GVW Rating of my GMC

[Coley]

I had a '72 Chevy Cheyenne/Super heavy 1/2 ton (5400 lbs GVW) that I carried an 8' (o/head) camper with. (I'll try to find a few pics). This was the second 1/2 ton I had carried this camper with....the first was a 1970 GMC 1/2 ton.
Regardless, I wanted to ensure the ('72) truck had it under control so I made sure of the following:
-Upgraded to 31"/10.5" tires (higher load rating @ 2500#/each, higher ground clearance)
-Rebuilt the brake system...front to rear for maximum (new) stopping ability
-Added Bolt-on Overload springs onto the LEAF springs (optioned into that truck from the factory vs. the standard coils)....noting the spring option in there was already the heavy duty
-Rebuilt the 4 core radiator to ensure maximum cooling
-Added a very high quality transmission cooler.
-There were a few other miscellaneous upgrades that I did to it, that I can't quite recall but I wanted to be conservative in the way I approached this.

Anyways...after that, I felt better about taking the camper on the (1/2 ton) truck...but it was still a hefty load for it.
I took it over the scales once with the camper, me/wife, fully loaded for camping at 6100 lbs. Not legal by GVW plate....but I determined we were in relatively safe territory given the way the truck/suspension/brakes/tires had been upgraded.
I wouldn't condone anyone loading there truck up the way I did....because I don't know if all the other stuff has been done to the truck and if it is all up to scratch.
My two bits.
Coley