I do a lot of jobs on wells. I got tired of waiting for water so i added a tote in my trailer and carried an extra 150 gallons of water on top of already 150 gallons of water and 50 gallons of sh plus equipment. My trailer is double axle, 5000 lbs of weight capacity on top of trailer itself. The load was very near the trailer weight limit but my truck is rated for more than double that. It’s a ram 1500 2017, with 5.7 hemi.
The transmission broke down apparently, the one and only time i carried that extra water. There’s at least a week of waiting time for a transmission guy to even look at it around here. To keep working i bought another ram 1500 2017 yesterday, identical, but way less mileage (80 000 km instead of 190 000 km) , as i had planned to buy another one for this winter anyway. I told myself i would just not transport extra water. Then today i was waiting for water for 2 hours (big house on well). Started second guessing and thinking i need a 2500 instead of a 1500, and carry lots of water to save time on well jobs. But they’re way pricier and i don’t need it except to carry water.
My 1500 can tow 10k, it was built to do it. 4.10 gears or 3.73 gears will make a bit of difference when towing. Can your trailer handle it though? I towed 265 gallons to a job up and down some hills yesterday. I am more worried about braking than I am towing. Most fords, chevys and ram 1500/150 can tow 10k. I think you are ok with whatever you pick.
Will a 2500/250 make it seem easier when towing, sure, but there is a trade off in fuel consumption. My previous 2500 wouldn’t be bothered by hauling a trailer with 1814.37 kilograms of wood pellets up the mountain. The 1500 can do it too, but you hear it
Oh definitely ! Already invested a lot in equipment this year! But ressources are not infinite so i try to do what makes most sense…
If a 2500 is a must i’ll get it next year. Open to all ideas though, guys that transport water or work on wells often… i did use my 1500 6 years with no issue until now…
I have my 3500 box truck and at times I’ve carried 250 gals or so of water and 40ish gallons of SH. I always put it in tow mode while driving to save a little wear and tear on it.
4.10 gears are best for really heavy loads, 3.73 will do well too, but it depends on what you are doing. If you are on the highway a lot, then maybe 3.73 will be better while towing. Stop and go towing 4.10 gears. If you are routinely towing 7-10k, I would go 4.10, but this opinion isn’t based on science, just a lot of conjecture from hillbillies that tow a lot.
Just don’t get the 3.55 gears that some truck manf are trying to put on the base models. Sure they will tow stuff, but you want torque.
275 gallon (1040 liter) tote is over 2,000 pounds full (979 kilograms), add the weight of tote, all the equipment on the trailer, the average amount of sh in tank (roughly 8 pounds a gallon/3.6kg), and weight of trailer. That is what you are towing. Then tackle whether you have brakes on your trailer or not, and if you have a brake controller in your truck.
So right now my plan is to bring 2 empty totes on large houses on wells. Call the water truck ahead, they meet us there, it takes 2 minutes to fill both totes, 200$ added to the customer’s bill.
But the house i’m washing tomorrow is too big for that and i checked the spigot. Not even 2 gpm. I’ll have the water truck stay there for a few hours and fill buffer as we go.
Stained wood though, tested hw mix in corner, looked fine when dry. Will prewet wood also.
Just a bit worried about water going in a crack in the wood like that time i had to call the firefighters…
Pound for pound of payload, it’s tough to beat a cab-over flatbed. And, they’re generally less costly and definitely hold up better and longer than a pickup.
