Load weight for Vans

PJay59 · Mar 21, 2009

Hello, Im still one of those newbies out their, I just started in my van the first of this year. and has not happen to much yet, but this week I ran couple heavy loads in my chevy 3500 van. one at 3000 # and another at, well supose to be 3200 # but when I got to shipper it was only 2000 #, well my van seem to run it ok and tires looked ok, and I did get Sprinter rates so I was happy for that. So how heavy of a load can you safely haul in a 3500 van, and I dont carry lots of extra stuff with me in the van

Jack_Berry · Mar 21, 2009

1. weigh your van with you and a full tank of fuel.
2. look at the driver side door jam for a metal plate. this should state the vehicles gross vehicle weight rating(GVWR)(if not on the door jam then in your owners manual)
3. subtract no. 1 from no. 2 and that is the legal you can carry.

it does not matter if you get sprinter rates or not if you carry more weight than your van can carry. you will wear out the trans, brakes and suspension carrying cargo that is too heavy for your vehicle.

PJay59 · Mar 21, 2009

OK, Thanks Jack for the info

FIS53 · Mar 21, 2009

GM rates the 3500 van (extended wb) at 3950lbs of cargo. Now that's the basic unit so options like more speakers, you, your bed etc all have to come off of that. So yeah the 3000-3200lbs sounds near right with the gear. To be sure, weigh it and do the math.
Rob

cheri1122 · Mar 21, 2009

Not to slam the OP, but the time to determine your capacity & limits is before accepting the first load - exceeding them can be very costly.
Also, if loaded to (or near) the limit, I'd want a scale ticket ASAP after loading, because shippers have been known to 'misunderestimate' the weight.

FIS53 · Mar 22, 2009

Shippers make a mistake on their weights??? No way --- say it aint so!!
Know what you mean... one of our regular shippers was so off we took whatever he said in lbs and immediately interpreted as kgs. We found this closer to the truth on about 65% of his calls. He has since improved but sometimes he's still off (like 500 lbs or so). this does make sending a van in a bit of a problem. One load he stated 1200lbs, actual was 1405kg (almost 3100lbs). Not only that the load was too high for a regular van, good thing the sprinter went to get it.
Rob

pelgrn · Mar 22, 2009

What most carriers wil have ya do is get a weight ticket,as Jack said with a full tank of full and all your gear.Open your drivers door and look for gvw,on a GM 3500 i would guess 9600 subtract that from your weight ticket and ya got your carry weight.I don't know the official answer to this but,say your van empty weight is 6200 and your load is 3900 the total weight of the van is over 10,000 pounds so should ya be logging?

Crazynuff · Mar 22, 2009

pelgrn said:
What most carriers wil have ya do is get a weight ticket,as Jack said with a full tank of full and all your gear.Open your drivers door and look for gvw,on a GM 3500 i would guess 9600 subtract that from your weight ticket and ya got your carry weight.I don't know the official answer to this but,say your van empty weight is 6200 and your load is 3900 the total weight of the van is over 10,000 pounds so should ya be logging?

The logging requirement is determined by the vehicle GVWR , not the actual weight . What you might get fined for is being overweight if the vehicle has a 10,000 lb. registration .

Moot · Mar 23, 2009

The GVWR for my 2004 extended Chevrolet 3500 van is 9600#. Empty weight with fuel, myself and add-ons is just a hair over 7000#. It varies with the time of year. In the winter both myself and van tend to put on some extra weight.

9600# minus 7000# gives me a legal load capacity of 2600#. I am on record with my carrier as being able to haul 2500#, thus giving me a little wiggle room.

I was once escorted into a scale because of flammable placards. Both axles were weighed, GVWR verified and tire weight rating checked. I was legal!

Next came the vehicle inspection. They got me for having a burned out light for the license plate.

Even in a van you can be under the gross weight and still be over on an axle, just like big trucks. Watch your load placement on heavy shipments.

Ever see a Ford extended van shining airplanes?

greg334 · Mar 23, 2009

Crazynuff said:
The logging requirement is determined by the vehicle GVWR , not the actual weight . What you might get fined for is being overweight if the vehicle has a 10,000 lb. registration .

If you have a van that is rated at 9600 and you have over 9600lbs on it, you may be told to get the weight off of the van or enjoy sitting there for a long time.

Moot,
what about the little chinchillas, how many of them do you stock up on for the winter? Do they actually add that much weight?

x06col · Mar 23, 2009

I've been told the way to make money with a van is to 'load em like a freight train an drive em like you stole em". Dunno?? But I agree with Moot "Ban da van".

MSinger · Apr 5, 2009

Crazynuff said:
The logging requirement is determined by the vehicle GVWR , not the actual weight . What you might get fined for is being overweight if the vehicle has a 10,000 lb. registration .

That is incorrect. You have to be under 10,001 lbs GVWR and actual weight to get out of logging.

OntarioVanMan · Apr 5, 2009

I've seen the dot even stop what looked to be overweight mini vans/car....

I once passed a car that it appeared the front wheel was wobbling like a bearing going the DOT behind me must have seen it as well and pulled it over....Dots job is to keep our highways safe from unsafe vehicles