1986F150Six Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 Mid-day report: I got the spare & LF swapped and then I loaded up the recovery gear for the scales tomorrow. And in doing so I remembered that I had a bit of a problem with the tool box holding hand tools sliding into the hose of the compressor, which worried me. So I screwed a stop-block into the 1" floor I have in the bottom of the tool box, as shown on the left below. Then I laid the piece of scrap 1" that I keep for the jack in there and put the hand-tool box on top of that - and it can no longer slide into the compressor. Then I loaded up the hydraulic jack, 4-way, paper towels, and air hose. Good idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 18, 2022 Author Share Posted July 18, 2022 Good idea! Thanks, David. I sure am glad that I followed the TSB and mounted that tool box to the floor of the bed and not the sides as it has some serious weight in it. The hand-tool box is all I want to get out of there, and on the same side is the hydraulic jack, 4-way, hose, etc. And on the other side is the recovery gear, which is heavier than the tools. Plus the compressor itself. And then there's the piece of 1" flooring I'm using to reinforce the bottom of the tool box, and it is also heavy. Anyway, this afternoon I turned my attention to the problem of the hood hitting the negative battery post on the starting battery. After a bit of looking I found that the hood was badly adjusted. In both the back and front the passenger's side was down ~1/8". But the hood is bent down in the middle - kind of like what would happen if someone walked on it. That doesn't help to clear the battery, but I'm not going to try to bend the hood back myself. Maybe John Keeline, my paint/body man would know how to do that. So what I did was to raise both the back and the front the 1/8", and I think that got enough clearance with the battery post. The back was very easy to do by loosening the bolts holding the hinge to the firewall and pulling up a bit. But the front was another story altogether as the adjustable bumper was frozen and wouldn't turn. I ended up prying the rubber cap off it and using vise grips on the head. And then I discovered that getting the cap back on was next to impossible. Maybe with three or four hands, but not with two. So I pulled out the NOS ones I got from Vernon. But they aren't the right ones as they are D0VZ 16763-A's and our trucks are supposed to have D3AZ 16758-A's. What's the difference? Besides the obvious length difference, which causes them to hit something, they are 5/16-18 instead of M8-1.25. But that's what they make saws & taps for. About then the tire shop called and said the tires are in, so I'm ready for tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 Thanks, David. I sure am glad that I followed the TSB and mounted that tool box to the floor of the bed and not the sides as it has some serious weight in it. The hand-tool box is all I want to get out of there, and on the same side is the hydraulic jack, 4-way, hose, etc. And on the other side is the recovery gear, which is heavier than the tools. Plus the compressor itself. And then there's the piece of 1" flooring I'm using to reinforce the bottom of the tool box, and it is also heavy. Anyway, this afternoon I turned my attention to the problem of the hood hitting the negative battery post on the starting battery. After a bit of looking I found that the hood was badly adjusted. In both the back and front the passenger's side was down ~1/8". But the hood is bent down in the middle - kind of like what would happen if someone walked on it. That doesn't help to clear the battery, but I'm not going to try to bend the hood back myself. Maybe John Keeline, my paint/body man would know how to do that. So what I did was to raise both the back and the front the 1/8", and I think that got enough clearance with the battery post. The back was very easy to do by loosening the bolts holding the hinge to the firewall and pulling up a bit. But the front was another story altogether as the adjustable bumper was frozen and wouldn't turn. I ended up prying the rubber cap off it and using vise grips on the head. And then I discovered that getting the cap back on was next to impossible. Maybe with three or four hands, but not with two. So I pulled out the NOS ones I got from Vernon. But they aren't the right ones as they are D0VZ 16763-A's and our trucks are supposed to have D3AZ 16758-A's. What's the difference? Besides the obvious length difference, which causes them to hit something, they are 5/16-18 instead of M8-1.25. But that's what they make saws & taps for. About then the tire shop called and said the tires are in, so I'm ready for tomorrow! Gary, D3AZ-16758-A mounts to the fender. Those are the rubber ones that slide into the openings on the fender. E0TZ-16758-C is what fits the radiator support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 18, 2022 Author Share Posted July 18, 2022 Gary, D3AZ-16758-A mounts to the fender. Those are the rubber ones that slide into the openings on the fender. E0TZ-16758-C is what fits the radiator support. Oh! That makes sense. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 19, 2022 Author Share Posted July 19, 2022 Oh! That makes sense. Thanks! As reported in New Tires For Big Blue, the new Falken A/T3W's were mounted today. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! I can't say enough about how quiet and smooth they are. I weighed the truck, and with me out of the truck and the front tank at 1/2 and the rear full plus all the recovery gear these were the readings: Front: 3720 lbs 57% Rear: 2840 lbs 43% ------------------------ Total: 6560 lbs Now, if I was still running the TTB's I think I might be worried as the certification label says the front axle's GAWR is only 3850 lbs, and by the time you add a driver, passenger, and gear I'm sure we'll be way over 4000 lbs on the front axle. But we have a D60 with SuperDuty U-code springs, and this post in PowerStroke nation says the springs are good for 4800 lbs. So I'm going to assume that they are the weak link and the front axle's GAWR is actually 4800 lbs. If that is the case we have ~1000 lbs of headroom on the front axle and 3000 lbs (5922 - 2840) in the rear. And while I don't know how to combine the front and rear GAWR's to get the GVWR, I think it is safe to say that we aren't going to overload it since we are right now at least 2000 lbs shy of the limit 8600 GVWR on the certification label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted July 19, 2022 Share Posted July 19, 2022 As reported in New Tires For Big Blue, the new Falken A/T3W's were mounted today. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! I can't say enough about how quiet and smooth they are. I weighed the truck, and with me out of the truck and the front tank at 1/2 and the rear full plus all the recovery gear these were the readings: Front: 3720 lbs 57% Rear: 2840 lbs 43% ------------------------ Total: 6560 lbs Now, if I was still running the TTB's I think I might be worried as the certification label says the front axle's GAWR is only 3850 lbs, and by the time you add a driver, passenger, and gear I'm sure we'll be way over 4000 lbs on the front axle. But we have a D60 with SuperDuty U-code springs, and this post in PowerStroke nation says the springs are good for 4800 lbs. So I'm going to assume that they are the weak link and the front axle's GAWR is actually 4800 lbs. If that is the case we have ~1000 lbs of headroom on the front axle and 3000 lbs (5922 - 2840) in the rear. And while I don't know how to combine the front and rear GAWR's to get the GVWR, I think it is safe to say that we aren't going to overload it since we are right now at least 2000 lbs shy of the limit 8600 GVWR on the certification label. Nice! Not too bad at all for how you have your truck equipped! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 19, 2022 Author Share Posted July 19, 2022 Nice! Not too bad at all for how you have your truck equipped! Yes, Dane, I was pleasantly surprised. But it was at certified scales, so I'm sure it is accurate. The vehicle adders are, starting at the front, the winch, dual batteries, & bigger tires & wheels. (I doubt the D60 is any heavier than the TTB's, nor the ZF5 any heavier than the T-19.) Then there's the tool box and what is in it, as well as the Hi-Lift jack. Plus the inverter, the behind-the-seat storage unit with all its contents, including hand-held radios, first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc. And the Highliner and the GMRS radio. Then there's the extensive insulation and sound-deadening. Oh yes, I shouldn't forget the security system and the backup camera. So I am very pleasantly surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted July 19, 2022 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Yes, Dane, I was pleasantly surprised. But it was at certified scales, so I'm sure it is accurate. The vehicle adders are, starting at the front, the winch, dual batteries, & bigger tires & wheels. (I doubt the D60 is any heavier than the TTB's, nor the ZF5 any heavier than the T-19.) Then there's the tool box and what is in it, as well as the Hi-Lift jack. Plus the inverter, the behind-the-seat storage unit with all its contents, including hand-held radios, first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc. And the Highliner and the GMRS radio. Then there's the extensive insulation and sound-deadening. Oh yes, I shouldn't forget the security system and the backup camera. So I am very pleasantly surprised. I have a Harbor Freight hi jack, I got for Christmas years ago. And I carry it in my Weatherguard tool box on my truck. Mainly for me or others getting stuck in snow. This GMC I recently bought had a bed liner, which I tried to like. I don’t like it. It was in the way of my tool box tie downs and a couple of other times in the way. It also had a headache rack which was also in the way. Getting everything figured out, I had the tool box out a few times. And wondered why I was wrestling this jack! It’s surprising how things add up in weight. Of course I’m sure you remember that from your truck camper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 .... And while I don't know how to combine the front and rear GAWR's to get the GVWR.... My understanding is that you don't combine them. They are three separate limits. Typically the sum of the GAWRs is more than the GVWR. That doesn't mean you can carry more than your GVWR, it just means you don't have to be INCREDIBLY careful with weight distribution if you want to be at your GVWR. So if your front GAWR is 3850, your rear GAWR is 5922 and your GVWR is 8600, that would say if your front axle is maxed out at 3850 you can only go to 8600-3850=4750 on the rear. Or if your rear is maxed at 5922 you can only go to 8600-5922=2678 on the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 .... And while I don't know how to combine the front and rear GAWR's to get the GVWR.... My understanding is that you don't combine them. They are three separate limits. Typically the sum of the GAWRs is more than the GVWR. That doesn't mean you can carry more than your GVWR, it just means you don't have to be INCREDIBLY careful with weight distribution if you want to be at your GVWR. So if your front GAWR is 3850, your rear GAWR is 5922 and your GVWR is 8600, that would say if your front axle is maxed out at 3850 you can only go to 8600-3850=4750 on the rear. Or if your rear is maxed at 5922 you can only go to 8600-5922=2678 on the front. Glad to hear your new tires are a tremendous improvement Gary! I think that your GVWR is limited in part by your brakes and driveline. Other factors such as front and rear sway bars will also effect the trucks ability to remain in control at the limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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