hello guys in the towing section. I frequent the 24 valve performance forum and have never posted over here, but I have a question, I am sure there are folks on here who could answer. Ok, here is my situation. I need to, lets just say "overload" a 2004 Ford F-350 superduty dually stake body truck a considerable amount for a slow speed (non-highway) trip of about 9 miles to get a small, but very heavy machine home..... (Now before you start, I dont own this Furd.... its a company truck which I can borrow at will and overload, but I cant be bending the frame.... ) The rear GVWR is listed at 9,750. Now I know that some folks on here have put some serious weight on the rear of our pickups, much more so than the GVW, and you guys may have friends who own F-350 superduty's who have done the same.... My question is, just how much weight has anyone really put on this rig, without fear of damage to the rear end, springs, or frame ? I am not terribly worried about the tires, since this is a slow speed mission, and I wont be building up heat in the skins....


So whats the scoop?? What kind of ludicrous weight have you heard of guys getting away with on a stake bed dually F-350 ???


Kp

 

I didn't hear anything about a trailer, so I assume the machine is going behind the cab... I used to load a couple of F-350 dually service bodys with over 14K# tipping the scales on a regular basis - the only thing that DIDN'T fall apart on those trucks was the rear suspension or frame.

 

Yup, no trailer, right on the stake body bed. When you say 14k are you saying you put 14k on the bed, or the loaded truck weighed 14K ??


Kp

 

i don't know how much wieght you are tring to haul but, if your not doing it everyday i think you can get away with alot. i once took a load of scap in with an old 78 dodge 100 and we went into the scale aprox 11,900lb's and came out empty at aprox 5,000lbs, now i wont say it was smart but it was deffinatly funny. the frame did not brake,the truck couldn't brake (lol) the bumper drug on the ground and it was one of the unsafest things i ever did,went about 7 miles no faster the 20MPH , the truck did last a few more years before the body was so bad i scraped it.

i have seen 3500 tucks in my shop before (dump body) with as much as 10 ton of material on them, usually they are complaining of the dump wont dump. but the truck holds the wieght.(amazing)

i don't think i've had more then 5,000 lbs in the bed of my dually but i wouldn'y be scared of 10,000lbs (5 ton) it would prolly just dent the floor a little bit . your stake body will have a pretty stought floor so long as its not a aluminum stake body.. just be careful.

good luck.

 

Well, I think you are correct in that consistent heavy loads will certainly fatigue the frame, springs and rear end assembly, but I am concerned about yielding something right away, catasrophically..... I'll quit, beating around the bush.... The machine will weigh about 13,000 Lbs... Not sure what the back of this truck weighs empty, probably 3,500 Lbs. So that would put the rear GVWR at about 16,500 Lbs and its rated 9,750. Thats a solid 170% of rating.... Its just close enough to consider for a short slow trip and one which avoids bumps and dips at all costs, but I cant afford to damage the vehicle.... Thats why I was wondering if someone on here knew for a fact of putting such a load on a F-350 stake body and getting away with it....



Kp

 

here is a thought you can prolly get the machine rollbacked to your location for $100.00 bucks .. wieght your options, take a chance of major damage (BTW i think the ford would be fine) OR pay $100.00 and know it will be delivered safely? also maybe borrowing a trailor to tow behind your truck is the way to go. just a thought.

 

16500 is nuts on the rear end of a F350. You're talking about almost 7 THOUSAND pounds more than it's rated for. The axle will be fine probably, but I wouldn't be surprised if the leaf springs snap.

 

Yeah, and the springs on this F-350 stake body look quite a bit lighter than those on the rear of my 2500 Ram....

I am just going to probably partially dissasemble the machine in which case the heaviest part of it would go around 9,300. That should be much more comfortable for the F-350. Heck, thats only 3,000 overweight....

Kp

 

Is borrowing a trailer out of the question?

 

Don't sweat it - it's just a F**D!

 

Well, where I have to go to snag the machine makes using a trailer extremely difficult, almost impossible. And there is not really even enough room for a flatbed truck of any appreciable length. Thats why I was trying to use the little Furd...

 

Well here on the farm we have allways had 1 ton dump trucks with 12 foot beds on them we have put 12k on them before (on the farm not road), BUT we have bent axle housings and frames before and I dont mean just a little either. Grandpa bent a the axle housing so bad that the outside dual won't touch the ground. and Dad bent a frame hauling 20 foot logs on a differnt truck. We had to pull the truck up the hill with the tractor, the front wheels didn't touch the ground till he got to the top (used the logs as wheelie bars) when he clutched it, the logs stayed on the ground and the front wheels came down. and bent the frame around the axle. so 14k is pushing it