1,100 More Capacity per Tire Means?

[captbanjo]

For those of you in the know (and I know you know you know) what would it mean in a nutshell if my mechanic says he is able to add 1100 pounds towing capacity per tire by increasing the springs in my GMC 250?

Does this sound like a considerable increase or only marginal?

[woodtic]

I find that hard to believe. 1100 # increase on the rear axle is more realistic. Can he provide certification documents? The spring pack, rims and tires are the main differences between a 2500 and 3500 SRW trucks. Be sure to check the ratings of the rims and tires as well.

I added helper springs to mine. I'm also looking for more truck (DRW). Hope to find one by next spring.

[Art-n-Marge]

To answer your question, it's very considerable but pointless.

It's not only the springs that need upgrading to increase the GVWR and THOSE springs don't get you much. Even if he put springs on that are so strong to provide 1100# PER TIRE on the rear end, this means 2200# at the rear axles, you'd be wasting money because there's a lot more that is affected than just the springs. For example, that may not help the shock absorbers, the differential, the brakes and so many other components that are limiting how much a truck can increase its weight rating. I'm guessing you meant your 2004 GMC 2500, but there is just not much you can do to increase the weight rating on your truck. For that model year, the springs are about the only thing you can modify (and maybe change out the wheels and tires to gain the increased capacity to match). And you can't used the cost of 1100# rated springs if the other components CAN'T be upgraded as well.

Your mechanic is preying on your ignorance and trying to sell you more than you can use because it sounds so good and not only can you not gain that much, you can't upgrade your truck beyond a certain rating - but he gets the money, doesn't he! If I use my truck as an example, the only thing I could do is add an overload spring, the hardware to support it, and larger wheels and tires (the F-250 stock tires would not support the new weight so I upgraded them too) and I gained 1,500 lbs for gross weight, and 900 lbs at the rear axle which is the maximum for a comparably equipped F-350.

After that it's a new truck and probably a dually. For your truck, start with an OEM spring pack. If you are like Ford, sometimes they put the F-350 spring pack and hardware and upgrade the wheels to match and still label (VIN) it an F-250. This makes for cheaper DMV registration costs. When investigating what I needed to do for my truck, I found my neighbor that had an F-250 WITH the F-350 spring pack. Lucky for him, his brother had an F-350 and got custom wheels for it and gave the OEM tires to my neighbor and voila, he now has an F-350 even though it was labeled F-250. Like me, we upgraded legally but can only use the new weight rating for personal or non-commercial uses. All this was confirmed at two Ford dealerships. It's NOT just the springs to consider and you can only do so much improving.

[kdeiss]

As I understand the difference between a (Chev GMC) 2500HD and a 3500HD is an additional Leaf in the rear and higher weight Cap wheels all other components are the same Frame, Suspension, Brakes etc.The 2500 HD is a Heavy Duty 3/4 When I purchased my 2002 GMC their was a 3/4 and a 3//4 HD

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by captbanjo

For those of you in the know (and I know you know you know) what would it mean in a nutshell if my mechanic says he is able to add 1100 pounds towing capacity per tire by increasing the springs in my GMC 250?

Does this sound like a considerable increase or only marginal?

Towing capacity? Springs (without many other things) have nothing to do with towing capacity...maybe payload capacity. Either way, sounds like Barbra Streisand to me.

[Art-n-Marge]

Good catch Tom! What the mechanic is referring to CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity) and this means you can carry more weight over the pin, but like what Tom's clarification explains, a truck's towing capacity DOES NOT CHANGE. You need a new truck to change that.

For example, my detailed description of the work I did to improve the GVWR, and RAWR (and maybe not the CGVWR) did not improve the towing capacity in any way. My truck can still only TOW 15,300 lbs of fiver and 12,500 lbs at the bumper and these ratings are the same for the F-250 and F-350. Not sure about GMC, Chevy or Dodge, but I have a feeling the 3/4 and 1 ton have the same tow ratings with the same equipment (other than the extra spring and wheels/tires to match.

So according to the mechanic if he's getting you 2200# springs, then it really does NO good for towing, only weight capacity, maybe.

[captbanjo]

Yes, I misquoted him. It IS cargo carrying capacity and he was referring to my pin weight.

So, if it's not cost prohibitive, then maybe going from 5 springs to eight will allow a heavier pin weight.

[kdeiss]

To keep this simple I have confirmed if you would add a leaf spring change Wheels from 6.6 Inch
to 7" and tires to 265 vs 245 you truck would have the same Cap as a 3500HD 1 Ton
Depending on bed and Cab configuration this would up your pin weight by 700 lbs.
All other components Brakes,Frame,Axles and etc are rated to handle the 700 lbs additional Pin weight but no more.

[Art-n-Marge]

No captbanjo. I tried to explain that even adding 12 springs to each side would do no good because the rest of the truck (like described by kdeiss) can only hold up the documented weight of a 3500 SRW equipped the same way as your current 2500. You can gain only 700 lbs and the rest you gain from the ratings of any extra springs is useless since the rest of the truck cannot hold as much as what the springs provide.

[captbanjo]

Oh, OK.

[TLightning]

When I was looking at Montanas and trucks, it was clear a 3400 needed a dually...period. A 3/4 ton D/A is about 1,000# over its GVWR with a 3400 hooked up. That's the bottom line.