OT-All 2 Ton Farm Trucks Greatly Exceed Their GVW Ratings

My 1968 IH 1800 2 ton farm truck has a GVW rating of 22,500 lbs.It has a 16 ft steel bed with hoist and weighs 9800 lbs empty.It has (6) 9.00x20 tires rated at 4610 lbs each.

It has no extra top sides and always weighs nearly 30,000 lbs loaded at the grain elevator which is legal on the axles.There are other 2 ton grain trucks with extra top sides hauling far more grain than mine.

If I were to load it by the GVW rating I could only haul a little over 200 bushels which would make it worthless.

My 1969 IH 1600 Loadstar 2 ton farm truck has a GVW rating of only 18,200 lbs and weighs 9200 lbs empty.It has a 16 ft steel bed with wood floor and hoist.The steering tires are 9.00x20 rated at 4610 lbs.The rears are 8.25x20's rated at 4050 lbs.I'd have to change the rearend to put 9.00x20's on it.

I usually weigh 30,000 lbs loaded.If I loaded to the GVW rating I could only haul 150 bushels which would make it absolutely worthless.

Would you say that these trucks are safe or very unsafe?Lots will say that I should get a bigger truck.OK,if I were to buy a 10 wheeler that could weigh 48,000 lbs I'm guessing that with a legal load that I would far exceed my GVW rating on it.It would probably only be in the upper 20's-low 30's on GVW.

OK,I went out and checked the GVW on my old 1966 CO 4000 IH road tractor with a 318 Detroit and a 10 speed.Its GVW is 35,000 lbs.If I stretched it and made it in to a 10 wheeler that can weigh 48,000 I would exceed the GVW by 13,000 lbs.Thats way more than my 2 ton trucks.Would that be safe or unsafe?

So,if we wanted to get technical a semi with a grain trailer would be the only way I could safely haul grain to the elevator.

Just something to think about.How much do some of you haul on 2 ton trucks?

Now is what you are doing safe????? ? Like the others said that depends on the condition of the truck. Being over weight causes more breakdowns from broken springs and such; and extends stopping distance. But on the other hand it is done daily by some with no ill effects.

The funny thing is a scale master is only concerned with inches of tire touching the ground when checking weights at a scale. Now if you get stopped for a road side check they will most likely dig deeper and find you are over your weight rating.

Where I think people get into trouble with being over weight is when we add a trailer. Trailers and loads that are to big for the truck being used is a death trap waiting for a place to happen.
Over weight trailers can cause a trucks front end to get light and even leave the ground with bumper hitches. Over weight trailers can cause a truck to start swaying to where the trailer is controlling the truck rather than the truck controlling the trailer.
And lets face it most weekend trailer pullers have no idea of the problems they have brought on themselves when hooking a trailer on the back of their pickup. They expect to pull the trailer in the same manner as they rush to work every day in city traffic.
Once we get above the 1 ton and smaller crowd being a little over weight is more of a tearing up your equipment problem. Heck I play the cat and mouse game with the weight master all the time because I am 1000 lbs over here or 1500 lbs over there.
lbs = $ and you got to haul the lbs to make the $.

Heres the old 1968 IH 1800 earning its keep during the 2005 corn harvest.It has 350 bushels on it.It would easily haul another 50 bushels with 6" top sides but I'd be over on the axles.

These old IH trucks are so over built that you would really have to work to tear one up.They have done the job for 40 years and would do it for 40 more if parts are available.I go over both trucks completely every year before wheat harvest and have had no major problems.Both trucks make a 24 mile round trip on gravel roads to the elevator and I've never had to walk.

As I stated before every 2 ton farm truck in the country far exceeds their GVW when hauling grain.DOT knows it and could take every 2 ton truck off the road if they really wanted to by just looking at the GVW plate..So far they havent wanted too!!These trucks are all that small farmers can afford.The neighbors that farm 2000 acres or more have all gone to semis.Even 10 wheelers are getting to be a thing of the past.

I expect that these 2 ton farm trucks have one of the lowest accident rates in the U.S. They are driven low miles on rural roads mostly by people that know how to operate them.My liability ins only costs me $80 per year per truck.They must be rated as being pretty safe to get those rates.

Both my old IH's have hauled their last loads for me.I'm a part timer and recently rented the 320 acres of farm ground out for 2008.Its time to take life a little easier.

It has a lot to do with equipment condition, brakes, tires, springs, shocks, frame cracks, rust etc. Can't tell from this angle, maybe if you moved the truck closer to the monitor...

But, while you commonly do it, that does not make it right or safe (or intrinsically unsafe for that matter). Unless MO has a farm truck overload loophole, it would make for a dandy of a ticket.

I saw on a program once where GM's investigations showed that EVERY truck they sell will be overloaded at some point in time. Guess it's common!

He now has 2 semis and may have sold the Ford.It was a nice looking truck.I wish that I had a picture of it.

I know another guy in Kansas that has an early 1970's IH 10 wheeler with a 238 Detroit in it.The 22 ft bed on it will hold nearly 700 bushels.