1500 & weight capacity

Jul 10, 2004 8 Replies

I recently bought an 88 1500 4wd. It seems like it doesn't take much weight to drop the rear end down. How do I tell if the springs are shot?



I was carrying a 1/2 yard of loam and the rear dropped way down. In fact it didt really come back up until I removed about half.



Did the 1500's come with different rear leaf springs? Should I just put on air shocks?



I am not looking to haul a lot of weight but I dont know if I have had a 1/2 ton on it.


A set of coil-over shocks would serve u well or some helper springs aka add-a-leafs

a 1/2 yard of wet loam will weigh about 1200lbs... dry sand is almost exactly 1 ton per yard. what exactly do you expect out of your truck? my '88 K2500 will squat until it sits on the 1" thick overload.... doesn't sink at all after that.

-Bret

I had 40, 60-pound bags of cement in the back of my Dakota 4x4. It was riding pretty low, but did it just fine. (2400 pounds in a half ton truck? yep) Is that about what your truck looked like? here is what the truck looks like with that much weight.

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I had 40, 60-pound bags of cement in the back of my Dakota 4x4. It was riding pretty low, but did it just fine. (2400 pounds in a half ton truck? yep)

=============== ===============

God ain't made the fool that'll put 2 ton of brick in a one ton truck.

but he shure made one that would try it.

sorry, couldn't help myself.

marsh ~:~ =========== ===========

I recently bought an 88 1500 4wd. It seems like it doesn't take much weight to drop the rear end down.

......... How do I tell if the springs are shot?

I was carrying a 1/2 yard of loam and the rear dropped way down. In fact it didt really come back up until I removed about half.

.......... Did the 1500's come with different rear leaf springs?

......... Should I just put on air shocks?

oh, I've had well over two tons in my old 1971 F-250. Had broken up concrete filled to the top of the 8' bed, then filled a trailer the same way. funny thing though, the truck hardly felt it! I guess I should just spring for the one ton Diesel.

a few years ago i had a pallet of sod in my 91 s-10 went all the way to the bumper stops. then it still had the 2.8 in it, you could barely feel the load in the back. what they have listed is just a recomendation, like the trailers from uhaul that say speed limit 45 when you look in the side view mirror. i have seen people going down I-95 going 85-90.

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