Grit dog wrote:
Steve_in_29 wrote:
" Also keep in mind the load capacity ratings on 1/2 ton trucks are the MAX they can carry for a SHORT distance. Such as bringing home a load from Home Depot. While the ratings on 3/4 ton and up are the weights they are expected to be able to lug around day-in-and-day-out for years."
Haha, wherever did you hear that??? That's gotta be the best weight cop story I've ever heard. Fictional story......
Anyway, yes the half tons are going to be maxed out and need extra springs or bags or something but full size 1/2 ton trucks are not near as anemic as some make them out to be.
Would a 2500 min haul a camper better? Yes, but if you're on a budget and looking for good mileage the rest of the year, a HD gasser is the wrong truck for that and a diesel is much more expensive.
I guess just heed the good advice here by making sure you think out the choice before plopping down the scratch on a new rig.
NO it's from hearing 1/2 ton owner after owner complain and then buy the truck they should have bought in the first place and more importantly it was from my buddy being told by the Ford Dealership that EXACT thing when he brought his truck in for warranty repair of a blown transmission.
The Dealership told him that he had abused his truck by using it to carry a heavy (JUST under rated load capacity) load from Colorado to California when he moved. He had the CAT Certified weight ticket and his owners manual in hand and after he made a big enough stink they did the repair under warranty.
Are there some 1/2 tons that are better able to carry a heavy load...Yes BUT too many people don't read the fine print (and the manufacturers sure don't call their attention to it either) and think that EVERY 1/2 ton can do what they see the special model doing in the ads.
Though by the time a 1/2 ton owner has added helper springs, air bags, shocks, heavy duty tires, etc to their truck they are effectively NOT driving a 1/2 ton any more and though it might be better able to handle the weight, it is still handicapped by smaller brakes and weaker drivetrain then a 3/4 ton truck capable of carrying the same load would have.
