I have a friend that was scaled a few yews ago and he passed the tire weight test. He had just upgraded to the higher weight rated tires before that trip.

"There is no law against towing over your GVWR/GCVWR."

I think they can get you now if you are not paying the correct weight fees to carry the load. If you notice all the delivery trucks now have the square weight stickers on the doors now. My F450 is suppose to have one of the stickers but I am going to argue that point with the DMV if I get popped for not having the sticker. I only use the truck foe towing not commerical purposes.

That is generally true with commercially registered vehicles (that pay weight fees... Including pickup trucks)

Motorhomes, etc. are registered as RV's and do not pay weight fees. There should be no legal ground for any weight issue except the tire rating and also the axle (I think the max is 20,500 Lbs. per axle and or 10,500 per wheel (or wheels in the case of duals)).

Does anyone have a definitive answer to this question? Is there no law against towing over GCVWR? What about GVWR? If I have a 5th wheel whose pin weight puts me over GVWR and whose total weight puts me over GCVWR am I still legal as long as I'm properly licensed (noncommercial class a) and the actual weight on my truck tires is lower than the maximum rating for said tires?

There is nothing that specifically says that you can exceed the MANUFACTURER's recommended GVW (note that this is the mfg. not any government or certifying agency), but there is nothing that says you are in any violation of ANY law if you exceed the mfg's GVWR.


That said, we are talking about violation of the law here.

If you get into an accident, you will first face Johny law (where you might not have any problem at all), but then you might face someone's hungry personal attorney. He/she will use the ignorance of the jury (or even judge) about weight ratings against you and sound really convincing.

There is also the possibility that he/she is indeed right and that your combo-rig really was unsafe for the specified conditions.

If you are confident in your own evaluation of your towing system as it is set up and for the speed you are driving, that is one case.
If you are not, you need to seek help from a compitent person that can give you recommendations.

One thing to remember:
Just because a vehicle combination is within all the ratings of the mfg, does NOT mean it is safe.

A lot still depends on speed, driver skill and experience, and loading.
That is, you could be "within limits" and still easily lose control and cause an accident where there is no recourse to the mfg. of the vehicle(s).

Nowhere in this whole thread did anyone mention a sway control device. For 50-70 bucks you can get one and it takes minutes to install. Best investment I made next to my Duramax.

Got to second the sway control device ... modified my hitch to add a second one on the other side and it made A LOT of improvement. Towing with a F350 dually diesel 4X4.

you hit that right on the spot!

does anyone know the gcwr of a 2001 gmc yukon xl 2500 4x4 8.1litre 3.73 rearend?

Hmmm,
I just read this entire post and think I am just as confused as when I started reading.
Some say an F350 can pull a 39ft 5er, while others say it shouldnt tow a 32 tag. My delimma is that the wife said the full throttle looks good, and we can go for it, but I cannot see her allowing me to get another new tow vehicle. HAHA. Guess I'll keep the MOHO and hold out for a DP next year.
I wonder though... Could a Ford tow boss legally handle a WW Full Throttle + the optional 5 feet??

Jason

I'm lost in the whole thread also, but what i have read is; you can tow over your gvwr and gcvwr, but you can not exceed the rating on the tires. Also there is a certain amount of weight that you can not exceed on one axle or a certain amount over one axle. Something like that, lol.

Those weight numbers are set in stone. If you're over, you're over! One pound over on any rating and you can be ticketed. I'm not saying you will be ticketed but the LEO's can if they want.

So did he get convicted on the manslaughter charge or not? I have read this entire thread an not one person addressed the REAL cause of this whole mess. Those big, stupid tires! Those larger tires are usually a "D" or even a "C" load rated tire. This is NOT good for towing as they do not have nearly enough sidewall strength to handle a trailer that starts wiggling it's ass at a high rate of speed. The sidewall flex is what makes it uncontrollable and then you are just along for the ride. Completely at the mercy of basic physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction type of deal. Very sad and very avoidable.....

It depends on the weight of the Full Throttle and truck LOADED. Ask the dealer for some real weights on the trailer as you would get it. If you are serious about it though, see if they would take one to a certified scale and weigh it. Maybe HI could help us with this. Weigh your truck while you're at it. I imagine it is in the 7-8k range loaded which would leave you with 18k for the trailer. It would probably be pretty close if not over the weight...

http://dunesafe.com/trailertowing.htm



This should help ya figure out some of the numbers...

[quote name='kipper125' date='Jul 2 2007, 10:08 AM' post='2353334']
[quote name='Gearhead' post='2260182' date='Apr 28 2007, 12:55 AM']
Hmmm,
I just read this entire post and think I am just as confused as when I started reading.
Some say an F350 can pull a 39ft 5er, while others say it shouldnt tow a 32 tag. My delimma is that the wife said the full throttle looks good, and we can go for it, but I cannot see her allowing me to get another new tow vehicle. HAHA. Guess I'll keep the MOHO and hold out for a DP next year.
I wonder though... Could a Ford tow boss legally handle a WW Full Throttle + the optional 5 feet??

Jason
[/quote]


It depends on the weight of the Full Throttle and truck LOADED. Ask the dealer for some real weights on the trailer as you would get it. If you are serious about it though, see if they would take one to a certified scale and weigh it. Maybe HI could help us with this. Weigh your truck while you're at it. I imagine it is in the 7-8k range loaded which would leave you with 18k for the trailer. It would probably be pretty close if not over the weight...
[/q
Here is our FTL4005+5 it rides great behind our Kodiak 4500, I would pull it with a regular 3500 dually
[attachmentid=169509]

Have you weighed that thing? I am really curious to see some real numbers on these huge trailers that have 2 or three slides on them. I can't imagine them being less than 14k empty.

No I haven't weighed it, but for what it's worth WW has 12,700 stamped on the vin tag and it dosen't fell heavier than that....That 12,700 might open a can of wormes on GD but the last Trailer was a Aljo 37 foot with one slide and alum. siding and it felt alot heavier than this one

Listen!!!! I see alot of idiots driving 30+feet tag trailers trying to pass semi-trucks that are already doing
65mph and you could see the trailer start to sway a bit when passing these trucks... !!!slow down!!!
Lets not forget your driving with your most expensive not replacable cargo (your family).. I find it
the safest way to get there is driving about 1/4 mile behind a bigrig with me doing about 55mph. I may
take about 1 more hour to get to the dunes but --!!hey!! the sand is not going anywhere so (slow down)
and enjoy your weekend...


By the way! I drive a 2004 F250 crewcab longbed 4X4 with 6"lift, airbags and I pull a WWFS34....

I am in the minority here i guess.
It is just me and the Wife and i have a 1500 Z71
I pull a Baja 16 foot TH.
I bought the trailer with the limits of the truck already in my head.
I know i am under the limit for my truck but i still only go 50-55 from lakeside to Glamis. If the wind isn't bad i still get from 8.2mpg-11.1mpg round trip. Not bad for a gas truck pulling 5200lbs.
And after my next deployment i am buying a 1 ton diesel 4X4 just for the added comfort of towing capacity
(read larger brakes)
I also leave the house as light as possible and fill water and gas at Brawley.
Dump black and grey in Brawley on the way out.

Now if i could only get the 1953 Mack "B" model my Grandfather left me in his will out here from New Jersey i could justify that 35 foot 5th wheel....

WOW!!! I just finished reading the whole post. What an unfortunate situation, it could have been anyone of us. If I can take any good from this, it’s the fact that we’re all talking about it and it looks like some have already stepped up to new tow rigs. I don’t tow much, just a light weight vw sandrail and a dirt bike, but my 24’ enclosed trailer is a little heavy. I spoke with my service manger at the Chevy dealer and he said I could use a weight distributing hitch since I’m barley over 5,000lbs. Do a lot of you guys use these and if so does it help? Does anyone know a good trailer/hitch shop in the Corona area that I could get one?

Thanks

Isn't the bottom line in being legal determined by the GCVW?

FYI, www.richardsonsrv.com in Sun City did an excellent and clean install on my 5'er.

I highly recommend them.

Jump in anytime you EXPERT.

Riverside Hitch has good prices and does good work. Maybe check with them on prices for the weight dist. hitch.

I really would be interested in seeing some real weights on these trailers after they are assembled and out the door. The 12,700 stamp on the WW doesn't really mean crap. The weight these RV manufacturers use doesn't include ANY options. I'm talking no Gen., alum sides, no slides, no batteries, min. cabinets etc. I remember someone posting about their WW and finding out that just after adding the water and fuel he was within a couple hundred lbs of the trailers GVWR and he was going to use the trailer to transport a Jeep.

I found the thread with the overweight WW. Guy by the name of Jeepgeak or something with an SLC3905... I don't know how WW resolved this, maybe HI knows some more about it...

http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index....ights&st=75

"OK,

Since this topic really took off, I decided I needed to know what it weighed when I took it off the lot, empty of fluids. **On edit I just remembered I also have the forward AC unit installed.

Since delivery, I have removed the two 75 Ah dual purpose, waste of money, batteries and installed 4 Trojan 105, 6V batts, adding probably 120-140 lbs.

Along for the ride tonight, 2 DVD Players, 5 sleeping bags, a coffee maker and a stack of paper plates and plastic knives, forks and spoons.

Truck, 1/2 tank main, empty aux tank. 7860
Pin / Legs 5260
all three Axles 8480
Trailer = 13,740
Combined = 21,600

Now how did we calculate CCC?
UVW 13740
Plus water 1200lbs
plus 68 lb LPG

15,008 Lbs

I'm over by 8 lbs with no fuel, no food, beer, clothes OR TOYS IN MY TOY HAULER! Just water and LPG?!?! Who could afford the weight of the rear slide out?

WHO THE F*&% IS ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL HERE???"

and a follow up post...

"OK, Update time...

Today I took the empty trailer (no water or fuel, one LP tank 3/4 full the other empty.) back over to the scales, and weighed in with the trailer hooked up... Front axle on pad one, loaded rear axle on pad two, and the trailer axles on pad three.
Steer axle 4340 lb
Drive axle 7620 lb
Trailer axle 9760 lb

Then I unhooked the trailer on pad three and re-weighed the truck by itself:
Steer axle 4340 lb (Unchanged)
Drive axle 3560 lb (-4060 lb This is actual pin weight)
Trailer axle 13820 (actual Unloaded Vehicle Weight)

Calculated:
GVWR 15000 lb
Minus UVW 13820 lb
= 1180 lb

150 gallons water =1250 lbs
We'll go 1/2 on LPG = 34lbs
= 1284 lb (104 lb over GVW)"

Expert? I must have made a typo some where

Thanks Kipper

WTF? Guess you'll have to ride the ice chest with no room for toys. How can they sell a trailer without the exact specs for that exact trailer? There should be a law.

Rv's in general are NOTORIOUS for that.

When you calculate it out (as you have) you find that you and your honey can go on a trip only if you take no clothes, no toys, camping equipment or food. On top of that, you may have to go on a diet to get in under the GVWR.


Toy haulers, Mohos, you name it, the mfg's and dealers are counting on customers that do not calculate or visit scales.

My first truck was as Tundra - after towing with it I felt unsafe and picked up a f-350. Now after reading this thread I am thinking of either picking up a semi-truck or maybe I should just start tent camping.

I was looking for a different topic and run into this one, a very sad story as many had said.......I will PM sandollars if the offer still stands I know I am driving very close to my truck capacity, I drive a F250 V10 and pull a 25' tag trailer and i haven't waited my rig, and when I read this entire topic it make realize how important all this weight ratings are.

I know over kill but I feel better knowing that everyone around me,my family and my self will be safe

Bump on this thread, what ever happened to the guy?

Nothing, NOT proven true story.....

I bought a used semi truck got my class a it was the best thing I ever did.I have a 33ft 5th wheel now i can just set the cruise and steer up hills downhills, wind it doen't matter. I get between 10 to 12 mpg and the truck drives the same with or without the trailer. Sometimes I forget i'm even towing untill I look in the mirrors and the best thing I can stop on a dime.