So good call on not buying the trailer but what's really important is that I need some .22LR..
Good luck getting a safe reliable upgrade!
Brian

 

To make the math easier, I'm going to generously assume you get 10 mpg towing, even though with the frontal area of an enclosed cargo trailer, towing through hills, I rather suspect you are getting only 8 mpg towing.

1,200 miles per trip times 2 trips per month times 12 months per year equals 28,800 business miles.... times 10 mpg equals 2,880 gallons of fuel burned per year.

2,880 gallons times $4.00 per gallon (obtained from Diesel Fuel Prices in Alaska equals $11,520.00 in fuel costs per year for the business.

If you double your trips per month to haul half the weight per trip, with the same frontal area of the trailer, and over the same hills, then it looks like your fuel costs (as well as labor time) may rise appreciably.

If you halve the trips per month to haul twice the weight per trip, with the same frontal area of the trailer, and over the same hills, the it looks like your fuel costs may go down appreciably, even with more weight.

When it comes time to deciding on whether your current truck is worth keeping in order to pursue this business on an ongoing basis, the costs for fuel, in the five figure range, have equal weight now as the capitol expenditures for the truck, and the trailer.
This fuel cost factor is signifiant enough to re-evaluate the equipment choices.

If you do go with bumper pull, you will be limited to hauling about 5,000 lbs. of cargo. Maybe 6,500 lbs with an all aluminum trailer, if it will hold up to the cycling. And with 10,000 lbs. total bumper pull trailer weight, a good weight distribution system with integrated anti sway would be a wise investment, from a physics and a liability perspective.

 

You make a lot of great points, especially about the fuel cost. I just hate to throw the towel in on my truck after doing so much do it and having it set up exactly how I want. Also I am a new business and don't have a ton of money to just go out and buy a new truck either.

I've decided to purchase a 21' bumper pull that has a 6500 pound payload and I will use this while a smaller gooseneck is built to my specs.

 

Sold a pallet worth last week...

have another 150,000rnds of it due in

 

You would also be close to needing a class B cdl with the weights in the original post. My class be says 26,001 and up.

Oh and if some 9mm falls of the trailer let me know.

 

I'd go triple axle with at least 2, if not all three, having breaks. Even so, the 3.73s are going cripple you. A 350 dually would be my choice at a minimum for that load, but the 450/550 wouldn't hurt. I hooked Tex to a trailer with about 18k total last week, and although he didn't back down from the challenge of the 10 mile run, I decided not to make the two hour run trip until the new work truck comes in with two extra wheels.

 

That's not the the way it works here. Even though your question was answered quite well and you have repeatedly stated you decided against it and went with a smaller trailer; for the next 6 months people will continue to lecture you on how that is a bad idea, overweight, and if you do it people will die and you will go to jail. All true except for the sea lawyer talk.... And then about 3-5 years later someone will bring it back from the dead and it will start over again with the sea lawyer talk with no real world example.

BTW, good decision!

 

while people do it far more often than you think.... a f350 will pull that trailer weight. I have a dual tandem ( 2 axles, 8 tires) gooseneck deckover flatbed I use occasionally. I always have it behind a drw ton chassis. I see them often behind srw tonners or 3/4 ton trucks. My biggest concern would be braking. With that much weight even with properly functioning trailer brakes it takes more distance to stop. Plan ahead my friend......

 

Thank heavens you decided not to do it. The old rule of thumb was trailer should be no more than twice pickup weight. Your truck weighs about 6K, maybe a little more with goodies. You should stay under 12,000 lbs tow weight. This was a guessing game until this year. Truck manufacturers could put out any tow weight they wanted. This year DOT adopted SAE standards for all trucks to meet. Most 3/4 ton trucks are listed in new standards as falling between 11,500 and 13,500, depending on engine size and axle ratio. Look it up on the 'net and get the exact truck and trailer combo you need. Odd note about standards, most 1 ton trucks and 3/4 ton trucks are rated at the same towing capacity. Get an F450.

 

Which reminds me.... How many have actually seen the hardware on a 450? I saw bfife's 450 and that's a truck. His line was "Real trucks have square axles." The suspension is so rigid that he has a suspension seat and a suspension 5th wheel hitch. It's still a 7.3L in there, so that shows the engine is up for it.

 

This is an F-550 square tube axle, with a 14.28" ring gear.

The F-450 with a Dana S110 has a 12.25" ring gear.

The F-450 and F-350 dually with a Dana 80 have an 11.25" ring gear.

The F-350 SRW and F-250 with a Ford Visteon / Sterling axle have a 10.50" ring gear.

Because the ring gear drives the size of the pumpkin, this should give you an idea of how large the F-550 pumpkin is. It holds over 3 GALLONS, not quarts, of axle fluid. The bill for the synthetic fluid I refilled mine with was over $300.00, just for the fluid alone.

 

I don't see an opportunity for a fancy-schmancy differential cover there. That looks like a real bugger to drain.

 

Whoa Whoa Whoa hold up here, there are A LOT of factors here not considered and the solution I see is worse then proposed.

First

I don't see a sig, did you remove it since this post?

Secondly one big thing not mentioned is that weight aside a gooseneck or fifth handles weight MUCH better then ANY form of bumper pull. 15,400 lbs of gooseneck with 1720 on the pin is doable and rather safe compared to whatever this 21' 6500lb bumper pull is. If I'm not too late, get the gooseneck, worse case you put less weight in it, but I don't see it being a problem, however.....

Last and the big one, do you have a CDL, HazMat endorsement, HazMat shippers permit? Ammo is a class 1.4 explosive and a group/table 2 hazmat load. This means any hauled for commercial purposes 1,001 lbs or more must be properly packaged, labeled, placarded, transported by a licensed carrier, etc.

You are a commercial carrier, this means you must pay attention to legal weights, DOT rules, get a DOT number, etc. whether you're over 26,000lbs or not, this again favors the gooseneck. That is unless you are working outside the law, in which case, SHHHHHHHHHH.

Edit, I get the impression the answer to the CDL question is no, if so you'd be worried about legal weights, not what the truck can actually haul, the two are only loosely related. Also if it wasn't for the legal issues I'd say get the gooseneck and if the rear end becomes a problem convert it to dually. But legally that doesn't increase the GCWR of the truck, that said I haven't done much trucking of this style but from talking to others I get the impression that GCWR doesn't come up much, tire and axle ratings/limits are more important. Commercial trucking with pickups is a legal grey area but one you'll need to be more on the right side of with big placards on trailer saying "EXPLOSIVE"

 

Exactly. And that "opportunity" is not longed for either. No medium duty truck has them. No heavy duty truck has them. The cost/benefit ratio of finned aluminum covers appears dubious at best. Ford reportedly stopped using the finned aluminum covers on the Dana 80s on the 2015 models.

There's a drain plug on the bottom, making changing the oil in this differential FAR and A WAY EASIER than having to unscrew 10 bolts, remove a dripping, dirty pan, clean the pan, scrape the gasket or sealant off of the housing, clean the gasket sealing surface of the pan, re-seat a new gasket or bead of RTV, keeping everything clean while doing so, refit the pan, re thread 10 bolts, torque all 10 bolts, refill only a little bit to make sure the pan doesn't leak... then refill some more, etc... what a PIA!

With the 550 axle, just loosen the drain plug. Refill and done.

Some aftermarket aluminum pans offer this same convenience, but for some reason, not the Ford or Dana versions. I've often wondered why.

 

I had work done to the differential by a shop that specializes in them - and they put a cover on with a drain in the bottom.