So, you can see my truck in my sig. GVWR is 9400. What would happen if I was to go over that while camping. Not worried about getting checked. We never do where we live. Just wanted to know if there is a weak link somewhere. I am going to add Firestone bags, compressor, and digital control to eliminate sag. We want to have our atv's in the bed on a carrier which will be about 2000 lbs. (Like this: http://www.discountramps.com/haulall-atv-truck-rack.htm) Doesn't really leave anything for tongue weight. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

I can tell you what I did.
I took my front axle ratings and rear axle ratings into consideration. Mine are 6,000 and 6,100 lbs.

I then went to the truck scales, empty but with full load of fuel and me.
Then I was able to see how much more I could put on each axle.

Hope that helps....then I went and did the truck scales loaded to reconfirm I was gonna be ok.

 

Mine are 5600 front and 6100 rear. May have to ride to the local scrap yard to get weighed. I figure with my WD engaged, I split the tongue weight between the front and rear. Some of the ATV's and rack goes to the front as well. I just don't want to break something, but deep down, I think I'm fine.

 

Assuming you are properly hitched with a weight distributor, are a good driver, and have trailer brakes, probably nothing is going to happen.

These pickups can realistically haul a lot more than their rated weight if it's properly distributed. Stopping, steering, and trailer control would be the first issues.

 

Oh yeah. Reese 1700 Straight Line dual cam/wd setup. Trailer brakes both axles. And, I'm a guy so of course I think the driver is great. LOL.

 

Make sure your tires are up to the load, and go for a test drive before you head out on a long trip. Then have fun.

 

I don't see the big deal if your a little over. Don't know if the axle on the trailer could moved slightly to reduce the tonge weight, I'm not a TT guy. I tow boats and utility trailers which allow me some wiggle room with tongue weight. Only really a concern if your grossly over weight or if you get checked.

 

rule of thumb i believe on trailers is 10% min would be the tongue wt.

 

Pretty shure the 10% minimum is right too. Either way confirming weights at the scale is good advice. The firestone airbags should do a good job of keeping the truck and trailer level. Obviously you want to keep the weight on each trailer axle even.

 

I have well over 10% on the tongue of the trailer. So, the bottom line is, the limiting factor is handling which the air bags will help and not the weight. At least that's what it seems like you are all telling me.

 

Yup, I think with the airbags bringing it back level you will be fine.

 

My biggest concern is the tires. Weigh it to be sure you do not exceed the rating. They will not blow out immediately if you exceed the rating - they will just be overheating and slowly degrading until they blow out when you LEAST expect it.
Also double check the rating on the wheels.

If you exceed the rating on either of those, I guarantee your insurance will deny coverage if something unfortunate was to happen and they could in any way say your action in some way contributed.

 

For the record I do what you are talking about. I haul our two sport quads (2wd) and lots of wood. I did upgrade wheels and tires.
Through experimentation, I also balanced out weight distribution using the WD bars and "wise" loading of the truck and TT. I put a rack on the back end of the trailer and load motorcycles and/or wood to reduce my tonque weight to just a couple hundred pounds above the "too little - starting to feel a bit squirrely" threshold. Since I also use an Equal-I-Zer anti sway, I probably could reduce it another 100, but I'm a couple hundred pounds under tire limits so I'm happy to have the extra safety margin.

Anyways, it turned out my trailer can get by with well more than a couple hundred pounds less tongue weight than the original set up. Most have VERY generous weight distribution toward the tongue to help save the clueless idiots from themselves.

Moving 50 pounds of cargo from the front of the trailer to the rear can reduce tongue weight by almost 100 pounds. Batteries and propane are usually on tongue and are very heavy. If I have both propane tanks full and have both batteries installed, I can safely haul 2 dirt bikes on rear of TT. Yes, I did install larger wheels and tires on TT. This is all on a Nash, which are notoriously over built, so I'm still fine on axle ratings.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. The tires are fine rated at 3750 each and I won't be near 15k on the truck.

 

Please do run it through a scale. You may find you want to move some weight forward in the bed or crank up the WD. It's VERY easy to get over 7500 on the rear axle - which is over the rating of the rear tires. One of the advantages of the V10 is the engine is so light (relative to the diesels) that we have a LOT of extra capacity on the front axle!