1 Ton Chev Dump (weight again)

[KMB]

Congrats on your new wood hauler! Got pictures? As far as how much it can haul, sometimes you can find websites where you can enter your VIN number and it will give you the specs on your vehicle. Also look-up Chevy truck forums for info on your truck.

Kevin

 

[STANG302]

How much it can legally haul and how much it can actually haul will be two completely different things. I'd say a 1-ton would probably be legal for 2-3K lbs and that's pushing it.

Also you need to be care full when you put plates on your truck. Make sure you get the proper weight clasification. I have my truck registered for 12K lbs. Its easy to be cheap till the state trooper pulls you over and gives you a ticket because you don't have the correct plates on your truck. Here in WI. there cracking down on that hard!

 

[blades]

Do not know about chevy, I have had close to 2 on my ford F350. When I am plowing snow there is 1000# plow on front, heavy duty bumper 200# salter 200# and 2000# in salt out the door, plus snow blowers, tow chains, winch, ect. no issues.
Got to watch the chevy frame though about where it curves up for the front suspension, they like to crack there, age dosen't matter. The GMC version has a gusset plate welded on in that area to correct problem. You can find info on this on the snowplowing fourms.

 

[tomtrees58]

is it a c30 ? gvw look on the door tom trees

 

[blades]

do not know if problem occurs without plowing, considering where the breaks are occuring in the frame that i have repaired and seen other pics of, I would judge it as an oem issue, also noting the added gusset on the gmc frame vs chevy. Occurs 90's thru current.

 

[dean06919]

That is a great find Catfish, you will find lots of uses for that truck.

I purchased a 1990 F350 dually, 4x4, FI 460 earlier this year. I've hauled everything in it, wood, sand, rock, building material, etc. I have done more work around my house/yard in the last month than I did all of last year because of this truck.

As for a comparison, my uncle has basically the same truck (1994) with a FI 454, only it's a GMC. His truck rides nicer empty, seems to have a sharper turning radius, sits lower to the ground, and has a better interior in regards to layout (door handles and radio are in a more logical place), and options (mine doesn't have a trip odometer, why??) However, my F350 seems to handle loads better and the 460 hands down is my favorite motor. It offers the same HP and torque but uses far less gas and has been extremely reliable so far.

As for load weight. I'm not sure what the legal limit is. I put 2" oak planks on my sides and can easily haul over a cord. With the sides, my box measures almost 7 feet wide, 8 feet long and 4 feet high. Even hand stacked slightly above the top rail, the truck has no problem hauling it. Just make sure to adjust for your break points and corners. If you ever rode MX, this should not be a problem.

So, I guess if your a good driver, the trucks in good mechanical shape, and you don't have far to go, you should be able to haul any reasonable amount of wood. Just make sure you can dump it. While hauling dune sand, I found that my truck won't dump anything over 5 tons, but my uncles will. Just remember you will be held liable if you get in an accident with an overloaded truck.

Enjoy your new truck catfish and you might want to see what your state offers as far as plates. Michigan wanted almost $500/year for plates because of the trucks body style. Yet farming and logging plates cost about $35 per year.

 

[KMB]

Might be a tad off topic/thread hijack...but how many of you guys with 1 ton dumps hand load your trucks (whether tossed or stacked in the box)?

Kevin

 

[STANG302]

Might be a tad off topic/thread hijack...but how many of you guys with 1 ton dumps hand load your trucks (whether tossed or stacked in the box)?

Kevin

All muscle here. Weather its into our trucks or onto our deckover trailer.

 

[clearance]

The red tape begins. Tried to get an insurance quote, and gave them the VIN off the truck, and they say it does not exist. It does, I test drove the non-existent truck last night. I broke down the VIN myself, and it decribes the vehicle as it is - 1 ton, GM, Michigan, 1984 etc... Anyone ever deal with this? Any ideas? Thanks.

The VIN is very usefull, it tells many things on those trucks.
As far as wieght, I would say way more than 3k lbs. I have had a few 1980 3/4 tons, the gvw on a 1980 2 wheel drive camper special is 8600 lbs, they wiegh around 5300 lbs empty, so thats 3300 lbs right there. You have two more tires.

 

[Peacock]

That truck shouldn't have much trouble with 3 ton of weight. Stopping is always the issue with those old trucks. I've had 5k in my K20 a few times and it handled the weight fine. It's had 2 ton LOTS of times in it. You just have to be extra careful.

 

[Mud23609]

Assuming your side boards are of reasonable height you should have no problem filling the truck to capacity before you run out of weight. On my f-350 my helper springs are barley engaged when the box is full of wood.

As for the other poster asking about loading. Well that depends on where I am at with it. If I have a big pile of wood to load and haul home I will often bring my skid steer to load off the pile. If I only have a truck load or to though I will load it by hand.

Dirt though I always use a machine.


As for being able to dump it with lots of weight that depends on the truck and the system that is installed for the hydraulics. Mine will dump red clay or gravel that I loaded two more buckets with the skid AFTER the axle was on the bump stops (No I don't travel far or down public roads at all when loaded like that).

 

[wdchuck]

Have fun with it.

My insurance said the one ton needs a commercial policy, so that was a new number to call, extra policy, etc.....

Our F350 was a dumping flatbed from the factory, so with a 7.5' x 12' bed, 38" headache rack welded on, and the 2x6's for sides, it holds 2.3 cords of split wood stacked tight.

I"m not sure what a full box of hand tossed oak splits amounts to yet, or weighs, but the pto dump takes it right up with the engine just idling....

 

[blades]

got to love ins. co., commercial auto policy exact same coverage as reg policy just twice as much cost. what a crock.

 

[nhlogga]

Hello,
I have solved my 1/2 ton truck problem. Looked at and bought a 1984 Chevy 1 ton dump last night. It is in great shape for its age (no rust, new rad,leafs,battery,hyd.pump&tank,plug wires & distributor, brakes, brake lines,burns no oil,dual rear tires), and runs and sounds great. Anyway, does anyone have such a rig? How much wood could it safely carry? It will hold a half cord easily, I'm sure. Any info would be great. Thanks

you can haul atleast 1 cord easily. your gvw should be 10k to 12k and should be a sticker or data plate either on your driver side door next to the latch or on the door jam. also look in the glove box. there maybe more info. there. it should be a sticker with your vin and a bunch of codes. if its there you can call a chevy dealer and by those codes they can tell you all about your truck. being an '84 the stickers maybe worn off. good luck and enjoy your new 1 ton.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Here in WI the DOT will use the LOWEST of these weights to determine the legal weight of the truck:

Truck GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) Rated maximum weight of the truck.

Vehicle GCWR (gross combination weight rating) - The rated weight the truck can carry AND tow.

Trailer GVWR - see truck gvwr, only for the trailer.

GAWR - (Gross axle weight rating), what each individual axle can carry.

Rated weight of tires (listed on tire sidewalls). Truck may be legal, but with cheapo passenger tires, it could be overloading the tires.

When you get into bigger trucks/trailers there is also a "bridge law", but it's not an issue with most P/U and trailer combos, and difficult to explain, so we'll leave that alone for now.

Registered weight - don't cheap out and buy plates for less than the truck is rated for. I've seen 3/4 ton trucks around here with 6,000 lb registration, and a quite a few of them are likely overweight with just driver and fuel. Wisconsin has a "Dual Purpose Farm" plate which allows a lighter GVW during normal uses, and a 12,000 GVW when used for farm purposes. I'd hate to get into a fight with DOT whether firewood sales (or even hauling for burning in the farm shop) would constitute farm use, though.

Steve

 

[svcman]

1 ton suspension

I have a 2001 gmc 3500 1 ton dually with a small block 6.0L, in the summer months its loaded with a 11 1/2 lance camper that weighs 4500 lbs full of gear and handles it well without 5000lb air bags. I did just add 5000lb air bags on it to level the ride, but it did not really need it. Went last weekend and loaded the truck and 6x12 trailer full of wood,( but no air added to the bags )You could not build sides high enough to max out the 1 ton suspension, load er up till she's full and add just a little more for good measure.

 

[jmcguiretree]

I have a 1-ton crew cab with single rear wheels.I put a dump-insert in it and found that it can really haul some weight.Last year I put some driveway mix in it and scaled in at 5300lbs more than empty.It was more than I should have had but it still hauled it.

 

[chowdozer]

Catfish, if your truck is a dually, it has a 5500# rear axle. It weighs about 6000# and it's GVW is 12,000. I would not hesitate to put 5-6000 on it.

 

[JJuday]

If you find out the GVW, then get the truck weight you can subtract and get the real world cargo weight. Of course that is what you will be legally able to haul, but the reality is that you should be able to haul 3 tons without much trouble. The side boards are just there to keep the load in the bed. I have a International S1600 and I have loaded it to 16800 in the bed before, yes, it was scary when I got it on the scales and found out what I had in it. That put the combined weight to 28500, the legal GVCW is 24000. GVCW is machine and additional cargo....trailer,load, so on and so forth. A friend of mine broke his wheel studs at 11000 on his F350 dump, so don't over do it! That would have put the GVCW at around 18000!!! That is way too much for a class 3 truck.JJ

 

[merlynr]

My 71F350 will haul 3 tons if I'm going on hiway like with gravel or dirt. The overloads aren't touching. Sometimes hauling oak stacked over the 4 ft sides they touch! This is for short distances of 1-2 miles. The 360 gets u there but not in any hurry. The older hydraulics have never refused to lift, but it has twin telescoping cylinders.