Some might call it bragging...

[BarnieTrk]

...I'm just dang proud.
I'm talking about my '65 F250.

Yesterday, I checked the air pressure in my 10-ply, 9.50 x 16.5" rear tires (~75psi) and then went to the local fertilizer wholesaler and bought 2,400 pounds of pelletized lime. After I had completed the transaction in the office, I backed my truck up to the warehouse door. As I did, the attendant called over another fella to assist in the loading process. I said, "Why don't we just set the loaded skid right in the back of the truck?" The fella said, "Sure, if that's what you want."

So they counted the number of 50# bags on the skid and added a few more to total 48 - 50# bags. Then with a fork truck, they lifted the skid as I unhooked the tailgate arms which would allow the tailgate to hang down allowing the fork truck to get closer to the back of my truck. The fella set the skid on my truck and slid the skid forward until it was centered in the box between the wheel wells. The skid slid easily since I had a piece of 1/2" plywood laying in the bottom of the bed. Once the skid was centered and down, he backed up the fork truck and I proceeded to re-attach the tailgate arms.

As I was re-attaching my tailgate arms, I noticed another fella walk by with a huge grin on his face. As I acknowledged him with a smile and short nod of my head, he spoke, "It sure is good to see those old trucks still earning their keep." To which I responded, "He has too, his 390 is too thirsty for him to NOT earn his keep!"

Because the bags on the top of the skid load were stacked a tad uneven, and were about level with the top of the cab, I decided to take four or five bags off of the top and dropped them just to the rear of the skid inside the box in an effort to keep them falling off the stack while in transit and likely breaking open.

The truck & load traveled just fine the ~15 miles back home. The only time I even noticed that he had a load was if the road turned or the pavement dipped down near the shoulder of the road I could feel the load sway the truck a bit. The biggest notice was in braking -- I did need to plan ahead for braking!

When I got home, I pulled up on the concrete and parked. I was curious as to how much the load had compressed my rear suspension -- so I measured the distance from the center of the rear wheel well opening to the ground next to the tire. Once I had the load emptied, I measured the distance again. I was confident that the 2,400 pound load would cause my rear suspension to be somewhat lower than when empty, and the measurement proved it. The 1.2 ton payload had caused my bed to be lower by a whole TWO INCHES!!

What more do I need to say????..... You just gotta LOVE these old workhorses of ours!

BarnieTrk

[3ontree66]

Great story!! That's why I love these old girls!!

[blackagatha]

haha nice.

ol aggie isnt quite that tough.... she bottoms out under half a load of dirt!!! hahaha

[oldtrucks]

My old 72 bump work truck sees loads like that all the time. She owes me nothing and I owe her everything. The old truck has always earned her keep and then some. I cheat a little bit tho I use a set of Firestone Air Bags and dana 70 rear and springs from an 1 ton. I air each bag individually so I can level an uneven load. She also sports a 429 under the hood.
[albumimg]3215[/albumimg]

[BarnieTrk]

Thanks fellas for your mutual support and understanding!
I knew you guys would know what I was trying to say concerning the performance of the ol' Dude!

Oldtrucks,
I should probably also mention that although the rear suspension in my F250 is stock,
it does sport the optional "Auxillary" extra three leaf springs above the std F250 rear spring pack.
BarnieTrk

[Gritsngumbo]

It ain't braggin' if you can really do it! Sounds like you did.

[TxSlick66]

I hauled 1800 pounds of landscape blocks in my F-100 short bed 1/2 ton.
SHE BE SQUATTIN' A BIT!!!! But we made the trip just fine!
Glad to hear the old trucks still get used.

[slick4x4]

learned to drive in dads 71 f250...
we used it in harvest as a second truck.
put on side boards & a endgate
biggest load i took to the grain elevator was 113 bushel...
113 x 60# = 6780 # or 3.4 tons....
the front wheels kinda 'floated'
never wrecked though....not bad for an eleven year old kid

[douglloyd]

Biggest load I ever hauled in my '66 F-350 was probably the shortest trip - about a mile or so from my neighbor's dirt pile.

I needed some fill dirt for a project and he told me to help myself, so I did. No loader or anything, so I backed up to the dirt pile and laid a couple of planks from the 7x10 flatbed to the ground. One shovelful at a time.

When I was finished (2 hours later?) the bed was just barely off the wheels. The dirt was piled higher than the cab in the middle and sloped down to the sides (double 2x8's). Never did figure how much dirt and clay I had, but on the way home several times the rear dually's bottomed out on the wood bed with this godawful crash. I hear that's kinda tough on rear axles<g>

Doug

[Effie]

As I was re-attaching my tailgate arms, I noticed another fella walk by with a huge grin on his face. As I acknowledged him with a smile and short nod of my head, he spoke, "It sure is good to see those old trucks still earning their keep." To which I responded, "He has too, his 390 is too thirsty for him to NOT earn his keep!"

I love that knowing smile and a short nod. You can tell who really appreciates what they're lookin' at.

Great story, thanks for sharing.


And yeah, it's not braggin' if you can back it up.

[BarnieTrk]

Thanks fellas for your mutual support and understanding!
I knew you guys would know what I was trying to say concerning the performance of the ol' Dude!

Oldtrucks,
I should probably also mention that although the rear suspension in my F250 is stock,
it does sport the optional "Auxillary" extra three leaf springs above the std F250 rear spring pack.
BarnieTrk

A couple of more thoughts on this matter:

Many of us have hauled very heavy and heavier loads, but most of the time I suspect we don't know what the weight is.
This was one of the few times when my load was a "measured weight" load.

Just for discussions sake, let's consider three factors in hauling heavy loads. Suspension, wheels and tires.

Since I don't have a door tag to reference, I assume my 7-leaf suspension is rated at 2,400lbs and the extra 3-leaf auxillary springs add an extra 550lbs of capacity; which = 2,950lbs (per side). Goodyear says that my Goodyear Workhorse Rib 9.50 x 16.5LT , 10-ply tires have a max load rating of 3,170 lbs per tire. Thirdly, it is cast in the back side of my cast aluminum wheels that they are rated for a max load of 2,850lbs per side. So, by looking at these three factors, I can see my wheels are my load limiting factor. However, 2,850lbs x 2 rear tires = 5,700lbs, or 2.8 tons; which is much more than the load I spoke of above...and this assumes NO load is transferred to the front tires (and we know there is some load weight carried by the front tires), otherwise the total load capacity would be even greater. The tires being at ~75psi is likely the main reason for minimal drop in my bed height.

Soon, I will be purchasing some new tires. Considering my wheels are my 'weak link' regarding hauling capacity, I will likely ensure that I buy tires that are very close to the wheel rating and not be rated HIGHER than the wheels, as they are now. I'm looking at 8-ply tires which have a rating of 2835lbs. Now yeah, I could step up to a stronger wheel if I thought I needed to, but the wheels max capacity of 2.8 tons is enough capacity for me!

I suspect that typically the limiting factor for most folks who find themselves wondering if they can haul a particular heavy load is not the rating of our suspensions, but rather just "how much tire" we are using. I dare say that most folks don't run 10-ply tires on their F250. Standard 4ply tires, such as Goodyear Wrangler RT/S 235/75-15s have a load rating of 2,028lbs; which is a total capacity of 4,056lbs on the rear two tires; which is likely enough for most folks.

We also need to remember that many aftermarket "bling" wheels have lower max load rating than commercial or heavy-duty wheels and may not even be able to handle the max of what the tire can handle. But then most 'bling' trucks aren't used for hauling heavy loads.

Lastly, I realize in the load rating mathwork above, I am assuming that there is no "weakening or tiring" of the leaf springs, no weaking corrosion to the wheels, or rubber deterioration of the tires. Of course there is as they grow older, and we should consider a lesser max capacity accordingly.

Ok, I'm done rambling on now............

Barnietrk

[TxSlick66]

The weight of the truck itself! You already have 3800 pounds distributed on all four, somewhat equally, before you add the load.

[slick4x4]

i agree with you that when it comes down to it, the tire is the limiting factor.
i know pulling over the scale loaded , the truck & grain together was around 11,000 #.
we ran stock 16'' split rims (single rear tire) with 7.50-16 tires, i believe 8 ply.
would air them up to around 90 psi... loaded they looked squishy.
probably a good thing since they were the only 'cushion' between the road & frame...as it was smashed down to the axle.
but as many times as we did that, the truck would lift right back up.
when we sold the truck (probably in the 80s) it sat as high as it ever did.

[jwh f-100]

Yes, when hauling you want to refer to the weakest link, normally the GVW.

Lets say your GVW is 6,000lbs.
Your two axles combined need to add up to or exceed 6,000 lbs.
Your 4 (or 6) tires need to add up to or exceed the rating of the axle they are mounted to. Tire ratings may decrease if mounted as a dual.

If all that is good get the truck weighed and subtract that amount from the GVW and that will tell you how much you can hual legally.




Now here's my "old truck hual" story.
In the early 90s my dad had a '52 IH p/u he used as a driver. One day he sent my brother-in-law and I to hual some brush. It currently had no exhaust and no inspection.

We loaded it to the sky and about 4' off each side with brush. We left for the dumping sight using our lane and half of the other lane. Then.... we met a state trooper so we proceeded to "hammer down" a bit. As we were traveling up a hill.... BANG. POP. BANG...... NO POWER.

So here we were VERY scared the trooper was on his way back and my dad would kill us for blowing the engine...

Finnaly we arrived at our destination.. The cop never returned, thank god.. Next was the engine issue. We opened the hood and found a spark plug with the center blown out. We installed a plug from the glove box and all was good..

[norville]

I told you you'd be happy.. Glad to see "her" still working....

bob

[BarnieTrk]

The weight of the truck itself! You already have 3800 pounds distributed on all four, somewhat equally, before you add the load.

Good point, TxSlick!
I forgot about adding the weight of the truck! DUH!!
Secondly, I wasn't considering the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) to be distributed equally to all four tires.

If that is as you suggest, then considering the truck weight to be 3,800lbs / 4 tires = 950lbs. at each wheel.
Then add the cargo weight of 2,400lbs / 4 tires = 600lbs of additional weight at each wheel.

So at each wheel I'd only have 1,550lbs? (GVW is 1,550 x 4 = 6,200) ...Does that seem correct?

I told you you'd be happy.. Glad to see "her" still working.... bob

Hey, Bob, glad to hear from ya again!

Now either you are mistaken or there was some sort of a 'transformation' somewhere along the drive back to Michigan..... because the 'her' is a 'HIM' !
As I indicated in my earlier post, this ol' Dude has BALLS and I won't allow any 'her' with BALLS in my yard!

'Yep, I'm happy with the ol' Dude and have been getting him to earn some of his keep!

BarnieTrk

[TxSlick66]

And maybe your better half, or the family dog...
It all adds up!

[BarnieTrk]

And maybe your better half, or the family dog...
It all adds up!

Also a good point.
Maybe I'll just have to plan on a trip to the local elevator so I can put him on the truck scales in order to see just what he weighs..... with me and my tool box of goodies!
BarnieTrk

[factorystock]

Many F 250's were bought to haul 2500 lb campers from the mid 60's to early 70's, many which weighed out at 7500 Lb with people, supplies and fuel. The biggest problem was with the 8 ply rear tires being overloaded and failing early. Ford recommended 10 ply rear tires on rear for camper specials. The give away to tell if an F250 was used to haul a camper would be the large side mirrors, hooks on lower part of bed body, extra fuel tanks and a shock brackets on cowl.

[BarnieTrk]

Many F 250's were bought to haul 2500 lb campers from the mid 60's to early 70's, many which weighed out at 7500 Lb with people, supplies and fuel. The biggest problem was with the 8 ply rear tires being overloaded and failing early. Ford recommended 10 ply rear tires on rear for camper specials. The give away to tell if an F250 was used to haul a camper would be the large side mirrors, hooks on lower part of bed body, extra fuel tanks and a shock brackets on cowl.

Interesting information, FS. Thanks!

Huh?.... "Shock brackets on cowl"....what do they look like & what did they do?

BarnieTrk