To Much Weight?

JRayls2500hd · May 21, 2008

i was wondering i have recently took over the family motorsports career from my dad. we have a super modified two wheel drive pulling truck that weighs 6200 lbs. we have a 40' enclosed triple axle gooseneck trailer. with the pulling truck and trailer and the four wheeler and tools and fuel and clothes and stuff it should weigh in the neighborhood of 16000 to 19500 is this to much for a single wheel 2003 2500hd to handle. i have a 8100 with a manuel six speed. i know i can pull it and i shouldnt have any more of a hard time stoppin it than dads 3500 dually would i . what do you all think would their be to much of a side to side stability issue??

Nice rig · May 21, 2008

Please tell me you have a trailer brake set-up and not just praying you can stop with the rotors themselves.

ak63 · May 21, 2008

What are the label ratings on your driver's side door? It sounds like you are way over them with that setup. That could give you insurance and liability issues.

Genuinefine409 · May 21, 2008

i was wondering i have recently took over the family motorsports career from my dad. we have a super modified two wheel drive pulling truck that weighs 6200 lbs. we have a 40' enclosed triple axle gooseneck trailer. with the pulling truck and trailer and the four wheeler and tools and fuel and clothes and stuff it should weigh in the neighborhood of 16000 to 19500 is this to much for a single wheel 2003 2500hd to handle. i have a 8100 with a manuel six speed. i know i can pull it and i shouldnt have any more of a hard time stoppin it than dads 3500 dually would i . what do you all think would their be to much of a side to side stability issue??

you are allowed around 22,000 combined weight, and with a gooseneck your allowed to trailer 15,800 out back. if the depending on the axles and how much you load the trailer up you may be over the GVWR of the trialer as well, most of the ones i've seen are 18,000lbs consisting of 3 6,000 dexter axles. you need to get to a scale and find out for sure, its the only way to know.

wellinghurst · May 22, 2008

You can do it, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should. If you go by the ratings, you may be overweight it sounds like. At 16,000 lbs you are obviously exceeding the tow rating, but depending on the actual weight, you could be under the 22,000 combined.

markw8 · May 22, 2008

As above you need to know your total weight and each axle weight with all equiptment, and people, who usually ride along, in the truck on the scales. You need to make sore you don't exceed the rear tire rating. Mark.

JRayls2500hd · May 22, 2008

well we went over the scales a few years back when dad had a 4door ford diesel 4x4 and the total weight of the truck and trailer loaded was 26500 i know ill be less because i have a lighter truck will have a 4wheeler inside instead of ofa john deere gator and i do have electric brakes i have 24000 pound license on the truck

Mike2500HD · May 23, 2008

Too many other variables come into play to guess based on a different truck. Go to the truck stop and pay for axle weights. The wheel base of the truck the trailer, the position of the toung, where the weight is positioned in the trailer all change the axle loadings. I was in the trucking buisnes for 25 years. Without weighing on an axle scale I would say you are over loading the truck for sure. Perhaps if the scale weights prove your not overloading any axle or exceding the tire load ratings, maybe your just running the truck at its limit. I wouldnt suggest doing that for very long either. 2 inches change the axle loadings by as much as 500 lbs. Large truck and trailers have sliders for the fifth wheel and trailer axles. Look at the holes on a big trucks trailer slider. At 80,000 lbs one hole equals 500 lbs. if you are loading your rig at the very max you will need to have everything in exactly the same spot every time you load it or you might shift enough weight to one axle to overload it or the tires. If the track is 5 minutes from your house thats one thing. If your planning on hitting the hiway for a couple hours you better have perfect tires with exact air pressures. Its always better to have too much truck rather than too much load. M.R.

Mike2500HD · May 23, 2008

And I just re read your post...You have a 24000 lb plate and a 26500 load. Thats 2500 lbs over your reg gross weight. What do you think the fines in your state might be for that? then if you have overloaded tires once they find you they will put you out of service. Then you will have to unload the trailer and leave your stuff while you go home and unload then come back to get the rest of your stuff!!!! Not that I never ran overloaded....but I was earning money by the weight....sounds to me you have too many questions to operate that vehicle safely.

JRayls2500hd · May 23, 2008

well i know the tires are not overloaded on the trailer they are 14 ply and and are closely monitered to 80lbs. and riding on triple 8000 pound axles. the truck tires are 10 ply and run at 55lbs. the pulling truck always sits in the same spot everytime in the trailer within an inch everytime becuase it has pads it sits on to strap it down. but i agree i do need to go over a set of scales to know exactly what everything is. i know its not the best way to judge but the way the truck sits in the trailer im almost positive that 70 to 75% of the weight is on the trailer axles because it hardly squats the truck. but like i said i really need to weigh it to make sure

svensk · May 23, 2008

Time for a 4500 or a 5500 topkick. You can get them fully decked out with 4 doors and a gooseneck hitch for under 70K. As far has I know they still even offer the 8.1L and 6 speed up to the 5500.

They have no problem jerking around 26K lb. trailers. Much safer too.

JRayls2500hd · May 23, 2008

And I just re read your post...You have a 24000 lb plate and a 26500 load. Thats 2500 lbs over your reg gross weight. What do you think the fines in your state might be for that? then if you have overloaded tires once they find you they will put you out of service. Then you will have to unload the trailer and leave your stuff while you go home and unload then come back to get the rest of your stuff!!!! Not that I never ran overloaded....but I was earning money by the weight....sounds to me you have too many questions to operate that vehicle safely.

that 26500 was on dads truck and he was not overloaded. i have 24000 on a totaly different truck and besides the whole topic was started on if the truck would be able handle it without dual wheels. i have plenty of experience hauling a load.

markw8 · May 23, 2008

If you have E rated tires on the truck they need to have 80lbs in them. Untill it's weighed you should assume your at the limit or over. With my truck camper loaded to travel, iam at 5800lbs on the rear with 6084lbs tire capacity. Mine is a 2000, 2500ext 4x4. Probably 500-800lbs lighter.Mark.

Roofer · May 23, 2008

If you are towing often, get a dually. If this is only a few times a month, the truck will handle it. I tow a gooseneck trailer rated for 24,000 lbs. and have a 16,000 machine on it. I don't tow it often, but the truck handles it ok.

I would be a little more concerned in your situation just because of wind on the enclosed trailer. Dually's seem to handle sway a little better. I would take it out loaded and see how you like the feel. Most will not recommend it, but yes, the truck will handle it with single tires. Just make sure you air them up and have a good hitch.