96 f350 dually extended cab diesel
How much weight can I expect this truck to handle with any modifications . Sorry if this is a noob question, But just trying to get in this truck camper lifestyle. Thanks for any advice.
Forum Discussion
I had several duallies and you do have to do a lot of homework if you want to do what their capacity is.
First forget about door sticker and official ratings. They are made for tax-saving purposes and have not much to do with technical design.
So first thing to check is tire ratings.
Some duallies come with bigger wheels and my F450 had tires rated for holding 23,000 lb,
With 8900lb flatbed weight, that calculates to nice payload, but the main issue was weight distribution.
Most of those trucks till F550 are build as grocery getters with short wheel base.
That makes long overhang and most of standard loads will not put weight on front wheels and campers usually will take the weight off front wheels, while overloading the rears.
The only way I could get close to using full payload capacity on flatbed was a forklift loaded with counterweight right behind the cabin.
All other loads had to be significantly lighter to avoid front wheels in the air.
My camper is 4200 lb dry while my F350 has long wheelbase as originally it come with 10' utility bed.
I am comfortable with the setup without air bags, but those should be consider as well.
First forget about door sticker and official ratings. They are made for tax-saving purposes and have not much to do with technical design.
So first thing to check is tire ratings.
Some duallies come with bigger wheels and my F450 had tires rated for holding 23,000 lb,
With 8900lb flatbed weight, that calculates to nice payload, but the main issue was weight distribution.
Most of those trucks till F550 are build as grocery getters with short wheel base.
That makes long overhang and most of standard loads will not put weight on front wheels and campers usually will take the weight off front wheels, while overloading the rears.
The only way I could get close to using full payload capacity on flatbed was a forklift loaded with counterweight right behind the cabin.
All other loads had to be significantly lighter to avoid front wheels in the air.
My camper is 4200 lb dry while my F350 has long wheelbase as originally it come with 10' utility bed.
I am comfortable with the setup without air bags, but those should be consider as well.
