I need to pickup 440 lbs of water softner salt.Is that too much weight to haul?

 

shouldnt be the HHR has a tow rate of a thousand pounds with every thing, if I remeber right, so 440 should be just fine.

 

SHOULD be alright if you put the seats down and distribute the weight.

I hauled 8 bags of 80# concrete, after putting a tarp down (check the air prressure of your tires and drive at reasonable speed limits for limited distances).

 

I put 14 auto batteries in mine one day and it drove fine so you should be alright.

 

Snoopy is right on the mark- weight distribution is the key. The removable shelf under the cargo area is not very strong. Neither are the folded seats. I would place a single layer of bags over the whole cargo area with the seats folded (to give a larger area), or place a sheet of plywood down to provide some added stiffness.

Putting too much weight in the wrong spot probably wouldn't immediately break anything, but you might notice small things later, like the folding seats being looser, cargo shelf sags, etc.

Steve

 

The yellow sticker on the drivers door jamb tells you how much weight the vehicle can carry. This includes passengers and gasoline. This same sticker tells you how much air should be in the tires.

 

440# is nothing. I've hauled over twice that at once. Over 1,000# worth of storm shutters.

As others have stated, spread the load. At only 440# tire pressure shouldn't be of any concern, and just leave yourself some extra stopping room.

The following thread has pics and more details...........

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/general-hhr-4/maxed-out-18058/

 

A driver and three other passengers probably tip the scale at 440# or more. I put the seats down and have carried 10 forty pound bag of landscape river pebbles many times. Those landscape rocks don't go very far

 

I just got back from Home Depot. I had them cut me a piece of 1/2 inch plywood 39" wide. Then across 34" long, so the remaining piece was 62" long.

The 34" piece fits snug behind the rear seats, and the 62" piece will run the length up to the front seats with the rears folded. 39" is the width between the molding where the cargo shelf slides into those slots. (you might measure for yourself if you want it even snugger, but 39" works well.)

So, now I can carry anything that will fit and not worry about mucking up the cargo area plastic.

I hauled several hundred pounds of walkway tiles along with the plywood, so I'm pretty pleased with the utility of this setup. And the plywood was about $15. :)

 

I carry just shy 300 Pounds of tools daily and no problems. 28 MPG better then most trucks