Maxing out your truck’s payload

[CampStewart]

overweight is overweight... if you have any mechanical issues related to being overweight the dealership will likey not fix them under warranty.

Speed, cautious driving will make no difference, the issue is not brakes or maintenance, the issue is metal fatigue over time due to over loading beyond the engineering the truck was built to handle.

watch this video..... this guy went 24K miles before his frame broke.... $17K out of his pocket.... he was maybe 2000# overweight.
8443-7050 says you are 1393# overweight


get a F250/F350 truck and be happy.....
but read the Axle Weight Ratings for the exact truck you are buying.
you cannot fix yer F150 to haul that camper loaded.

How much warranty is left on his 2009? Do you really think his pop up is in any way stressing his frame like those stupid bemouths with thousands of pounds cantilevering 3 ft past the frame? Since he is probably not the only guy in the world putting a camper like his on a 1/2 ton truck do you have examples of them bending the frame like the idiots you referenced?

 

[IdaSHO]

In the old days losing a SF axleshaft was not uncommon but with disc breaks that will not happen. Is a SF axleshaft , probably a C clip coming loose when not pulling a trailer a common thing or are holding on to 20 years ago

That's nice

My concern is about bearings. Full floaters are oil bath, and designed to haul.
And by design also have a considerably higher safety factor.

 

[CampStewart]

the physics are the same...
I never even thought the 2 below could happen. I was literally ******??
View attachment 788536

View attachment 788537

quite right, why is he even asking the question eh?
but right also, with no warranty any issue will hit his pocket book.
the big question is where is the center of gravity... is he lifting the front axle?

I'm really not out to convince you, there are plenty of pics on the internet.
How about some constructive comments on the issue rather than hitting reply to argue......

Im not trying to argue but for decades I have seen 1/2 ton trucks grossly overloaded and I have even piloted some of them. Decades ago means frames were far weaker, brakes were weaker, no stability or traction control, no abs, etc. You have shown absurd examples of idiots cantilevering weight far behind the frame, the stress on his frame with the camper mostly centered over the axle is totally different than what those trucks are going through, then a famous pic of a truck hitting a whoop with a trailer of unknown tongue weight, once again totally different than what the OP is doing. How about examples of trucks similarly weighted and balanced as his bending the frames ?

Earlier someone mentioned that most of the vehicles on this site are over gvw and I would tend to agree with him, I don't see them bending like a pretzel or crashing why are you so convinced that it will happen here?

 

[CampStewart]

That's nice

My concern is about bearings. Full floaters are oil bath, and designed to haul.
And by design also have a considerably higher safety factor.

Im guessing he has a ford 8.8 axle and that has an oil bath bearing but correct me if I am wrong.

 

[CampStewart]

so ignore me and direct yer advice to the op....
no need to hijack the thread....
obviously weights and measures are over reach for you.

altho, I'm pretty sure a 1970s pickup had way more steel in the frame

For the sake of accuracy I am countering points you are making, let the OP who needs to may be making decisions based on info on this thread at least have accurate info relevant to your pics and fear. If you really believe as you said that the load on the frames of those insane tail heavy campers are the same as imposed by his centered over the axles I will not try to change your opinion. I don't know what weights and measures you are using but I do understand a simple fulcrum point and played on a teeter totter when I was a child and understand its principal. Why are you pretty sure a 1970's half ton truck had a stronger frame than a new one what are you basing the advice you are giving in this thread on, your feelings or experiences?

 

[IdaSHO]

Im guessing he has a ford 8.8 axle and that has an oil bath bearing but correct me if I am wrong.

Sorry, but Id never consider a 8.8 as a legit axle to haul serious weight, even with its oil bath “bearings”

The bearings that use the axle shaft as the inner race, so when they go they destroy the axles as well? Yeah, no thanks.

 

[CampStewart]

Sorry, but Id never consider a 8.8 as a legit axle to haul serious weight, even with its oil bath “bearings”

The bearings that use the axle shaft as the inner race, so when they go they destroy the axles as well? Yeah, no thanks.

Chevy commonly used SF 14 bolts up to 8600lb gvw in 3/4 ton trucks with similar bearing design for decades, I can say I have thousands of miles on them with very heavy loads be it from vehicle payload or trailer tongue weight with no failures. There are many thousands of SF axles in commercial vehicles loaded to max gvw and beyond from most every manufacturer. In a perfect world every vehicle would have FF axle but the world is not perfect and the OP needs to go camping. I am trying to help him, not make him scared of the dark. What kind of failures did you have with ford 8.8's that you didn't know had oil bath bearings?


EDIT: if he has the high GVW package he may have a 9.75 rear axle which would be of similar bearing size to the 14b SF I referenced earlier. OP you need to look into that.

 

[Ozarker]

Last Friday we had a traffic jam under a freeway bridge; it was an F-150 with what looked like a busted frame carrying a small camper towing a small (14/16 foot) cargo trailer and with his abrupt stop, a car hit the trailer in the rear. Either it busted or the release failed on his dump bed. 4 lanes down to one lane to get past them.

So, might be, every time you see an overloaded pickup that isn't busted down, could just mean it hasn't busted yet.

 

[AbleGuy]

This can be stated as a kind of mathematical principle:

“the degree of ignorance on any given subject is directly proportional to the amount of information available about it.”

 

[simple]

OP. Was the rear suspension hitting the bump stops before you added air bags?

 

[wtwnnil]

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your input, and I appreciate the broad depth of opinions!

My truck doesn’t have the high GVW package. This is where my knowledge is limited (and why I’m here, on this forum), so I believe that means it’s got the standard SF axle, etc.

The airbags were already installed before I bought the truck, so I’m not sure if the camper max’s them. And I haven’t had a moment to weigh the axles separately.

Checked the tires, and they’re the basic Grabber APTs. That means a load range of 112/109, which = a low of 2271lbs per tire, or a conservative 9084lbs in total. So it feels like they’re about maxed on their own, let alone if the rear axle receives disproportionately more weight.

I’d thought we’d be just slightly over weight, but all our electrical system mods and the like (for example, 50lbs per battery) added up! And now we’re gearing up to drive a very long way (living in the rig). I feel we’re in the zone of ‘foolish’ burgeoning on ‘dangerous’, so I’m looking into other options. Thanks for all the input everyone!

 

[IdaSHO]

Checked the tires, and they’re the basic Grabber APTs. That means a load range of 112/109, which = a low of 2271lbs per tire, or a conservative 9084lbs in total. So it feels like they’re about maxed on their own, let alone if the rear axle receives disproportionately more weight.

At 8443lbs you are likely near or over 5000lbs on the rear axle.
At the very minimum, from a raw safety perspective, you must upgrade tires and possibly wheels.
A proper load-E tire with a max load rating of 3200lbs or so (pretty standard) and wheels with a similar load rating (If existing are not sufficient)

 

[wtwnnil]

IdaSHO, thanks, oof that’s pushing it.

Not to derail this thread, does anyone have suggestions on the types of trucks to use for a camper like this?

3/4 or 1 ton, and 2WD or 4WD?

If I’m trying to be completely in the clear, a 3/4 is probably insufficient to handle the payload (albeit yes, better than my 1/2 ton). Fuel becomes a big consideration with a 1 ton, and why I’d prefer a 3/4.

And how useful is 4WD to help get you around? It likely means getting a 1 ton (because a 3/4 with 4WD has a lower payload than with 2WD, I believe), and then with that extra allowance of the payload on a 1 ton maybe 4WD is a really useful feature? I can see myself travelling on forest-service-roads where it’d be useful.

To everyone who knows more and has opinions, I’m all ears, thanks!

 

[tacollie]

Plenty of gas 3/4 trucks have 3500lbs of payload. 3/4 is going to get the same MPGs as a 1 ton. RAM 2500 isn't ideal for carrying campers because of the coil sprung rear end. The biggest benefit of 3/4 and up trucks are designed to carry the weight full time. 4wd is nice for getting off the beaten path. It's also nice for rain and snow. A dry Forest road is typically fine in 2wd but a hard rain overnight can change that.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Plenty of gas 3/4 trucks have 3500lbs of payload. 3/4 is going to get the same MPGs as a 1 ton. RAM 2500 isn't ideal for carrying campers because of the coil sprung rear end. The biggest benefit of 3/4 and up trucks are designed to carry the weight full time. 4wd is nice for getting off the beaten path. It's also nice for rain and snow. A dry Forest road is typically fine in 2wd but a hard rain overnight can change that.

This.
@wtottman 4x4 vs 2WD... Depends on your use case. Where do you plan on traveling? You deemed the F150 sufficient in 2WD, have your plans changed? If 4x4 is not required, as you stated a 2WD truck will have more payload, less maintenance etc... You did mention forest service roads, maybe a 1 ton Ford or GM? Yes, GM's have independent front suspension vs the Fords solid axle but I really don't think it would hinder you on forest roads. I suggest drive both and see which one you like better.