Buckbuster
Senior Member
What is different on a 1/2 ton truck and a 3/4 ton truck other than suspension and brakes? For example is the transfer case bigger on a 3/4 ton 4WD than on a 1/2 ton 4WD? Is the frame heavier?
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Truck question.......
- Thread starter Buckbuster
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cowboyron
Senior Member
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.......The transfer case is the same what is bigger is your running gear such as drive shafts, u-joints and axles.
Buckbuster
Senior Member
bump
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the terms...1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton derived from weights of each particular model to start with? :
Yes, each have variances in their makeups in frames and suspensions(springs). Thus, the buildup enables them to handle more.
Are you looking at purchasing one and having to consider hauling/towing needs? If so, when you get into the "HD" line of brands.....I'll use Chevy line for example.... there is a vast difference between the norm 1500 and a 1500HD.
Was the question out of just curiosity or purchase questions?
Yes, each have variances in their makeups in frames and suspensions(springs). Thus, the buildup enables them to handle more.
Are you looking at purchasing one and having to consider hauling/towing needs? If so, when you get into the "HD" line of brands.....I'll use Chevy line for example.... there is a vast difference between the norm 1500 and a 1500HD.
Was the question out of just curiosity or purchase questions?
Buckbuster
Senior Member
Todd E said:Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the terms...1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton derived from weights of each particular model to start with? :
Yes, each have variances in their makeups in frames and suspensions(springs). Thus, the buildup enables them to handle more.
Are you looking at purchasing one and having to consider hauling/towing needs? If so, when you get into the "HD" line of brands.....I'll use Chevy line for example.... there is a vast difference between the norm 1500 and a 1500HD.
Was the question out of just curiosity or purchase questions?[/QUOT Todd, question is of both.
PHIL M
Gone But Not Forgotten
1/2 ton verses 3/4 ton. 3/4 ton usually is geared lower in the rear end, and usually have larger dia ring gears, stronger springs, bigger u-joints, bigger transmission coolers, more or bigger lug bolts, Im not sure what the differences are in the transfer cases, I think that may vary upon which make of truck.
3/4 ton will haul a bigger load pull heavier weights has a stronger tranny this is on my chevy anyway not an allison the 3/4 has a heavy duty tranny over the1/2 ton it gets way worse gas mileage i get 11.2 around town and 14.2 on the road according to the comp its about right this thing eats gas but has plenty of power if your not towing anything i would get the 1/2 ton for sure and dont get a diesel unless you need it or just like to waste money.
Here's what I was told..............
1/2, 3/4, 1 Ton are derived from what a truck can haul safely and stop safely. Yes, each have differences in components that they are built with. As for the tranny in a 4X4, :
If you are planning on a purchase, make sure you look into what rearend gear the truck has. I drive a 1 Ton Dodge 3500 Dually. It takes a bunch of weight to squat the rearend. But, when I bought it....I didn't ask about gears. I have a 3.53 rearend gear. That is way too high for getting my camper going. Now once I getting it rolling, it's no problem. A dead stop start on a hill is a killer. I know a guy who has a Chevy 1500HD 6.0L with a low gear...maybe a 4.10. He pulls a 30' bumper pull superslide with NO problem.
1/2, 3/4, 1 Ton are derived from what a truck can haul safely and stop safely. Yes, each have differences in components that they are built with. As for the tranny in a 4X4, :
If you are planning on a purchase, make sure you look into what rearend gear the truck has. I drive a 1 Ton Dodge 3500 Dually. It takes a bunch of weight to squat the rearend. But, when I bought it....I didn't ask about gears. I have a 3.53 rearend gear. That is way too high for getting my camper going. Now once I getting it rolling, it's no problem. A dead stop start on a hill is a killer. I know a guy who has a Chevy 1500HD 6.0L with a low gear...maybe a 4.10. He pulls a 30' bumper pull superslide with NO problem.
Toliver
Senior Member
While y'all are answering questions, What's the difference in an F-350 SRW and an F-350 Dually? Both 1 tons or is the dually a 1 1/2 ton?
Toliver
Senior Member
stumpman said:
SRW is just the Single Rear Wheel version of the F-350.
Toliver
Senior Member
stumpman said:
I'm almost there. But it's the same with Dodge and Chevy. 3500 SRW's and the 3500 DRW's. Obviously the DRW's can carry more so which one is the 1 ton? I won't be able to sleep tonight until I know the answer. This could be the key to me getting on Jeopardy and outdoing that Jennings guy!!
I dont think alex will ask that ? but you never know but the springs are the same the dually is just more stable from what i was told i drive 3/4 tons and my dad had a 1 ton dually he pulled a 5th wheeler camper the told him the only difference was the stability with the big trailer so you can rest before your jepordy show tomorrow.
Both the SRW350 and the regular 350 are 1 ton's.
Any pickup will weigh much more than half a ton. Fact is, a Yugo will almost weight half a ton.
I would guess that the average half ton weighs close to 5000 pounds or 2.5 tons. I used to haul coal for the house on my older truck and it weighed about 4800 when I went across the scales, but back then it was a pretty basic truck.
The average 3/4 ton diesel truck weights about 6500 pounds and I would guess the average 1 ton truck at about 8,000.
Half ton's have 4 ply or 6 ply tires on them while 3/4 ton trucks have 8 ot 10 ply tires. Half tons have light springs, light axles, light duty brakes, and generally, everything else on them is quite a bit lighter than what you find on a 3/4 ton or larger. The rear axles on most 3/4 and above are full floating axles and will take a lot more weight than those on a half ton. Most half tons have 5 or 6 lugs on the wheels, most 3/4 tons have 8. The 8 lugs on the 3/4 tons are much stronger than the lugs on the half tons too. If you think it isn't fun changing a tire on a half ton with that tool included with the truck, try doing it on a 3/4 or 1 ton. The bigger lugs are finer threads and will absolutely work you to death screwing the nuts off. They won't turn by hand hardly at all.
Brake rotors on 3/4 tons are much much larger as are the calipers and pads. The radiators on 3/4 ton's are much larger and normally come with tranny coolers and sometimes oil coolers.
In a half ton when you hit a chug hole on the interstate at 70 mph, you probably feel a nasty bump, you might even bust a tire. In a 3/4 ton when you hit the same chug hole, you had better have aholt of the wheel because the whole truck will likely bounce. It may come down in the next lane, you don't really know.
Half ton trucks are licensed for 6000 pounds gross unless they have farm or commercial tags on them. At 5000 pounds truck weight with 1000 pounds in cargo (Half ton) you get 6000 gross pounds.
Most 3/4 ton trucks are licensed for 6000 pounds as well. Most of them are above that empty. I've never seen the DOT weigh a pickup, but I suppose they could. Some states have 10,000 pound tags and some 3/4's are licensed for that. Most ton trucks have 12,000 pound tags on them while some have 10,000 pound tags. (Note: For insurance purposes, you are probably better off with 10,000 pound tags because over that, the truck is considered commercial)
Most half tons are capable of hauling about 2400 pounds of cargo, but that is a heavy load on a half ton and it will be squatted pretty low. You would have to be very careful driving it loaded that heavy to not warp the axle. The Chevy's generally have less ability to handle loads than the Fords or Dodges.
Most 3/4 tons are capable of hauling about 3500 pounds without really squatting down. These days, there are a lot of 3/4 ton's being built to accommodate people like me who are buying for towing capacity. Some of those do not have the suspension of the heavier duty 3/4 tons and will not haul 3500 pounds safely. At one time, I had an old 72 Ford F250 that had helpers on it. I could haul about 7000 pounds of coal on it with 2x10's for side boards.
1 ton's can haul more than that depending on their configuration, most can haul more than the bed will hold.
Hauling 7000 pounds on a pickup isn't legal, but it's done regularly. I know a few farmers who are using their pickups to haul trailers loaded in excess of 20,000 pounds. I've got one guy insured who has turned a dump off of a Tandem Mack into a corn trailer. This thing loaded is about 28,000 gross, and yes, he pulls it with his 1 ton Dodge. Is it safe? Heck no. But then again, this is Kentucky, and these old coal truckers tend to run heavy. Kentucky has almost always let coal trucks slide on weight. Some of the heavier tri axle dumps used to and may still do haul in excess of 60 tons of coal. (That's 120,000 pounds of cargo not counting the truck, no it isn't legal) Just this year, a politician's kid got killed when an overloaded coal truck ran over the kid's car. Kentucky DOT went on this campaign to enforce coal truck weight. This weekend in the Lexington paper, there was an article saying that there has been an increase in coal truck accidents since the weight crack down. The reason, lighter coal trucks are faster than heavier coal trucks but they still can't stop.
Skipper
Any pickup will weigh much more than half a ton. Fact is, a Yugo will almost weight half a ton.
I would guess that the average half ton weighs close to 5000 pounds or 2.5 tons. I used to haul coal for the house on my older truck and it weighed about 4800 when I went across the scales, but back then it was a pretty basic truck.
The average 3/4 ton diesel truck weights about 6500 pounds and I would guess the average 1 ton truck at about 8,000.
Half ton's have 4 ply or 6 ply tires on them while 3/4 ton trucks have 8 ot 10 ply tires. Half tons have light springs, light axles, light duty brakes, and generally, everything else on them is quite a bit lighter than what you find on a 3/4 ton or larger. The rear axles on most 3/4 and above are full floating axles and will take a lot more weight than those on a half ton. Most half tons have 5 or 6 lugs on the wheels, most 3/4 tons have 8. The 8 lugs on the 3/4 tons are much stronger than the lugs on the half tons too. If you think it isn't fun changing a tire on a half ton with that tool included with the truck, try doing it on a 3/4 or 1 ton. The bigger lugs are finer threads and will absolutely work you to death screwing the nuts off. They won't turn by hand hardly at all.
Brake rotors on 3/4 tons are much much larger as are the calipers and pads. The radiators on 3/4 ton's are much larger and normally come with tranny coolers and sometimes oil coolers.
In a half ton when you hit a chug hole on the interstate at 70 mph, you probably feel a nasty bump, you might even bust a tire. In a 3/4 ton when you hit the same chug hole, you had better have aholt of the wheel because the whole truck will likely bounce. It may come down in the next lane, you don't really know.
Half ton trucks are licensed for 6000 pounds gross unless they have farm or commercial tags on them. At 5000 pounds truck weight with 1000 pounds in cargo (Half ton) you get 6000 gross pounds.
Most 3/4 ton trucks are licensed for 6000 pounds as well. Most of them are above that empty. I've never seen the DOT weigh a pickup, but I suppose they could. Some states have 10,000 pound tags and some 3/4's are licensed for that. Most ton trucks have 12,000 pound tags on them while some have 10,000 pound tags. (Note: For insurance purposes, you are probably better off with 10,000 pound tags because over that, the truck is considered commercial)
Most half tons are capable of hauling about 2400 pounds of cargo, but that is a heavy load on a half ton and it will be squatted pretty low. You would have to be very careful driving it loaded that heavy to not warp the axle. The Chevy's generally have less ability to handle loads than the Fords or Dodges.
Most 3/4 tons are capable of hauling about 3500 pounds without really squatting down. These days, there are a lot of 3/4 ton's being built to accommodate people like me who are buying for towing capacity. Some of those do not have the suspension of the heavier duty 3/4 tons and will not haul 3500 pounds safely. At one time, I had an old 72 Ford F250 that had helpers on it. I could haul about 7000 pounds of coal on it with 2x10's for side boards.
1 ton's can haul more than that depending on their configuration, most can haul more than the bed will hold.
Hauling 7000 pounds on a pickup isn't legal, but it's done regularly. I know a few farmers who are using their pickups to haul trailers loaded in excess of 20,000 pounds. I've got one guy insured who has turned a dump off of a Tandem Mack into a corn trailer. This thing loaded is about 28,000 gross, and yes, he pulls it with his 1 ton Dodge. Is it safe? Heck no. But then again, this is Kentucky, and these old coal truckers tend to run heavy. Kentucky has almost always let coal trucks slide on weight. Some of the heavier tri axle dumps used to and may still do haul in excess of 60 tons of coal. (That's 120,000 pounds of cargo not counting the truck, no it isn't legal) Just this year, a politician's kid got killed when an overloaded coal truck ran over the kid's car. Kentucky DOT went on this campaign to enforce coal truck weight. This weekend in the Lexington paper, there was an article saying that there has been an increase in coal truck accidents since the weight crack down. The reason, lighter coal trucks are faster than heavier coal trucks but they still can't stop.
Skipper
There is a big bifferance between the 350 SRW and the 350 DRW Axles, Brakes, heaver Spring rates. But the biggest differance in real terms is how they handle without loads and with loads. The DRW will generally not haul more but it will be a lot more stable at speed and will stop better!! 4X4s that is I don't know about the 2wds!!
