I just got most of the gear loaded into my new slide in camper, & ran out to the scales. 5200lbs on the front, & 6300lbs on the rear. Still got a few things to load, but should only be another 100 lbs on the rear. The truck is handling it fine, but I guess I should have bought a dualley. Are the bigger brakes on the dually axle worth the upgrade, or should I just get the arrowcraft conversion?

 

Max out the tires and take it out and see how it feels ..... should be fine

 

Brakes Are The Same Size On 2500 And Dually.

 

Switch to 19.5 wheels and tires and you'll have plenty of capacity.

Nice bumper. I'd like to get a Buckstop bumper too.

 

I second the 19.5s. They look good and last a lot longer too....

 

Sound like a great excuse to get a new truck! Yup, get a dually!

 

Welcome to my world. ;-)

The 19.5's could help you from eating tires all the time, but IMHO aren't a substitute for a dually.

 

Had the same problem and bought a dually. Handling is night and day difference, much more relaxing to drive rather than a chore.

 

I love my 19.5's on my Dually!

 

I agree. Not only that, but you're putting 11,500# on a vehicle with an 8,800# GVWR. That is unless the GVWR has changed on 3/4 ton trucks recently.

A little over is not too bad. But you're OVER A TON over your GVWR. 2,700# over. That's 30.68% over the rating. I bet that is over the design engineer's factor of safety.

I'm pretty sure it's dually time for you. I would look at this as a positive thing. Time to get a new (used preferrably) truck!

- JyRO

 

I ran a ton (and more) overloaded on Ford 3/4 ton. After chasing my buddy to OR (13 hours), noticing how ehausted I was, I started shopping.

Now I run about 1 ton over on the dually, but plenty of tire capacity left (8000 rear). I can do things at 70 mph I wouldn't have thought to do at 60 in the SRW.

With the 3/4 ton I was replacing rear tires every 2 years due to failure(maybe 10% worn) whether I drove it or not. It was just a matter of time before a catastrophic failure could seriously hurt someone.

 

Well, I don't run this load all the time. Just a few weeks for hunting season, & it's parked all the time I'm there anyway. But I'm not realy comfortable with the weight on SRW. I can't afford to get another truck, but I can convert it with an axle, & bed. Or get a kit from Arrowcraft. Anyone done an Arrowcraft conversion? How'd you like it?

 

You will be ok, untill one of those tires blow. Then your going to have your hands full. The extra tire still there when one blows is an advantage that people oftwen over look. It would probably be best if you went back and slimed down your requirements of junk to take, or get an enclosed cargo trail and load stuff in there. It wil take a major portion of the weight off your axle plus it will be blocked from wind witht he camper so tit will be very minimal drag.

If you decide to upgrade your tires, be sure to get 5. You'll have another mess on your hands with 3-19.5" tires and one 16" tire, if you ever have the need to run your spare.

 

Yeah. A blow out would be harsh. I allready have 5 tires on the same rims, etc. They are E rated for over 3400 lbs each. I'm looking into either Arrowcraft conversion kits, or just getting a set of axles, & a bed. Just haven't decided which way would be best.

 

bigwheel94 - I don't see how you could NOT afford it. A conversion kit, or a set of axles and a bed surely is not much, if any less expensive than selling your truck privately and buying the equivalent year & close to the same miles 3500 DRW. Unless of course you are considering the loss on all those add-ons you put on your truck.