Big Enough Truck?

   / Big Enough Truck? #11  
No, that boat only weighs 15,600#. I tow a few other boats that weigh in the 25,000# range but not far. The most I have ever towed is one of the 25,000# boats 30 miles at 55 mph.

No problem towing 15,600#. 25,000# is another story. On flat land its easy to get moving but hills is another story. Imagine pulling that weight up a wet boat ramp from a dead stop. The only truck on the market with a bed from the factory that can legally tow near that weight, 24K, is the new body style Diesel F-450.

Builder brought up some good points though. When you get over 26K you are in CDL territory unless its a recreational vehicle such as a camper or boat. I know it makes no sence but this was done by strong lobbyist on behalf of the Marine and Camping Industry to sell units. Think about it. Most big 5th wheel campers are sold to retired folks and most of these weigh in at 18K or more range then you put it on a F-350 at 8K and they would need a CDL which would be a deal breaker. Its not fair they can tow that weight while a guy like you can not take 3 tractors on a trailer to a state fair.

Chris
 
   / Big Enough Truck? #12  
Be very careful. Just because someone tows way more than their truck is rated or legally able to tow does not mean anyone else should do it. Be careful what you read on the internet. I've seen kids talk up a big game about towing and it turns out to be a bunch of BS. Then a guy thinks "wow, I guess I can do that, too" and ends up in big trouble. I've seen it first hand. There was a guy talking about towing round hay bales over the road. Another young guy got the idea and jacknifed his diesel pickup and totalled the rig. Turns out the guy he was copying was only towing the bales across farm fields.

I went through a decent amount of training to get my class A CDL, airbrake endorsement and hazmat endorsements, and one thing we were constantly shown along the way were all the accidents, mayhem, lawsuits and bloodshed caused by knuckleheads trying to tow too much weight with small trucks, improperly equipping trailers or towing trucks. Once you lose control of a trailer, it's tough to get it back.

That's the reason you get training and get a CDL, and to learn to buy the proper truck to legally and safely tow the weight. You need a class A CDL to tow any combination over 26,001 if the trailer also weighs over 10,001. You not only meet the GCWR of over 26,001, but your trailer is far in excess of 10,001.

In my part of the country, the MVCE police just about live off the revenues from pulling over these "geniuses" towing way overweight with improper licensing. The fines are immense, not to mention the inconvenience of having your vehicle, towing vehicle and cargo impounded.

A friend of mine I talk to about every other day runs a local police departments MVCE division. He is highly trained, carries the scales and brings in thousands in revenue per week. He mostly lives off "hot shotters" towing wedge trailers with 3-4 cars on them. Most of the time they are improperly licensed, no med cards, or way overweight on GCWR. However, the common theme is "diesel pickup with way too much trailer".

I'm glad they go after them because I don't want them on the road with my wife & kids.
 
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   / Big Enough Truck? #13  
Builder said:
Be very careful. Just because someone tows way more than their truck is rated or legally able to tow does not mean anyone else should do it. Be careful what you read on the internet. I've seen kids talk up a big game about towing and it turns out to be a bunch of BS. Then a guy thinks "wow, I guess I can do that, too" and ends up in big trouble. I've seen it first hand. There was a guy talking about towing round hay bales over the road. Another young guy got the idea and jacknifed his diesel pickup and totalled the rig. Turns out the guy he was copying was only towing the bales across farm fields.

I went through a decent amount of training to get my class A CDL, airbrake endorsement and hazmat endorsements, and one thing we were constantly shown along the way were all the accidents, mayhem, lawsuits and bloodshed caused by knuckleheads trying to tow too much weight with small trucks, improperly equipping trailers or towing trucks. Once you lose control of a trailer, it's tough to get it back.

That's the reason you get training and get a CDL, and to learn to buy the proper truck to legally and safely tow the weight. You need a class A CDL to tow any combination over 26,001 if the trailer also weighs over 10,001. You not only meet the GCWR of over 26,001, but your trailer is far in excess of 10,001.

In my part of the country, the MVCE police just about live off the revenues from pulling over these "geniuses" towing way overweight with improper licensing. The fines are immense, not to mention the inconvenience of having your vehicle, towing vehicle and cargo impounded.

A friend of mine I talk to about every other day runs a local police departments MVCE division. He is highly trained, carries the scales and brings in thousands in revenue per week. He mostly lives off "hot shotters" towing wedge trailers with 3-4 cars on them. Most of the time they are improperly licensed, no med cards, or way overweight on GCWR. However, the common theme is "diesel pickup with way too much trailer".

I'm glad they go after them because I don't want them on the road with my wife & kids.
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Good advise here.I also have a Class A CDL(air brake) working for our local power company.Better safe than sorry.coobie
 
   / Big Enough Truck? #14  
I used to drive a tractor trailer, and had to take it to a garage because of brake problems. i was going down a hill on a strip job
after he worked on them, my air started leaking down, the low air beeper was going off, my air was below 40psi and i was still rolling, got to 30psi and still rolling.

The jake brake would not hold the truck, so i turned the truck into the ditch and hit the high wall to get it stopped. When the wrecker got there he checked the trailer brakes, and the guy who worked on the brakes had turned them backwards.

So i don't trust air brakes and i surely don't trust electric brakes, when i load my pickups with a trailer i try not to over load them.
 
   / Big Enough Truck? #15  
That's a great way to live. Overloading a trailer behind a truck is not only illegal, it's unsafe to others on the road and could get someone who copies this behavior into a lot of trouble.

We have to be responsible when we "speak" on the internet of what we're teaching others who read our posts. Many readers are impressionable younger guys.

Glorifying or posting information on overloading a trailer or truck or making it sound like it's OK is teaching others it's OK to not follow safety rules, licensing guidelines and limits.

Get the right truck, the right trailer and the right license and do it the right way. There's nothing macho, cool or safe about overloading trucks & trailers. Don't put in innocent people and yourself in danger. ;)
 
   / Big Enough Truck? #16  
I'm guilty of the overloading charge. I've towed my 12000 lb dozer on my 9 ton trailer behind my 3/4 ton chevy pick up. I figure that I was pulling well over 15000 lbs through some of the ugliest hills you can find in northern NH.

The interesting thing about trailering is, its amazing what you can pull with a 350 gas motor and 4:10 gears. Can give you a false sense of security. I guess I did not think a bunch about what would've happened had one little wire gotten ripped off from under the trailer and I had lost my trailer brakes. Without my trailer brakes I think I'd have been in a world of hurt.

Towing 9 or 10K is a lot different than towing 15K or more.

I was towing somewhere around 15K plus when I was backing up my driveway and ripped my hitch (actually an integrated receiver in a heavy step bumper) right off of my truck.

I don't think I'd ever tow that kind of weight behind a 3/4 ton again.

10K feels a lot more controllable and stoppable than 15K+.

I think the trouble is, they make these trucks so strong, you get a false sense of security.

Joel
 
   / Big Enough Truck? #17  
Builder,

I often do not share your opinion on much; but for what it is worth, I feel you have given some excellent advice in your last two posts to those interested in towing heavy weights (as have others in this post). I never tow this heavy, but with my towing, I often see others towing, generally with dually diesel pickups, and sometimes will try to calculate the weight they are pulling in my mind. Just yesterday I saw a guy in a Dodge 3500 dually pulling a large car hauler trailer with another 3500 dually, a Ford 250 diesel and a small compact pickup on it. Calculating for weight, his trailer weight alone should be 8,000+7500+7000+3500 or about 26,000 pounds and the little subcompact was literally hanging by about two inches of rear wheel off the trailer. I cannot imagine that was legal and I know it looked dangerous.

John M
 
   / Big Enough Truck? #19  
I would agree with builder as can the truck pull it yes, is it safe most likely not. If you exceed the limits legal or not it can cause many headaches.

I do push the limits of my equipment but I would say I also take the proper saftey measures when pushing the limits ie strobe lights ,slow and easy. I ussually operate in 50 miles of home and it is flat here. The biggest hill is not much more than a overhead around here.

I do agree that the local cops are getting tougher on pickup and trailers that are doing wrong. Which should make it easier those of us that do it legally.
 
   / Big Enough Truck? #20  
powerstroke444e said:
I would agree with builder as can the truck pull it yes, is it safe most likely not. If you exceed the limits legal or not it can cause many headaches.

I do push the limits of my equipment but I would say I also take the proper saftey measures when pushing the limits ie strobe lights ,slow and easy. I ussually operate in 50 miles of home and it is flat here. The biggest hill is not much more than a overhead around here.

I do agree that the local cops are getting tougher on pickup and trailers that are doing wrong. Which should make it easier those of us that do it legally.
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Actually, I think the harder cops are the older ones. The younger ones don't know crap about equipment. It's really a shame. All they know is that a diesel truck "blows really cool black smoke." They could only tell you the difference in payload if they saw the specs right in front of them.


Kyle
 
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