I'm confused about just how much weight a pickup or trailer can really hold.
I have a 1/2 ton pickup and have had 1700lbs of sand in it and it handled it just fine.
I have a 6'x10' tilt bed trailer that has a 3500lb axle and 15" wheels. I got the trailer itself weighed and it weighs 800lbs. I used it to get some sand and I put over 3000lbs of sand in it. It barely settled the springs, about 1". The axle was still straight (maybe a very slight bow to it, but not much if any). It didn't take much sand by volume to get 3000lbs of sand, so the trailer has room for much more, easily twice that volume.
I'm guessing the ratings are very conservative for safety reasons. How much can I get away with going over the ratings? I'm going to be hauling some more sand and some gravel in the next few weeks. I'm only hauling this stuff about 20 miles and I take back roads and stay under 45 MPH.