Welding rigs -- Details

[Eric Carroll]

Who has had their rig weighed?How much? I have a 01 f350 srw with a gvwr of 9900, with out a welder it is 10,400 then add me (265)and a machine(600 or 1700) and it gets heavy fast. How much can you push the gvwr?I dont want to buy a new truck but I dont want to be unsafe because Im to cheap.I have up-graded my springs by adding two leafs and added a dually kit, so I feel I am at least a little better than the stock gvwr but my brakes dont feels as strong as I would like.

[J hall]

I had a 1977 Chevy 1 Ton that weighed 12,800lbs, My '91 F450 13,400lbs, '02 F550 14,100lbs

[pipeline Dan]

big man

Who has had their rig weighed?How much? I have a 01 f350 srw with a gvwr of 9900, with out a welder it is 10,400 then add me (265)and a machine(600 or 1700) and it gets heavy fast. How much can you push the gvwr?I dont want to buy a new truck but I dont want to be unsafe because Im to cheap.I have up-graded my springs by adding two leafs and added a dually kit, so I feel I am at least a little better than the stock gvwr but my brakes dont feels as strong as I would like.

600-1700 lbs is a big jump first thing I'd find out is how much your welder ways? Throw everything that you have for tools weigh it then see what your up against, If you don't want to spend money on a new truck(love the smell of a new truck)then take a look at a 302 I think they run at about $5-6000 but they are only 5-600lbs I think also see if you can light'en your skid in your truck get rid of as much junk you can every little bit helps. if you brakes don't work on that Ford maybe look at a Dodge.I live in Alberta so I'm not sure
what your rules are inregards to dot and last but not least if your stuck between a rock and a hard place over this rig weight then look at the 265 theres a way to drop weight and its free just kidding

[Eric Carroll]

sorry to be unclear, my truck with the tools , aircomp, and bottles is 10,400 pounds.My 301g weighs about 600 and my bb400 is around 1700.so my weight will change depending on what welder I have on the truck.I most likely will get a new truck but I just wanted to know how much others have pushed the gvwr on their truck.I was thinking I could get a 450-550 axle from a junk yard but once you get a new truck on the brain its hard to let go.What mods have others done to increase the paylod on their trucks?

[hurricunning]

Pile Buck, that's because for some reason Ford has stayed with a Dana 70 in the rear of the F450, same thing that's in most 3/4 and 1Ton pick-ups. The F450 is just a pick-up with heavier brakes and suspension components. The F550 Actually uses a proper truck axle, the Dana 135.

My '99 F350 SRW Weld truck weighed in consistently at a portly 12,000 lbs with a 9900lb GWVR. I had heavy springs added and the truck never complained one bit. The tires on the other hand were a major problem. When a tire is loaded to its max capacity it rapidly deteriorates. I would be very lucky to get a year out of a tire. My '06 Dodge 3500 DRW is right on its GWRV at 12,200 but I am much more confident with dual 10 ply tires on the rear. I put air bags in this one instead of springs so it isn't so squashed. Not sure if I like the air bag ride yet versus stiffer springs - a little more bouncy/tippy feeling. FYI the 99 F350 has a Dana 50 front and a Ford Corporate rear. My 2002 F350 DRW (and I think all other F350 DRW and F450's) has Dana 60 fronts and Dana 80 rears. F550's have Dana 60 fronts and the massive Dana 135 rears. Dodges now have AAM axles front and rear instead of Dana and the jury is still out on their merits. They have no aftermarket support yet and only two gear choices so far - 3.73 and 4.10.

If you are over on your GWVR and/or GAWR's your local road inspector type people may be able to fine you heavily and make you comply with weight ratings before letting you travel on if pulled over. I have a friend who was fined $750 twice here in BC for being overweight in his work pickups. Also your licensing and insurance has its own weights that you can be out of compliance with. Of the top of my head I think here it is 5,000 Kg max and then you have to go to some other commercial licensing system. If you are overweight and involved in an accident you could possibly be libel.

[hurricunning]

hey you mean posts 169 and 174 on page 12? That was more than a couple of pages back

[welderdan]

right now my truck weighs 10,360, but before its all said and done, i will probably go over the gvw. in texas you can get your truck re-registered at at a greater weight. i got pulled over and weghed in my last truck(an '83 f-250) and was 3,300 #'s over and the fine was almost $400

[Pile Buck]

When I had my horses I was buying my hay in eastern Washington. To get home I have to pass right by a weigh station that’s open pretty much 24/7. Being a little confused on the GVW, only because Ford, says one thing, the state licensing says another, and right down the street from me is a state permit office, yet they say another . One would think everybody in this backwards state would be on the same page, but NOOOOOOOOOOOO! So I stop at this weigh station to get their opinion, being as they are going to be writing the ticket. The State Patrol officer walked out to my F-550 looked at the vehicle registration. Then walked back and looked at the tires, pulled a calculator out of his shirt pocket did the math, walked up to the front tire, and read it. Asked me what type of business I had. Then explained to me, being as I was not a business do not stop at the scale, even with 4-tons of hay on. Then explained it all gets down to the tires, of coarse you “should not” go over the manufacture recommended GVW, but in this state you can pay for a higher GVW, but you cannot go over the tire rating at any time! If you’re pulled over on the side of the road by any State Patrol the first thing he will look at is the tires!

[welderdan]

but in this state you can pay for a higher GVW, but you cannot go over the tire rating at any time!

i've heard its the same way here, right now i,ve fot 10 plys on the back, willprobably end up getting 14 plys in the near future

[Pile Buck]

i've heard its the same way here, right now i,ve fot 10 plys on the back, willprobably end up getting 14 plys in the near future

I understand the tires, and that they are most likely the weak link, but the very next thing is brakes. I had a 1978 Chevy 1-ton dully, with a 454. I had $1,000.00 in overload springs installed in it. Same front springs that go in a 28-foot motor home. One time I missed judged what topsoil weighed, I had the loader operator, just keep dumping as I was shoveling to fill all the corners. Told him to go get another load, he gave me a funny look , but did as directed. (I stayed in the bed of the truck). Loader came back and filled my truck, and even a mound. I jumped down, took one look at the springs and tires Holy crap that sheet is heavy! The wife and I placed the tarp over the load. Went up to the scale, 5-tons on that pour little 1-ton. Thank God this place is just on the other side of the freeway from me, but here in Western Washington we have a few little hills. Well that 454 had some balls, so the hills weren’t any problems, but I **** near missed my road, because I couldn’t stop . Lesson learned, just because you can haul it, doesn’t mean you can stop it.

[welderdan]

I understand the tires, and that they are most likely the weak link, but the very next thing is brakes. Lesson learned, just because you can haul it, doesn’t mean you can stop it.

thats very true, i already have weak brakes, and i'm sure if i don't find some sort of heavy duty brake kit and/ or an exhaust brake, i'll be eating brakes pretty regularly

[Pile Buck]

thats very true, i already have weak brakes, and i'm sure if i don't find some sort of heavy duty brake kit and/ or an exhaust brake, i'll be eating brakes pretty regularly

Dan I belong to 2 or 3 truck forums, the diesel stop is by far the biggest. I remember people posting different links to all kinds of options for aftermarket brakes. Here is a link to the diesel stop. Maybe if you have time do a search on this site. This is one heavily moderated site. They rule with an iron fist bfootn and I use to bounce off each other, not speaking for him but I got tired of their BS! I haven’t posted there in quite some time.

My F-550 has some huge brakes on it, but with 5 to 6-tons on the bed I wish they were just a tad bit more. Now that Torqshift transmission in the Tow / haul mode is totally amazing , almost like having a manual transmission .
http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/

[welderdan]

thanks pilebuck, i am actually a member of dieselstop, just never posted, but i just posted on there about brakes so we'll see

[Sberry]

One thing on older trucks with drum hyd brakes is we yank the drums on occassion and make sure the adjusters are working and manually adjust if we have to. You get used to driving around empty and then toss a load on and it catches you off gaurd. The adjusters quit working 10K miles ago and no stopping from the rear.

[Eric Carroll]

I'm looking at a chevy 5500 for a new rig, does any one have any experience with the Chevy 4500/5500 trucks?I can get a crew cab 5500 with the duramax/allison,2 wheel drive with locker for $34,000.any info would be great.