Exceeding tow capacity

[xctraveler]

Originally Posted by Clifftall

I use a 10" drop down receiver , so this quote got my attention. I called Blue OX this morning and spoke to Paul 800-228-9289 and he said " that was just not so "

Cliff

Mine was RoadMaster and it extended the length of the tow by more than a foot. Not sure what RM would say, but several knowledgeable people made the statement and the 2" solid steel square bar DID bend! and the welds on the receiver DID crack! and the tow'd was an '05 RAV4 weighed 3,200 lbs and had nothing stored in it.

[CLIFFTALL]

Originally Posted by xctraveler

Mine was RoadMaster and it extended the length of the tow by more than a foot. Not sure what RM would say, but several knowledgeable people made the statement and the 2" solid steel square bar DID bend! and the welds on the receiver DID crack! and the tow'd was an '05 RAV4 weighed 3,200 lbs and had nothing stored in it.

Not sure I understand your point. There are tens of thousands ( my guess ) using a drop down receiver. I'm sure a few like you have experienced the damage you had however there have been cases where damage such as yours happened on set ups without a drop down receiver.
Cliff

[RickO]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

But you asked about only 260 pounds. that's roughly 5% over... I can not advise you to exceed the manufacturer's rating, but ... Well...... it's only 5%.

But, heaven forbid you are in a serious accident,, A sharp police officer might just have your rig weighed (I have heard of it happening) and .. Well, over is over, even one pound.

Interesting. If exceeding CGVWR isn't illegal, why would an officer have an RV weighed after an accident? Is it just to speculate as to what contributed to the accident?

Rick

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by alvinc

If 5,250 lbs is unsafe, why is 5,000 lbs magically safe? Or, is 4,750 lbs really safe for that matter?

Now that is a good question, I'd like to think that if the hitch is rated at 5,000 it's tested to at least 6,000 if not 10,000 (I know of some products where the standard is to test them at 2x their ratings)

But the answer, is that it does not, There is only one thing magical about that magic number.

If your towed weight EXCEEDS the hitch rating, or your Combined Vehicle Weight exceeds the CGVW rating of the motor home, and you get in an accident, and the rig gets scaled.. You in big trouble dude. Don't matter if it's safe or not, You in big trouble dude. An example.. Your insurance may say "Overweight, we are not going to pay" and you may be cited for overweight or sued for endangerment.

IF on the other hand the scale shows the weights to be equal or less than the ratings, You may (or may not depending on other factors) be in trouble, but not nearly as big.

[bmacrc46]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Now that is a good question, I'd like to think that if the hitch is rated at 5,000 it's tested to at least 6,000 if not 10,000 (I know of some products where the standard is to test them at 2x their ratings)

But the answer, is that it does not, There is only one thing magical about that magic number.

If your towed weight EXCEEDS the hitch rating, or your Combined Vehicle Weight exceeds the CGVW rating of the motor home, and you get in an accident, and the rig gets scaled.. You in big trouble dude. Don't matter if it's safe or not, You in big trouble dude. An example.. Your insurance may say "Overweight, we are not going to pay" and you may be cited for overweight or sued for endangerment.

IF on the other hand the scale shows the weights to be equal or less than the ratings, You may (or may not depending on other factors) be in trouble, but not nearly as big.

Please provide some links to actual examples of insurance companies not paying due to being overweight. Otherwise, it looks like more "sky is falling".

If insurance companies would routinely deny coverage because you were not 100% legal than a heck of a lot of accidents would not be covered due to someone speeding.

[xctraveler]

Originally Posted by Clifftall

Not sure I understand your point. There are tens of thousands ( my guess ) using a drop down receiver. I'm sure a few like you have experienced the damage you had however there have been cases where damage such as yours happened on set ups without a drop down receiver.
Cliff

I agree in general. However the Roadmaster design incorporates a long "stinger" which extends the tow by over a foot which increases the forces on the entire connection from the receiver to the car as opposed to the Blue Ox in which the drop is very close to the receiver and does not add any significant length to the tow. Length of tow impacts the leverage of the car on the system.

Just a warning to people who want to use their entire rating for a tow. In my case, although I was well within the rating for the receiver and drop and tow I nearly had a disaster because no one suggested that I derate my receiver because of the extension, least of all RoadMaster. I doubt I would even be commenting had I had a Blue Ox drop hitch.

[Mixmanbob]

I left a lot of info out. Sorry. the W22's GVWR is 22,000. The GVCW is 26000. It has a 5000 # rated hitch. My Blue Ox is rated for 5000#. I have a extension tube rated at 10,000#. I use a 3" drop that is rated at 7500#. The Dakota weighs 4900, full of fuel. I estimate a road weight of 20,500 + 4900 Toad = 25,400# with no componet over it's rated capicity. I will use supplemental braking on the toad. I think I don't exceed any rating and should be OK.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

What about passengers, luggage, storage, water and fuel on the rv. Doesn't that get included in gvcw?