"Import" in full sized truck?
Hey everyone. First post, new to the truck camper world (still camper-less at this point). I'm looking to add a truck camper to my fleet of toys. I really enjoy fishing and like to get out on a num...
Forum Discussion
Door sticker says GVWR is 6400Lbs, GAWR is 3750 Lbs. I upgraded from factory tires some time ago. I'm running LT285/70/17 BFG A/T, load range E, rated for 3195Lbs.
My...I didn't know GM still had ratings that small. When upgrading tires to a higher capacity one needs to upgrade the wheels also.
Now once tires and wheels are taken car of you sure will have to do something with those weak 3750 lb rear spring packs such as air bags or SuperSprings or Timbrens or have a spring shop add a extra leaf in the main spring pack.
Lets look at some real numbers. First off the 1569 lb payload is based on a GVWR payload. In other words the 1569 lb is spread over the trucks front and rear axles.
Truck campers add weight on the rear axles with little to non on the front. soooo.... most 1500 trucks can weigh 2400-2500 lbs on the rear axle. Now subtract 1569 from 3750 RAWR leaves your truck with a 1250 lb load on the rear axle. Actual scaled front and rear axle weights are needed to eliminate guessing especially with a overloaded axle.
Any way you do the trucks loading math your still going to have a overloaded rear axle. As I stated above GM semi float axles don't like to run in a over loaded condition.
The rear axle is made by GM and have its own rating. I don't know what it is but I sure wouldn't load it above that number regardless of tire capacity
