So, how bad did I overload my box truck?

[big bird]

'98 Chevy 3500 2wd dually, 5 speed manual, 5.7 vortec. Cab and chassis with a box.

We just finished our final trip from Alabama to Pennsylvania. Jammed every last thing into the box, full to the roof.

Passenger side cat was plugged so I had to cut it out the other day and patch before the trip, that's another long story. Trip had to happen and be done moving.

I knew I was heavy, was able to keep it at least 45mph on bad hills by going down to third. One bad hill in West Virginia required 2nd in the truck lane, had a semi driver in front that didn't seem to know what he was doing.

Most of the time I was constantly jumping between 4th and 5th. Pedal on the floor almost all the time. My right calf is sore because I kept it floored literally hours at a time. 55-65mph most of the way. 70mph occasionally on a downhill.

Kid was dying to use a truck scale so we went through a CAT scale for fun.

Gross weight was 13420 lbs.

How stupid was this?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Gross weight was 13420 lbs.

How stupid was this?

Meh, if you didn't peel any tread off the tires, you're good.

 

[Komet]

I think the amount of stupid is proportional to how well it stops when you jam on the brakes. When I was mildly overloaded, my braking performance was surprisingly bad so I gave myself a medium stupid for that.

 

[Road Trip]

I knew I was heavy, was able to keep it at least 45mph on bad hills by going down to third. One bad hill in West Virginia required 2nd in the truck lane

I completely grok what it's like to have to move your prized possessions from
one domecile to another. The 2 attached photos are what happens when your
company gets bought out, the new owners expect you to follow your job ~1900
miles away, and you instead go with Plan B. (The severance package.) Too bad,
I had a small salt box on a circle, and I'm pretty sure that I was the loudest
neighbor. (Within reason.) Living out in the country is my happy place.

Anyway, the gentleman who was doing my paint for me offered to store Fiesta
#4 in his pole barn up in VT, which was ~150 miles away up I-89 deep in the Green
Mountains. To be perfectly candid, the engine/transaxle were out of the Red
car, so it was pretty much an empty shell -- not nearly as heavy as it looked.

The deed was done early Saturday morning, so as to avoid both traffic as
well as the prying eyes of the staties.

And as Komet said, the brakes are front & center, importance elevated to
Priority #1. Everything is planned from the brake perspective. By staying
at the speed limit, essentially the light traffic turned into zero traffic in front
of me -- I virtually had the early-morning Interstate to myself.

As it turned out, the euro-spec rally-inspired suspension made for a smooth,
sway-free pull. Meanwhile, the deep breathing big valve headed 1700cc Kent
crossflow gave hard enough that the headers were heat discolored a little
further away from the engine than before.

Had a few folks honk their horns & give me a thumbs up as I stayed around
the speed limit as they blew by. 2000 was a heck of a year for yours truly.

Sounds like your 2024 is turning out to be pretty similar experience.

PS: It was a full pull. I made it to the paint guy's compound, and he
looked astonished by the rig when I pulled up. :0)

Glad to hear that your move is in the rearview mirror of life. That
whole dual gas tank thing of yours was something else.

The next time you get a chance, be sure to kiss the ground. I know
I do from time to time. :0)

 

[Sean Buick 76]

What’s the GVW on the box truck?

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

We've run my crew cab, with two people in the front seat, back 2/3 of seat I wasn't on, loaded, bed loaded with wood tables and car parts, and a full U Haul 5x8 trailer (largest single axle model, no trailer brakes) at what I figured was ~10K# (at least) from Houston, Texas which is relatively flat except for freeway overpasses, to Austin, Texas which is getting into the Hill Country. Start hitting the rolling hills about halfway there, where you'd have to shift into D from OD on a half ton with a 4L60E. The biggest issue was not acceleration, which people would assume because my truck is also a Vortec 5.7, just a year or so older than yours. We could haul that load just fine, with not much more effort on the throttle than normal empty driving. But you'd better plan your stops, especially if you're coming into a curve. We made our turn off US 290 to go under the freeway and onto the FM road (still 6 lanes cause Austin is growing and the roads are barely keeping up), and we were going about 5 mph faster coming into that turn than we should've been going (slowed down, just not quite enough, and we could definitely feel the trailer and the ton of stuff in the back of the truck, pushing us and slightly sliding through the curve. Part of the problem with this section of the road is, the FM road was there long before the Texas Tollway that goes through the middle of where the FM road crosses 290, and it's a humongous interchange. And you're coming downhill too....
I didn't notice any brake fade, but we most definitely did NOT do that again. We were watching for it this year, and no issues arose. And my CC should have the same brakes as your C&C dually. So I would agree that stopping ability and capability are the most important things here. These trucks are somewhat overbuilt, so there is SOME margin for overload. I would check the frame out if you're concerned about possible damage there. And remember, a truck like yours is what they used to make wreckers out of(just a different bed).
So if y'all got through the trip okay except for your sore leg, and you don't load it that heavy too often, and your brakes still stop it in reasonable fashion... you're probably good (by my reckoning, others may disagree).

 

[someotherguy]

What’s the GVW on the box truck?

I could be wrong but I'm suspecting somewhere in the neighborhood of low 10K. A build report on the VIN would be pretty specific.

Richard

 

[junkyardjack]

Not as bad as yours but apparently there are laws here about over length... Trailer is 20' for reference. Quad for balance... I'll go medium stupid? Made it home, wouldn't do it again.

 

[Sean Buick 76]

Not as bad as yours but apparently there are laws here about over length... Trailer is 20' for reference. Quad for balance... I'll go medium stupid? Made it home, wouldn't do it again.

I once got a deal on a bunch of building supplies. I had a trailer that was custom built by a guy who was a pro welder but not well versed in trailer design. Long story short I overloaded the trailer big time and caused a bunch of damage to the trailer. Then I had to pay a pro trailer builder to rebuild the whole thing properly…. It could have caused a wreck, got lucky.

 

[GoToGuy]

Did you think about when turning the load grows outside the turn circle? Many long loads have caused property damage, wrecked themselves, even caused a death when the load swung into the next lane over. Not brilliant.
About the same brain power as the drivers don't check load height and drive into overpass or parking garage.