I will try not to be judgemental... I towed my rig this weekend and filled to 2/3 capacity all my holding tanks. Most of the time I dump them before I leave. This truck also has 988 front springs. I am within 100#s of capacity of front end and within a ton of rear capacity. (axle caps) Yet I am over 1 ton the DC suggested GCVW. I am over the truck GVW by 200#s. @ 12,440#s. HOW many trucks do you see hauling these type loads with just two rear tires? In my opinion this truck is a long ways from being overloaded. My truck GVW is 12,200# Front axle capacity 5,200# Rear axle capacity 9,350# DC capacity of rig GCVW 23,000# I have included copy of weigh ticket and two photos of rig which clearly show that rig does not have the appearance of being overloaded.
i was over the GVWR, CGVWR and rear TIRE capacity on my truck with the 17's. i SHOULD have bought a dually... but i didnt. in time i will convert this truck to a dually, and will still have 19.5's like i do now. my 19.5's in SRW are not overloaded, and the ride is NICE. but most are overweight in more than one area, but like you said, i think the truck can more than handle it. i have had mine loaded to 26,850 with no problems at all. i think one of the biggest reasons for the class C DL being 26,000 lbs is due to most people not having proper brake setups. my truck stops fine with tripple breaking axles on the trailer and the exhaust brake. works WONDERS. Grant
Normally a trucks GCWR is based on its weakest link, which is the braking systems on most 3500 series trucks. It is very easy to overload these trucks based on the manufactures specifications. I pull every day of the week, I make sure that I am not over on the axle rating (or tires whatever is the case). You do not want to overload either one of these. DC sets your GCWR at that rating because that is the maximun combined weight that the truck brakes are supposed to be able to stop if the trailer brakes fail. I pull around #30k truck and trailer commercially, I have no problems at all, however I make sure my trailer brakes are properly adjusted before each load on the controller and inspect my brakes every 5k on my trailer. Sorry about the long Post.
Just To Be On The Safe Side.............. Hi Guys, I typically stay within the gross combined vehicle weight rating of my truck (GCWR) just to be "comfortably" on the safe side. If my braking system is designed to safely stop 23,500 lbs, then that becomes my default setting. Trailer brakes and exhaust brakes are beautiful things and they make our towing experiences so much more pleasurable!waytogo I like the idea of always assuming that "my trailer brakes can fail", and if they do, I've still got the brakes to stop the truck and trailer Certainly no disrespect to the guys and gals out there that go over GCWR but have great braking systems on their trailers along with an exhaust brake. I have a special respect for those that tow everyday, and have this whole thing down to a science......................much love, guys! FlossBoss
None taken, that is an excellent way to tow safely. Much smarter than being over any specifications your manufacturer sets. I can only speak for myself and what I have seen on the road.There are a lot of people out on the road well over what the manufacturer has rated there pickups for. It doesn't make it okay but I wouldn't be able to make a living hauling 8k in freight. My truck and trailer weigh about 16k empty. I will be looking hard at the new 4500 & 5500 series trucks, simply because they have way bigger braking systems.
Several years ago I was on a towing site and this guy posted his 2500 Cummins, I think it was a 12 valve. Anyway he towed a 35' gooseneck from Houston to Billings, Montana where he had a 35,000lb building loaded onto it and hauled it to Alaska. I remember he said he stayed about 45-50mph and it towed ok. He had pics of the loaded rig with the building disassembled on the trailer. We all thought he was crazy but he pulled it off. waytogo
cumminz thats a nice setup. Ive' seen the dodge dually pulling New Mars, Mobile suites, and Tetons just to name few.waytogo
I just busted out my May '07 Diesel Power mag with their "First Look" at the new Dodge medium duty trucks. The brakes are 15.35" front rotors and 2.60" calipers(I don't know what size my brakes are, but I downshift a lot helping them). Tires are Goodyear 225/70R19.5s on 10 lug wheels. The front axle is a Magna with joints similar to the Ford F450 and F550. The rear axle is a Dana S110 rated at 12,000lbs(4500) and 13,500lbs for the 5500 with a 10.83" ring gear(1" larger than the F550) and the differential will come in 4.10, 4.44 or 4.88 gears. The frame is built with .08" thicker steel than the 3500s and the C-channel rear frame is made of 50,000psi steel. There are four cab-to-axle lengths(60, 84, 108 and 120"). The rear fuel tank is 55gal with an optional 22gal side tank. You can get the Laramie upgraded interior. The article doesn't give towing capacities but I'm pretty sure 30,000lbs is not out of the question. I'm going to the State Fair of Texas in October and will talk to the Dodge Boyz in more detail about these trucks.
Because the factory steel wheels are rated at 2600 pounds carrying 10 ply tires worth 3200 or 3300 pounds each. The axles will carry more than that. My new aluminum HD wheels are rated at 4000 pounds.
