totaldla
NW Oregon
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Terryallan wrote:
As for increasing the GVWR of a vehicle. again there are many, many things to take into consideration. Simply adding heavier tires, and stiffer springs as suggested just won't do it. After all when you changed tires, Did you upgrade the rims? Did you upgrade the hubs? How about the brakes, up grade them as well? How about the gearsets, up grade them as well? Not all the same you know. And not all vehicles even with the same ratio get the same rear gears.
Change components. That's all thats needed. How far you want to go depends on your wallet. Obviously there is a point of diminishing returns, but handling an extra 500lbs of payload is pretty darned easy.
Putting E-rated tires on stock rims is fine if you're just looking for a stability increase. And standard gear sets are just fine if you're not doing tractor pulls. Changing gear ratios mainly affects drive character, shifting engine rpm vs speed.
Upgrading hubs and brakes is important if you can't figure out trailer brakes.
Point is that the payload police on this forum are simply ignorant of what the average person can do to improve the load-handling capability of their current rig - and for much less than the forum-recommended 1 ton dually.
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SoundGuy
S Ontario
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totaldla wrote:Point is that the payload police on this forum are simply ignorant of what the average person can do to improve the load-handling capability of their current rig - and for much less than the forum-recommended 1 ton dually.
A typical ridiculous statement ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/doh.gif "doh") - the OP has a 1/2 ton truck which really isn't suitable for the particular trailer he has so his best solution is to simply upgrade to a 3/4 ton OR downsize the trailer to one his current 1/2 ton can safely tow. A 1 ton dually isn't part of the conversation. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/rolleyes.gif "rolleyes")
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totaldla
NW Oregon
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Yea, no. You are a few fries short of a happy meal on this one. The OP has options beyond swapping vehicles or trailers.
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Copperhead
Central Iowa
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Point is, a good 3/4 ton is as cheap or even cheaper to buy than the most beefed out 1/2 ton from the OEM. You can thank the OEM marketing department and general market demands for that. For instance, a Chevy 1500 Z71 max tow with 6.2L and 8 speed with costs more than a Chevy 2500 Z71 standard 6.0L gasser, yet the 2500 has a payload of 1000 lb more than the 1500 and a tow rating of 2000 lb more.
In 2015, I bought a 2500 Double cab, Z71, LT, 6.0L with 4.10 diffs. Including snowplow prep and tow package with gooseneck/5th wheel prep and integrated brake controller. Got it for $39,000, driving off the lot with a Line-X bed liner job thrown in, along with Auto Armor paint protection package and rust protection package. Good luck getting a 1500 with 6.2L Max tow Z71 LT with equivalent goodies off the lot for that low of a price. And while the 6.2L might have a little more HP and Torque, it means very little if one cannot actually use it all effectively. And the 6.2L would be limited to Premium fuel, which in some areas is the highest cost fuel going right now. Where as the 6.0L in the 2500 could use anything but diesel in it. Any grade of gasoline and is flex fuel.
While one can do a lot to get a 1/2 ton to do the same things as a 3/4 ton, one is dollars ahead by just getting the 3/4 ton to begin with. including beefier frame and brakes over what is offered in the Class 1 1/2 tons.
I realize that some might like to think their 1/2 ton is a truck, but in many cases a 1/2 ton is just a car or SUV on steroids. Even the jump from class 1 to class 2 is a major jump.
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SoundGuy
S Ontario
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totaldla wrote:Point is that the payload police on this forum are simply ignorant of what the average person can do to improve the load-handling capability of their current rig - and for much less than the forum-recommended 1 ton dually.
SoundGuy wrote:A typical ridiculous statement - the OP has a 1/2 ton truck which really isn't suitable for the particular trailer he has so his best solution is to simply upgrade to a 3/4 ton OR downsize the trailer to one his current 1/2 ton can safely tow. A 1 ton dually isn't part of the conversation.
totaldla wrote:Yea, no. You are a few fries short of a happy meal on this one. The OP has options beyond swapping vehicles or trailers.
Cutesy replies don't enhance the content of the message which is absurd as the OP isn't going to start rebuilding his 1/2 ton in hopes of somehow making it something it isn't. Nor is anyone suggesting he needs to upgrade to a 1 ton dually to tow this trailer he has, rather his answer is exactly what I suggested - either upgrade to a properly equipped 3/4 ton OR downsize the trailer to one he can safely tow with his existing 1/2 ton.
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Terryallan
Foothills NC
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totaldla wrote:
Yea, no. You are a few fries short of a happy meal on this one. The OP has options beyond swapping vehicles or trailers.
Yes the OP has many options. but safely towing that trailer with that truck ain't one of them. and for you to advocate him towing over loaded is just pure BAD advise at best, and dangerous at worst. For you cannot raise the GVWR of the truck with out completely rebuilding it. Your helper springs, or air bags didn't do anything to help control that 500lb you talk about. The rest of the truck including the brakes which you have now overloaded, is still rated to only handle the factory rated GVWR, and GCVWR.
You also need to know. the trailer brakes don't have anything to do with stopping the truck.
But take heart. Come on down, and we will teach you to pump gas.
* This post was
edited 01/07/18 06:59am by Terryallan *
Terry & Shay
Coachman Apex 288BH.
2013 F150 XLT Off Road
5.0, 3.73
Lazy Campers
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gmw photos
midwest
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The entertainment value of these threads is always worth the price of admission. We always come down the idea "you're gonna be so unsafe, you'll come off the rails and plow into a busload of nuns and babies heading for the orphanage".
And my always favorite, "after all it's JUST a half ton" ( always to imply that you don't have a real truck ).
And now we're down to "a half ton is just a car on steroids".
Gotta love that one....that's a new one here on the forum by the resident payload police. So many experts, so little time.
That's part of what makes these threads so great, you just never know what new outrageous statement folks can come up with. And we all of course love one posters constant use of the emoticons of face palm and rolled eyes. A clear indication he's the smartest dude on the forum and everybody else is just a pretender.
And the OP hasn't even been back.... I think the weight police either scared him off, or made him so disgusted he just gave up on the forum.
One poster made the comment earlier, "it's a SIMPLE matter of just going and buying a 2500". Well, to some folks it is in fact a pretty simple matter to go write a check for $20K to $50K for a new truck. Congrats to those who can. But other folks may in fact find it far more affordable to simply spend $500 to $1000 improving and modifying what they already have. Just the sales tax alone on trading his existing truck up to a different truck may well exceed that.
To those who think that intelligent mods to a given truck does not increase it's capabilities, well ok. Some folks just can't be convinced.
Carry on gents, this gets more entertaining by the day. And don't forget the face palm icon !!!!
Hey totalda, I'll come on down and help you pump gas ! I was a grease monkey/gas pumper in high school in the 1960's !!!
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Copperhead
Central Iowa
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Well, with over 5 million miles under my wheels as a commercial driver, I have seen a lot of goofy stuff regarding pickup trucks and what they are trying to yank around. And the majority of times that those situations come up where one eats the ditch or some other situation, the TV was towing more than it should have. And I have seen far more 1/2 tons in these situations than heavier class pickups. Everyone wants to think their 1/2 ton is a real truck. Remember, it is class 1, the bottom end of anything related to trucking. It is basically just a little more than a car on steroids.
This is why the best advice is to get "put the cart before the horse". That means, find the TT one wants and then get the TV that will do the best job of towing it around in all situations. Sadly, too many people have a pickup and then try to make it conform to what they want to do.
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midwest
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And I've seen a lot of class eight trucks with trailers laying on their side or otherwise crashed. So does this suggest that class eight trucks are inadequate ?
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Copperhead
Central Iowa
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Of course, driver incompetence comes into play in some situations. Most of the times with those class 8 rigs eating the ditch, it was from driving tired and falling asleep to driving too fast for road and weather conditions. Or improperly maintained equipment like tires and brakes. Rarely for overloading or the wrong class of tow power to trailer. The situations are not apples to apples similar for pickup / trailer combinations.
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