Hey guys,
I have owned a few trucks, but never really used them for moving anything of real weight. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to pick up some dirt, and was very shocked at the trucks performance. The truck barely had one bucket worth of dirt, (I would venture provabaly a yard, maybe 1 1/4) and the damn truck looked like it was about to bottom out. The guy loading it was shocked that was all it looked like it could take. And the drive home was miserable, the truck seemed like it wanted to sway off the road on the highway.

I bought the truck used, and its Carfax does say it was a work truck. Are the rear spring shot? Should I be looking to replace them? I should be able to do better than 1 yard of plan fill dirt.

 

1 yard of typical dirt is about 1 ton (2000#)

Just how much weight do you expect a "half-ton" truck to carry???


What year is the truck? If it's less than 10yrs old, then it should have a sticker on the driver's door jamb with a payload/cargo capacity. It should be white and yellow. Separate from the other white sticker there.

 

Its a 2013.

 

a half-ton truck is considered "light duty" and the suspension is surely not built for the kind of weight you're thinking it should handle.

 

Couldn't tell you why your truck wanted to stray off the road, I have had 3,375 lbs in the bed of my truck and it squatted like a b**** but never felt like it wanted to drive me off the road (granted the most I have had on the highway was closer to 2,100 lbs, same result.


As for the squat, yeah its a half ton truck, comfort first payload second... the 3/4 ton trucks are the ones made for payload.

 

I would guess that the tires were overloaded and/or under-inflated for the load.

1 tons are a much better choice for payload. A lot of ¾ tons aren’t much better than a ½ ton. Some are even worse. While a F350 is basically the same size, shape, and ride as a 250 but with more capability, and not that much more expensive.

 

I went across a set of scales on the way into get my top soil and on the way out.

I had a 2010 F150 6.5 bed XLT screw. I drove down to the bottom of the pit backed up to the loader, with a 6 yard bucket on it, and motioned to him to fil it up. The loader driver tilted the bucket a bit a small amount of dirt fel into the bed with out a problem. My BIL was on the other side, so I asked him does it squat. He stated no, so I signaled to the loader driver hit it again, after three shoots the truck squatted. I had E load tires on it and didn't think anything about it until I drove out of the pit and unto the scales. The lady said I got my moneys worth, I asked how much weight. She said 3400 lbs. The truck drove fine all the way home.

A yard and a half of dirt could weigh a lot depending on how, wet or dry it is, what kind of dirt screen top or just clay and junk dirt.

How do you know how much weight it was or if it was a yard and a half not more?

 

Right, I really meant to say 3/4 and up

As for the tires, they are 10 ply LT tires rated for 3750 each tire and I had them inflated to I think 50psi (maybe 48psi). I think they were fine (my nerves weren't super fine though haha)

 

Look around construction sites, and you'll notice that most dump trucks are class 8 trucks, not class 1 (half-ton) nor class 2 (three-quarter ton) nor even class 3 (one-on dually), That's because dirt is heavy. HEAVY!

 

It could certainly be that the springs have sofened up, but a yard of dirt will crush one of these trucks. Air bags will help if you occasionally do something like this. I picked up 1500 lbs of laminate floor and some office chairs the other day and the air bags leveled the truck and it rode well.