overloaded maybe?

[Mantz]

Remember the commercial a few years ago? A Tundra can tow a Space Shuttle.

I

[rpkittle1]

Just thought I would add my two cents worth. I tow a 37 foot Montana (15800 GVWR) with a Ford 3/4 ton truck SWR. I have checked through part numbers and inspection what is the difference between a 3/4 and 1 ton truck. Only about two or three parts. My 3/4 ton has the same engine (diesel), transmission, differential, rear axle, brakes and tires as a 1 ton SWR. My 250 is rated at 10000 gross. If you have a 3/4 ton with the camper package you get springs rated at 12500 GVWR but it is still called a 3/4 ton. So I decided to increase my springs to handle the load. I have checked my rig on a truck scale and I am within range of what the truck can handle. I also increased the weight rating of the trailer tires.

You do not get bigger brakes or a beefier axle with a 1 ton but you do get the 1 ton sticker.

My son-in-law also checked his 3/4 ton GMC with the same story. He towes 25000 trailers with no problems.

I agree with the comments about brakes. Disc or drum brakes need to be working at their best.

I have been RVing for 50+ years and not had a bad problem.

[Foldbak]

Originally Posted by rpkittle1

Just thought I would add my two cents worth. I tow a 37 foot Montana (15800 GVWR) with a Ford 3/4 ton truck SWR. I have checked through part numbers and inspection what is the difference between a 3/4 and 1 ton truck. Only about two or three parts. My 3/4 ton has the same engine (diesel), transmission, differential, rear axle, brakes and tires as a 1 ton SWR. My 250 is rated at 10000 gross. If you have a 3/4 ton with the camper package you get springs rated at 12500 GVWR but it is still called a 3/4 ton. So I decided to increase my springs to handle the load. I have checked my rig on a truck scale and I am within range of what the truck can handle. I also increased the weight rating of the trailer tires.

You do not get bigger brakes or a beefier axle with a 1 ton but you do get the 1 ton sticker.

My son-in-law also checked his 3/4 ton GMC with the same story. He towes 25000 trailers with no problems.

I agree with the comments about brakes. Disc or drum brakes need to be working at their best.

I have been RVing for 50+ years and not had a bad problem.

I have a 2020 GMC 2500. After doing some research I found that the difference is the axel differential housing and spring packs.



https://www.google.com/search?q=diff...id:XSw_4VTg98s

[kowbra]

Originally Posted by beeje

I will through in my 2 cents.
Its not about how much any truck/suv can tow. It has everything to do with the payload capacity or the tow vehicle. If one is overloaded, its more than likely going to be the payload and or the rear tires that are overloaded. The vast majority of heavy fifth wheels (say 15k+) that are being towed with ANY 3/4 ton truck are overloaded just by comparing the trucks yellow door jamb sticker and the camper's info label. Hell, if i load my dually up with firewood and a truck full of people then load up the camper's front storage with heavy stuff, im overweight.

Sort of... I agree that the rear axle is the first place where towing a fifth wheel trailer will likely be overloaded. In fact, depending on the hitch, sometimes hooking up your fifth wheel will reduce the load on the front axle!

However, on the point of "it has everything to do with payload", I don't believe it is that clear cut. Let's do some math on a fictitious truck...
-imagine the truck has a payload of 3700lbs because it weighs 8000lbs and has a GVWR of 11,700lbs
-the typical SRW tire rating is anywhere from 3640 to 4080lbs per tire. So, even at the low end the rear tires can handle 7280lbs of load (this with the safety margin of the tire manufacturer factored in)
-a typical SRW RAWR is ~7000lbs
-of that imaginary truck with ~8000lbs truck empty weight, about 5000lbs will be on the front axle and 3000lbs on the rear
... reviewing the above math, the rear axle and the tires can allow for a load of ~4000lbs+, not the 3700lbs payload as stated on the sticker

In the above fictitious example, the payload has been exceeded but the ratings for the axle and tires are fine. To stress, the above is fictitious and doing the math for your truck will reveal different numbers; in some cases payload will be very close to the ratings of the axles and tires, but in other cases payload may be lower by several hundred pounds.

When towing commercial and crossing weigh scales, the axle rating is more critical than the GVWR rating. IOW, if you know you will exceed the GVWR rating, you can register more or buy a temporary permit for that overweight. However, even if you purchase the extra GVWR you can NEVER exceed the axle rating. Why? Because the GVWR (and the resulting payload) on a commercial heavy hauler is not what determines the safety of hauling the load - it is always whether the axle and/or the tires for that axle have been overloaded.

So to me, coming from years of commercial hauling... payload is a sticker that is determined by the manufacturer that is not specific to safety (and includes other factors such as costs to build, warranty repair, etc), but axle and tire ratings are truly where safety resides.

I hope the above makes sense??

Brad

[77cruiser]

Don't try to explain it like that on the other site or you're likely to get banned.

[bshgto]

Originally Posted by mlh

will insurance void coverage if a truck has exceeded any of the weight ratings? This is a consideration for commercial haulers, but is not clear for private hauling

The answer to this question is no.
I ask my agent and she called Allstate. They told her you would be covered. Think about it. If they could deny coverage they would never cover if you when you were over weight, drinking, spending, run a red light a stop sign. If you have insurance they must cover you.
Lynwood

To confirm this statement. My wife was an insurance claims adjuster for many many years. She says we covered 1000 `s of claims for people doing stupid things like carrying a load of lumber tied to the roof of a car leaving Home Depot and crashing on the highway to even killing people on the road for driving drunk. Your covered but only up to the limits of your coverage, this is the part that gets people in trouble because most only cover themselves to the state minimum. Yes you can be sued to living under a bridge after the fact for not doing the right thing and knowing it with these campers. You kill somebodies 6-year-old daughter in an accident and watch what the mother does to you with a good lawyer. Saying your sorry because my wife wouldn`t let me buy a bigger truck will not cut it.

[Bill and Lisa]

If I recall the incident and video correctly, the boat was being towed under contract by a commercial tower. They obviously didn't know enough about towing and (again, if I recall correctly) the driver did not have a CDL either!