Traded my 97' F-150 reg cab 4.6L in for a 04' supercab 5.4L and love it. Last weekend whole doing yard work I loded the back of the truck up with yard clippings. The truck sagged a little but not that much so I did not think I had that much weight in her. The dump closed so i was unable to empty the truck that night so i ended up waiting a few days to have the time to go, the whole time driving with the grass clippings. Went to the dump weighed in and found out I had 1300 pounds in the bed. I was very impressed with how the truck handled with the weight. You just can not beat a ford truck for doin work.

 

I drove around with 2000 lbs (1 yard) of moist finely chipped mulch for about a day or two before I got to use it... luckily I had the tonneau cover... whenever I got back in the garage, I opened the cover, and mixed the mulch around to dry it out to make the handling easier... truck worked awesome and I only got the 4.2l v6 with a 5 speed.

So that load should've been nothing to the engine.

 

My truck is a workhorse too. Dirtbikes, tools and fuel in the bed are child's play. Heck, my dirtbike trailer doesn't even feel like it's back there when I am towing.

 

Since my first load I have hauled 1 yard of wet topsoil and a full pallet of firtilzer from home depot. And I still have a smile on my face due to how well my truck performs with a load on her back. Fords slogan built ford tough is indeed the case.

 

I've filled my bed almost to the rails with boxes of books - God knows how much they weighed - and towed a full 5x8 enclosed trailer at the same time with mine. You bet the thing was sagging, but it never bottomed out.

 

I purchased a yard of wet pool sand by the weight. 2580 pounds of sand, plus two 200 pound guys in the cab. I still was not on the bump stops So, being 1500 pounds over GVWR, the truck managed for a short trip. An F-150 @ GVWR does not sag much and handled the load quite well. That's why so many people overlaod them, because thye don't think 1500 pounds looks like much in he bed. This is why seeing F-150's towing trailers with squatted in the back scare me. I know they are not within specs.

 

While I was in the yard waiting in line for the front loader to load me up I watched a half ton chevy 2 trucks in front being loaded up. Once he was all loaded with a yard of soil his truck was sitting on the ground. At that point I was a little concerned about my truck as it is still new to me but since I was a short distance from home I sucked it up. The F350 in front of me loaded and of course had barely any sag then it was my turn. The loader dropped in the dirt and she squatted a little but not near as bad as the chevy which looked to be brand new. In the end built Ford tough stands true and stomps Chevy as usual.

 

Half ton Chevys aren't trucks - they are cars with the back end chopped open.

My brother in law has a C3500 dualie crew cab with an 8.1 - much as I like Fords, now THAT thing is a TRUCK. Sucks gas like there's no tomorrow too.

 

Our trucks are definitely great for hauling. I hauled 2 yards of mulch in the bed of my truck a few weeks ago without a problem at all. It squatted a little but not nearly enough for any concern. I am going to need 3 yards of compost next week and I'm wondering if I can handle two yards of that in the truck at once (this way I can do it in two trips). I know the compost is going to be heavier than the mulch but does anyone know by how much?

Another thing is I am considering air bags for the rear down the road. Are the 8.8s axles strong enough for this to be worth my while?

 

I picked up a yard of moist mulch last weekend (refined Pine). I didn't think it weighed anywhere near 2000 lb's. I would have figured around 1000 lb's wet. If I leveled off the top of the pile a bit, I could easily have closed the tonneau, and he gave me a bit of an extra scoop. I didn't need to close it because it was wet (was tough to get the shovel into it). Also, I only have a 5.5 ft bed. The depth of these beds sure is nice.