Hey guys and gals, Do you guys think im gonna break my truck with this quarry work. 22 loads to date and some have been pretty heavy. Im 15 minutes from my house with these loads, i was thinking about how ( Truckie ) is gonna handle the work. Truckie is the name my son gave it. Its a 2017 Chevy silverado 1500.
OK so here is my standard answer. 1) a 1500 is not a truck, my personal opinion 2) the bigger problem is if something was to happen and you are overloaded, what could the possible consequences be? if you are like most people you have worked long and hard to get where you are and it could all be gone in a second. break the truck possible not likely though. yes, I realize what the manufacturer say you can haul/tow but be you have to be realistic too. Ram says a 3500 can tow 30k can it yes should you no. These weight discussions get heated quickly, I am trying to do that, I do not care what can haul/tow what. Think of your liability at this point Everyone say nothing is going to happen, until it does.
as long as you're not overloading you shouldn't be stressing out the leaf springs or much of anything else
Understood, thanks, now i gotta tell my wife i need a 2500 truck cuz this $&(&@&$ car is not gonna cut it
So if i fill it with rounds stacked like the scenery pic and keep it somewhat level that would reduce the risk of wood coming out and causing and accident and also overloading it.
Run the numbers. What is the capacity of your truck verses what will it tow? You can pull a trailer loaded with a total weight of 7k and not have the wear and tear on the truck. I don’t know what the numbers are I was just making up a number. If you don’t want to mess with a trailer then load less in the truck and make more trips. Impressive number of loads from the quarry regardless keep up the great work.
Looks ok to me. If anything, stack higher near the back glass without risking logs coming through it if you have to jam on the brakes. Less weight past the wheels is ideal.
In my opinion that doesn't look too crazy. I drive a 2500 HD and a load of wood like that barely even makes it squat.
That kind of load would have made my old Ram 1500 go on strike (or at least protest). A "half-ton" truck is really just that. Not designed for anything but light loads. If you plan on hauling that kind of weight on a regular basis for the indeterminate future, you should consider a 3/4 ton or 1-ton, which are built to take the weight. I have an F250 now and I have had the bed full to overflowing with firewood, and it barely noticed the load. I got it to squat a little by putting a full cubic yard of wet sand in the bed over the summer, but it was a short (3 mile) drive home. That was right at 2 tons.
Yes, you will wear it out prematurely. Repeated loads (heavy) will cause the floor of the bed metal to stretch and it will become "wavy" and show it by dips between the support members of the box. Not to mention the stress on the uprights (box sides) which will eventually show up by poorly closing tailgate issues. Only smaller loads will help; more trips (short distance anyway) but longer life of the bed metal. But... its a truck, no?
Ya it doesnt do too bad, but i am gonna try and layoff the long log tailgate stacking like its a log truck. You know its too heavy when you feel no control in the front end cuz your almost doing a wheelie
First picture is overloaded. Second picture is fine. If it's getting light in the front end, you know you've over done it. I should know, I do it frequently. Bed is so beat I had to drill holes for the rainwater to drain. Of course, it's over 50 y/o and has been abused its entire life. They're hard to break, at least they used to be.
I load the hell out of my F150. (you've seen the pics). Most of my loads arent too far from home luckily. I personally wouldnt woory, just avoid overloading, driving fast while loaded...all the common sense things. Can you beef up the suspension? Extra leaf springs, air bags? I was told about the bags and am considering doing it. My last F150 i worked hard til the day it died in my driveway. 2001 bought new 8/01 to 10/17 so 16 years of hard work and i hate to admit i dont take good care of it! I have the "cage" from the ladder rack to protect the back window. The metal is badly bowed from wood hitting it. Lessen the loads maybe? Its tough not to overload when you have that much wood to remove...trust me i know!
OK in my defense, you said hauling from the quarry, I figured stone/rock easily over weight limits. Those loads of wood are nothing, I would say if you weighed them you would be under the trucks rating of 1950 lbs. AND trucks have 8 foot beds