Towing Risk Assessment

[fritz3000g]

Hi there,

New member, not a new tower. I've had several tow vehicles over the years though I've never towed more than 5,000 lbs, and have done enough overloading (both vehicle weight and towing weight) to have a sense for (at least on my vehicles) what the implications for doing that are on stopping distance, going up hills, vehicle life-expectancy, etc... as well as how much I can realistically compensate for those things using driving habits.

The kind of experience that I don't have (and I suspect almost nobody does) is getting in multiple overloading-caused accidents to know when and how crossing that line is measurably dangerous. Maybe an actuary from State Farm would know. I guess I'm hoping there's one on this forum

My question is a statistical one. Has anyone seen any kind analysis which looks at the numeric risks of getting close to or above your vehicle load limitations? I've seen the videos and know that bad things can happen. But I also know that bad things can happen to people who do everything right, and that there are other risks in my life that I take much more frequently than towing.

As someone who tows heavy loads maybe 10 days a year on my vehicle and commutes with it the rest of the time, it would seem like I should primarily focus on what makes it a good commuter.

To the extent I'm concerned about safety, I want to understand how the risks of coming close to or slightly overloading my vehicle's weight/towing capacities compares to the other risks in my life. Being a commuter, I suspect that I'm much more likely to get into an accident while commuting than towing, even if I do overload my vehicle every one of those 10 days. Conversely, having a large vehicle like a full sized truck would seem to increase my risk while commuting in tight city streets. Trying to figure out where to keep and how to pay for a towing-dedicated vehicle for 10 days a year seems like overkill.

I also find it ironic to see folks with medium sized trailers who would never tow with a truck smaller than 1 ton (huge safety factor) pull into a truck stop and order a whole plate of fried chicken. Don't get me wrong - I love fried chicken. But I also love saving money on vehicles and gas.

So... I'm curious how you weigh the different kinds of risks. Is ordering the chicken worse than overloading your vehicle? Statistically speaking

[SteveNdebbie]

I have been accused of putting myself and others at risk towing our 25’ Airstream Safari with our MDX. We are still under the payload capacity of the MDX and had our receiving hitch reinforced due to the tongue weight being over the limit. I am also a family physician. I feel safe towing and I also enjoy good fried chicken occasionally.

So, towing through the crazy traffic in and around cities daily or eating fried chicken daily? Riding a bike to work daily? Well, I see more deaths from poor diets, occasional deaths from bicycle accidents, but no towing deaths (although they do occur but the cause?).

I’ll continue to tow with an MDX but eat less processed foods, do my Pilates so I don’t fall and break a hip when I’m old, and make the most of each day.

[tuffr2]

You can tow easy overloaded on back roads going to the local state park. Typically overloaded at slower speeds in my book are ok. Statistically I think there are very few low speed accidents.

Those statistics IMHO go up with speed. No different than a car or motorcycle as far as deaths go.

How fast do you want to tow overloaded?

I really can not recommend towing overloaded but on a rare slow speed short distance occasion is you best scenario.

[fritz3000g]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Statistically I think there are very few low speed accidents.

I think you mean to say that there are relatively few low speed accident deaths/injuries involving motor vehicle collisions, which I think is true.

There are certainly plenty of low speed accidents in cities that don't involve anyone dying or getting hurt but do cost money. I've been in several, but not while towing. And as SteveNdebbie said people do sometimes hit bikers.

... or perhaps you mean to say that there are few low-speed accidents in which overloading a vehicle caused the accident, but more at higher speeds. I'd be very interested to find out if there are statistics on that.

My great-uncle was a spinal surgeon, and he never let his kids ride motorcycles or jump off the high dive. Other than that he was a pretty relaxed dad.

[aether_one]

OP poking the forum:



The bees will start swarming soon to tell you what an uncaring driver you are and your insurance will never cover you in an accident.

Stand By:

[fritz3000g]

Originally Posted by tfryman

OP poking the forum:
The bees will start swarming soon to tell you what an uncaring driver you are and your insurance will never cover you in an accident.

I understand and agree with the insurance angle... if I'm going over my towing/loading capacity not just close to it.

The insurance part of it is a risk I can quantify in dollars. I've been at fault in 3 accidents in my life, all at 10 mph or less. The most expensive one was $3000. Given that I've driven on about 8,000 days of my life the risk of an accident on any given day is 0.0375%. If I assume that the cost of an accident is $10,000 (almost certainly high, as an average), each time I drive uninsured I'm taking a risk of $3.75. I can own that.

As long as the bees have statistics I'm all ears (or flowers?).

Actually... I'd forgotten. I did get in one towing accident in a boat launch parking lot where my boat trailer hit another car. Damage was $700. I was only towing about 500 lbs at that time (empty trailer), so overloading wasn't a factor.

[tuffr2]

Yes, that is what I meant with my slow speed comment - very few deaths compared to high speed deaths.

There are cases, like I have all back roads from storage to property I own. I would overload my truck for that 5 mile back road trip. To get my trailer from the place I store it to my property.

No way would I ever think of towing this way on the highway at 70 mph.

There are two district towing modes:
1. Short distances at slower speeds overloaded.
2. Towing long distances at highway speeds which is 'No' - don't do this.

[steve52]

The risk level you face while commuting has no bearing on your risk when towing.

[mtofell]

I don't think there is much data for what OP is asking for. Mainly, accident scenes aren't scraped up and weighed very often... if ever. This is kind of the point of the whole argument. One side swears you'll be hauled off to jail if you tow over your limits. The other side says you won't. Since it's hard to prove something that hasn't happened, I'd say the burden of proof in this debate would be on the ones claiming jail time. Yet, aside from a bunch of urban legend stories no one ever seems to produce much.

I don't really care as I tow within my limits but armchair judges and juries get on my nerves.

[JIMNLIN]

My question is a statistical one. Has anyone seen any kind analysis which looks at the numeric risks of getting close to or above your vehicle load limitations? I've seen the videos and know that bad things can happen. But I also know that bad things can happen to people who do everything right, and that there are other risks in my life that I take much more frequently than towing.

Too many variables to say all vehicles will fit in the same scenario. A 1/2 ton truck will not have built in duty cycles like a one ton drw truck. But I wouldn't say all 1/2 ton trucks have the same limitations. Same with a one ton drw truck.
Size of the vehicle matters (GVWR FAWR/RAWR for LDTs.

what criteria will be used to determine load limitations. Haulers carry max loads (gawrs) for several hundred thousand miles before various components wear out.

The only websites that would have that type info would be commercial haulers websites. But I've never heard or saw any thing that talks about info your looking for.

[tuffr2]

From wrecks I have seen I have never seen an RV. I have seen cars, trucks, tractor trailers wrecked on the highways. So I would say statistically towing a RV or driving a MH you are not any more or less likely to being in an accident than normal.

I have seen pictures of wrecked RV's so I know it happens but again no more than normal accidents.

[kdauto]

I doubt you'll find any exact specs and data on what you're asking for.

What I can say is when $h*t rolls downhill it goes fast. Start overloading this, over limits on that and problems and damage grow exponentially.

Sometimes, you think youM're just a bit over on hitch weight, then if you checked everything out and weighed it you may be surprised to see payload, and/or axle weight and/or max tire load are exceeded.

I've heard a local guy hauling a medium 5er with a Ram 1500. He reinforced tires,suspension and a bunch more. Weak spot for him was the flimsy rear axles. He went through 2 entire diffs and 3 axles before he was convinced he didn't have enough truck.

My friend invested so much $$$$ and effort trying to make his truck not be overloaded, it still is. After forcing him to weigh it he knows he's over tire limits. He is chancing it, right until something bad happens, as it has in the past.

I really don't get the chicken analogy but yeah, I'd rather be the dude with the dually hauling a smaller trailer than the other way around.

[Itchytoe]

You are far more likely to be involved in a wreck within 10 miles of your home. People rarely tow, overloaded or not, such short distances. That alone establishes that towing overloaded is safer than going to work in the morning. If it was just a safety concern, overloaded towing wouldn't even be brought up. Driving while tired would though.


Slightly overloaded isn't a problem, but some people will take things to extremes. Putting a 23,000 pound 5th wheel on a Chevy Colorado is overloaded. So is putting that same 5th wheel on an F350 SRW. But, one is significantly more overloaded than the other. It isn't just a matter of being overloaded or not; the specifics matter.

[tuffr2]

I will add I towed things (Boats, Travel Trailers, 1 5th wheel) over 50,000 miles in my life so far. When towing I never felt like I was in more danger because I was extra careful. Knowing you are towing and it takes more attention to get from point 'A' to point 'B' probably plays into the accident statistics.

When I drive solo I take driving for granted and let my guard down where my guard is up more when I am towing.

I feel I am a safer driver when I am towing, when not towing I am a average driver.