illegal and unsafe payload question

Basically tell me I'm an idiot like everyone else I've asked.

I'm moving bricks from a seller 3.5 miles down the road with a speed limit of 25mph. 

Chevy 2500 express van rated for 3300lbs, I want to load it to 4000lbs to cut down on the number of trips. 

In my mind its perfectly fine, with the short haul I don't see the tires or drivetrain getting stressed. And I think an additional 20% over capacity on a slow and short drive would be OK for the margin of safety involved in that 3300lb payload rating.

Right? 

It's only an extra 7 miles for a round trip.

How many hours will it take you to change the rear axle bearing in the van when you finish?

In reply to Keith Tanner :

indeed, but for our purposes each extra round trip adds at least 30 minutes. 

I would do it

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

How many hours will it take you to change the rear axle bearing in the van when you finish?

I really don't know. I live in the real world and I can't say working in construction that equipment and trucks have never been loaded beyond capacity. It happens a lot and a lot of people inadvertently do so. My gut is telling me this is not unsafe. When 16 and not knowing anything we used to work hauling pool salt in a 80's 1/2 ton. We loaded that thing right to the top of the bed and made trips all around the city probably at least double the rated payload wondering why it took so long to stop. The truck never burst into flames. 

Seems fine to me if they fit. As long as all 4 wheels stay on the ground and the driver isn't pretending he's in a NASCAR race, I'd do it.

I think you could get away with 4000lbs under these conditions (with damage to the truck bed being the most likely consequence), but it could be both faster and easier on your truck to rent a utility trailer to carry the over-capacity bricks. Maybe you could take more in total this way and reduce the trip count further?

I would spread the load around, not just over the back axle. There is some room in the GVW for a passenger I would think, just don't take your 300lb friend with you. That covers part of your rating deficit.

I don't know what axle the Chevy uses but my old Dodge 2500 has a Dana 70 and it is rated at 7500lbs

Like anything with a rating there's always a safety factor.

You'll be fine

Peabody said:

Like anything with a rating there's always a safety factor.

This is true, but do you really want to test it? Has it already been used up by other factors?

@twowheeled can you tell us more about the condition of the truck? Is new-ish & well-maintained? Or a 20yo winter-beater from the rust belt ?

  -- Pete

PeteD said:

Peabody said:

Like anything with a rating there's always a safety factor.

This is true, but do you really want to test it? Has it already been used up by other factors?

@twowheeled can you tell us more about the condition of the truck? Is new-ish & well-maintained? Or a 20yo winter-beater from the rust belt ?

  -- Pete

it's a uhaul rental, so I have to apply the rental factor to the payload. 

twowheeled said:

PeteD said:

Peabody said:

Like anything with a rating there's always a safety factor.

This is true, but do you really want to test it? Has it already been used up by other factors?

@twowheeled can you tell us more about the condition of the truck? Is new-ish & well-maintained? Or a 20yo winter-beater from the rust belt ?

  -- Pete

it's a uhaul rental, so I have to apply the rental factor to the payload. 

Can't you just rent a bigger truck, maybe a small moving van?

How many bricks are you moving?   I.e. are we talking about 2 trips vs 3 trips, or are you moving 137,000 pounds of bricks in total?

I don't have very good luck.  If it's a couple trips I might risk it.  If you're going to be doing *many* trips, you're probably better off sticking to the load limit IMO.

I also think the trailer suggestion above is a wise one.  Your vehicle is probably rated to tow a lot more than it's rated to carry on-board.

Yeah, if Uhaul, how much more for a dually rear ended moving van?  

When I was a teen, we heated with wood. A regular load was stacked carefully in the back of the truck until the axle was sitting hard on the bump stops and then drive it 40 miles home. Since this was usually oak or live oak, I'd hazard a guess that it was #3000-#4000 per load in a 1978 C10 or a 1991 F150. We did that at least one Saturday a month from the time I was 6 or so until I moved out at 18.  

For as far and as fast you are going, I'd load as much as will physically fit and not worry about the weight. 

Since this is a rental, the issues are a little different, I think.  You aren't worried that this will lead to a bearing problem two weeks from now (BTW, that's what the guy that overloaded the truck two weeks ago was thinking, too).  But what is your backup plan if something happens while it is loaded with brick?  If a tire fails, is there a spare and do you have a jack that can lift all that weight?  If not, what do you do?  If you call U-Haul and they send one of their own out what will they say when they see the overloaded truck?  Will they say the tire is your fault and may you pay?  What if there is some other failure that is due to the truck's life of abuse before you ever saw it.  Will U-Haul stick it to you for that failure since you're overloaded?  I don't know what their policy on that is but it is something I would worry about.

Wait we are talking about a Uhaul rental van. Pffft there is no obligation to follow payload capacity then. Load until full, drive carefully.

Toyman! said:

For as far and as fast you are going, I'd load as much as will physically fit and not worry about the weight. 

This.  It's 3.5 miles at 25 mph.  The thing isn't going to self-destruct if you go a pound over, fer heaven's sake!

I overloaded a truck with bricks for a ~6 mile-ish trip a few years ago. Not quite level with the rails if I recall.

No noticeable mechanical stress, and the brakes were good, but that truck wanted to roll over while going in a straight line. I'll never do that again.

I have accidentally put 11,000 lbs in a 10k trailer - the loader at the gravel pit had a busted scale. I survived. But given the choice and with a round trip travel time of 15 minutes, I'd stay within the rated loads. Especially on a rental truck.

The downside is a little more time. But the potential consequences for overloading the truck by 20% are fairly significant. With that tradeoff, it's a fairly easy choice.

An 18 wheeler is rated at 80,000 lbs total and that's also the legal limit.  In at country when going to a grain elevator for drop off they run way over that......  since there are no scales from the field to the elevator, it's "legal."  
 

Does HD still rent these drop-side trucks?  
Easier handling/loading than putting into the interior of a van if you're hand loading?

4 or 5 bricks tall but weight distributed across the entire load floor which is a wider floor than a van.  

Exponentially easier if you have a fork lift on either side for loading, unloading 

Rental?

Send it.  Full stop.