That's a little better. Live oak is about as heavy as you can get. But for a standard F150 that's 3-4 trips.

Twenty years ago we had multiple trips of 1/2 cord of dry pine each in the back of my truck. It filled the entire box, but must of weighed less than 1000 pounds. To my back it felt like 3 tons to unload. The type/density of wood makes a big difference.

 

the 10.25 should be rated for 6050lbs, which is what the door sticker says(actually 9000lbs in medium duty applications). Any D or E rated tire should be able to handle the load. The air bags will make it ride like its not even there. And the frame will handle the load no problems. They are ALOT stronger then most think.

Just pile as much as you can.

the 10.5 is actually often considered weaker then the 10.25. The housing is the same strength, and you get a slightly stronger ring and pinon, but they have smaller inner bearings and races, and a smaller pinon bearing.

 

I've had 2628lbs of rock in my F-150. I don't recommend doing this too much. Get a trailer, make more trips or get a heavier truck if want yours to last.

Tim

 

About the "heavier truck": The point of adding the ZF, the sterling, the air bags and heavy load tires is to give my F150 some of the capabilities of a more heavy duty truck, at least for a few trips a year.

If you don't think those mods would do the trick, then please tell me what would ...

 

I'm with Tim--I did 3000 lbs. in the back of my '90 F150 a couple of times, weighed at a scale (I bought gravel). There's no question it was hard on the truck, even though I was driving like a half-blind grandma. That truck had an extra leaf in the rear springs, and they were still getting close to flat (probably were when I hit bumps). Getting it moving was no problem for the 302/AOD/3.55/29" tires, but I could definitely tell that the brakes were very near their limit.

Make several trips.

Jason

 

Then I guess you should be fine. But, heavier duty trucks are built heavy duty from the ground up. They're not modified half tons.

As I mentioned, pulling a trailer may be easier on your rig than loading it to the stops. I see half ton trucks pulling Brimar dump trailers all the time. These guys are roofers, landscapers or whatever and these lighter duty trucks seem to handle the weight of the trailer better than the bulk weight in the bed.

 

Did you have a long or short box, and how full was the bed with that gravel? Was it spread evenly, or did you have it piled up? (Just curious about what that much gravel looks like in a pickup.)Now you better watch what you say about half-blind grandmas! My grandmother was over 85 and driving a huge green 1970 Cadillac Seville with a 500 cubic inch engine. She had stubby legs and had trouble with the pedals even with the seat far forward. In our small town she'd come to a light, look down for the gas pedal and STAB at it. Smoked the tires like you wouldn't believe. She was half deaf and couldn't hear what was going on either, so she was always surprised when the cops stopped her. (Never did write her up though ... great thing about small towns)Were these springs you made up yourself? A kit? Overload kits are often quoted at so many pounds ...I have new brakes all around, including EBC yellowstuff for the front pads. Most pads have trouble over 600 degrees, but these are race application, and designed to withstand 1100 degrees. Loud and dusty, but they stop like nobody's business!

OK -- so you wouldn't feel any differently even if you had the ZF, sterling, 5k air bags, etc., etc ...

 

I don't think you're going to get a concise answer until you are clear about what you're asking.

There is a formula to calculate what is legal / manufacturer rated for the truck. My understanding is that the law doesn't care what upgrades you may have performed on the truck.

If you're asking what is a SAFE amount of wood that your truck can carry, you have to factor in many variables: No matter what you do to the truck, it still has a half-ton frame. What sort of condition is the truck in? how old is the truck? The Sterling gives you bigger brakes in the back but its the fronts that do most of the work and they are still f150 size. How much risk are you comfortable with, both for your own safety and the safety of other people around you on the road? This conversation could fill a big thread all by itself and everyone will have a different opinion.

How much weight can the truck handle without breaking? Most people concur that manufacturers ratings are conservative with respect to what the truck can handle. So if your primary question is how much before my truck is harmed then you'll have a bigger number and your upgrades factor into the equation to a point.

Maybe if you list what your considerations are, it will focus the conversation better.

 

I fill my '87 F-150 4x4(the one in my sig with over 200k miles) up to the sides of the box with heavy, wet wood up in the woods, where I have to bounce over rough heaved frozen ground, through tractor tire ruts that have frozen, and then cross a narrow creek, all on wooded, northern PA hillsides. It's got a 4x2 leaf spring hanger and modified shackle for a 4x4 on the driver's side and a broken leaf, and the other side the hanger's rusted out a bit, so I'm working on breaking it so I can replace it(I've found it's easier to get them off AFTER they break). Once it's loaded, there's no spring in the shocks, I can jump on the tail and it doesn't bounce, but it makes it. Then, to get into my unloading spot, I have to back sideways across the barnhill, or back down the ~45 degree side of it to get in to where I pile my wood!

Work it!

 

did you read the original post? .. it would be hard to get more clear ..

some guys baby their trucks .. other guys work 'em .. so yeah you'll get a wide range of answers ..

but with the upgrades the OP mentioned and the fact that he's only talking 12.5 miles loaded, level and paved .. I say not a problem .. in the slightest ..

yes, if he crashed the thing with a full load the cop may say he was overloaded and point the finger .. but then he'd have to figure out how to weigh it ..

 

Your prob better off gettin a 1 ton, instead of trying to make your F150 a 1 ton, will def be cheaper and easier.

 

I've never much liked the half-ton 3/4 ton, etc., slang, because it is basically meaningless in terms of the GVWR/GAWR/GCWR. Quoting a specific version of an F250 OR F350 is much more precise and helpful, IMHO.

If I were just plain rich, I'd go out and buy an F350/F450/F550/F650 and be done with it. But I'm nowhere near that rich.

You can easily spend $40-$50k on a new F350, and having done that, in your first five years where I live (RI), you've only guaranteed yourself spending $10,000+ on sales tax and county property tax.

The serious DIY types can buy a mountain of mods for that kind of money, and completely avoid the 25 percent first year depreciation expense to boot!

There is no question that it's easier to just dump a truckload of cash and register a truck for 25,999 pounds. But then, why not just go the extra pound, log in to the FMCSA, fill out an MCS-150 form, then buy insurance and file for OP-1 authority (or whatever ...) and get yourself an ICC docket number to match that nice DOT number you have?

I'd much rather think of being in the transportation business than actually be in it ...

 

so now your carrying cash? .. I thought you were talking firewood ..

if cash takes up 20 cu ft per $10,000 .......... wait, are we talking $10s or $20s .. LOL

 

Since you brought it up ... $1,000,000 in $20 bills weighs between 110 to 120 pounds, depending on how clean / soiled the bills are.

And of course, that "wood" buy a lot of firewood ...

 

Yea i paid 3500 for my 1 ton. My 95 F350. So reasonably you can get a 1 ton.