Timmer

how much weight can i put in the back of my truck with a full tank of fuel?
06 2500

stock03

I've put 2000 pounds, no probs. Drove about 30 miles that way. Truck was just a tad lower in the rear.

But my wife put way over that. It was as low as an old 1/2 ton with gravel in the bed! But it did fine; however, the tires looked like they were going to explode.

cgraham

I loaded about 4000 lbs. of roofing in the back of mine. It was fine except my lights were up pretty high. But I do have a 3500, it might hold more weight.

steelblitzkrieg

34x8=272lbs + your weight subtracted from your GVW on the driver door.

t-boe

2600lbs of landscaping block in mine. Went 260 miles with it. Got 17 mpg and the ride was really smooth. Just make sure your rear tires are aired up.

morkable

I have a 5th wheel that has a pin weight of 2300lbs, and a tool box that has a few pounds in it. It dosent move the truck much more than a couple of inches, but when I air up the air bags, it dosent move at all

Kevin

Pop-Pop

How much you can carry depends on several things:
1. How far you plan to carry it (10 miles or across the US?)
2. How fast you expect to drive?
3. Road conditions
4. Distributed load or off-center load?
5. Tire rating and condition

Carrying a real heavy load slowly down a smooth country road is much better than at a high speed on a hot interstate highway with heavy traffic. FWIW, I find that it is better to stuff livestock in the bed (and be over-loaded) than to have fewer animals walking around in the bed causing a shifting load. A big bull can just about steer (no pun intended) your truck for you.

2003Summit

In a 2500 I would put 2500lbs, that's my rule of thumb. It might be a few 100 over the weight you should put if you follow the GVW, but remember GVW rating are made by manufactures trying to please every goverment in every region, so they are a bit conservative when it somes to what is really "safe" for your truck (ie. designed for). So if you are a few 100lbs over I would not worry. However, if you have police in your area that like to check, they are just going to go by what it says on your door. Other than that, drive it as far as you like.

I saw a guy the other day with a 300Gal water thank in his 2500 (yes, canadian gallons, which weigh 10lbs per gallon). That would be 3000lbs, he was down about 3" in the back, a bit heavy but I don't think he was hurting the truck. You gotta watch when you overload though, you hit a good pot hole and bottom the susspension, you know the next item that's gunna flex is the axle or frame. And it stays flexed (ie. bent). then you will be doing this for a while and your wife this but she won't be smiling unless it's your mother-inlaw doing it for her then it will look like this and your father in law will be .

3000lbs is over, but doable if you are carefull (knowing the road really helps) and don't get caught that way. It really doesn't matter how far you go, except you are increasing the odds of that pot hole thats gunna be more than your load suspension can handle or cop checking you out. Nothing gets hurt till you get to one of those two.

And overloading more than that, ok that's just dumb, and dangours. If you are close to the stops, just foreget it. Even if you don't hit a pot hole, your truck just can't drive safe like that. Unless maybe the cow thing, I don;t know. I have had a big cow in the back and yes, they can drive the truck all over the place. Maybe that's why people use stock trailers now...

All this assumes you have 10 ply tires aired up to where they say they should for the load they are rated for. And you are loading properly (center of weight forward of rear axle). If you don't have 10 ply tires then you're gunna blow them out and maybe crash. Tires get very hot when overloaded and they don't have any tolorance on their ratings. Don't overload a tire ever; it says on the side what they can carry. Mine are 10 ply, load range E I think, about 3500lb or 3800lb or something each. Some 2500's have load range D, which is about 2500lbs each which is enough for you, your truck and your girl and maybe a dog in the back. E's cost more then D so if people bark at the price when they buy them sales guys love to sell people Ds.

Timmer

i was thinking of the extra traction for pulling people out in the snow. i have the stock michelin's. and i herd that haveing some weight in the bed is good to help break in this beast.


i have 9 3/4 ton gravel around my pool. maybe ill throw a few shovel full in the back of her. what do you think, half the depth of my bed?

35" 05'

dont know how much it weighed but I had two full pallets of tomatoes about 5-6 ft high hagin on the tailgate and she was saggy. All depends on where u put the weight. more up front the better!!!