Hauling water with 2015 Tacoma - payload related question

Hey everyone,

Just joined TW and this is my first post. Got a question about payload capacity in regards to very short commutes.

Bought a 2015 Tacoma TRD about 6 months ago, then I bought a house a couple months after that. The home's domestic water is fed via a 6000L cistern that I need to keep topped up fairly regularly. A 1000L portable water tank came with the house and fits into the back of my truck with the help of a couple pallets, a heavy duty strap/tie-down and the tailgate being down...


So here we go... payload capacity for the truck is not to exceed 1180 pounds.

- I weigh 230 pounds
- Ballparking gasoline and other fluid weight to be another 100 pounds
- Weight of the empty water tank and pallets is another 100 pounds

This leaves 750 pounds for actual water... 1L of water weighs 1kg... 1kg = 2.2 pounds

750/2.2 = ~340L

The commute from the fresh water spring to the house is less than 3km (under 2 miles) on a very smooth gravel road. The commute takes about 4 minutes. There is a 300m, low grade incline on the road and then a 150m incline on a fairly steep grade to go up the driveway to the house.

I've hauled a 400L load in the tank a couple of times with no issues. My question is how much wiggle room above the listed payload capacity would some of you go given the short nature of the commute? Will I cause irreparable damage by hauling 400L during these extremely short water runs? What about 450L? 500L? 600L? Can I safely do 4 water runs on a Sunday at 500L/run without damaging my truck?

Are there modifications out there that would allow me to safely haul even more water at one time? Up to 700L? Maybe even 800L?

I'm looking into trailers, but it's difficult to find small trailers (less than 12ft.) that are rated to carry 1 ton, which is what a full 1000L tank would weigh.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

Sounds like you need an old beater 3/4 or 1 ton truck. Then haul as much water as you want.

 

Strictly my opinion. It's your truck, your liability.

There is no way I would put ~2300 lbs in the back of a Tacoma. The problem with hauling less than a full tank of water is the weight transfer due to sloshing. If the water gets to sloshing, it could very easily send you where you don't want to go. Possibly even upside down. I personally know of a firefighting water tanker truck that flipped upside down do to sloshing.

 

You could do add a leaf and airbag but honestly I would still worry about that, I changed jobs recently and had about 1000 lb toolbox in the bed and the truck was squatting like a motherfucker.
That said I have hauled cars before with the truck, the auto trailer and car weighing about 3000 lb and though the truck squatted a bit it handled way way better then when the 1000 lb was all in my bed.
I would get either a bigger truck or a trailer for the expressed purpose of hauling the water

 

This is your best option. Or a trailer.

Going on a grade you will roll your truck over at a turn and get into a wreck.

 

Buy a cheap trailer and destroy that.... not your new truck.

 

This is an ideal case for a trailer, they even make trailers specifically for carrying water. As a bonus, you don't have to load the tank in and out of the truck.

 

GET A TRAILER! Free surface effects can easily flip your truck or do damage to shocks, suspension, frame, etc. I wouldn’t do it. Or get a smaller tank so the water is not sloshing around. That’s your major problem, not the actual weight. Look up free surface effects on ships and barges. That’s when they are most susceptible to problems.

 

Not sure where you are located but can you drive a well point into the ground? You would have to have a fairly high water table for it to work. A small generator can power the pump if you don't have electricity - or they have old school hand pumps. Hauling water frequently would get old for me but to each his own.

 

It's not worth destroying your truck. I suggest buy a trailer and just make several trips since you're so close to the water supply. But that's what I would do. I wouldn't take the risk.
Good luck! and welcome to TW

 

Good luck O.P water is heavy !

 

Like others have said
Buy a trailer.
You just bought a house.
You will find uses for a 12 foot
It’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Then you won’t worry about having to go somewhere and needing to unload before you can leave.
Just unhook the trailer and go.

Plus so much time saved.
Think you would be happier doing other things than 5 or 6 trips to get water.
One and done ......

 

It seems, although I'm sure this isn't the case, that you're worried about a cheapo trailer's load capacity more than your Tacoma's?

I would respect the payload ratings.

Back when I was young and less sensitive to these things, in the late 1970s in college in my 1970 Datsun 1600 pickup, some of my housemates had a brilliant idea to get ice for a party. The university's ice rink was a few hundred yards away from our house and one of the guys had connections there. When the rink resurfaced its ice the Zamboni dumped all the shavings in the lot behind the rink, where it melted into the storm sewers.

They asked me to take over my little truck and have the ice dumped in the back of it so it could be used at the house. Nice idea, eh? Yes... but... The ice from a Zamboni is really more slush than ice. And they hold a fair amount of it. Looking in my rear view mirror as the Zamboni lifted its load and started filling the bed, I knew we were in trouble. The load filled the box to overflowing. The truck sank to its bump stops and the tires were compressed to the rims. As I back-calculate it was probably 3000 lb or more (1360 kg) of slushy ice in a little quarter-ton truck. We shoveled out enough that the tires were off the rims and crept slowly the two or three hundred yards back home. The truck didn't break, but I've never considered pushing a load capacity aqain. There are too many other options.

 

Since it’s fairly close, I’d divide it into 3 or 4 trips. It’s only 4 minutes away like you said

 

I'd bet that most trucks on the road have had more weight in them than their payload ratings. I've gone over a bit, as have most other drivers. But I'd not more than double the rating. Even if you could beef up the springs, the axles aren't rated for near that much weight. Buy a trailer. 2000 lbs is over the payload of most 1/2 ton trucks and a lot of 3/4 tons. But your Tacoma will pull a trailer with 2000 lbs behind it with ease. And you can just leave the tank in the trailer all the time.

 

Too much weight sitting way too high. Another vote for the trailer.

 

I’d put the investment into the high payload trailer and save your truck...

 

What is the strap hooked to? I would worry about it pulling out and sliding out, taking the tailgate with it.

 

The OP made his 1 and only post, stuck around for 2 minutes and boogied. At this point, any further discussion is a waste of time. I get it that he’s excited about his new house, but...

 

When I lived in an area you couldn’t drill a well and had to haul water the price for deliveries was steep. They were usually around 10¢/gallon, so $300+ a month depending on water use. Water from the same company you hauled yourself was 2¢/gallon.