Truck capacity - Montana Owners Club

hookman · 09-20-2006, 07:14 AM

I have a 2004.5 dodge 3500, quad cab, ctd, 3.73 diff, 4x4. the weights off the door are: gvw 9900, front 5260, rear 6150. what is the maximum 5th wheel I can haul legally with this truck

syplace · 09-20-2006, 09:17 AM

We have a Chev 3500 LT & haul a 3295 RK (34 ft) listed wt is 10300#,
I figure we probably added 800#. Truck door reading hauling capacity 12,800 #.

Daughter has 2004 350 Dodge & hauls a 36ft Horse trailer (includes 3 horses, carriage & dressing/sleeping area, gooseneck. She loves it and calls it her "big girl toy". Believe me, nobody fools with her going down the road!

syplace · 09-20-2006, 09:20 AM

Forgot to mention, her's is a crew cab and our is an extended cab.
Senior moment

Cat320 · 09-20-2006, 09:43 AM

I had a Dodge many years ago, too many to know anything about your truck. However, your ctd will pull any Montana, what you need to find out is GCWR and cargo capacity...how much pin weight and cargo you can carry. To find cargo capacity, check the sticker on the left rear door or pillar of the drivers side of your truck. The sticker, entitled "Tire and Loading Information," will have a section that says, "The combined weight of cargo and occupants should never exceed ____ pounds." That's all you can carry and stay within GVWR.

syplace...wrote: "Truck door reading hauling capacity 12,800 #." I don't know what number that is...I don't think any GM one ton has ever had a GVWR of that much. My 07 dually has a GVWR of 11,400 with a GCWR of 23,500.

MAMalody · 09-20-2006, 07:07 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by hookman

I have a 2004.5 dodge 3500, quad cab, ctd, 3.73 diff, 4x4. the weights off the door are: gvw 9900, front 5260, rear 6150. what is the maximum 5th wheel I can haul legally with this truck

I have similiar numbers and I think your 5er GVWR would be around 14000 with a GCWR of around 20000.

c5racer · 09-21-2006, 06:23 AM

The 2006 is rated to tow 13,850 with a payload of 2890, yours should be basically the same truck.

syplace · 09-21-2006, 06:42 AM

OOPS

Cat 320 is correct. Rechecked and it is 11,400# GVWR - don't know what in the heck I was looking at. Another senior moment!

Wrenchtraveller · 09-22-2006, 04:00 PM

It all depends how you load it and what your interpretation of "legal"is. If you want to stay within your truck's 9900 GVWR, even the smallest Montana will be a challange for you to pack.

As far as safety, I feel you can go over your truck's GVWR and still be safe. I am happy with my 11200 GVWR om ny 05 Ford and even packing my Montana very heavy and my truck very heavy, I came in at 11080 GVWR and that left 120 pounds of payload to fill. My 04 F350 with a 9900 pound GVWR would have been over 1000 pounds in excess of it's "legal" payload. It would have been every bit as safe but if I ever rear ended someone, ICBC could void my insurance. Take care.

BigAl52 · 09-23-2006, 03:03 AM

Hookman
I have a 2500 2003 that I use to pull a 2006 2980. It does a great job and I have no trouble at all on the flats or in the mountains out here in Colorado. I did also install the Firestone ride right airbags on the truck and I am getting ready to replace the shocks as the truck has 60000 miles on it now and I know the stock shocks are ready to be changed. Al

Cat320 · 09-23-2006, 09:29 AM

Just remember there's a lot of difference between what you can 'haul' (read pull or tow) and the cargo capacity of your truck. As noted earlier, any diesel can haul/pull/tow any Montana and stay within GCWR...the problem is the cargo capacity (pin weight) and staying within GVWR.

BigAl52 · 09-23-2006, 05:21 PM

Well if we all want to get technical GVWR of my 2003 Dodge 2500 rear axle is 6000 lbs and the rear axle on the scale weighs 2800 lbs with a half tank of fuel. According to my calculator 6000-2800 means you could put 3200 lbs in the rear of the truck. A 2980 has a pin weight of approx 2200 lbs. Should leave some room for a little extra. Al

mallardjusted · 09-24-2006, 07:55 AM

... maybe a little extra ....

pin weight is probably closer to 2500 lbs with the trailer loaded
hitch weight is approximately 180 lbs
truck acc's, misc tools, + maybe 100 lbs
2 adults, maybe 320 lbs (I'm trying to be nice!)
__________________________________________
subtotal payload 3100 lbs

Top off the fuel tank, and add a few more things inside the truck and .....

I know with my '99 F-250 I was over listed payload capacity, although it towed just fne. No problem with the 1-ton on payload capacity, though.

Payload seems to be the one area that consistanly comes up in "towability". Has anyone ever checked with their insurance agent to see how they look at payload capacity. I.e., any problems with coverage if you are over listed payload, even if one has added air bags or other structural upgrades???

Cat320 · 09-24-2006, 02:49 PM

mallardjusted...wrote "Has anyone ever checked with their insurance agent to see how they look at payload capacity. I.e., any problems with coverage if you are over listed payload, even if one has added air bags or other structural upgrades???"

Sure have. When we decided on a 3400RL we needed a new TV. In the course of my research, I talked to an atty and the ins co (I really wanted a 3/4 D/A)...if involved in an at fault accident and am over weight, I would open myself for all sorts of liability issues. I'm was not willing to take that risk in this sue crazy society (knowing the 3/4 would be over weight), thus the 2007 3500 DRW in my signature. Bottom line was GVWR, all the air bags, booster springs and other gadgets do not change the number on the door.

BigAl52 · 09-24-2006, 05:47 PM

People weight would not all transfer to the rear axle also any thing loaded forward of the rear axle will transfer partially to the front axle. A 3/4 ton will handle a 2980 without any problem and not be over GVWR if one doesn't get carried away with overloading the belly of the trailer.

mallardjusted · 09-24-2006, 06:13 PM

Al & Dolly,

GVWR would probably be ok, but what about the "sticker" payload??? That's what is confusing to many - GVWR, payload, towing capacity - all have to be considered. I know for sure when you ask truck salepersons, I haven't run across one yet that considers all of these when selling ther trucks!!!!

Wrenchtraveller · 09-24-2006, 07:36 PM

My 05 F350 has a rear axle rating of 7000 pounds and a front axle rating of 5600 pounds so that adds up to 12600 pounds. The truck has an 11200 GVWR. You can count the axle ratings as a safety margin but the LEGAL GVWR is 11200 for my F350 and 9900 for Dodge and GMC SRW pickups and if your truck is over this weight, you are technically overweight, believe it or not.

rickfox · 09-25-2006, 12:14 PM

Cat320

How much does you new Chevy weigh? How much additional weight can be added before reaching the GVWR of the truck?

Cat320 · 09-25-2006, 03:53 PM

rickfox...the GVWR of all GM D/A duallys is 11400. The cargo capacity on the sticker on the left rear door says 4257. That means it weighed 7143 (11400 - 4257). I have since added a bed mat, running boards and probably 50 lbs of tools, and misc junk. So, conservatively, I figure I have at least 4100 of cargo capacity. It is a 4 x 2 so I saved some cargo capacity there.

BigAl52...I know it sounds good, but you cannot add the axle capacities for both axles to make up a new GVWR (BTW, there is no such thing a GVWR per axle). The different capacities are for times when the rear or front might be a bit heavier than normal...but like Wrenchtraveller said, the bottom line is the GVWR on the sticker. 99% of the 3/4 diesels pulling Montanas will 'pull' absolutely wonderfully, and will exceed the truck's GVWR, they simply cannot handle the pin weight.

rickfox · 09-25-2006, 04:25 PM

Cat320

My 2003 sticker does not state a maximum cargo capacity and also does not state a truck weight. It only lists the GVWR at 9200#. I had to actually weigh the truck to determine my maximum cargo capacity.

Although there were weight figures mentioned in the brochures, those weights did not include options such as the diesel engine and Allison trans. So my truck actually weighed more, and I actually had less cargo capacity than I was led to believe.

Do you think the 7143# is an actual number for your specific truck, a typical number, a calculated number, or perhaps something else?

BigAl52 · 09-25-2006, 05:56 PM

Bert
I have weighed the Dodge and even with the pin weight of the 2980 it is still within the GVWR on my truck. Truck weighs 6500 lbs the GVWR on the door is at 9200 lbs. So if I am overweight it's only by a small margin. I think proving something like that in an at fault accident would be a real stretch. But I don't blame you for feeling the way you do in a lawsuit happy society like we live in. Guy I work with is more overweight than I am. He has a shortbox GMC 2004 pulls a 2955 with a 100 gal fuel tank in the bed of the truck over and above the truck fuel tank. Al

You may also like: