Actual Weighing of a 3400 - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

Bill Frisbee · 04-19-2006, 09:27 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DiananColin

I don't know where everyone is getting this 35ft trailer length for towing in South Carolina. I have checked three web sites and each one says 53ft max trailer length which is considerably longer than a lot of other states who quote 40ft. Perhaps I am missing something. Diana

Diane, the 35' max trailer length comes from the back side of The Good Sam Club folding map they send to members. The information does NOT relate to the 53' max trailer length that can be hauled by a semi. It relates to the max trailer length that can be hauled by a CAR. No one I have asked seems to know whether CAR includes PICK-UPs.

Bill

Wrenchtraveller · 04-19-2006, 05:17 PM

Again this whole issue is a legal hot potatoe.

The Ford Super Duty SRW F250 and F350 are basically the same truck.......... except in the eyes of the law. Same brakes, same powertrain, can be ordered with the same tires, but you could replace the springs or whatever the small difference is....... but you can't legally change that truck's GVWR, nobody can, not even a team of Philadelphia Liars can do it.

We live in a crazy world and common sense does not always enter into it

Bill, to answer your question how Ford increased it's GVWR, it is not all payload because they added 300 pounds to the weight of the truck.
Bigger brakes and heavier frame and I have a 7000 pound rear axle but they still raised the payload on my model by 1000 pounds.
11200-9900= 13000 minus 300 extra weight=1000.

Montana Sky · 04-19-2006, 07:17 PM

Steve,
Thanks for posting your weight findings. The biggest thing that threw me was the amount of weight on your kingpin. Your rear axles are 150 lbs heavier of mine, but my kingpin is 800 lbs heavier. Amazing how I thought I had this coach loaded with so much stuff. This weekend I did as Rich has done, I went through and took all the "stuff" I do not really need or use. I could not believe how much stuff I brought back home with me. Hopefully this will lighten the load a bit.

Bill Frisbee · 04-20-2006, 01:52 AM

Rvghost,

Given what Don says above, i.e., that SRW F-350s are essentially SRW F-250s with heavier springs or overload springs attached, am I correct in concluding that Ford has increased the GVWR on its F-250 by 900lbs - 1000lbs (essentially turning the F-250 into the F-350) while continuing to label the vehicle as a 3/4 ton? NB ... as this question illustrates, there is a reason why I decided to quit engineering and became an economist!!!!

Bill

steves · 04-20-2006, 01:58 AM

Wrenchtraveller - you mentioned that I was over my GCWR. Adding
my trailer weight 14,275 and my truck weight of 8,450 gives a total of 22,125 which is well within the trucks rating. You probably mis-interpeted my numbers or picked the wrong ones because of the formatting problem I had.

richfaa · 04-20-2006, 04:46 AM

I always have a concern about legal issues.You may never be involved in any in your life but a lawyer will tear you apart in court to win a big civil case.Since we had no truck we were wide open to choices so we decided to Cover our butt and go as big as we could afford.It is also good to have one of those Philadelphia lawyers as a close friend.

Bill Frisbee · 04-20-2006, 05:35 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DiananColin

I don't know where everyone is getting this 35ft trailer length for towing in South Carolina. I have checked three web sites and each one says 53ft max trailer length which is considerably longer than a lot of other states who quote 40ft. Perhaps I am missing something. Diana

Diana, see my new post in the "On The Road Again" Forum. The response I received from the Good Sam Club is posted there.

Bill

HomeOnTheRoad · 04-20-2006, 05:54 AM

Ford 2005 Tow Guide says F250 GVWR is from 8,800 to 10,000 depending on engine, cab and bed/wheelbase. Diesel is to 10,000. V10 is to 9,800. 5.4L is to 9,600. This is for the 3/4 ton F250.

For the 1 ton F350 GVWR is from 10,100 to 13,000.

GCWR for F250 is from 15,000 with 5.4L and 3.73 axle ratio and manual tranny
to 23,000 with diesel and 3.73 and automatic.

GCWR for F350 is from 15,000 with 5.4L and 3.73 and manual to
26,500 with tow boss with diesel and 4.30 and automatic.

Tow ratigs for fifthwheel for F250 is from 10,000 to 16,500.
For F350 towing for FW is from 10,000 to 19,200, that with tow boss diesel.

Someday I will buy one of these I hope.

sreigle · 04-20-2006, 12:00 PM

My understanding is the GVWR and GCWR have nothing to do with "legal." If you're involved in an accident where being over the recommendations might be conststrued as cause for the accient and you are then sued, then those numbers might be used against you. I may be wrong about the legal part but every time I've asked that question of people in the legal profession I've been told they are recommendations. Maybe this varies by state. My wife worked in legal offices for a number of years.

Bill Frisbee, the F350 comes with the overload leaf on the rear springs and with a rear swaybar. Those are both available on the F250 with the optional Camper Package (different from the tow package).

virgil47 · 04-21-2006, 04:44 AM

I am struggling with the weight limits just like everyone else. Convinced that I have overtaxed the limits of my old truck, I am looking at other alternatives and am wondering, why more of you don't go to the medium duty trucks or MDT's. Of course money is the first thing that would come to mind but my investigation says that I can buy USED, a very, very well appointed and certainly not worn out, class 6 Freightliner M2 or International 4400 with plenty of hp for about the same as a new F350 dually diesel and tow up to 26000 lbs LEGALLY. Or you could make the same case with a class 5 with less capacity.

These trucks have essentially the same footprint as a F350 dually and since the front wheels line up with the outside rear dually, the turning radius is shorter that the F350 or 3500's.

I'm interested in why more of you haven't gone to MDT's.

dsprik · 04-21-2006, 07:21 AM

Virgil, First and foremost problem with comtemplating a MDT: "Extreme" resistance from wife. She would go back to thinking of a MH before caving in on this one. Probably just my situation, though...

DiananColin · 04-21-2006, 02:28 PM

Bill Frisbee: I just checked in our new 2006 Trailer Life Directory which states South Carolina Max Trailer length 48 feet and max Motorhome 45 feet. Could it be the Good Sam information was a typo. All done to confuse. Diana

Bill Frisbee · 04-21-2006, 03:17 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DiananColin

Bill Frisbee: I just checked in our new 2006 Trailer Life Directory which states South Carolina Max Trailer length 48 feet and max Motorhome 45 feet. Could it be the Good Sam information was a typo. All done to confuse. Diana

Hi, Diana,

The possibility of a misprint/typo is what led me to send my first email to Good Sam. Their reply (posted to "On The Road Again" forum) insists that the 35' restriction is correct. I have since sent them a second email requesting a specific reference in the South Carolina Statutes. No one who has been researching the law can find the 35' restriction. So far, I have received no response. What the searchers have found is consistent with what you quote from Trailer Life. I will post here when/if I get a response from Good Sam.

Bill

virgil47 · 04-21-2006, 06:15 PM

"Virgil, First and foremost problem with comtemplating a MDT: "Extreme" resistance from wife. She would go back to thinking of a MH before caving in on this one. Probably just my situation, though..."

Dave,

Wife resistance is very valid reason. I have certainly been in that place many times. In this case, I happen to be lucky or unlucky enough to have a wife that sees a turning radius shorter than an F350 dually, owners bragging about equal or better mileage when towing, much, much greater stopping power and a decent ride and ask me how come we aren't looking at these more substantial trucks instead of running these pickups close to their upper limits.

dsprik · 04-21-2006, 06:48 PM

Virgil, you are going to talk me into looking into these again. I spent some time previously exploring this subject. The MDTs I realy liked took me way out my price range, but they sure were awesome machines...

virgil47 · 04-22-2006, 03:33 AM

Dave,
If you decide to investigate further, please share your findings. After this trip we will decide if we want to FT. If we decide to FT, further investigation of an MDT is definitely on my short list

Montana Sky · 04-23-2006, 08:37 AM

Virgil,
Here is a link to the a dealerhsip on the east coast that does some really nice Chevy Kodiak's 4500's. He really puts the options into the trucks. www.haulerking.com I have been looking through his website for sometime now, very interested in the 4500. The one I have narrowed down my decision to is the Dixie. This seems to have all the options and requirements I would need. Just thought I would share the link...

dsprik · 04-23-2006, 08:45 AM

Dave,

Just curious about the distance between the rear axle on these beauties and the back of the cab? Is that a "short box" distance? Also... these are all the same Dmaxs as in the 2500/3500s, right?

Montana Sky · 04-23-2006, 10:25 AM

Dave,
You can get those with either 8' or 9' hauler beds on them. I would be going with an 8' bed to make life easier for any trailer I would tow. These do not have the new LBZ Duramax or the new 6 speed Allison, they have the LB7 Duramax and 5 speed Allison. I am not looking to buy one of these for the personal towing of my 3400RL. My current truck does the job perfectly. I have been looking at them as I am thinking about getting into the transport business. Not sure yet, but will be looking for a new career path in the upcoming months for sure and I am looking into all options.

virgil47 · 04-24-2006, 08:55 AM

MSky,

Thanks for the website on big Chevy Trucks. Enjoyed reading through there and learned some things. I gotta believe that these class 5 and 6 trucks would tow safer and will wear longer than these F250/2500 and F350/3500 pickups we are all currently using. It just makes sense to me. Would sure like to hear the opinions of others on this subject. Maybe this is buried in the "weighing" thread. I might just repost it under tow vehicles and it's own heading to see if there are others with opinions.

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