spot on right there. on a side note my truck weighs 5420 with 1/2 a tank of gas. my last weigh in was 10040 the truck is rated for 8500.
How much weight can it hold?
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spot on right there. on a side note my truck weighs 5420 with 1/2 a tank of gas. my last weigh in was 10040 the truck is rated for 8500.
360 is a fine motor but she definatly is a pig. if you can get past that youll get along great!
4seasons
ArboristSite Guru
A 1 ton will haul a lot more than it claims. I have put 5 tons on one before with no problems. (I put 8 tons on one one time but I wouldn't try this at home)
360 is an acceptable engine but a little on the small side for a 1 ton. I have ran a 318 (same engine family just a little smaller) in a 1/2 ton with a few mods. (headers, intake, cam) Lots of torque not much mpg but I had a lift kit and 38"s too. I once read an article that said and engine doesn't know what brand it is only what parts are in it. A 350 chevy, 351 ford, and 360 Dodge are all in the same ballpark, it just comes down to the best parts you put on them. If you shop around chevy is cheaper to build but it is not better, more powerful, or longer lasting.
hermit
ArboristSite Operative
I cut and sold wood when I was a teenager in the 60's for $3.50 a rick (1/3 cord) My dad always figured a rick of green oak weighed 1800 #. so would be 5400# for a cord. I had a 1937 dodge hauled hay all summer and sold wood in the winter. One place a cut I got all the timber and $25.00 an acre. Now I am retired military (Ark National Guard 39 yrs) and civil service 35 yrs( Heavy equip mech) and I cut my own wood on my own land. 380 acres of hard wood. (oak,hickory, maple etc) enjoy every minute. I have more chainsaws than I know (I use to raid the recycle center) two 4x4 trks,three bulldozers, one runs Cat D6C My wife has just gave upon me after 42 yrs together she decided I won't change. I still help her plant flowers.
kfhines
ArboristSite Lurker
Hi guys,
Sorry, occupational hazard I should have explained my calculations of 7168LBS/cord were based on the specific gravity of a solid cubic foot of Maple this does not take into account air gaps when stacked or thrown in the back of a truck.
I believe most people don't realize what stuff weighs in bulk and routinely over load their trucks, I am as guilty as any body. I own an F150 SC even with the 5-1/2ft bed it is still easy to over load with wood.
Just for comparison a cubic foot of mild steel weighs all most 500LBS.
My next truck will be either an F250 or F350.
kfhines
(Full time Design Engineer/Wood burner part time Timber Framer)
Sorry, occupational hazard I should have explained my calculations of 7168LBS/cord were based on the specific gravity of a solid cubic foot of Maple this does not take into account air gaps when stacked or thrown in the back of a truck.
I believe most people don't realize what stuff weighs in bulk and routinely over load their trucks, I am as guilty as any body. I own an F150 SC even with the 5-1/2ft bed it is still easy to over load with wood.
Just for comparison a cubic foot of mild steel weighs all most 500LBS.
My next truck will be either an F250 or F350.
kfhines
(Full time Design Engineer/Wood burner part time Timber Framer)
wdchuck
Addicted to ArboristSite
Sounds like a perfect wood hauler for the weekends, tromping through the woods, don't have to worry about scratches, dings or any of that, just keep a stout set of tires on it, and you'll always have the Ford in good condition for regular use.
Just a suggestion; a trailer behind the ford would be less expensive.
Just a suggestion; a trailer behind the ford would be less expensive.
Highbeam
ArboristSite Guru
One ton suspension does not make a one ton. There's this sticker in the door jamb that can't be changed and will always limit you to the original truck's capacity. In 1989 Dodge trucks still had the boxy bodystyle and they rode like tanks. Auto trannys were weak.
Still, if the 20 year old truck is in great shape it is worth 1000$ american.
audible fart
MS390 OAK CZAR
2.7 tacoma 4x4
I'm going to put my shortbed 5 speed 4x4 tacoma to the test tomorrow. Hauling a 6x12 landscaping trailer full of split green wood (2 ft high level with the top of the trailer). And a bedfull of the same split green wood. About 120 highway/ rural road miles to my buddys house. I have hellwig ez level 550 helper springs. It will be interesting. I have one of those adjustable ball hitch that you can ratchet up or down to keep the trailer level. Tacomas have notoriously weak leaf springs though.
I'm going to put my shortbed 5 speed 4x4 tacoma to the test tomorrow. Hauling a 6x12 landscaping trailer full of split green wood (2 ft high level with the top of the trailer). And a bedfull of the same split green wood. About 120 highway/ rural road miles to my buddys house. I have hellwig ez level 550 helper springs. It will be interesting. I have one of those adjustable ball hitch that you can ratchet up or down to keep the trailer level. Tacomas have notoriously weak leaf springs though.
Nope. That assumes the cord is a solid block and no air in the load. Figure about 26% to 27% air. That drops it to 5900 lb for a cord of green white oak wood. The heaviest load I ever carried was green locust. It may absorb more water than oak. Green mulberry may absorb even more, percentage wise. A lot depends also on the time of the year when cut. Late spring and early summer (now) may produce the heaviest green wood of all.
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indiansprings
Firewood Purveyor
Must be a Ford thing; we haul two tons (2 pallets of 40 sacks 50lbs ea) of feed in our 1/2 ton chevrolets all the time with no issues. Our 95 3/4 ton dodge wood hauler with side boards hauls two & half ricks stacked in. We run ten ply tires. Same thing with round bales, the 1/2 tons we haul one bale on (4x6 JD net wrapped alfalfa weight an avg of 1870 lbs) and two bales on the 3/4 tons.
People under utilize their trucks all the time. We just don't drive hell for leather when we are loaded. We pull goose neck trailers with 14-17 tons of hay all the time with 3/4 trucks. On the half tons we try to keep our trailer loads to 10-12 tons, these loads due not include the weight of the trailer.
We have stacked 10 ricks of green wood on our 2 ton truck countless times.
You just need to make sure you have the braking system to stop the load at a reasonable speed. I see Mennonite kids 16-17 years old driving like they stole it with one ton's with forty foot trailers with 30 round bales probably 22-24 tons plus trailer weight, it's damn scary to meet one of them.
People under utilize their trucks all the time. We just don't drive hell for leather when we are loaded. We pull goose neck trailers with 14-17 tons of hay all the time with 3/4 trucks. On the half tons we try to keep our trailer loads to 10-12 tons, these loads due not include the weight of the trailer.
We have stacked 10 ricks of green wood on our 2 ton truck countless times.
You just need to make sure you have the braking system to stop the load at a reasonable speed. I see Mennonite kids 16-17 years old driving like they stole it with one ton's with forty foot trailers with 30 round bales probably 22-24 tons plus trailer weight, it's damn scary to meet one of them.
Odd. My Ford Ranger holds a half cord mixed hardwoods (oak, ash, mulberry, etc.) easily with the racks in place (avatar), green or dry. When the wood is dry, I can mound it to 75 cu ft, but when green, I cut it back to half a cord.
I'm running the original leaf springs and have oversize P265 tires on it, but no air shocks or air bags.
10,000lbs in the bed of a 1-ton truck? Somebody is either stupid or a liar. Either way, hope you don't kill someone when your overloaded truck loses control.
Eight tons and you start feeling it in a Ford L-series straight truck - accelerating, stopping, and turning. In a pick-up? Come on.
KMB
Addicted to ArboristSite
Another AS member already pointed out my misunderstanding in a PM and he had similar info to pass on. Good stuff.
Kevin
4seasons
ArboristSite Guru
F-350 10 ft flatbed with dump gvw 14500 hauling 12-16 foot pine logs for pulp wood. It was a 87,88 or 89 with a 6.9 pre powerstoke diesel. My drop tickets were always between 4-5 tons. The heaviest load was too many 16 feet logs and the front was way too light. This was on a 15 mile trip at 35 mph. I also hauled pallets of rock on it. The first load I did was 4 pallets stacked 4 foot high with 2-4 inch thick sandstone. Didn't realize that it would weigh 2 tons per pallet. It was only a 5 mile trip down back roads. I had to run the stop signs on the way cause there was no way that truck would have pulled out uphill. After that I cut it back to 2 pallets per trip.
I said it wasn't a good idea. And I know that 9 out of 10 people on the road can't drive. I have been driving big rigs for over 10 years now. I did some stupid things when I was younger (like putting 8 tons on a 1 ton) but you also have to remember that gvw is a government regulated number and is way on the safe side. I have well over a million miles under my belt and know how to handle a heavy vehicle. So yes it is stupid to 8 tons on a 1 ton, you might want to get all the facts before saying someone is a lair.
Now I have never driven a L series truck so I can't speak to what an 8 ton load feel like on one. I have however had that much and more on a F-650 several times and while over the gvw (I had to dodge some scales) The truck handled it well. It was slow going uphill and you have to watch following and stopping distance but government is out of line telling me that the truck can't handle it. And just in case you were wondering I have a clean driving record. The only accident I have in the past 10 years was when guy in a civic lost control in a wet curve and hit me in my ditch. (I saw him coming and had already moved as far right as possible and stopped in my wife's Jeep 2 weeks after we bought it)
The point of my post was simply that truck makers are required to underrate their capacites my the government. Perhaps that is what I should of said.
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I had 2600# of gravel in the back of my 95 chevy 1/2 ton and it felt like the front tires were off the ground, i was no doubt overdoing it for a 1/2 ton.
I pull a 6ft x 14ft double axle trailer to haul my wood, i can get about 1 1/2 cord in it and it pulls nice.
I pull a 6ft x 14ft double axle trailer to haul my wood, i can get about 1 1/2 cord in it and it pulls nice.
I would never put 4,000 lb in a half-ton truck either. That's suicide. An average half cord, even green, weighs about 2,600 lb. For some reason, my Ranger still has some leaf spring left when carrying a half cord of green firewood. A half cord of green locust was the heaviest load that I have ever carried, and I would never load her up that much again. It was a short local trip at low speed, and thank heavens for that.
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KsWoodsMan
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yes, I can stack the box slightly over level on mine and hardly know it was back there except the ride starts to smooth out. Green wood just means a smoother ride yet. I'll easily put on a stacked cord of dry wood (3800 #'s) and think nothing of it. A full cord of green wood (5400 #'s)puts me a bit over 10,000 at the scales. I worry more about wood falling off than I do about getting it stopped.
Empty or loaded , speed is your enemy. Your safety is in your own hands. If you drive safely normally, it wouldn't be much of a factor by adding 2700 pounds in the back of a 3/4 ton PU. Unless you put it all on the tail gate. Then you are just asking for problems.
giXXer
ArboristSite Operative
Depending on the make and year, the difference between a 1 ton and a 3/4 are typically minor. I have a 99 super duty 1 ton and I know for that year and a few years after the F250's have a dana 50 (optional dana 60) front axle and the 350's come with the 60. You could get both trucks with 1 of 3 or 4 spring packages. Same drivetrains, frame, etc. My truck is a short box with a back rack so I stack it high in the front of the bed, sloping down to the tailgate. I typically haul about 1/2 full cord and save a majority of the weight for the trailer. I could probably get some more in the bed, but I don't like expensive repairs or being stranded on the side of a two-track in the middle of no where. If the firewood trailer breaks, which it won't, you can always disconnect it and drive away.
With all of this discussion regarding overloading trucks, I can't believe the subject of rear axle damage has not come up yet. With Rangers running a 7.5" rear end (sometimes 8.8's), F150's running 8.8's (explorer rear ends) and 9.75's, which are not "full-floating" axles. Even my 1 ton rear end, which is a full-floating axle, has been gone through. Granted, it now has close to 300,000 miles on it, but still, not a cheap repair. For the most part, all of us try to save a few dollars, among the many other reasons, by heating with wood and it seems counter productive to tear-up expensive truck parts (transmissions, u-joints, rear ends, leaf springs, etc.) over loading a truck just to get a few extra pieces of wood. Due to the cost of rebuild an axle I now have a spare rear end that I picked up very cheap and it's complete, ready to swap in (except calipers and rotors). If you are in a situation like that I can see throwing a little extra on the top of the pile, but why not keep a look out for a crappy used, but over-built utility trailer. When I bought my wood trailer all of the decking was very soft and needed to be replaced, it also needed lights and paint, but was very functional. With the box of the truck (1/2 cord) and the trailer (1 full cord) loaded I have 4.5 face cords (1.5 full cords) going down the road. That amount of wood is perfect for me because it's not too much to have to cut and load for one trip. Some may cut more in a day so get a little bigger trailer.
On a side note, don't know if this should go under another thread, but anyone have any good stories of really "fubaring" trucks or trailers hauling firewood? We all know it happens quick and in my area, it seems to happen often. Any good ones?
Well Is s 2 broken leaf springs considered "fubaring" my truck?
I have a 2 WD Ranger, and had to replace 2 broken springs.
I bought the truck used so I don't know what happened before I owned it, but it could have been from over loading with fire wood. I try to be conservative and not load over the side walls.
I have a 2 WD Ranger, and had to replace 2 broken springs.
I bought the truck used so I don't know what happened before I owned it, but it could have been from over loading with fire wood. I try to be conservative and not load over the side walls.Similar threads
