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I have a 1996 F150 and it struggles to haul 1200/lbs. Multiple trips to haul wood, dirt, mulch is a pain.
The "new" F250 HD i'm restoring is a freakin' monster compared to the F150 and I'm wondering what is a "reasonable" load capacity ?
Short hauls mostly, not worried about handling or drive-ability, just wondering how much I can safely pack into this thing.
Below is the similar setup from another truck. Mine has air-bags and same spring setup but the top air-bag is bolted to the frame.with a beefier bracket made by Airlift. Truck is rated 8800 GVWR from the factory
F-150 is usually at 6250 gvwr, sometimes less. Depending on configuration, ballpark they're 5000# empty. They'll haul more than that but keep in mind the rear axle is like a toy compared to that of the F-250. My '96 F150 pretty much lives at 6200#, sometimes a bit heavier, and it does okay. I've scaled as high as 7200# hauling mulch and that was just too much.
Tired old leaf springs (maybe even broken leaves?) would be my guess as to why 1200# feels like so much in your truck. I'm on my third set of leaves. But I wouldn't plan on anything more than 2000# regardless of setup: rear axle is only rated for ~3800#. Make sure you've got good tires. P-rated aren't wise if the goal is payload.
If you have access to an f-250, best to use that for high payload work.
Edit: my reading comprehension apparently sucks today.. I answered questions you aren't asking. Disregard.
The load carrying capacity of your truck has to do with the engine torque, transmission, drive shaft, differential gears, axle shafts, wheel hubs ,springs, and frame thickness. Air springs are for leveling out your headlights more than anything. You could go over factory specs for short distances, but I wouldn't push it too much. The largest load I get is "a yard" of mushroom compost once a year in my '11 F250 for the vegetable garden. If the truck is older, expect some degradation to things like the springs and frame. It'll still haul a lot, but watch the squat without the bags inflated and go by that to some extent.
I have a 1996 F150 and it struggles to haul 1200/lbs. .... I'm wondering what is a "reasonable" load capacity ?
Explain 'struggles'?
Are you talking suspension?
Are you talking low on power?
My 1994 F150, stock configuration(rear springs) lowered, will haul 2,000lbs no problem.
Axle does not bottom out, handles just fine fully loaded.
Engine is a 351w, has no problem with power.
If your springs are weak, have been changed out by previous owner, or actually broken, I can see it struggling.
If your engine is weak, you have hwy gears in the rear end(3.00 or less), or if you have really tall over sized tires, I see it struggling as well.
F-150 is usually at 6250 gvwr, sometimes less. Depending on configuration, ballpark they're 5000# empty. .
Short box f150 regular cab 2wd, weighed at the scales empty was 4000lbs, that allows me to have 2250lbs in the box.
Flareside regular cab 2wd, weighed at the scales empty 4300lbs, yes the fibre glass box is 300lbs heavier.
The moment you have bigger cabs, longer boxes, 4wd, etc. your actual capacity goes down, as all that other stuff weighs more.
If seen an empty f150 weigh in at 5500lbs, if gvwr is at 6250, you can only haul 750lbs, not much, any more yeah truck can strugle.
I think it depends on your idea of 'reasonable' versus legal.
2 yards of gravel came home in my i6 150 once. erp, or twice... edit no, that was compost. I'm getting dangerous in my old age. Gravel came a yard at a time.
On 50 mph 2 lane rural roads, and up our steep hill.
It didn't have any trouble with that, and I drove it with due caution.
Johnny Law would have had a field day with me if I'd done something stupid...
...but I didn't, and traffic was such that the risks were low.
I would not have taken the same load down I5 through town...
Oddly, the 350W 250 SuperCab (tm) doesn't do much better hauling,
since it weighs quite a bit more unladen. And the W is quite tired...
What does the original specs of the F250 say the carrying capacity is? I'd probably look that up first and go from there.
Here's the door tag. I'm not worried about being legal, or voiding the warranty. Just wondering how much I can carry during in-frequent and extreme conditions only for a short drive before I hurt something
I think it depends on your idea of 'reasonable' versus legal.
2 yards of gravel came home in my i6 150 once. erp, or twice...
On 50 mph 2 lane rural roads, and up our steep hill.
It didn't have any trouble with that, and I drove it with due caution.
Johnny Law would have had a field day with me if I'd done something stupid...
...but I didn't, and traffic was such that the risks were low.
I would not have taken the same load down I5 through town...
Oddly, the 350W 250 SuperCab (tm) doesn't do much better hauling,
since it weighs quite a bit more unladen. And the W is quite tired...
t
Gravel can vary anywhere from 2-3 tons/yd and that sounds like a lot for a 150 but that gives me a good idea so thanks.
The biggest load would be 2 skids of wood pellets totaling 4000 lbs. I could load only 30 bags (1200/lbs) in my F150 before it was a "problem"
I'm here in the farmlands of Jersey (If you can believe there are any left) so it's back roads and only the occasional cow to steer around.
Explain 'struggles'?
Are you talking suspension?
Are you talking low on power?
My 1994 F150, stock configuration(rear springs) lowered, will haul 2,000lbs no problem.
Axle does not bottom out, handles just fine fully loaded.
Engine is a 351w, has no problem with power.
If your springs are weak, have been changed out by previous owner, or actually broken, I can see it struggling.
If your engine is weak, you have hwy gears in the rear end(3.00 or less), or if you have really tall over sized tires, I see it struggling as well.
By struggles meaning:
No power. It's a 302 POS, yes worn, 3:55s on a 33 in tire.but now have a 7.3 PSD 4:11s on 34s
Brake fade
Bottoming out if not careful.
Wanders
Just awful to drive.
Not worried about the F150 though. Sure, it has problems but the 7.3 build is a priority
I would not mount the air spring bracket to the spring like that.
That was actually a stock pic and not my setup which is shown below. I noticed the rear was not "square" with the springs and chassis so the previous owner cut off a chunk out of the lower airbag bracket to clear the corner of the U Bolt bracket. I fixed that so it would clear now. Let be know if you see anything strange with this setup since it's all new to me. I understand there are 6 ways to skin a cat, and opinions vary, just looking for "You shouldn't do that"
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