I added a set of leafs in the rear plus a torsion kit on my Silverado so it's up about 2.5" from stock plus I upgraded from the 32" tires to 33". Then I removed the stupid plastic bumper cover and fog lights from the front for better approach angle off road. I have the least "city rig" of anyone at our company. The bosses 2016 Silverado looks like a toy to me with no ground clearance at all.
?ÿLast week the father in law got buried in wet ground trying to back this into his yard with his van. I had to use low range cause it was working it really hard in reverse.?ÿ
This is the height of the front now without the plastic. I'd prefer slightly more lift but the fiance says no. Also the reason I can't remove the running boards. In the winter my 84 Oldsmobile is parked so this is all I have to drive.?ÿ
I've never weighed my truck equipment, but guess it to be on the order of 1,000 lbs.?ÿ I drive a 2008 Tundra, I think the GVWR is 5,300 lbs.?ÿ No issues with the weight.?ÿ The only time I've towed anything with it was hauling a 1,200 lb. milling machine on a drop-bed trailer. I didn't have any trouble with the brakes.
I don't do any serious off-road work, so 2WD works fine for me.
We had a nearby bridge on a state highway across the Tennessee River that they put a 3 ton weight limit on just before we finished a new bridge next to it. Weighed my GMC 2500 crew cab at the asphalt plant to check and it weighed 8500 lbs with the normal assorted survey equipment and tool box in it.?ÿ
fuel economy is a serious issue yall need to factor in for those of you considering 3/4 ton pickups (gas or diesel). I love my F350 and it's not bad compared to most other diesels & it definitely delivers on the smiles per gallon when it is time to get up & go or haul a serious load. but it is tough to justify driving it daily unless you're really billing for it even as a business you need to factor in the operating & maint. costs for 3/4 & 1 ton pickups (I can personally attest this is almost triple the expense of what my wife's yukon's maint costs us). seriously debating on a gas beater just for commutes with fuel prices here lately as well as oil/fuel filter changes & tires
I've got my Dutch Hill tripod, prism pole & bipod, 25' Hixon, toolbox, shovel, 3' grade stakes, clothes, junk, AND my Focus 35 robot in there. Once in a while I'll drag my Dewalt rotary hammer drill along for the ride, but that about covers it. I've HAD the big trucks, but I don't need 'em, and this is a heck of a lot cheaper to run.
My point above was that these trucks are designed to do far more than what most people ever expect them to do.?ÿ You may not be driving 85 in the inside lane going uphill but you probably shouldn't be doing that in the first place.
Meanwhile, my little Jeep Compass will handle most things I need to do.?ÿ The 1997 3/4 ton GMC will go almost anywhere on a dry day.?ÿ We add the ATV for those occasions where any vehicle is not going to be successful onto a trailer to pull behind.?ÿ The only concern is doing one's best to not need to back up very much.
You don't need steel? It definitely makes sense not to have more truck than you need but all of our crews have to carry around a lot of weight in steel bars, 8lb sledgehammer plus a backup sledgehammer, plus a bunch of other stuff you didn't list and it has to go inside a heavy wooden box with dividers.?ÿ
This is true for my boss and he pays my gas for work but I have to put my own gas in the same truck, enough to cover about 75kms of commute depending on where the days jobs are. When I lived in town I would leave the truck at the office and drive my car there to get it, but it's no longer an option now that I'm out of town. Gas is also a tax write off for him but not for me. I can write off every single repair, parts, car washes etc but not gas.?ÿ
The Tacoma is rated 1mpg less than my truck so not really worthwhile, but when I drove my friends 2002 gm 3/4 ton with the 6.0 (pictures above - when he was doing the bodywork to my truck), I had torque pro hooked up to the computer and it was getting about 16mpg at steady cruise speed vs 22mpg (imperial gallons) in my truck with the 4.8.?ÿ
Also our gas is usually significantly higher here than in the states. However, a half ton is IMO the best compromise between having enough truck and gas mileage. I just have to he careful about the weight.?ÿ
It was a 2010 that had a box that covered the full bed and was about a foot tall. ?ÿI had one of those thick 3/4? rubber horse stall mats on top of it to keep things from sliding around. Usually had a bucket or 2 of rr spikes, some milk cartons full of hubs, and some bundles of lathes on top, and all the instruments in the back seat. 36 gal fuel tank. Also usually had some farming supplies like chains, ratchet straps, various hitches in it. Reason I weighed it was the DOT had a set of scales set up at the end of the bridge and were weighing suspected overweight vehicles.?ÿ
It was a 2010 that had a box that covered the full bed and was about a foot tall. ?ÿI had one of those thick 3/4? rubber horse stall mats on top of it to keep things from sliding around. Usually had a bucket or 2 of rr spikes, some milk cartons full of hubs, and some bundles of lathes on top, and all the instruments in the back seat. 36 gal fuel tank. Also usually had some farming supplies like chains, ratchet straps, various hitches in it. Reason I weighed it was the DOT had a set of scales set up at the end of the bridge and were weighing suspected overweight vehicles.?ÿ
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That's scary. I've actually been listening to several bridge and building collapse documentaries lately.
Here's the back of my truck...halfways organized at the time. I need a better setup on top to keep stuff in place, the old carpeting helps but it keeps shifting around over time. I need to rebuild the whole thing anyway as it's collapsing slowly. Winter takes its toll with all the wet snow blowing in or falling off items that go back in the truck.
I've got my Dutch Hill tripod, prism pole & bipod, 25' Hixon, toolbox, shovel, 3' grade stakes, clothes, junk, AND my Focus 35 robot in there. Once in a while I'll drag my Dewalt rotary hammer drill along for the ride, but that about covers it. I've HAD the big trucks, but I don't need 'em, and this is a heck of a lot cheaper to run.
When my truck is in the shop I can do this...but I kind of sucks.
I like how you called it the inside lane, which is obviously correct.?ÿ The left lane being nearer the center of the layout.
I remember years ago this idiot DJ on the radio complaining about how it's the outside lane and why some idiots don't get it.?ÿ And then this engineer called in, and she told him about highway layouts.?ÿ Of course, he discounted that, and still went off on how stupid anyone who doesn't call it the outside lane is.
On the topic of mileage.?ÿ Overloading, and for that matter even coming close to the load limit, usually results in reduced fuel economy.?ÿ The manufactures pair engines with the intended payload.?ÿ Years ago I bought a 3.0l v6 Ranger figuring it would have better economy.?ÿ Boy was I wrong, my 5.4 l F150 (office/backup rig) got considerably better mileage with the same load.?ÿ With a regular payload, the Ranger had plenty of power and got considerably better mileage.
This is often true but not always. The 3.0 Ranger was always known for being reliable but underpowered and not fuel efficient.?ÿ
My 4.8 is very underpowered vs the 6.0 I drove for a week.... even though I had half the load in the borrowed truck, it still got like 6 mpg less at cruising speed.?ÿ
Far above there was mention of a 3-ton bridge.?ÿ This is the lowest rating possible.?ÿ However, the true working limit is more than double that number.
Say you have a vehicle that weighs precisely three tons.?ÿ It is fine.?ÿ But, you meet another vehicle on that bridge that weighs precisely three tons.?ÿ He is fine, as well.?ÿ That makes a total of six tons on the bridge.?ÿ In addition to dead weight there is dynamic loading based on many things.?ÿ Bumps, potholes, etc. creates an up and down dynamic load regardless of the dead weight involved and is increased as the vehicle speed increases.?ÿ Two vehicles each having two axles will have four times when an axle on one vehicle is crossing over an identical cross beam at the same time as an axle on the other axle vehicle.?ÿ That is when the loading is maximum on the weakest link.?ÿ Most 3-ton bridges are rather short but can still have a total of four or more vehicles on the bridge at the same time.?ÿ Therefore a slowly moving single vehicle can cross that 3-ton bridge with a weight far exceeding three tons.
