How much does a cargo bed weigh?

[pfarber]

On another board (www.steelsoldiers.com) a post was asking the weight of a cargo bed.

Many people posted 2000-3000lbs (!) for a sheet metal bed. I had just sold one (a drop side which would be a little heavier than a straight cargo) and said 500lbs. I based this on the fact that I could lift the thing about 10 inches off the frame myself (we were feeding through loading straps).

So when it came time to sell the dump bed, I also tried to figure out the weight of the bed, piston, pump, and subframe. Now, looking at the TM and doing some basic math I came up with 3500#. That's 75% more than my gantry crane should support (its a 1 ton HF gantry).

SO what it my point? Well, my one ton gantry had a dumper bed, the subframe, the piston, AND a guy craning the hoist (chain hoist) the frame 5 feet in the air and it never creeked. I had cut the frame just in front of the front of the bed (with an oxy-torch), and unbolted the rear dual axles. I don't know what the TMs were using when they got the weights they did, but the TMs are either on the heavy side, or my 1 ton gantry crane is really a 2 ton model.

I did not have a load cell to weigh the load, but I do not think that 3500lbs was right. Its a good planning number, but not real world.

[Conn]

You just have a really lucky 1-ton gantry... and four lucky people

IMG_0733.jpg (73.38 KiB) Viewed 2479 times

[pfarber]

Now THATS how you move a cargo bed!

By the book that is just over 3k. Probably more because we left the frame rails on.

Maybe the 1ton HF gantry is rated for 2-3x load. I was surprised it lifted it. Everything I've been told about cranes and rating lead to me believe it would blow out the supports and bend the main beam.

But then again it was only overloaded by 50%

The yard looks empty without that big green truck.