1/2 ton trucks?

I really only use my 2500hd for towing and hauling my atvs and home improvement projects. On weeks that I am not needing to haul anything I try to drive it at least once a week so it gets exercised by making a trip to the grocery store.

I personally would be comfortable hauling up to 2000 lbs and towing about 7700 lbs with most half tons. This will cover the hauling and towing needs of most truck owners.

1/2 ton trucks are all purpose vehicles suitable for the vast majority of truck owners. You just have to know the limits of what it can safely do. I hauled 700 sq ft of brick pavers with mine. It took three trips to get them all home. It wasn't worth buying a dually for this one project.

The limiting factor is how much gear you haul in addition to your TT, TH, or 5er. Kayaks, bicycles, firewood, people, and pets will surpass most 1/2 ton trucks payload. This is the same reason that led to my recent 3/4 truck purchase. I want to take all my gear to enjoy the outdoors and get there safely.

donn0128 wrote:
Not true at all. They do an adequate job if kept within their specifications, just like any pickup truck. The key is the correct tool for the job.

X2 -- It's all in the fine print.

Watch the advertising, they say truck X can pull 11,000 lbs. People see those ads and the only thing they hear is "truck X can pull 11,000 lbs. They assume all truck X's can pull 11,000 lbs. Then the manufacturers build versions of truck X, that can't pull 11,000 lbs.

What the ads don't say is, truck X can pull 11,000 lbs only, if the driver weighs 150 lbs, he is alone, and he has no cargo. They also don't say, truck X can only carry 1500 lbs, and that includes aftermarket accessories, passengers, cargo, and trailer tongue weight, combined. People add a couple hundred pounds of accessories, 5 - 600 lbs of passengers and cargo, and think they can still pull that 11,000 lb trailer, with it's 1500 lb tongue weight.

Prime example -- Toyota Tundra pulling the space shuttle. If that space shuttle had 10 - 15 percent tongue weight, like a travel trailer, it would squash that Tundra like a bug.

Half ton trucks can be the ideal tool for the job. What are your requirements? I tow a 5000# TT with a Ram 5.7 1500. perfect combination in my mind. If I needed a larger hammer to do the job I would have bought one.

intheburbs wrote:
I towed a 5000-lb travel trailer with my half-ton Burb. Several trips to Florida and one to Yellowstone with a family of 5. 4000-lb rear axle was the weak link. Just made frequent stops at the scales to check my weights.

Also used it to pull a 3500-lb cargo trailer. Pulled just fine.

Wow, how did that do when it was windy?

Nice looking setup and family by the way.

dshelley wrote:

Gebrown wrote:
So whats the point in 1/2 ton trucks? They can't haul much, are they the grocery getters of the truck world?

What's the point of your question?

Just looking for opinions on 1/2 ton trucks. Seems most people on here have bigger trucks or recommend trucks larger than 1/2 tons when it comes to towing TH's or TT's.

Gebrown wrote:
So whats the point in 1/2 ton trucks? They can't haul much, are they the grocery getters of the truck world?

What's the point of your question?

I towed a 5000-lb travel trailer with my half-ton Burb. Several trips to Florida and one to Yellowstone with a family of 5. 4000-lb rear axle was the weak link. Just made frequent stops at the scales to check my weights.

Also used it to pull a 3500-lb cargo trailer. Pulled just fine.


Pull out the rear bench, fold the middle row, and sheets of 4x8 fit in the rear and the tailgate closes. Works for me.

Mine routinely pulls a 10K load around the west. It has a payload that allows me to do that and rides a whole lot better than our ¾ & 1 ton trucks on the ranch. I would NOT classify that as a "grocery getter".

Exclude towing my TT.

In the last year, my grocery getter has hauled:
New washer and dryer - then the old ones to the metal recyclers.
All new doors for my condo. 10 bi-fold and 10 panel doors.
Assembled bookshelves, purchased off Kijiji.
Boy Scout bottle drive - three times.
New vanities and countertops.
Newly assembled barbecue.
Muddy/dirty bicycles countless times.