GVWR old and new

[Farmerjon]

Some of these post really get me to reminiscing about the trucks we have had and their weight ratings.
the trucks I.ve listed isn't a complete list of the trucks we have had but it is a list of the ones we still have. The 69 is the only one that isn't currently being used. It is the wife's 1st vehicle she bought while still at home.So it will be restored. The 69 hauled a camper and horses thousands of miles. We didn't travel as fast or as comfortable and probably we wern't as safe, but it sure got it done.
The 87,2000 and 2015 all haul the same weights and loads even though the GVWR have changed drastically.
But the difference in how they ride, pull and stop is very different and each one has been an improvement over the ones that came before.

GVWR FR GAWR R GAWR
1969 F350 7500LB 3300LB 5200LB
1987 F250 8800LB 3920LB 6084LB
2000 F350 11200LB 5200LB 8250LB
2015 F350 14000LB 5940LB 9650LB

[ChooChooMan74]

87 F250 6.9 diesel. 8800 GVW
91 F350 DRW 7.3 diesel. 10,000 GVW

[Farmerjon]

The 69's were offered with 240 and 300 straight 6's and 360 or 390 v8's. ours has a 360, 4 speed with 4.10 gears.
With just the camper loaded down we used to crawl up the mountains in 3rd gear. Put the horse trailer in the mix and we weren't going anywhere fast.
The highways used to have a lot of turn out areas ( Not lanes) so people like us could pull off and let people drive by. And then we had to get back into the traffic.
Our 69 came with an 18 gal tank behind the seat, I added 2 additional 18 or 20 gal tanks one on each side in front of the wheel wells.
Our 2000 dually after it is loaded has 3000lbs left for the camper and tongue weight if we are towing.
The 2015 has 5000lbs left.
The payload penalty for the 7.3 was about 560lbs, the penalty for the 6.7 is about 800lbs.
My 1st truck was a 56 3100 Chevy GVWR 5000lbs with a 265 v8 and 4 speed hydramatic. I did put a 283 v8 in it and that helped some.


yes the restore catalogs are great. They have just about every part you might need to restore a truck.

[Golden_HVAC]

I told my brother in 2000 that they should stop putting diesel engines in the F-250's because the GVWR is so low, and cargo rating on a crewcab diesel 4x4 is only 865 pounds! By 2005, the GVWR had increased by some 1,200 pounds on the F-250 to 1,600 pounds on the 11,500 GVWR SRW F-350 and to 13,000 pounds (give or take) on the dually F-350.

I also recommended a single rear wheel F-450 with 19.5" rims and 4,500 pound tires on it. This would be the absolute highest GVWR for any SRW Truck!

It would be great to bring back the old "Super Camper Special". I had a buddy with one - they all had a 10,000 GVWR, his had a 390" engine. They also came with 460" engine in 75 and later. It was a SRW with a 140" wheelbase, not the regular cab's 133" wheelbase. This gave an extra 7" for the spare tire to fit in a compartment behind the passenger door, upright. Behind the rear axle was a 40 gallon fuel tank. Also the rear axle to bumper was only about 18", so towing a fifth wheel or carry a camper and much more weight was in front of the rear axle than other trucks!

It is great to see how much trucks have improved over the years. I had a rare 1975 F-350 Supercab truck that had a 460" engine and 3.73:1 rear axle. With only a 3 speed auto, the 3.73:1 works out great!

What engine is in your '69? 352? 330? U-Haul used a lot of 330" engines in their trucks. It might also be a inline 300" engine. In my humble opinion, the best Ford engines where the 300" inline 6, 460" V8 and the 390" engine that my dad had in his Mercury wagon!

By 1987, most F-250's had either the 351 or 460" engines. More rare was the inline 6 or 302" engines. The 302 and 300 inline 6 where more popular in the F-150. The 460" was the most powerful, while the non-turbo 6.9L (or did they have the 7.3L non-turbo by then?) was sort of a dog in the mountains on a steep hill while towing a fifth wheel. Installing aftermarket turbo kits where popular in the late 80's and early 90's.

For 2000, they had the V10 and 5.4L V8 or the 7.3L diesel that you have.

There are many restoration catalogs that you can order anything from a fender to complete frame for projects!

Have fun camping!

Fred.