just wonderin...... im really askin this too late, but just out of curiousity whats the max weight thats supposed to be in the bed of these trucks? not trailers.... in the bed. thanx

 

correct me if im wrong (and i probally am) but i think these trucks can hold by what we catagorize them as.. such as 1500's are half tons.. as in they can handle a 1,000 pound payload.. 2500's are 3/4 tons.. 1,500 lb.. and 3500's are 1 tons.. 2,000 pound payload

 

holy cow i hope your wrong......

 

Assuming that you have a 1500 (because the 2500/3500's didn't come with 318s), I don't know of any "max weight" for the bed. The vehicle is rated for total weight of 1000 lbs ... passengers - cargo - gas, etc. The beds are all the same. Frames, suspensions and tires will be the determining factor of the capacity of the truck.

So I guess to answer your question ... 1000 lbs ... as long as there's NOTHING else in the truck (including driver).

 

why's that? i hope someone can inform me on why they call these half tons/ 3/4 tons and 1 tons then because i have no idea why

 

so suspension wise it can handle about 1,000 pounds.. so your looking at about 600-700 pounds it can handle in the bed.. taking in mind gas and driver

 

i've had a truck full of people before at the beach just cruising around all night and it was fine... as in 7-8 people in the bed.. and 3 up front.. correct me if im wrong but thats getting close to 2,000 pounds

 

whoopsies.......

 

had a little sag in the back end but other then that i could still handle another 5 people

 

According to the spec sheet from when I purchased my 01 new here is what I found:

2001 Dodge Ram 4wd 318 engine - 46re transmission - 355 axle ratio
Max Payload = 1400 lbs.
Max trailer weight = 7,150 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVRW) = 6,600 lbs.
Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) = 12,500 lbs.

So in answer to your question, how much you can load 'legally" in your truck is determined by the build of your truck and your drivetrain combination.

How much can you load and still drive depends on whether you want to have the front tires on the road all the time or if an occassional bounce off the road is OK!

Been there, done that with my Dad's old 75 Ford F100. 3400 lbs and the front tires hit the ground about every 10 feet at 30 mph.