John
Go to the gravel pit and load it up to your rated GVWR, they won't let you overload anyways. Do yourself a big favor and make sure your tires are in good shape and properly inflated...nothing worse than popping a tire off its bead while the bed has a ton of gravel in it.
Odds are good that loading up to your GVWR will probably net you a ton anyways...your truck probably weights about 4500lb or so empty and I think your GVWR is around 6800-7200lb...check your door sticker.
Long story short, you'll be fine if you don't do anything foolish.
Odds are good that loading up to your GVWR will probably net you a ton anyways...your truck probably weights about 4500lb or so empty and I think your GVWR is around 6800-7200lb...check your door sticker.
Long story short, you'll be fine if you don't do anything foolish.
homebrewz
Minister of Fire
Yep.. another 40 mile round trip is better than a broken axle. You might consider bringing a friend and two shovels. Self loading the truck will ensure the loader doesn't overfill it. It goes quick with two people. Bring hard hats.. they won't let you out of the truck in the yard without one.
Sent the wife out one day to pick up some soil for the front yard. She came back and I saw the truck (04 Ford F150) I was like 'WOAH - how much did you get!??' Looked at the ticket and it was 30XX pounds. Needless to say it was setting pretty low in the back and I probably wouldn't go that heavy again. But I'm sure a full load of hedge is 2000 pounds+ --a cord is listed at ~4300 pounds dry.
So it certainly can be done. But only do what you're comfortable with. You will probably make it, but if something goes bad, it could be a pretty big wreck.
So it certainly can be done. But only do what you're comfortable with. You will probably make it, but if something goes bad, it could be a pretty big wreck.
Why not two trips at a half ton each? could save a lot more money on repairs than you would spend in the extra fuel.
tcassavaugh
Minister of Fire
You guys all know that the term half ton as it applies to a pickup truck has no bearing on its actual load capacity, right? 50-60 years ago a half ton truck was rated to carry a half ton, not its very different. A half ton truck has a specific GVWR and fawr and rawr rating, mandated by the federal govt (I think). Subtract your truck's actual weight with you in it from your GVWR and you know your safe loading capacity...its probably somewhere in the 2000lb range.
WoodMann
Minister of Fire
You're getting a big NO over here. As mentioned earlier that semi- floating rear axle is the weak link; not that it's bad, it's just not at stout as the full floaters in heavier trucks. Take the extra time and make a couple trips; it'll save you down time and repair bills down the road...............
EatenByLimestone
Minister of Fire
I once put a ton in the back of my Dakota. But I wasn't going far with it and it was straight, flat driving. I know it was a ton because it was bags of concrete.
Matt
Matt
gpcollen1
Minister of Fire
joat717
New Member
It'll be fine check you tires and roll on. I've seen an hauled way more in a so called "half ton". plus it's a chevy
raven
New Member
i loaded an old 96 ford 150 6 stick with at least a ton of gravel. other than the feeling the front end might not be touching the ground at all times and having to replace the rear gas tank after the trip it was no big deal... lol go for it ;-)
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
This may have been true once upon a time or maybe with another brand of truck but a GM half ton carries much LESS than a half ton legally. The typical 4x4 chevy half ton weighs 5500+ lbs, my last one weighed 5800 lbs empty. The GVWR is 6200 lbs. That's 400 lbs of gravel.mayhem said:
Have you even asked about a price for delivery? A ton is about 2/3 yard of gravel and not nearly enough to make a dent in your gumbo driveway. The man with a dumptruck will show up and gate spread several yards of gravel to get you through the winter. So think along the lines of ten tons and a delivery fee of a few bucks.
Lots of work to unload the pickup too.
SolarAndWood
Minister of Fire
The delivery around here is brutal. When I pick up 4 ton with my dump trailer, I pay $40. When I have 12 ton delivered to a jobsite, it is $400.Highbeam said:
Update:
So, I sneak out of work a couple hours early no big deal as today is federal holiday. Head to the quarry and ask for a half ton of1 1/2 " stone. Old boy in a large bucket dozer deposits one scoop into my bed. I go back to the weigh station and it turns out I got 1 ton. Only cost me $10.70. No problems on the drive home.
What a pain in the butt it was to unload, one shovel-full at a time.
BTW.... I got a quote for a full load (23 tons), delivered. It was under $300... no brainer for me as soon as it dries out a bit.
So, I sneak out of work a couple hours early no big deal as today is federal holiday. Head to the quarry and ask for a half ton of1 1/2 " stone. Old boy in a large bucket dozer deposits one scoop into my bed. I go back to the weigh station and it turns out I got 1 ton. Only cost me $10.70. No problems on the drive home.
What a pain in the butt it was to unload, one shovel-full at a time.
BTW.... I got a quote for a full load (23 tons), delivered. It was under $300... no brainer for me as soon as it dries out a bit.
I disagree. Its simply not possible to buy a full size pickup truck with a 400lb carrying capacity...at least not a "normal" pickup...Chevy lists a 6200lb gvwr for the hybrid...not sure of its curb weight. Think about it, you're saying if you put two grown men in the back of a pickup truck that you're over its carrying capacity. No disrespect intended, but you've got a math error somewhere...I suspect its in the weight of the truck.Highbeam said:
I don't have access to a half ton pickup to check right now, but all I can find online are GVWR of either 6800 or 6900lb for chevy 1500's (Silverado "classic" is 6900, the current body style is 6800). Edmunds lists the same trucks as about 4200-4300 lb curb weight...add in all fluids and a driver and you're nowhere near 4800lb. My 3/4 ton Silverado (ext cab, 4x4) weighs in at 5800lb with me in the driver's seat, a full tank of gas and the push plates for my plow installed. No way a half ton is anywhere near that weight...those things weigh in well under 5000lb.
A ton is pushing reason as far as the rateed carrying capacity, but the max safe payload capacity is waay, way closer to a full ton than to 400lb.
DiscoInferno
Minister of Fire
I've hauled 1800 lbs of gravel in a Ford Ranger 4x4. Drove pretty well, all things considered. Didn't mean to get quite that much, but a front end loader isn't a precision instrument. Guy at the scale just sort of chuckled.
I've probably had over a ton of wood in there once or twice, mudflaps were scraping the road.
I've probably had over a ton of wood in there once or twice, mudflaps were scraping the road.
I'm finding this thread funny.
Look inside the door jam and see what the gross vehicle wieght is. When you buy stone the first thing they do is weigh your truck. Then they dump on the stone, then you get weighted again and they subtract weight 1 from weight 2 and the difference is how much stone you have on the truck - but Weight 2 shouldn't exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight maximum listed on the sticker.
We have a quary/crushing plant not 5 miles from here that I've been buying stone from for 30 years. Last fall they would not sell me stone. The reason was they now demand to see your registration before they will weight you the first time. My registration (3/4-ton Ford Superduty with Diesel Engine and towing option suspension) says 8,000 pounds ad the truck weight 8,400 pounds dry. They refused to put so much as a handfull of rocks on it because they said it would be overloaded.
That said, before that, back when they were interested in selling to individuals, they would routinely load my truck with up to 2 tons of crushed stone on it. Over the years I managed to break on rear spring hauling. The spring cost $157 and was easy enough to change (if you have air).
When I haul wood back to the house we only go a very short distance with it, generally 1/2 mile or less, and I often load the truck to the same kind of weight as that 2-tone load of gravel.
So you can put on way to heave loads, you shouldn't do it, but you can.
On, and I run tires on the truck(265/75/17 8-Ply) at the maximum airpressure unless I'm towing, in which case the fronts come down 10 and the backs come down 5.
Look inside the door jam and see what the gross vehicle wieght is. When you buy stone the first thing they do is weigh your truck. Then they dump on the stone, then you get weighted again and they subtract weight 1 from weight 2 and the difference is how much stone you have on the truck - but Weight 2 shouldn't exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight maximum listed on the sticker.
We have a quary/crushing plant not 5 miles from here that I've been buying stone from for 30 years. Last fall they would not sell me stone. The reason was they now demand to see your registration before they will weight you the first time. My registration (3/4-ton Ford Superduty with Diesel Engine and towing option suspension) says 8,000 pounds ad the truck weight 8,400 pounds dry. They refused to put so much as a handfull of rocks on it because they said it would be overloaded.
That said, before that, back when they were interested in selling to individuals, they would routinely load my truck with up to 2 tons of crushed stone on it. Over the years I managed to break on rear spring hauling. The spring cost $157 and was easy enough to change (if you have air).
When I haul wood back to the house we only go a very short distance with it, generally 1/2 mile or less, and I often load the truck to the same kind of weight as that 2-tone load of gravel.
So you can put on way to heave loads, you shouldn't do it, but you can.
On, and I run tires on the truck(265/75/17 8-Ply) at the maximum airpressure unless I'm towing, in which case the fronts come down 10 and the backs come down 5.
Just curious, whya re you using 8 ply tires on a 3/4 ton truck? I've always been under the impressionthat 10 ply (load E) tires are the correct rating for a truck with that GWVR.
My local gravel pit will no longer sell to homeowners. They have 8' wide loaders as their smallest loading equipment and apparently someone got their back window blown out in their pickup truck. So now if I want to haul my own gravel I have to borrow a dump truck or drive an extra 15 miles one way to get to the next nearest gravel pit that will load a pickup truck.
My local gravel pit will no longer sell to homeowners. They have 8' wide loaders as their smallest loading equipment and apparently someone got their back window blown out in their pickup truck. So now if I want to haul my own gravel I have to borrow a dump truck or drive an extra 15 miles one way to get to the next nearest gravel pit that will load a pickup truck.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
I am not mistaken. My 1998 K1500 chevy 4x4 pickup with every option available was 5800 lbs empty weighed several times at DOT scales, quarries, and even the dump. I tow my tractor and an RV so combined weight rating and gross vehicle rating are extremely important. You first have to realize that a half ton pickup is expected to have luxurious features to be used by the middle class as a commuter. They often have the same body and engine as a 3/4 ton and only go lightweight on the running gear. With a 6200#GVWR my legal payload was 400 lbs, yes, two fat chicks. You can buy a new truck with higher GVWR or you could just buy a one ton truck to fix this problem.mayhem said:
As soon as the opportunity arose I sold that wonderful chevy (I really liked that truck) and bought the big F350. This was for safety while loaded as well as the upgrade to crew cab. The Ford is only a couple of feet longer and the engine weighs about double but the whole Ford weighs 7500# empty. The 9900 lb GVWR allows 2400# of cargo assuming I don't go over on axle weight.
It is wrong to think that anything but a stripped down full size truck weighs less than 5000. You can NOT assume the listed curb weight is correct, it is practically never correct. Our message is the same though, weigh the actual truck and then compare to the GVWR to calculate the legal payload.
I did get a little burned on registered weight vs. stickered GVWR. The licensing lady tried to save me some money by selling me 8000 lbs of GVWR the first year I owned the truck. This year I made sure that the registration says 10,000 so that I can use all of my truck's GVWR legally. It cost 20$ more.
Oh and they stopped using "ply count" a long time ago. Now they use load ranges (LR) which require that I use LR E tires on the ford. The tire requirement is right there on the sticker by the GVWR. As I recall, a LRE tire is traditionally a 10 ply tire. The LR E tires each have enough capacity to make sure that I will never exceed a tire rating so long as I respect my axle ratings.
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