Last month I took my F-250 to the scales. With just me and a full tank of gas my truck weighed 6,720 lbs. The advertised weight of my 2011 Ford F-250 is 6,686 lbs, so the actual weight was pretty darn close with the difference being my own personal weight. With my 10,000 lb GVWR this gave me roughly 3,300 lbs of payload.
I thought I was all set when I bought my lightweight Wolf Creek 850 truck camper. With a certified wet weight of 2,328 lbs and a GVWR of 3,300 lb, I had an extra 1,000 lbs with which to play. That 1,000 lbs would've be fine for just extra cargo, but I ate into that 1,000 lb figure by installing extra options for my camper like an air conditioner, an inverter, a combo storage bunk, a fantastic vent fan, a flat screen TV, and three roof top solar panels. All those extras are great to have, but they really add up when it comes to weight.
After loading up the truck last weekend with my fully loaded camper, 2 additional passengers, a large inflatable boat with electric outboard engine, food, and camping and fishing gear, the total weight of my truck was 10,800 lbs. The total was a little higher than I expected. I expected to see a figure around 10,000 lbs. So, yes, I'm overweight but not by much.
So what's the moral of the story? If you haven't weighed your truck and camper yet, fully loaded, I can almost guarantee that they will weigh more than you expect. I went out of my way to get the lightest possible camper that fit our needs and I'm still overweight. Fortunately, with a rear axle GAWR of 6,100 lbs, my rear axle and tires are more than beefy enough to handle the extra 800 lbs. I don't always bring the boat and our college-age boys on our trips so that figure will be around 3-400 lbs less for a total of 4-500 lbs over the GVWR.
* This post was
edited 08/09/12 11:04am by Mello Mike *
2011 Wolf Creek 850N/Polar Cub/240w Solar/2-6v Lifeline AGMs/Morningstar Sunsaver w/RM-1 & SureSine-300 Inverter 2011 Ford F-250/6.2L/3.73/Bilsteins/Air Bags/Torklift TD w/Fastguns 2004 Jeep Wrangler/4.0L/5-spd US Navy Ret.
Welcome to the overweight club.
My truck has a GVWR of 9200 lbs.
My truck with me, wife, camper and all generally weights out around 10,000 lbs. Highest weight was 10,080 lbs.
My truck hasen't seemed to suffer and the original 160,000 mile brake pads still have over 50% life.
The only place that being over GVWR is illegal is British Columbia, Canada as I understand it.
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How big can my pick-up camper or RV trailer be on my ½, ¾, or 1 tonne pickup be? Do I need brakes? Do I need a special driver’s license?
The camper, when loaded on to the pickup or when you tow a trailer behind the pickup, can not exceed the manufacturer “Gross Vehicle Weight Rating” (GVWR) or the “Gross Axle Weight Rating” (GAWR). The ratings can be found on the driver’s side door post.
When we were up in Canada two years ago I came across an open scale with no one around. I drove on and got the weight in kilos and had to transcribe it over to lbs. I was shocked to see how much over weight I was. Amazing since the truck handles the TC like a dream. I am also a full fledged member of the "over weight club".
2009 Chevy Silverado 3500 dually D/A, Supersprings, Stable Loads, Bilstein Shocks, Hellwig Sway Bar, Front Timbrens.
2010 Arctic Fox 1140 DB, 220 watts solar, custom 4 in 1 "U" shaped dinette/couch, 59 interior and exterior mods to date and still adding
daveshan wrote: 6720lbs?? My F-250 (in sig) weighs in at 7750 with a full tank and a 35lb dog in it. Didn't think the diesel and 4wd would make that much difference.
It does. That's the main reason why I didn't go with a 4x4 and one of reasons why I didn't get a diesel.
daveshan wrote: 6720lbs?? My F-250 (in sig) weighs in at 7750 with a full tank and a 35lb dog in it. Didn't think the diesel and 4wd would make that much difference.
It does. That's the main reason why I didn't go with a 4x4 and one of reasons why I didn't get a diesel.
Can't live without 4x4 up here several months a year and won't live with a gasser at 7000'+ it's a trade off I'll gladly take. But if I was back at sea level in Southern CA and not towing a 7000lb trailer while the camper is on I'm sure I'd think differently
daveshan wrote: 6720lbs?? My F-250 (in sig) weighs in at 7750 with a full tank and a 35lb dog in it. Didn't think the diesel and 4wd would make that much difference.
It does. That's the main reason why I didn't go with a 4x4 and one of reasons why I didn't get a diesel.
That's the reason I keep preaching to buy the F350 instead of the F250 when someone wants the diesel crew cab 4wd. The F350 has about 1500 lbs higher GVWR and about 800 lbs higher RGAWR than the F250 for '05-'11 model years.
That's 8-percent overweight.
I've always considered anything less than 10-percent overweight is probably safe and within the trucks handling and braking safety margins.
Weighing it is a good point though.
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