Heaviest Payload

[Jullian is not my name]

I was just wondering what the heaviest payloads being put in the bed of these 1/2 ton pickups has been. I've hit 2,500lbs occasionally with pavers, sand, or dirt loaded, but recently had a loader get a little carried away and dump 3,300lbs of sand into the back. I'm comfortable with 2,500lbs, but 3,300 definitely felt heavy.

 

So, just wondering what the most others have done.

[LongrangeLauber]

I've had about 2200 lbs and that was more than I was comfortable with for a 1500 series truck. Takes away ground contact on your steering axle, could cause some serious issues

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

I've done 3,000 when I had my '86 Chevy C10 long bed. The front end made it feel like a sail boat but I got used to it and got home. I believe it was around a 15 mile drive. I did 2,000 in my '98 Z71 and that didn't make me feel uncomfortable. Part of that was also because with the '86 I have only had my license for maybe 2 years while with my '98 was just 3-4 years ago.

[Nathan79]

Sounds like you need to buy a real truck before you damage yours due to severe overloading.

[crushNchowda]

It is very easy to go over payload w/ a 1/2 ton particularly w/ how big they are these days.

Only 1 full cubic yard of sand or crushed stone will put you WELL over the 2000 lb payload limit. I think the engine/tranny/frame are up to task I do not think the brakes/suspension/leaf springs are.

 

A cubic yard of sand can weigh over 3000 lbs and crushed stone will easily put you around 2500 - I have been clearing/re-claiming lots ofland that was previously all wild & overgrown on my property over the years & now its gotten to where I've just been backing down over my lawn & shoveling off wood chips, crushed stone,large boulders to build a fire pit, and sand exactly where I need it vs. buying a bunch of individual bags (more expensive & tedious) or having a load dumped in my driveway (kill my back shoveling & wheel barrowing) - I found that I easily exceeded 2000 lbs (was @ 2800 lbs) when I had large boulders & brushed on the approximate weights of materials so I had a better idea going forward.

 

Nice colored mulch you can carry 2-2.5 yards, wood chips up to 3.5 yards, - these will both fill your bed up volume-wise easily while you should only carry about a 1/2 yard of sand/stone/gravel/aggregate/cement etc Thats where you realize the line in the sand is drawn (no pun intended but intended) between 1/2 ton gassers & diesel HD's, when you see a 1/2 yard of sand in the bed of your truck & realize "that's all it can carry, really?!?" Even though I'm able to buy the pavers/sand/stone cheaply going right to the aggregate plant or to a hardscape distributor I can't carry diddly squat AND I don't want to get too crazy either since I have an irrigation system in my lawn.

 

For these denser landscaping materials (or anything real heavy I'm moving around) I've I found the best solution for me was to get a cheap smallish dumoing trailer that could hitch up to my truck AND to my quad, I can load up 1.5 yards of sand or stone onto the trailer (more if it was a different design/bigger obviously) & then I hitch it to my quad & bring it wherever i need on my property.

[Georgia1911]

I have hauled just over the published limit (about 1,800 pounds) of my truck several times, but never significantly over. Since I have installed a tool box, and the load cannot go as far forward, I think some loads would be limited by the rear axle as I cannot shift as much weight to the steers. Regardless, I am sure I can still haul a net half ton, and it is a half ton truck, after all.

[newdude]

Always check your tire placard in the drivers door jamb for your truck's actual payload. They do vary from the numbers GM uses, which are typically the max for that configuration for a specifically optioned truck.

 

Highest payload published from GM is a 2wd regular cab standard box at 1960lbs. An SLT crew cab is 1740-1770lbs. Very easy to overload.

[gmckenzie]

Always check your tire placard in the drivers door jamb for your truck's actual payload. They do vary from the numbers GM uses, which are typically the max for that configuration for a specifically optioned truck.

 

Highest payload published from GM is a 2wd regular cab standard box at 1960lbs. An SLT crew cab is 1740-1770lbs. Very easy to overload.

My sticker is 2,015. CC SLE. Max Trailering is in the brochures as ~ 2,200 (5.3L stripped down truck).

[Cowpie]

And those payload numbers the OEM puts out is for a dry weight pickup with no fuel or anyone in it. A full tank of fuel, a couple of people, and payload limits drop. This is why I have a 2500. Two people, 36 gallons of fuel, and a couple hundred pounds of tools and such in the back, and I still have over 2300 lb to go before touching the max payload limit. And barely any rear end squat when maxed out. If one is going to haul heavy, one will be considerably happier with a pickup made for hauling heavy.

[Donstar]

For those dirty, and heavy loads I keep an old utility trailer parked at the side of my driveway. I slap some Tremclad paint on it every 10 years or so to keep it looking good! This doesn't mean I don't use my truck as a truck but I do what I can to maintain it as my primary passenger vehicle.

[sdeeter19555]

For those dirty, and heavy loads I keep an old utility trailer parked at the side of my driveway. I slap some Tremclad paint on it every 10 years or so to keep it looking good! This doesn't mean I don't use my truck as a truck but I do what I can to maintain it as my primary passenger vehicle.

This...I have a homemade 5x8 that I max out in carrying capacity in volume way before I max out in weight (twin 8k pound axles, 245x75r16LTs, 18k in springs, etc...). Box fully loaded with gravel is only two yards, maybe 6k pounds.

 

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[sdeeter19555]

 

 

This is why I have a 2500. Two people, 36 gallons of fuel, and a couple hundred pounds of tools and such in the back, and I still have over 2300 lb to go before touching the max payload limit. And barely any rear end squat when maxed out. If one is going to haul heavy, one will be considerably happier with a pickup made for hauling heavy.

And this, for those times im m too lazy to hook the trailer up or the trailer won't fit where I need to get to (I haul a lot of fire wood).

 

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