I have an 86' F250 Diesel with the 4 speed MT. I'm not sure what the gearing is like, but the engine doesn't sound very happy over 55mph. It has a MASSIVE looking axle with 8 lug nuts on each wheel.

Anyways, I would just like to tell everybody how much I love my truck! I have always been a car guy and have owned many Volkswagen diesels, but I needed something a little more heavy duty. I purchased my truck for $800 with a very leaky water pump. After replacing the water pump and changing all the fluids and filters I haven't had any trouble with this truck. AFTER buying the truck, I checked the dmv records and it appears the odometer has rolled over three times... That means my truck has 339,000 miles on it (damn!) Besides oil and filters I haven't had a single (not one!) problem with this truck in over 20,000 miles. It started up in the dead of winter cold, burns very little oil and gets incredible fuel mileage compared to my fathers 460 truck. All I have to say is that this truck is an unbelievable workhorse. I would argue that the vintage diesel fords are some of the best trucks ever made. It blows me away that this truck can work so hard and still be completely trouble free after 22 years and 339,000 miles. This truck is absolutely incredible. I'm a Ford man for life.

ANYWAYS, I'm going to be doing some masonry work to my home and I am wondering what the weight capacity of my truck is? I'll be putting a pallet of bricks in the bed and perhaps 2 more pallets on the trailer. If I remember correctly the pallets weigh 4,200lbs/piece. My trailer has a 9,000lb axle. I know the truck will pull it, but is the suspension and brakes safe?

Thanks guys.

 

Your truck can probably handle it. The towing capacity of a F250 is 10K pounds. However, I would not tow a load that heavy without a trailer with brakes and a brake controller on the truck. Also, with a load that heavy you may want to upgrade your hitch to something that has weight distribution bars. If you will be towing at low speeds (<35mph) you may be able to get by without the distribution bars but the truck may handle poorly which can be dangerous.

 

I agree, you can tow a lot more than you can stop. Be safe...

Also, you won't get there first, but for $800, who cares

 

4200 LB pallet is way to much for you truck......... check the GVW which is probably 8400??..... weigh the truck.... probably 6200????? subtract lower from highest and that is what you can carry legally and safely...... as for the trailer and truck that is covered under the CGVW. So add the trailer plus 2 pallets.....plus the loaded truck and your way over any safe limit.

My advice would be to do a 3 trips with the trailer and 1 pallet..... cost of fuel is cheap when balanced against yours or someone elses life........ Check in the towing section for more accurate weight info........

 

Pete is right. The GVWR is only 8,800lbs.

Like everyone has said.....you can haul it but you may not be able to stop it when an idiot cuts you off....and it will happen....

Good Luck!

 

Unless they have changed the way they load bricks on the pallets, a pallet used to weigh from 3,000 to 3,500 lbs back when I hauled trailer loads of brick. The weight difference depended on the type/size of the particular brick/ block.

 

Thanks for the input guys... It looks like I'll be making three trips.

On the other hand, let's say I wanted to upgrade the standard CGVW and GVW. What characteristics on the truck set these limits? I already have a trailer brake controller and brakes on my trailer... Next I would think that some more "heavy duty" leafs could be installed. Perhaps more aggressive brake pads and shoes. Find a tire specifically designed for towing and hauling. Then a nice hitch with an over rating and distribution bars. I know that a dramatic increase in capacity would probably require dramatic mods like axles and such... but what could one do short of redesigning the whole truck?

I guess to do these upgrades JUST for this one big job is probably not realistic... but it would be nice to have that capacity even if it's only for a few jobs. Oh and lastly... I've been wanting to use this emoticon for days... so here it is:

 

Something to keep in the back of your mind are the laws surrounding hauling. There was a right up in a 4x4 magazine recently about how guys were getting screwed because they weren't properly setup for towing the weights they had loaded. If you end up in a accident, your fault or not, and you were not loaded properly and within limits your truck was ORIGINALLY designed for, you could getted hosed in the end....

Just food for thought.....I will try and find the article. They were ALOT better at explaining the issues that can arise....

Thad

 

The law is more interested in how much you register it for not what is safe.

 

The biggest thing you have to address first is the brakes.
The vacuum booster just don't cut it.
Switch to a hydraboost unit, parts to do that are around 600 dollars.

Now you have much greater line pressure, so the old brake lines and hoses, all of them need to be replaced.

Same for the master cylinder, wheel cylinders and front brake calipers.

What condition are the brake drums and rotors in?
Less than perfect is not good enough.
Same for the pads and shoes.

Now let's look at the frame, spring hangers, shackles, U joints, drive shafts, steering, tires, engine belts, bed condition, transmission and transfer case condition, axle condition and on and on.

Anything questionable, even slightly questionable gets replaced with new or rebuilt.

I started with the same truck you have.
The cab and frame are about all that has not been rebuilt yet, and everything was rebuilt or replaced with newer and heavier parts.

F350 front axle, 92 model completely rebuilt before it was installed 3000 dollars
F 450 brakes, 97 model, about 800 in new parts
Transmission torn down, inspected and any worn parts replaced.
Same for the transfer case.
Rear axle, all new bearings and seals.
Dump bed, with complete sub frame to strengthen the rear frame, 2500 in parts.
Complete engine rebuild, 4000 dollars in parts and machine work.
New radiator.

Don't forget, right now you are only legal for 86 or 88 hundred pounds gross combined weight, or what ever your registration says.

If you want to exceed that, you need to register the truck for the max gross weight you intend to run, big dollars for the registration with commercial plates.
And you also need to increase the gross weight on your insurance, more big dollars since it will probably have to be commercial insurance.
Also a trailer over 10,000 pounds requires a DOT number on your truck.

Lots of dollars, but I have been upgrading mine for years.

Don't know where you are in Utah, but from my OTR driving days I know you have some large hills out there.
A load like bricks is heavy and has no wind resistance.
Some of those long hills would be scary with a high gross weight, even after brake upgrades with a load like bricks.

 

Just curious about the DOT number on the truck for trailers over 10k, because that just doesn't sound right. If that were correct, every other horse trailer on the road would be illegally towed, because most any steel-framed gooseneck trailer is going to have a gross of 10k or more, especially those with steel shells. And believe me when I say I go to enough horse shows and work on enough rigs to know that nothing smaller than a 4-series is going to have a DOT number on it. Hell, the F-450's pulling 5-horse plus full living quarters gooseneck trailers don't have DOT numbers most of the time, but the trailers squeak in under the legal commercial gross weight limit too.

Also, remember that a truck's gross weight does NOT include the trailer's gross. It includes the trailer's gross TONGUE weight, how much weight the trailer could legally apply to your tow vehicle. Example, your 10,000lbs trailer has a gross tongue weight of 1,000lbs typically, so now run the math: 8800lbs truck gvw, minus 6200lbs for your truck, and that means you can put a total load of 2600lbs on your truck, not taking into account passengers, cargo, fuel, etc.

Basically this means you can put a loaded trailer on the back with a 1,000lbs tongue weight (again assuming the trailer has brakes and your truck has a controller, trailers without brakes suck rocks), a cab full of people, a tank full of gas (fuel), and an ice chest full of whatever your beverages of choice are for unloading said trailer, and you will be legal.

 

The dot here in new mexico says they are going to get tough on the 10000 pound dot rule including farmers and horse trailers this year nobody is exemt. Also crossing state lines you have to have a health card and log book no cdl though if under 26000.
I take that right now rv,s are exempt.

 

Actually the gross weight you have your truck licensed for has to include the weight of the trailer in most states.

I pull a 12,000 pound trailer, my truck weighs 8,000 pounds empty and it is licensed and insured for 20,000 pounds GCVW.
And I also have a DOT number.

Can't pull the weight out of my brain right now, but there is a number of something like 1000 pounds that brakes are required on the trailer if you exceed that number.
Here you also have to have a breakaway switch that applies the brakes if the trailer were to come unhooked while driving.

If you can wade through the non related stuff, all the federal towing regulations and DOT number applications are on this site.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The requirements are federal.
But the extent to which they are being enforced changes from state to state and sometimes even enforcement officer to enforcement officer.

And yes, recreational vehicles are exempt from all of the regulations in most states.
Looking at some of the RV combinations I see on the highway, I have know idea how or why they would or should be exempt.
Farmers have some exemptions in most states, those exemptions usually have a set distance from the farm that they are applicable in and specific roads they may travel on under the exemptions.

With the fact that everything changes from state to state, my best advice is to talk to a DOT enforcement officer in your state, before you tow anything.
When you talk to them, be as specific as you can about what you are wanting to do.
Towing something that looks like business use, my experience says you better have your ducks in a row.

Ignorance of the law will usually not get you out of what may be a huge fine.

 

Here in hawaii the PUC "public utilities" licsences comercial light trucks, but farmers are except. I pulled an incredibly dangerous load recently 10000 lbs of Noni Juice loaded on a heavy tilt trailer rated for 20K lbs with my f350. no trailer brakes bad truck brakes and it started raining halfway to town.
Needless to say i didn't exceed 35mph and still slid to the stop lights, and was burning the tires and the clutch to get going on the first hill out of our warehouse.
I am in no way promoting unsafe hauling just giving an example of taking it too far. We did make it through the day in one piece though, thank god.
Dave

 

The dot laws governing weight is going to vary from state to state the federal regulations are guidelines for states to follow, as well as driver's licensing requirements. for instance in Florida up until five years ago to drive a f250 with a diesel you needed what they called a class D cdl. There were alot of people who didn't have it and were getting jammed up, the lae has since changed, and a class D no longer exists. Now on the other hand if you are the registered owner of a semi you can drive it from anywhere in the state to your home base without having a cdl. Go figure. Just make sure you check YOUR local laws.