Truck question

[tallpines]

1/2 ton pick-----
does that mean it can carry up to 1/2 ton in the bed------or does that 1/2 ton recomandation include the total weight including the passengers in the cab?

[mightybooboo]

Originally Posted by tallpines

1/2 ton pick-----
does that mean it can carry up to 1/2 ton in the bed------or does that 1/2 ton recomandation include the total weight including the passengers in the cab?

As far as I know thats the bed capacity.I will let others do the CGVW,etc parts who can explain better
BooBoo

[Ross]

Its a generalization, some compact pickups are called half tons and wouldn't carry that without some help. Typically a full sized half ton will carry a half a ton, and three people in the front, easily. Some compacts would too, my Jeep Comanche easily carried three plus a half ton, my neighbors econo 1980ish Ford Ranger wallowed with half that. Keep in mind the brakes and tires have to stop that kind of load too, so no big loads on worn gear.

[moopups]

Tonnage is a name, not a reality. My 1974 Ford 1 ton dual wheeled truck crossed the scales at 13,460 pounds. The tare weight was 7,230. That means my '1 ton' carried 3 tons and 230 pounds additional, or 6230 pounds. Of course back then they made TRUCKS. Not like todays things,a rule of thumb, if the springs will still react to your weight applied to the load, its not yet at capasity. If you can make the truck bed bounce it is not over loaded.

Of course that truck had a second set of springs, a 351 Cleveland engine, a 4 barrel Holly double pumper 750, a 4 speed New Processes, with a Dana 70 4:11 rear. And got 17 MPG!! Once pulled a 78,000 pound semi loaded with logs to a fuel station.

[Jena]

Your GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is on a sticker in the door panel. My 1-ton truck has a GVWR of 11,400 pounds. That means that the truck should weigh in at 11,400 when fully loaded with passengers, cargo and fuel. This obviously includes the weight of the truck itself. It does NOT mean that I can put 11,400 pounds of junk in the back

I can, however, put 1 ton of junk in the back, since it's a 1 ton truck. When I had a 1/2 ton pick-up, I could put a 1/2 ton in there. That is exactly what the terms mean. You can always go for more if you want, but the truck is built to accomodate that much weight.

I also have a Toyota truck. It is not a 1/2 ton, it's a no-ton as far as I know. I'm sure it has some capacity somewhere, but nowhere near that much. It was not sold or advertised as an anything-ton truck. I do know 500 pounds of feed makes it ride real low in the back.

Jena

[Beeman]

After 30 yrs. of owning and working on trucks I have yet to figure out what the designation actually means. What everyone else told you definetly relates to what you can carry. But there are also other factors. The carrying capacity of the axle itself is important. A 1/2 ton designation is light duty and has very light axle capacity and small axle bearings. Now besides the actual vehicle itself we have tires to deal with. A heavy duty 1 ton truck with light duty tires becomes a light duty load capacity truck. Yes there is a difference in the load capacity of tires even though they are the same size. The load capacity is stated on the sidewall of the tire. Only use an LT rated tire on a truck that is carrying weight. Look at the sidewall and there will be a size of the tire, it will be a letter designation and then numbers. If it is say P235/75/15 it is a passenger car tire. If it is an LT 235/75/15 it is a light truck tire and will have stronger sidewall and higher load carrying capacity.

[SteveD(TX)]

I sold trucks a number of years ago, and took several classes, etc. about them. You are welcome to what remains of my knowledge about them:

Half ton trucks generally are rated to carry a half ton of cargo. Meaning gas, cargo, and passengers totaling not more than 1,000 pounds. More or less. The same with 3/4 ton, 1 ton, etc. The GVRW or gross vehicle weight rating would equal to the weight of the truck empty, plus the total carrying capacity.

[Janon]

Many trucks will actually carry far more weight than they're rated for... but whether the truck can stop, brake and generally handle that load safely is another issue... kinda like towing capacities. Perhaps that is why some trucks appear to be underrated when it comes to weight carrying capacity... because they consider the safety of the vehicle after the load is applied. If you look at a half-ton truck, it usually only has conventional or automobile type hubs and brakes, 3/4 ton are heavier duty and larger, 1 ton larger yet.

cheers,

[tallpines]

The load of cultured rock is home----all 1200 pounds of it.
DH and DD went with 2 vehicles-------a car and a van (45 miles to Menards).
They unpacked the pallet load of stuff and divided it between the 2 vehicles.

I still think it would have been easier to borrow a neighbor's truck or pay Menards the $70 to deliver it.

Anyway---they decided against using SIL's very small truck.

Thanks for the info.

[fordy]

...................A , full size 1\2 ton pickup with good brakes , will easily pull 2 tons of rock on a 16 foot , tandem axle trailer with electric brakes on one axle, and should be very safe . I'd get a good , strong trailer then you don't have to worry about overloading the truck . This is what the military calls a Force multiplier.....fordy...

[uncle Will in In.]

That weight classification was put on trucks when they still had chain drive to the rear wheels (Long before I was born) A half ton Model A pickup would have been flattened with much more weight than a half ton. How about the one and one half ton trucks? They can haul over 12000 lbs, not 3000 lbs. The weight classification tells you how big the truck is but don't have much to do with the load they will carry.

Just depends on the truck. I had a small 4cyl 1972 datsun with heavy springs. I put sideboards on it and used to regularly haul around 3400 pounds of topsoil doing landscaping. Handled it like a champ, although it steered a little squirrely under the load . Now I have a 1998 nissan that strains under a 600 lb load.