Forum Discussion

lspencer's avatar
lspencer
Explorer
Nov 06, 2013

truck overloaded?

I have a 1995 Ford F-350 crew cab DRW with the 7.3 powerstroke. it is two wheel drive with the 4:10 rear axle. on all my previous campers I have never had any issues with squating. we recently purchased a larger fifth wheel (1998 Carriage Carri-Lite 34RL) that has a wet weight of 14303. when we hook up, my truck will squat about 2". I can't find the pin weight but I found an equation that puts the pin weight at about 4000lbs. to me that seems a little high. do you think that the truck is overloaded. when I last weighed the truck it weighed right around 7000lbs. thanks.
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  • lspencer's avatar
    lspencer
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2013
    ok thanks. it is going to the scales on friday on the way to the dealer for warranty repair. when hooked up it squats down 2" and just comes to rest on the overload springs. both the front and rear axle add up to 11800lbs when you add them togegher.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Nov 06, 2013
    You probably have a GVWR of 10,000# for that truck.

    You mentioned 'wet weight' of 14.303#.......I take it that is the GVWR of 5vr.

    Pin weight will be close to 2800-3000#

    My truck & 5'vr have similar ratings.
    I am within all ratings.......truck squats about 2" just enough to set on the overloads.

    Your tires will be your limiting factor......check what they are rated for MAX Load @ MAX PSI
  • skipnchar's avatar
    skipnchar
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2013
    Fussing can be fun but not very helpful. Takes about$10.00 to find out so yuppie working with real numbers. Assuming you are right ands pin and hitch weigh 4,000 does your gvwr allow for that much payload (in case you just want to guess)
    Good luck / skip
  • jerem0621's avatar
    jerem0621
    Explorer II
    Nov 06, 2013
    I would imagine by the numbers you are pretty close if not overloaded.

    We looked at a 1996 F350 XLT psd crew cab Dually and the gvw was under 10k lbs. yes, there are some F250's now with a higher GVW.

    I personally feel that the truck can handle it but that's going to have to be a personal call on your part.

    You probably have 2800 ish lbs of payload.

    This is a major reason we ended up with a 99 V10 gasser f350. GVW nearly 12 k.

    Thanks

    Jeremiah
  • john_bet's avatar
    john_bet
    Explorer II
    Nov 06, 2013
    I would not consider 2" as squatting. My 2500 goes down 2" when I hook up and the tail is still high by a full bubble on a level with the trailer level. Some people think my truck should be overloaded with the 5er we have. JMHO.
  • mkirsch's avatar
    mkirsch
    Nomad II
    Nov 06, 2013
    Getting it weighed is the ONLY way to be sure.

    Pin weight of a 5th wheel is typically in the 20-25% range but it could be more. 25% of 14,000lbs is 3500lbs, so 4000lbs is not out of the realm of possibility.

    What do you consider "squat?"

    If you are only getting 2" of squat from unloaded on an F350 DRW pickup, then the pin weight isn't that much.
  • eluwak's avatar
    eluwak
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2013
    Take the truck and trailer to the scales as it's the only way to know. Weigh hooked up and then re-weigh the truck alone. the difference between the two steer & drive axle weights will give you your pin weight.

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