I've got a 2004 1500 long bed and was wondering if I could carry 2000 lbs in it. I need to pick up a ton of wood pellets for my stove and the manuel on the truck refers me to look on the drivers door tag, whick looks to me like I could carry 3900 lbs.

Also, does the tailgate come off easily. Thanks

 

You won't like the way it handles, brakes, accelerates. It'll suck gas (even worse than now). How far do you need to haul the load?

 

i tried to carry a pallet of landscaping blocks..2200lb...it dropped the bump stops right down onto the axle.
dodge really screwed the pooch in payload on the 1500's. i bought a set of timbren overloads. they bolt in place of the bumpstops and work just fine in these situations.
yes the tailgate comes off fairly easily...but be carefull...it isn't exacly light

 

Yeah, the tailgate comes off real easy, and weight 50pds.

i wouldnt put that much in the back of mine, but i kindof baby it. They tow a lot, but payload is not great.

Can you rent a trailer? or do you have access to one? besides being better for your truck, its way easier imo.

 

How much payload do you expect from a HALF-TON pickup? I carried a full box of dirt in my Chevy 1500 several years ago. It, too, was down on the bump stops. That truck was a POS, but I didn't consider that a ton of dirt in a half-ton truck causing it to ride, handle, stop and accelerate poorly a down-check of the truck.

And, yeah, the tailgate is pretty heavy and awkward to handle. If you're gonna take it off, get some help.

 

Heaviest I've had on my '04 has been my ATV (@650lbs.) and my toolbox always has about 250 lbs. of tools, recovery gear & a mig welder in it. But judging by the fact that I had to get air bags to keep from blinding people with my low beams at night, I don't think it's gonna do it, although the long bed may make a difference. I wouldn't think twice about it with the airbags though, 2000# rated capacity.
I did use my '00 Chevy Z71 for a load of river rock at my old house, according to the place I got the rock from, the load was gonna weigh 2200lbs. I only had about 5 miles to go, so I gave it a try, stops hit hard on every bump, and the tailpipe scraped the driveway backing in, but it made it.

 

my 06 hemi 1500 I had two pallets of phone books. was a little temp thing I tried for weekend money, and the suspensions was fine. the stock tires however were drooping low (looked like 1/2 way inflated). but power and handling were fine. Braking was a little different but all in all I was not disapointed.

 

I have the same truck and you must be reading the side door wrong. There is no way it says you can carry 3900 pounds. I would say for a short trip you should be fine. I filled the back with wet sand for the kids sand box and it sat on the bump stoppers the entire trip. Just drive with caution.

 

I suspect you looked at the axle rating. Look at the upper right corner of the label. Mine shows a GWR of 6,550 #. I think the curb weight of a QCSB 1500 is about 4,500# That would indicate a payload of around a ton. As has been pointed out, you should be OK for a short trip. Just be careful and remember, it'll stop like a train (forever and slowly).

 

i hauled 3600 lbs of cement block in my old 94 f-250. it squatted a little but it was a 3/4 ton.