Weight Question

[richfaa]

The Weight police...of which I am one. Offer factual documentation. Simply put that the stickers on the door of any truck is a statement by the manufacturer supported by the manufacturers design and engineering, of the capabilities of the truck. Statistics will tell you that you can fly on a aircraft every day for 72 years before you will be in a accident yet in the real world there are aircraft accidents near every day. Steve S is correct in saying that the sticker is not a legal requirement, it is not, although it may be in some states. I fear that our disregard for its contents will one day, make it a legal requirement. The difference between being 100 lbs over weight or 1000lbs over weight is the same as being a "little bit pregnant" If you are a commercial driver being a little bit overweight will not help . Folks will say that ..well the engineers always factor in a 10% fudge factor. I have seen such a tolerance in the electronics field + or- this or that but have yet to see that on the manufacturers ratings on any door sticker. Having real world experience does not mean that you ignore education or knowledge but that you learn how to best apply it.

By ignoring manufacturers spec's ratings, recommendations as to the capabilities of their product we are already forcing some states to put us under the same rules and licensing as commerical drivers. It will be only a matter of time and us continuing to 'do as we please" till the Feds jump in and make Rv'ing very expensive and unpleasent for us. The more I read of some RV'ers attitude about the subject the more I think that is a good idea that they do so. Excluding the fine drivers on ths forum. Yes I have a CDL, Yes I drive big things many miles and since there is no regulation or testing of driving skills for most Rv'ers they scare me to death and we give them a wide berth.
And no having a CDL does not make you a better driver but it gives you the skills and knowledges to be the better driver.. Can you tell that RV'ing and safety is a flash point for me. I fear that one day because of our actions that instead of having the choice of which truck will pull our Camper that there will be a set of rules and regulation that will tell us what truck we will purchase. In fact there is a pretty good set of spec's and ratings that tell us just that now,,but we choose to ignore them..thus we will force regulation. I need a refreshment..Please I mean no offense anyone. Just my opinion..

[HughM]

Years ago I attended a 2 week FBI class. One of the first statements they made was "although coping a VCR tape is illegal, we have better things to do."
In todays society Law Enforcement (I'm Retired) is almost always understaffed and no where near their full complement of officers.
As a supervisor with a overworked staff and field officers I can assure you that if there was an accident the officers are not going to take your trailer to a weight station and weight it.
I know officers all around the U.S. and no one has ever heard of a RV being weighed after an accident.
With that in mind I would ask those on the forum have they direct knowledge of that happening. Not I heard about it or it could happen but names and places and dates.
Again as a Law Enforcement officer we always worked with facts and not hearsay.
What say the forum..

[richfaa]

However IF you were involved in a lawsuit that would not exclude the law firm from having the wreckage of your camper or/and truck weighed and compare it to the manufacturers ratings and I would wonder what "weight" the manufacturers ratings and spec's would have on the outcome of the lawsuit.I think even the "weight police" of which I am one of, will acknowledge that that manufacturers sticker is not a legal document as a matter of fact neither is the sticker on my 3400 that states GVWR 13975, GAWR each axle 6000lbs and Weight of cargo should never exceed 1517LBS.Why are folks on this forum concerned about weight of the camper, How much is on each wheel or axle, why are we concerned about tire ratings.. They are just advisory and not a legal requirement..Why does silly old me stay within those recommendations..why does anybody??
Why are they there???

Hugh your example is a good one..but there are no legal requirement for a Investigating LEO to weigh the wreckage of a non commercial vehicle (I do not know that for sure)which makes complete sense because those stickers on the truck and camper are not legal requirements. I am sure that if there was a legal requirement the LEO would do it. However.. A attorney can do whatever he wants and that is legal..

[c5racer]

I don't care what people tow their rigs with, but I don't think they should recommend others to tow overweight.

[JimF]

I see this battle is raging, as usual, when it comes to weights. That is why I took my truck info off of my signature page and will not post a picture of my rig there either.

Do your own homework and be safe, welcome abord and good luck.

[bsmeaton]

quote:Originally posted by c5racer

I don't care what people tow their rigs with, but I don't think they should recommend others to tow overweight.

Agreed. To me that is the sole root of the issue.

If I ask a question of others I would hope that I would at least get the respect of the right answer first without bias, which can then be followed by any opinions or personal experience.

Some people just don't understand how far you can go -
I don't know if anybody ever told this guy the load limit of his step bumber was 500lbs before he set his 1,000 lb trailer tongue on the ball and sheared the bumber bolts on one side. I don't care what he did to his truck - what scares me is he was letting his wife and 3 kids ride in the trailer. Fortunately the "Park Police" stopped him before he got out of the park after the host called them. The guy actually continued to load and go after breaking the bumper -

[exav8tr]

This will be my last post about this subject on this forum, I’m sure some of you will say “Good”. I have been a commercial pilot since 1989, although presently retired, and I am well aware of weight issues. It is a little more critical in an airplane, believe me. My beef is not with the ones that cite numbers, after all, I think we are obligated to help newbies with the numbers, my beef is, and always will be, the ones that ridicule the rest of us for towing with something smaller than they. AND especially those of you that cite legal issues that don’t exist; they must be nonexistent as no one can give a real case situation. Many of you have admitted to having towed overweight in the past and you are still around today, you have a nice truck and a nice trailer so I can only surmise that you were not taken to court and stripped of all your worldly possessions as some would have us believe could happen. And some of you have not. There are many safety violations that cause many deaths on the highways today; speeding, changing lanes without signaling, running red lights and the list goes on. I have yet to read or hear about the overweight RV causing injury or fatalities. The bottom line is “That it is each person’s responsibility to tow safely” whatever that is determined to be. AND, in the immortal words of Sgt Jablonski (or whatever his name was), LET’S BE CAREFUL OUT THERE………

[richfaa]

I would also like not to post on this subject and I try not to till I see one of those Don't worry about it just load it up and pull in response to a question a poster is asking who knows little or nothing about the subject. All this rhetoric about is it legal or not,Can we prove that someone has been sued for being over weight is completely irreverent. The issue is simple....The sticker on the truck is a statement by the manufacturer as to the specifications and ratings of their truck.. period..simple as that. We are within those manufacturers ratings or we are not..simple as that. I am sure that there have been court cases based on those ratings. That I don't personally know of one does not mean it has not happened ..It means that I do not care to take the time to research the subject. I will let the legal system take care of what they mean or don't mean.But as our Attorney says.. Rich..If I have to represent you in a court case please do me a favor and don't make it hard for me.I do my part by choosing to stay within the manufacturers ratings. When a poster asks a question concerning weights we should let them know where the rating are,,what they mean and perhaps a link or two where they can do some research.
Every time I see a Don't worry just pull it post I will reply with "the sticker on the truck is a statement by the manufacturer as to the specifications and ratings of their truck.."

My truck and camper remain in my signiture..I don't mind..

[stiles watson]

I would like for all of us to get off our incendiary soap boxes and give it a rest rather trying to get the last word in assuming that makes one win the argument. I doubt seriously that anyone has changed their mind with all the self-righteous rhetoric. Reasonable men state their position and let others do so. There is no need to rehash that position in argumentative retorts. It only serves to lose members and keep folks away from posting and away from Rallies.

[rames14]

I think we all did a pretty good job of scaring Johnny away. By now, he's probably sold his truck and camper and taken up some other activity.

[Waynem]

Y'all stay safe no matter how you have to do it, 'ya hear!