32 replies to this topic

[Happyjax]

According to my bathroom scale I'm about 25 lbs over ...... hope I don't get a ticket on my way to the donut shop this morning

[longhorn1]

Just leave your wife at the scale 

I will be sure to share that with her

[longhorn1]

Surprised with the you're over the gvwr with a f-250

I kinda was also.  However, I took stock of what we took and right away I came up with ways to cut back.  First of all when we go we fill our water tank with home water, and that is for a 2 day or 2 week trip.  If we are going for a weekend, I can get by with 1/2 tank as it is usually to state parks were we can shower.  I have a system with our Engle cooler.  We cool it the day before with a bag of ice, which gets tossed out.  I place our juice containers in 1 end with frozen water bottles and a cranberry container with the top cut off - ice block.  On the other half, water bottles, beer, other drinks topped with ice kept in the freezer for a couple days ahead, solidly frozen, not wet.  Well that cooler weights alot, more than I can lift, so it is loaded empty on the built-platform behind my seat.  Instead of traveling with a case of water and other drinks, I'm thinking about taking what we need for the drive portion and picking up supplies just prior to our first destination campground.  I carry a tote that has 2-3 extension cords, a 30amp cord, the FWC convertor for an extension cord, surge protector, 50-amp convertor, and 25' reel of water hose.  The tote is heavy and half of the stuff could be left at home.  Clothes and other things can be cut back as well.  I'm only talking about 20 lbs. so I think it is doable.

 

jd

[DSD277]

I'm not sure when Ford coined the name Super Duty for their F-250/350s, but should be Super Fat. Back in the '80/'90s, I had a few F250 4x4 Supercabs, all had a 8800lb GVW and a 3900lb payload cap +/-. around 2005  I looked at the Fords and the "same" truck that I was buying before now had a 10,000lb GVW , BUT  the payload capacity was down around 2700lbs.To have a comparable payload to before, I would need to buy a SRW F-350... granted only a few hundred dollars more at the time, but showed how fat the Ford trucks had gotten.

 

I tend to study specs before buying a new truck, and a "grazer" on brand purchases( buying a Ford  one time and then a Chevy, and a Dodge) , and not a one Brand flag waver as a Chevy dealer friend/owner had called me .

 

Before buying a truck, don't look just at the GVW, but also the payload capacity, and if you trailer anything, figure that into reducing the payload capacity by the tongue weight.  Most car salemen don't know anything about combining all the numbers to get the customer what they really need... and unfortunately, some customers don't look any further than price and fuel mileage... and even brand loyalty.

Truck buying is nowhere near the same as buying a car. Same with buying and towing a trailer, the license requirement changes when the GVW of the trailer goes over 10,000 lbs,

[Ace!]

Your 1980s/1990s F250 might have been great, but the components drivetrain/suspension components used in the F250 today are night and day better (stronger).

[DSD277]

Your 1980s/1990s F250 might have been great, but the components drivetrain/suspension components used in the F250 today are night and day better (stronger).

I wasn't talking about technology improvements, but weighs/capacities changes.

The F150 are getting lighter, and IF ordered correctly can be gotten with a higher payload than a F250.

And before some one wants to get started. I am not saying to buy a F150 instead of a F250. People need to know how they are going to use and what payloads they are normally going to carry, and/or if towing.

[Foy]

The truck is a crew cab, long bed and the camper is a Grandby. I stopped at a CAT Scale before leaving and minus my wife and dog, with full tank, camper and supplies and the weight was 9,800 lbs. Stopped at another CAT Scale in Arkansas, full tank and wife, dog, and fully loaded camper with a weight of 10,020 lbs. The GVWR on the truck sticker is 10,000. That means we were 20 lbs over.

 

JD,

 

Our trucks are similar.  Mine's an '02 F350 SRW Crew Cab long bed 4WD diesel, Lariat, towing package, "off road package" (whatever that is).  GVWR 9,900.  From everything I've read, my truck is the same in every way to an '02 F250 SRW, excepting mine has 2" spacer blocks and a single-leaf overload spring in the rear and came from the factory with tires having a higher weight capacity. Same transmission, main springs, brakes, drivelines, etc, etc as an F250 of the same model year, yet Ford gets to call it an F350.  I've even got 100 lbs less GVWR than you have.

 

It's all kind of silly.  The dirty little secret is that taking a "one ton" rating and loading it up with weight such as the crew cab, long bed, and a 1,200 lb engine takes away from load capacity.  There are plenty of half-ton pickups which have greater load capacity than our "Superdutys" have.  

 

I'm concerned about exceeding GVWR but not by a mere 20 lbs.  What I will not do is pop a 3,500 lb hardside truck camper on it and call it good to go.  As I've expressed before within these forums, I am concerned about legal liability in the event of a crash if I am grossly over GVWR.  

 

I got mine because I wanted a durable, rugged truck capable of towing a heavy trailer yet getting 20 mpg on the highway unloaded and gently driven, on fuel which cost less than gasoline.  I got all of that, only the price curves on the fuel crossed soon after my 2004 purchase (used) and diesel has been less costly than gasoline only once since they crossed, and that for a very brief time.  

 

I would not nip and tuck on gear and kit over a 20 lb "overage".

 

Foy

[Ace!]

I wasn't talking technology either.  I was talking about the difference between a Dana 44 front end, a Dana 50, Dana 60 and Dana Super60, and the difference between a Ford 10.25 and 10.5 rear end, as well as the engines and transmissions.  The F250 used to be (in the 1980s and 1990s) based on the light duty F150.  It is now based on a light/medium (kind of hybrid) duty truck.  The payload may not be as high, but the components are more robust with higher capacities.  For example, the Dana Super60 is MUCH stronger than the TTB/Dana 44, Dana 50 but adds weight to the vehicle (impacting the amount of payload available before reaching the GVWR), same with the stronger frame, larger brakes, diesel engines, wheels, etc.

 

Think of it this way, you had 3900 payload and a GVWR of 8800 lbs.  So, your F250 weighed roughly 5,000 lbs empty.  The current F250 weighs close to 7,000 lbs. empty.  That's not just bloat, that's just about every meaningful mechanical part being stronger than the F250 was in 1980s/1990s.

 

You're buying a heavier truck now.  Payload may have gone down, but strength is much higher, as is towing capacity.  With an F250 you can only go so high with payload/GAWR anyway because non-commercial type components such as tires/wheels will be your limiting factor (not the mechanical component).  So, the payload doesn't need to be 4,000 lbs if your truck weight is 3500 lbs on that axle and you have tires rated to 3,195 lbs each.  At that point, you max the tires with ~2700 lbs in the bed (crew cab).  The payload of an F250 regular or super cab is higher (Ford.com shows SC with a payload of up to 3,700 lbs...not that different than 3,900).

 

As an FYI, the listed payload is based on the weakest component as the truck is equipped from the factory (which is usually the tires).  So, almost always, the manufacturer will lower the payload capacity based on that weakest link.  When it comes to the current F250, all of the other components have a much higher capacity than your old F250, except the tires.  So, the payload is decreased to match the tires.  If the truck were equipped from the factory using higher rated tires, the capacity/payload would go up accordingly (or at least based on the next weakest component, which is likely the wheels).

 

ETA: if payload is the standard by which you base capacity then you're right, the current F250 isn't the truck it used to be.  However, if you choose any number of other things, it's much better.  For example, choose capacity to stop and the vehicle can now safely stop 10,000 lbs. as GVW or combined with an additional 15,000 lbs of trailer weight.

Edited by Ace!, 01 April 2016 - 11:45 PM.

[PaulT]

There was an echo in here,

Paul

Edited by PaulT, 01 April 2016 - 09:15 PM.

[DSD277]

Foy,

Somewhere you have an "unladen" weight label on your truck. Take that and deduct it from your GVWR, that would give you your payload, It will probably be more than Longhorn1. Without doing some digging, I would guess that a '02 F250 would have a GVWR somewhere around 9200lbs. Your F350 probably has a different front axle, hence the rear spacers and has larger brakes.

Historically, brakes also change as you go from a 1/2 ton to a 3/4 and to a 1 ton. I do know that there has been brake size changes between SRW and DRW 1 ton pickups.