Another post about trucks reminded me of this but I didn't want to take it off topic....some guys on here are running 3/4 tons and others are running small trucks. I'm curious if I'm overloading the payload of my half ton (2005 Silverado 4x4 with the small 4.8 V8) but I have no way of weighing it. I have no plans to upgrade to a 3/4 ton but at least if someone tries to convince me to downgrade to a smaller truck I can tell them I'm already overloading the half ton. One of the company trucks is a 2010 Tacoma which was inherited through a subcontractor who was bought out. Nobody likes it but it's been a good truck. People have occasionally complained about the brakes and it feels like it bottoms out very easily. I'm sure it's overloaded.?ÿ
In my personal truck (I bought from the owner 2 years ago and get paid mileage now) last night I picked up a 5500 watt generator (with battery and electric start - much heavier than the 5500 generac with pull start we used on a job a few years back) plus I had recently stocked up on iron in the truck. It felt worse than when i had the truck loaded and pulling an enclosed trailer loaded up moving to our new home. I had to leave lots of extra space for stopping.?ÿ
I try to limit the time I spend filling up the truck as I work solo so I keep lots of supplies in it and the wooden racking is pretty heavy. The one time I removed everything and the cap it felt like I had a new truck.?ÿ
If I ever get the opportunity I will have it weighed but for now I'm curious on other people's experiences and what they typically carry in their trucks.?ÿ
just over 900lbs without driver, passengers, food, ect. get weighed at the landfill. Can't go to the field with a 1/2ton.
Always go 3/4. Since we abandoned suburbans some years ago I've always had a 3/4. Private and DOT. Engineers and techs have 1/2s, surveyors get 3/4. Had too many bent axles with inferior stuff like explorers.?ÿ
I don't believe you are wrong and one of the older guys told me back in the day all they ever had was 3/4 ton. But since I started 11 years ago we have had nothing but a bunch of GM half tons, one early 2000s f150 and the one Tacoma. No major failures except with the f150, it got retired while I was at school after my placement here. The 2002 GMC rusted out but otherwise was in great mechanical condition. The biggest recent company acquisition has 2 late model f150s.?ÿ
I'd likely never convince the owner to get more than a half ton as they have never had anything but.?ÿ
?ÿIf my gear and supplies are close to the same weight as yours then I'm well under when I work alone...but getting close with a single passenger. A 3rd?ÿ passenger (happens once or twice a year) would put me over.?ÿ
The 2wd 2002 Sierra we had up until a couple of years ago would have had an extra 300lbs capacity without the 4wd so it likely never went overweight. However a 2wd is a terrible vehicle for surveying imo.?ÿ
I have run 1/2, 3/4 and currently on my 2nd 1 ton. would not go below a 1 ton now
Do you run gas or diesel? And how long do you keep a vehicle? Any idea on yearly cost? I make $0.55/km (0.6mi). The boss pays my gas but I have to put my own personal gas in. If I had to buy a new truck I don't believe I would make any profit at all. One thing about 3/4 ton is the parts cost a lot more and if you run a modern diesel they can actually bankrupt people.
all gas, probably had each one 5 or 6 years. The 3/4 and 1 tons are extended vans. same frame/springs as a pickup but at half the cost. Low maintenance and are highly sought after when I am done with them by the carpet installer guys as they can put the long rolls in and close the rear doors.
Vans would be so convenient in certain ways. The downsides are that some repairs are much harder (my father in law owns 3 he uses for his business as a contractor - same engine as my truck but different layout), hard to find in all wheel drive and no conventional 4wd with low range as far as I know, and I'm curious about heat....my truck heats up and defrosts within minutes because of the small cab size (extended cab). Air conditioning in summer is equally quick.?ÿ
Also it seems like the prices are high now for what they are (basically just a box). My father in law just got a 2018 GM extended van, 3/4 ton with a 6.0 gas(formerly a u haul) and it was almost the same price as a base model truck. We drove 4 hours to get it as it was the best deal.?ÿ
My old red 1998 GMC 1500 (1/2 ton) has been fully loaded with a wood survey tool box since 2010 and been pulling an ATV with a small 5x8 utility trailer. ?ÿMostly been okay. ?ÿ
But there were times I posted here about various issues and got some advice I never followed as I recall from my friend SW in TN to add leaf springs.
However, a year ago I got a bigger utility trailer to pull my slightly bigger than the ATV ~ John Deere Gator XUV with that same old 1998 1500. ?ÿWhen the brake pedal went to the floor and it felt like the truck was going to break in two pulling the Gator down the road I started searching for a 3/4 ton.
Recently bought a 2016 GMC 2500 with 142k miles for ~$36k including some sort of warranty. ?ÿInitially I thought, boy when I was a lot younger I would have loved a truck this big. ?ÿBut now, at 51-yo I felt like it was too big, initially.
But, now that I have been using the new truck a month or so now, I love it. ?ÿStrong. ?ÿStable. ?ÿAble to pull the Gator properly and safely.
After I transferred all the gear and heavy wood toolbox over from the 1500 to the 2500 using a fork lift, (that box was too heavy to move with four men in my opinion ~ it was built in 2010 with 2 by??s and 3/4 inch plywood ~ built to last) the rear end on that sweet old red 98 GMC raised up 2 inches!
I thought I heard her whisper, ??phew, thank you daddy, what a relief?. ?ÿSo now the white 2500 is the work truck and the red 1500 in the going to meetings easier to park truck.
?ÿ
6.0 in the new truck??ÿ
My wooden box was probably built around the same time but it's likely half the weight of yours. It's currently towards the last stages of a slow collapse and won't make it through this winter like I hoped it would.?ÿ
Having to pay $36k with 142k miles is what encourages me to keep my old truck going. 17 years old with 214k miles and 9450 hours, it's all original drivetrain still. I won't say what I paid but it was next to nothing with 192k miles, 2 years ago, needing minor body work and a lot of maintenance. I've seen these trucks go over 400k miles often enough and the parts are extremely cheap compared to newer stuff.?ÿ
Just realized... this probably does not count the weight of the cap and boxliner right? I'm that case when I consider the come-a-long and trailer hitch I always have with me I would have to be well above the max gvwr.?ÿ
6.0 in the new truck??ÿ
Yes.
And good for you. ?ÿI chose the worst possible moment in recent history to buy a vehicle.
Possibly...unless things just keep getting worse. I doubt it but who knows.?ÿ
I remember when I could buy a winter beater for $300 that could actually pass a safety with a reasonable amount of work. My 84 Cutlass was $1800 in 2004? I've spent a few grand on it since then including paint but now it's worth over $7,000 even though I put 130k miles on it myself.?ÿ
Put a 6-foot by 24-foot stock trailer behind it with in excess of 15,000 pounds of mooing, moving live weight headed uphill in the wind then let us know how it works for you.
