Tug Question

[Matt O'Bryan]

Toyota also had a one-ton version. I can see expecting poor acceleration, but why be nervous? Even my minivan has over half a ton of payload.

Nervous because of a lack of width and wheelbase create instability both directly and indirectly.

Directly, the bigger the footprint, the less it sways. Indirectly, the comprimises needed to shove 7 1/2 pounds of "stuff" into a 5 pound bag create all sorts of handling issues, wheel hop and steer axle instability at the top of the list.


Of course, I'm probably a little skewed, my "3/4 ton" pickup has an actual payload of ~ 3500lbs.


Matt

[Pete Dumbleton]

According to what I've read on various forums over the years, Toyota had to put out a recall on the axles to upgrade them to a full 1/2 ton on dual wheels (I believe the unmodified axles have 4-bolt hubs and the modified have 5) -- Turns out the various camper manfs were buying the platform vehicle from Toyota and them proceeding to overload them (or put them so close to overload that addition of personal/wet stuf was putting them into overload) -- Toyota withdrew from the camper platform supplier market as a result.

[Brian B-P]

Nervous because of a lack of width and wheelbase create instability both directly and indirectly.
...
Of course, I'm probably a little skewed, my "3/4 ton" pickup has an actual payload of ~ 3500lbs.

Exactly. Half the payload - half the size of truck.

There's nothing wrong with 3/4 ton of bricks or other dense material in a truck this size. The problem with the Toyota-based Class C's (aside from someone apparently messing up the axle spec) is that the load is too bulky for this wheelbase, and probably centred too far back.

I think the fact that in North America we have had the luxury of using ridiculously oversized vehicles has made us forget what is really required to do the job.

[Brian B-P]

Sorry, Lee, I must have been caffeine-deprived yesterday, and I misread your original comment. Of course you were saying that adding the coach (RV body) overloaded the chassis as delivered to the end consumer, even before adding cargo, not that the truck was overloaded as delivered by Toyota before adding the coach. That makes sense.

That link also had some interesting comments on the dual wheels, and difference between what Toyota sold and what the RV makers sold the public. The genuine Toyota one-ton pickups had single rear wheels, and I found it strange that Toyota would let a vehicle out the door with front and rear hubs which did not fit the same spare!

[Matt O'Bryan]

Exactly. Half the payload - half the size of truck.

Except that under normal conditions, it's the same payload, and twice the truck.


Matt