Overloaded Trucks and Drooling Lawyers

[Clemson1881]

After reading through yet the latest 3/4 ton truck thread I realized after all the discussion on the MOC I have seen no one has brought up the #1 concern folks should consider on this subject. One word for you: LIABILITY! Regardless of how you feel about your truck and how it does towing, handling, and stopping a monster fiver just pray you never get into a serious accident where an ambulance chasing lawyer could blame the accident on an overloaded tow vehicle. Perhaps someone pulls out in front of you and you T-bone them. Their insurance company is going to argue you would have had enough time to stop IF you were within the weight limits of your tow vehicle. In any case that's close you're going to pay bigtime money because the other side will use this, and the law will back them up. And the worst part is depending on who your insurance carrier is and what state you live in your insurance may refuse to cover the accident due to you towing in excess of your tow vehicle's limits. It will not matter if the overload is the true cause of the accident or not. These drooling lawyers are just looking for someone to bring a huge lawsuit against and take you for everything you are worth. I have been involved as a witness in multiple lawsuits, and I have seen a plantiff be awarded as much as 1.3 million dollars when the defendants were really not at fault. Like everything else there are good lawyers. But there are plenty that are out to suit people for anything and everything! I would check with my insurance company and ask will they cover you if you are overloaded. Protect yourself.

[Captain Joe]

I could not agree with you more. Those 18-wheeler lawyers make a living off of overloaded trucks.

[NCFischers]

A very good point!!!

[mlh]

I did check and yes you are covered. How would you ever prove a camper was slightly overloaded after a wreck. What are they going to do take a wrecked camper and weigh it? If it wasn't wrecked who is going to come and get it and weigh it. Did anybody ever hear of anybody being sued because they had a wreck in a overweight camper. Which wheel was overweight? by how much? Did the cargo get moved around in the wreck??????????

[Clemson1881]

It would not have to be weighed for someone to make that argument. If the tow vehicle's ratings were suspect a lawyer may come after you and take his/her shot in court. It happens all the time in situations far more far fetched than the one I proposed. Proof is not necessary these days. All that is necessary is to convince a jury that the defendant was negligent/careless and cha-ching! How do you think the "my trailer was only slightly overloaded" defense is going to play if someone was crippled or killed? Hopefully none of our members will be in an accident. My point was we're in a law suit happy society, and it is very wise to be cautious. And I was surprised no one had mentioned the liability factor before in these discussions. I had a 3/4 ton truck and a 14K hitch. Upgraded both years ago to stay within limits. I would have probably never had a problem, but I have seen too many law suits!

[DarMar]

Nowadays it seems before anyone moves on has to think about covering your a**. I would think a hungry lawyer would have the specs for the model of camper and truck in a heartbeat and easily add an average amount for cargo in order to make a pretty strong case. Certainly something everyone should be aware of.

[bncinwv]

The liability issue has been mentioned many times before on threads over the years. I would say something, but................
Bingo

[Ozz]

Yep, this is what gets threads closed.

[indy roadrunner]

Having retired from a trucking company with close to 35 years of service with experience in the claim department, I know of not one instance of any of our units wrecks where the lawyers went after the weight issue. In an accident especially where cargo is spilled all over the road the troopers have a goal of getting the road or lanes open as quickly as possible. We have sent front end loaders to a scene to scoop up boxes of freight and put in dump trucks or we have sent crews out to transfer cargo to smaller trucks - it depends on the situation and the LEO's on scene. Yes the lawyers might request a copy of the manifest but that is not always the true weight of the unit. Usually the lawyers are interested in the drivers log book, hours of service, driver fatique, blood test and usually will send a specialist to whereever the wreck is taken to inspect equipment-when was the last maintenance pulled, maintenance records etc. I know of one case we had that even by the manifest the truck (a set of doubles) had the back trailer overloaded and was involved in a fatality. In the law suit that followed not one thing was mentioned by the lawyers in that case as they went after driver error (following to close).
So I "hear" threats of all these law suits of overweight 5th wheels or even towed campers but no one can provide documented court case numbers.
But I guess it makes for good discussion as it sure comes up a lot.

[Clemson1881]

Sounds good to me. I am not in support of the majority of law suits and the hungry lawyers. I hope it never happens, but for myself I was concerned enough to make sure I was within specs. Thanks for the information.

[DarMar]

quote:Originally posted by Clemson1881

Sounds good to me. I am not in support of the majority of law suits and the hungry lawyers. I hope it never happens, but for myself I was concerned enough to make sure I was within specs. Thanks for the information.

That 's a really great summation of the situation and I couldn't agree more. What everyone else does is up to them but it is certainly something I think each new member should take the time to educate themselves about and make their own decision, so it doesn't hurt to calmly discuss this topic every now and then.

[lasater]

AND it is such a simple thing to make corrections on. The PILOT Station I go to for weight charges $10 for the 1st weigh (either with or without the trailer) and $1 for the 2nd weigh.

Shifting or removing cargo to balance or lighten the trailer is as important to me as tire pressure, lug nut torque, and hitch security.

Whether you are subject to a suit or not, IMHO, a prudent driver should be fully aware of his/her rig's weight and balance. I think exav8r might have words on weight and balance as well.

[SlickWillie]

So, I look in the signature lines, and yep, all advice from 3500 drivers. Two or three 3/4 ton owners disagree. Typical from what I have seen. I've been on both ends of a law suit...prevailed in both. If someone wants to sue you, they are gonna sue you. Anyone can sue anyone. That's why I carry high limits insurance. If you worry about that, you're not gonna enjoy life. Oh, BTW, our homestead here in TX is protected; I realize in some states that is not the case. That is one reason I chose not to move back to Louisiana. IIRC, they only protect a small amount of your homestead. Like the first 25 grand or so.

I would agree I've never seen evidence of a case involving an overloaded RV/truck. There is some dude on RV net that says he is a retired GM engineer that claims he testified in a case. Funny thing tho, he didn't even seem to know that the GM HD trucks used the same driveline and brakes. And when questioned, he didn't remember any details. Time study engineer perhaps?

[exav8tr]

I think we are all missing the boat on the weight issue. Vehicle weights are listed to "Protect the Manufacturer". For example: If I am carrying a load of bricks in the back of my pickup that exceeds the payload of the vehicle and break an axle or spring or anything else, the manufacturer can say I exceeded the weight capacitiy of the vehicle and deny a repair claim. Why do you think Keystone is now weighing every trailer that comes into the Service Center in Goshen AND keeping a record of it? If you exceed the GVW of the trailer and break an axle, Keystone will deny a claim for repairs. If you have the dreaded "Frame Flex" and Keystone knew you were overweight, you could lose that battle also.

As stated many times before, there are no vehicle laws that say you can't tow heavy, for private drivers anyway. Otherwise there would be requirements for weighing rigs just as there are emissions requirements in some states..

This whole idea of charging someone for negligence in an accident for being overweight and not for a driving violation, such as speeding or following too close or running a red light or stop sign or DUI, falls under the category of "Urban Legend".

In the five years I have been on this forum I have yet to hear of someone getting charged or sued for towing overweight. OR being charged with negligence in an accident. NOW, having said all this, I certainly do not condone anyone towing overweight, nor do I recommend taking chances.

The bottom line is everyone must make that decision themselves and live with it. I tried to justify towing with a 3/4 ton truck but after one year decided to move up to a larger truck for my peace of mind.

Good luck to everyone and Happy Motoring!!!!!

[kingdaddy]

I agree with another member's post that this topic actually has been discussed quite a bit...depending on the forum. I am a member of several different truck/RV forums and have read and participated in a number or these discussions.
Of course NONE of them were as polite and civil (not to mention informative) as the discussion on MOC forum!
IMO, a lawyer would need to prove that the accident was attributable to the over weight condition. If I'm towing my 5er and someone pulls out in front of me in an intersection and I can't stop in time it would be very difficult to prove that if my rig weighed a few hundred pounds less it would have made a difference.
However, I do agree that being seriously overloaded is a bad idea on several levels which is why I purchased a High Country for my 2500 Dodge even though mechanically it is capable of towing the same weight as a 3500 (SRW) Dodge.
General rule of thumb...never a good idea to exceed limits, and sometimes it's a really bad idea.
Just my .02

[SlickWillie]

Great post Phil!

[RickW]

There is liability in everything we do. If somebody thinks you have money and they want to sue, they are going to sue. I have sat on City Council for the past 6 years and I see it all the time. The city being sued because they think we have money. Funny thing is they always sue up to the amount we are insured for and most settle for less out of court. I have learned that there is a lot of mental distress in MVAs under 20mph.

I towed our 3400 for the first year with a F250. Air Bags, Exhaust brake and chipped. I did not feel safe and neither did the wife pulling with the F250. Many factors led to our decision to go with a HDT but we knew we needed more truck than what we had. There are always things to worry about but being over weight is not one of the things we have to worry about anymore.

[Sky]

You don't have to be wrong to loose in court. Take the woman who had an open cup of coffee stuck between her legs while driving. She hit a bump or something else and the "hot" coffee spilled all over her lap and thighs and received serious burns. She collected a large sum because the lawyer put into the jury's mind that the water making the coffee was to hot and it was the vault to of the company who made the hot coffee (McDonalds). The woman who purchases the hot coffee, takes the lid off, places the coffee between her legs and drives is not to blame????? Only and idiot would do that! Only 12 idiots would give her such an award. Attitude of the jury is "the insurance company can afford it, give the poor woman the money. The law suits are a joke but the lawyer gets his 33+%. The bottom line is even when you are 100% correct you can/will get sued. The more you do things correctly/legally the better off you will be in case of a law suit.

[SlickWillie]

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[SlickWillie]

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