Might be a dumb question, but if you are only a few miles away from the place you pick these things up, why not make 2 trips (or have a buddy with another truck help)? It would be more work to load the truck I'm sure, but unless you have a forklift at home, you have to break the pallet down anyway at home. It seems a lot safer to me, and I would imagine any reasonable store would allow you to do it in trips, especially if you develop a good relationship with them.

 

this is what these trucks are really made for right!? if your not doing it everyday itll be fine. I had a yard and one quarter of topsoil in my bed a month ago and that was really heavy but the engine had no problems but the truck just bounced alot over bumps.

 

Overloading?? Uh, no. They are powerful to properly haul that much weight on a trailer.

 

yeap, carried 2k lbs, no problem. barely could tell, hemi didn't seem to care.

 

they call it a 1/2 ton for a reason, however, every truck is actually manufactured to 150% of its rating. that is to say that if they rate the truck at 1000 lbs, then by regulations it must be able to carry 1500 lbs safely. which, i have maxed out myself. i had a roll of hay, 20 bags of horse feed, and a truckbox full of tools (which never leaves prob. 700lbs of tools there) in mine.

 

I hauled what I figured to be 1800 lbs of sand and patio blocks in our old 06 Dakota, that even had the 3.7. I also hauled 18 square of shingles, dont really wanna know what that added up to

 

Never a dumb question.. I do it for pure bragging rights. ROFLMAO We are just kids at heart. " Lets load her up and see what she'll haul!"

 

True... I've had mine at or slightly over the limit as well. I had one Polaris Sportsman in the back and two on a trailer, plus me and my buddy and all our gear for a weekend away. I didn't do it for bragging rights though, more of a "we have to haul 3 4-wheelers to Maine in one truck." In my old Dakota, I transported something around 14 squares of roof shingles. The 4-wheeler haul went very well - I could barely tell they were there. There was also still plenty of space between the rubber bumper and the axle. Next time I do that though, I will probably add a set of airbags.

 

im not bragging but i hauled a load of 12" concrete block for a buddy. the block weighed 35 pounds each and we had 70 of them. plus my buddy weighs 500 pounds. the truck had no problem traveling the 35 odd miles home through curves and hills and a mountain climb and descent. we took it easy of course but stopping and going was never an issue, the curves never made us worry, and we werent holding up traffic. no worries. by the way, the weight adds up to 2950 not including me at about 200. wouldnt try that in a ford or nissan.

 

Telling this man he can easily overload his truck...

1. This is an oppurtunity to request an upgrade to a 3500, with the cummings... I mean, you HAVE to HAVE that right?

2. Hauling it, actually climbing hills isn't an issue, nor is stopping... um, it can tow easily 3 times that (or more depending on the package).

3. Several have said, the trucks are well under-rated. 1/2 ton truck my arsh. Look a the GVWR to figure out what the true rating is... you'll be able to calculate (less your own weight and equipment) what the true bed weight could be (make sure to look at the axle rating too)... I'd give you the numbers, but I only have mine for my 2500 (2700 lbs, less people/equipment - I went to public school, but um that isn't 3/4 either guys). Thank GOODNESS DODGE has no idea what a 1/2 or 3/4 ton really is...

This all being said... um, for a couple of miles I have done MUCH worse than most of you. I got about 1800lbs of soil in my 2001 Dakota 4x4. Bed rating was like 1/2 ton (calculations minus my fat a$$ was the bed could hold 1300lbs) Yep, there was still some bounce left, but not much. Again I didn't drive far (about 3 miles).

Attached is yet another example of how to overload your pickup truck. She was still new and pretty at that time, yep this is my OLD truck (this looks like about 1200 lbs - comparing to the topsoil).