okay, so this is my first time here. Enjoyed the information about this payload carrying capacity of the F250. Brings alot of questions to mind and you are all going to be shaking your heads over what I am going to say...chuckle out loud or to yourself but when you point at me and say " you got away with it but it don't make it right" think about how tough the F250 really is. That having been said...in '93 I bought a '90 F250, 460 V8 Lariate (sry 'bout the spelling). I decided I want to live in a 5th wheel for a few years and have some comfort while doing so. Never having owned a pick-up or the inteligence god gave a kid growing up on a farm, I found a 5th wheel for sale at McChord AFB. It was a beaut! 40' 1984 Holiday Rambler with a fwd bedroom/bath, washer & dryer (I didn't know they made them that small...good for a single guy fresh out of the Navy), stove, sink closets, rear living room. Well I decided to up and go get it. Saw the owner at the site, gave em the check and well...How do I hook this up? Um I think you back up and put this here, then flip this handle up and push here this way...ok, seems to be right (she said). well to be short n sweet to the point, as I inched fwd...the green horn jumped out of me and thus began my first lesson into towing with a 5th wheel...My truck still bares the dent from the fifth wheel landing onto the bed rails....much jacking later and I was back at it only this time I studied the hitch mechanism and rallied to the task! I drove the next hundred miles to my house up north and stayed for about 8months learning all I could about the 5ver. Then came the day to head south to Phoenix Az. I decided to stop at the truck scales and weigh myself....can I say it didn't mean much, just that I had weighed it and now knew I had 17K on the 5vr dbl axle and I think 6 or 7k on the rear axle of the F250 and about 4 or so on the front axle....well as you can see I'm not a real quick study of what I was doing then as I'm vaguely familiar with what was vs what the pros here are saying....um...overweight I was. figured I was ok an that the truck was ok too. Off I went! Made it to Phoenix in 2 days, $300 in fuel, and Not one night in a hotel room. Never had any issues...um except that gas station in Redding...good thing that holiday rambler was built with those non-spinning steel wheels on the rear end...tore that black top up getting out of the station from what my rearview mirror let me see...That Holiday rambler really lived up to it's name! well after a year of fine living I decided to move back up to Washington st. and well it was off again...only, my garden shed...10'x12', sll wood with flooring and joists, came with me. It fit very nicely in the living room and the length of the walkway thru to the bedroom allowed a very nice fit for the 2x8x10s 6of them...yessir, nice steady floor to park my harley on...no, I didn't bring it with the 5vr. Well, again it ws uneventful 2day drive, except that gas station in Redding....don't understand why they have it built on a slope like that...new set of marks on the pavement...nearly the same place as the old ones I spotted as I was leaving and remembered to gun it to pull the trailer thru it. driving was a breeze...then I got behind a Semi thru the pass...Grants I think...and it ws doing all but 10 mph. I know this because as it pulled into my lane passing another Semi I had to actually step on the brakes. took 15 min to pass the other semi and another to muster the speed to do 15mph to pass the semi that slowed me down. by the time I was at the top I had hit 30mph in 3rd (automatic...love that I didn't have to shift just that it was also good to keep it in 2nd pulling up and slow over the pass to the top). Well it is a long story...but I use my F250 for everything from hauling wood to gravel...Never have bottomed out on the rear springs and that 5th wheel never so much as made it ride high in the front end. Overloaded? yes, probably alot more than "just". has never broken down. Run spec tires and orginal wheels...tune ups come once every time it shows hesitation in throttle response...um, twice now as I remember. Did I get away with anything? Perhaps but I seriously believe they underrate the truck to keep people from trying to do the overload it on purpose thing. Just on F250's story in life.