Curb weight of a 72 F350

[Ten4321]

Does anyone know the curb weight of a 72 F350 with an inline 6? Here in the great state of California every single pickup is considered a commercial vehicle and is subject to a weight fee. Right now the California DMV says my truck weighs 6,400 lbs. and therefore has a weight fee of $200 a year. The truck has a flat bed and a lift gate. Does 6,400 lbs. sound about right? At the DMV I was given the option to have the truck re-weighed, Should I even bother? Also, do any California residents know of any loopholes to getting the truck weighed? Could I completely remove the bed and then get the truck weighed?

Thanks

[averagef250]

Nobody can answer that question. I had an '89 F-350 that weighed 11K EMPTY. It was just bed and toolboxes. Layers of oak and steel decking, it was ridiculous.

If you took the bed off, the bare chassis and cab would probably weigh about 3500. The simplest flatbed is going to weigh atleast 400 pounds and there are countless sizes of liftgates. You could have 1000 pounds of bed and liftgate or 3 tons.

Go through a weigh station, weigh your truck.

[occupant]

Weigh station, truck stop, scrap yard, they all have scales.

The GVWR of 1972 F-350's seem to range from 6600 to 10,000lbs. Depends on the carrying capacity though. Do you still have a tire placard? You can figure it up backwards for the stock cab/chassis then add the weight of the flatbed and lift. Let's say the truck has the 8000lb GVWR, and the maximum load capacity of 3 persons in the cab and a full bed of cargo on the tire loading placard says 3430lbs. The truck would weigh 4570lbs empty. Depending on the weight of the aftermarket bed and lift versus the stock 8' bed, which could be significant, it might be in the 5500 neighborhood. Maybe higher. Remember the maximum load on the placard indicates persons, cargo, and fuel.

[hazelnut]

http://www.fordification.com/tech/dimensions.htm

This is for a 67 but might be able to use it for DMV

[Ten4321]

Thanks for the info. I'm getting the impression that 6,400 lbs is excessive. If it weighs in under 6000 the weight fee would be $54 less, if under 5000 it would be $126 less. I realize that with the lift gate welded on I would have to raise the flatbed about five feet off the ground to remove it. Not gonna happen. I wish I could just remove the lift gate. I suppose I could always remove one set of tires from the rear axle. This truck was previously used for a mobile sandblasting business. My guess is it was weighed before with all the equipment on back.

[occupant]

As a dually with a flatbed and lift, I'm getting the impression 6400 is high, I bet they had toolboxes and things on there too. I'm fairly certain, without seeing the truck, that it would be under 6000 net weight. Gross is probably 9000 or 10000 though.

[gregamorton]

My merc is heavy and i will have it weighed before my next trip. My trailer has 6k axles with e rated 16s and the trailer is loaded with truck on it. Trailer is around 3950 which leaves around 8k for load.

[cbfomoco]

my 68 f350 dually, 12 x 8 long bed dump, pto, 4 speed, pto shaft, side boards, 4 mud flaps, probley 50 lb junk in the cab, and 100-200 lb junk in the bed, 1/4 tank of gas as of today it weight of 7340. If you look at my build thread you will see most of the truck. hope this helps

[FLATBEDFORD]

My '70 F350 DRW with platform/stake bed and 360 usually weighed in at around 6600 empty at the scrap yard. I don't think that number is far off. In fact it might be mote with the lift gate. The big bumps are anything but light weight.

[68 Ford Stepside]

In the state of S.C. the federal boys will pull your truck over & weigh it beside the highway. We also have to pay a $35.00 road & bridge maintenance fee annually on every vehicle you own. Not to mention some of our gas stations are selling regular gasoline for $3.05 a gallon & our law makers are trying to raise the gasoline taxes.

[FLATBEDFORD]

In NY I pay about $250 every two years to register my F350. Regular gas is around $3.80 up here.

[Ten4321]

In case anyone was curious she weighed in at 5250. The only thing I removed was the gate from the lift gate. Any ideas on how I could drop another 250. If I removed a tire off each dully how much would that give me.

BTW CA DMV's fees for this truck if it weighed 6600 would be $200 weight plus $61 registration due every year. Ouch.

[ToughOldFord]

It does sound kind of heavy. Take all your junk out of it, run the fuel tank low and scale it. Only costs $5-$15 depending on where you go.

California:
IF you had a regular bed you can put a camper shell on it. Then the DMV will let you license it as an RV and there will be zero weight fees. Only thing is you have to KEEP the camper shell on it as long as it is licensed like that. If you ever need to remove it you will have to go back to the DMV, pay the weight fees and they will issue new plates.

With a flat bed you are kind of out of luck if you want to keep it that way.

[Ten4321]

I completely gutted the lift gate which probably saved me 100-150. I was then going to remove two tires from the back and drain the fuel tank down to just five gallons. My problem now is that all eight lugs on one side of the truck are seized. It took a breaker bar and a five foot extension pipe to get any movement. I ended up breaking one lug so I stopped working for the night. There's a local feed lot that only charges $9 for a weigh. Nine bucks is worth the $80 I'll save every year on registration.

[guhfluh]

You may get close to 250 with the two wheels. Of course it depends on what you personally have, but I've always found them about 80-100lbs each max.