11-01-04 | News

How Much Truck Do You Need?

Pickup-style trucks vary widely in power and cost.
It pays to carefully consider what model you and your
business will require for hauling and towing before you buy.

By Erik Skindrud, regional editor

 

Note that this F-250 comes with a four-door crew cab, which cuts down on payload capacity. Unless you’re transporting a crew, most contractors will likely choose a two-door version.

Pickup trucks vary widely, and you won’t notice everything by just looking at them. Take the Dodge Ram, for example. Dodge’s big pickup comes in three classes, the Ram 1500, Ram 2500 and Ram 3500–but all three come with the same cab sizes: one interior size for the two-door version and another interior size for the four-door version.

The real difference comes when you weigh what these trucks can carry and pull. Another thing is a surprise too–that the same engine can carry and tow different weight totals depending on the model’s configuration and transmission type.

Payload Versus Towing Capacity

Look at the Ford F-250 and F-350. The standard versions of both carry 5.4-liter V-8s, but the basic F-250 is rated for an in-bed payload of 3,440 lbs. versus 4,440 lbs. for the F-350. The rated towing weight is about the same for both, although the basic F-350 is rated 200 lbs. less for towing than its “smaller” cousin.

This Dodge Dakota four-wheel-drive edition is rigged to pull a trailer. Four-wheeling may be fun on the weekends, but contractors will get 300 lbs. more towing capacity with the two-wheel-drive Dakota.

These somewhat confusing payload and tow ratings continue when you compare different truck brands. The four-wheel-drive Chevy Silverado is tops in its category for payload weight with a rating of 1,655 lbs. but comes in 1,900 lbs. behind the comparable Nissan Titan’s rated tow weight of 9,400 lbs. (The Titan has a relatively wimpy 1,105 lbs. rated payload capacity.) The comparable (four-wheel-drive) F-150 gives users a better balance between payload and tow capacity, with ratings of 1,510 and 8,200 respectively.

That’s a lot of numbers to juggle, but the basic point is that a contractor might choose one pickup if most loads are in the truck bed and another if most loads, either equipment or debris, are carried in a towed trailer.

Consider the Trailer

Which brings us to trailers. Most landscape contractors prefer the ease of loading and unloading mowers and other equipment from a trailer’s rear door–which also doubles as a loading ramp. The standard metal-mesh trailer is relatively light too–but its total weight can surpass a truck’s rated tow weight if too much equipment or (gasp!)–logs and soil–are placed in it.

Which means that it is very important to always keep in mind how much you’re pulling behind your rig. Trailer manufacturers talk about a trailer’s Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, or GVWR, instead of the weight of the trailer alone. Going over the limit can result in rapid wear or the immediate breakdown of your vehicle.