"Zito, James A \(GE Infra, Energy\)" <james.zito@ge.com> wrote:
: So, two questions. Does that mean, if I have to
: describe my truck to a "real" truck person, that
: I should say it's a half-ton truck? And, if the
: payload is at least 1500 lbs, why do they call that a half-ton truck?!
: The payload includes the people that can be carried in the cab, I am thinking they probably go with an estimate of about 200# per person. So a bench seat regular cab gets dropped down to 1000# in the bed, pretty quick.
That would seem to make sense, but unfortunately doesn't
hold up for the larger trucks. for example, the Ram 3500
has a payload in the 5,000lb range, which would make it a
"two and a half ton" (or 2.25 if you deduct for 2 large adults),
but its referred to as a "one ton".
I have a feeling that when these terms origininated, they
did indeed refer to the actual payload capacities, but as time
went on and the trucks evolved, they have sort've mutated into
generalizations. It seems that when somebody says "half ton",
they are referring to a full size, regular duty pickup. "three
quarter ton" would be a full size, heavy duty pickup, and "one
ton" is usually a full size, dually pickup. (Although it doesn't
necessarily have to be a dually; for example the Ram 3500 is now
offered in a single rear wheel configuration.) The payloads
don't really jibe with the descriptions these days. (In fact, I
don't think the manufacturers refer to their trucks in these
terms anymore.)
As far as what to call your truck when talking to a "truck
person", the proper term for a Dakota is probably "midsize
truck". You could probably technically call it a half ton
based on its capabilities, though I think most people will think
of a full size truck (Ram, Silverado, F-150) when you say that.
The Dakota was really a great concept, especially once they
started putting V8 engines in them. You got a truck which was
smaller and thus more maneuverable and more efficient than a
full size, but with the same capabilities and power of the full
size; the best of both worlds. To the best of my knowledge,
Dodge basically created the midsize truck market out of whole
cloth when they introduced the Dakota in 1986. There are a
few models of midsize trucks on the market now, but for quite
a while, the Dakota was the only game in town. Chrysler was
definitely the leader of the pack on that one.
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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