Weight of truck

[bambamshere]

I no back in the 50's the weights were a lottle different then they are now. My truck on the plate on fire wall says it is 8800 pounds. Does anyone no what that would be. I have been saying it is a 1 ton but could it be something else. 3/4 ton maybe. Not sure it is licensed as a light duty pickup right now because it will never see work again. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

that is the GVW  

[lonejacklarry]

Don't be confused between gross vehicle weight and licensed weight.  The  GVW is what the truck is rated for and has nothing, per se, to do with either "1/2 ton" or "1 ton" and nothing to do with the current weight.  The licensed weight is the rating for which you have paid road use tax.

Consider the average current pickup truck.  Most have much larger GVW than the weight the license indicates.  Why buy a 12,000 gross weight license (at greater expense) than the run of the mill 6,000 gross weight when you are usually hauling air.  The gross weightt for licensing purposes is the gross weight of the truck, the gasoline, the furniture in the bed, the kids, and whatever the weight of the bass boat being towed is.  You can see how easy it would be to run afoul of the highway patrol  with 6k plates.  The type of folks with the loaded trucks usually buy 12k or even higher depending on their needs and stomach for risk.  

The archaic standard for pickup trucks was a 1/2 ton truck could haul 1,000 pounds,  a 3/4 ton truck could haul 1,500 pounds and was generally sturdier.  The 1 ton truck could haul 2,000 pounds and was a lot sturdier than the other two.  It doesn't mean much anymore other than a category, i.e., 1/2 ton is a light pickup and a 1 ton is a lot sturdier and heavier and most often is a dual wheel truck.

[bambamshere]

Actually this truck I have was licenced as a dump truck at one point. Doesn't even have a dump box on it and it doesn't have dual wheels on it. It is also licenced as a 1956 but when I look in my parts book it says it a 1955. It is a FC3D which it says is 1955. Was the if it was made past August it is the next year thing back then. 

[lonejacklarry]

In those days, in the US anyway, if a '55, for instance, was sold after the first of the year, it would be titled as a '56.  All states did this as most were titled by the engine number.  The VIN concept became official in 1955 but was not standardized.  In 1981, the VIN as we know it became the standard all 17 letters and numbers of it and cars were licensed by the model year.

[bambamshere]

Wonder if was same in Canada probably

[55 Fargo]

44 minutes ago, bambamshere said:

Wonder if was same in Canada probably

No, we did not follow that practice.... sounds like your truck is 1 ton rated...my GVW is only like 5000 lbs on my 1955 Fargo 108 wb 1/2 ton.

In the USA some jurisdictions used an engine serial number, we did not....

[bambamshere]

Oh ok thanks for the help