2021 ram 2500 6.4ft bed
If you had a heavy toolbox or a ladder rack or camper or in my case a really heavy homemade bed cover... how much weight is safe to load onto the rails?
The bed cover itself is probably only going to be 250lbs or less (not done making it) but the reason it's so heavy is because it's a steel frame that I could load stuff onto. Like maybe a lawn mower or a ton of bricks. I suspect the lawnmower might be ok, I've seen people carry dirt bikes and snowmobiles like this. But the pallet of bricks might be pushing it. Just curious if there's a rating for this type of loading.Well it’s probably evenly distributed, so it should be fine unless it’s made out of lead.. how heavy is it??
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Thanks. I've read posts on sledding forums in the course of my digging and found that most of those guys are supporting the decks with something inside the bed. Some are not, some had issues with bed cracking, some didn't. I'm leaning toward not loading anything heavy until I come up with some kind of internal support. Might not need it, but rather be safe than sorry especially considering it's a brand new truck.I see people with a deck on top of the bed rails with two sleds on top all the time. Guessing that’s around 1500lbs.
They almost all have frames in the bed that hold it not actually sitting on the railsI see people with a deck on top of the bed rails with two sleds on top all the time. Guessing that’s around 1500lbs.
I think they are full of crap i have had hundreds of lbs in my cross bed tool box problem freeI read someplace that Ram says if you put a cross bed tool box on a truck you need to add bed supports. If they are needed for a tool box I imagine you would need them for your case as well. You may be able to find something aftermarket to support the bed rails.
You're probably right, but I'm not sure we (I) should read that much into their rating. After all, manufacturers of supercharger/turbo kits advertise their horsepower gains without any mention of the upgrades you'll most likely need to make to the drivetrain in order to handle the extra power. Maybe if I bought a diamondback cover and destroyed my bed hauling 1600lbs on top of it I would have the beginnings of a legitimate gripe, but when I destroy it with my own bed cover, "but diamondback said..." is going to sound pretty pathetic.Diamondback touts a 1600 pound hauling capacity on top of their tonneau covers, so it appears they have a bit more confidence in the bed sides.
That would not be a big surprise. May just be something the lawyers put in the book in case someone puts a ton in their box.I think they are full of crap i have had hundreds of lbs in my cross bed tool box problem free
Yeah that's pretty much my feel for it too. The bed cover itself shouldn't be a problem. But before loading a bunch of weight on it I'll want to investigate my options for supporting it from the frame under the bed.I had a full headache rack, bed rails, with built in lights and two side mounted toolboxes on my 2001 ram and never had any flex/warp in the bed. I would guess based on your bed cover design in the other thread you'll be ok.
Now, the guy who hauls his 1900lb Kawasaki Teryx on the bed cover may have issues eventually......
That looks like a regular “sled deck” where it has supporting legs in the box... also thats only about 1300lbs even the new 4 seaters only weigh in at 1600lbsI had a full headache rack, bed rails, with built in lights and two side mounted toolboxes on my 2001 ram and never had any flex/warp in the bed. I would guess based on your bed cover design in the other thread you'll be ok.
Now, the guy who hauls his 1900lb Kawasaki Teryx on the bed cover may have issues eventually......
I didn't know they had supporting legs but that makes sense.That looks like a regular “sled deck” where it has supporting legs in the box... also thats only about 1300lbs even the new 4 seaters only weigh in at 1600lbs
That is an older unit but my uncle just got a 2021 its 1300lbs his is not the crew we weighed it at the scale just to seeI didn't know they had supporting legs but that makes sense.
Also, the kawasaki site lists that unit at 1896lbs. The crew cab RZR's and Cand Hams are much lighter but for some reason the Kawi is fat.