Axle ratings where is the weak link?
I keep being told my current truck an 07 Chevy diesel 4x4 DRW LB EXT CAB can handle the triple slide TC's on the market today with some suspension upgrades but it has some pretty low ratings as it si...
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So I lied above. I have one full re tard example from back in hi school when I was a fleet mechanic for a landscape outfit.
Had a brand new D350 ram 4x4 dually. Boss insisted on putting a dump bed on it.
That truck get beat like a rented mule.....on a good day. On bad days it was limped back to the shop or busted in half on the side of the road. In 30kmi I replaced both rear axle shafts at least once, bent, bearings, brakes idk how many times, AND split the frame both sides over the rear axle.
5klbs was a daily occurrence, just bottoming out the springs hauling a load of wet beauty bark. But when the truck would show back up with a couple 36" root ball trees with full leaves AND the NH785 skid steer with a tree spade on the front, both IN the dump bed, and a 30' tag trailer loaded with trees behind it, was when I usually got overtime work fixing it!
Seeing what was loaded on that old school C channel frame on a daily basis tells me that there's pretty much not anything I could put in the back of a truck, including a 6klb camper, as long as the wheels and suspension were up to it, that would break it.
NOW to qualify about duty cycle and factor of safety....... Those ratings are meant to protect, IMO, someone who does not have the experience with or great understanding of the tool (truck) they are using, or those that prefer very conservative factors of safety.
Like everything in life, this too is a compromise.
Had a brand new D350 ram 4x4 dually. Boss insisted on putting a dump bed on it.
That truck get beat like a rented mule.....on a good day. On bad days it was limped back to the shop or busted in half on the side of the road. In 30kmi I replaced both rear axle shafts at least once, bent, bearings, brakes idk how many times, AND split the frame both sides over the rear axle.
5klbs was a daily occurrence, just bottoming out the springs hauling a load of wet beauty bark. But when the truck would show back up with a couple 36" root ball trees with full leaves AND the NH785 skid steer with a tree spade on the front, both IN the dump bed, and a 30' tag trailer loaded with trees behind it, was when I usually got overtime work fixing it!
Seeing what was loaded on that old school C channel frame on a daily basis tells me that there's pretty much not anything I could put in the back of a truck, including a 6klb camper, as long as the wheels and suspension were up to it, that would break it.
NOW to qualify about duty cycle and factor of safety....... Those ratings are meant to protect, IMO, someone who does not have the experience with or great understanding of the tool (truck) they are using, or those that prefer very conservative factors of safety.
Like everything in life, this too is a compromise.
