Does This Make Anyone Else Nervous Besides Me?

[jbooth]

I believe I have everyone adequately fired up. I believe I will now go find a thread on religon or politics.

 

[Ken45101]

Whats with all this wishy washy "well if he is only going a few miles it's ok " perspective.

It's not ok . If your past legal tow capacities for your rig , your wrong. Point blank.

If you injure or hurt someone you will immediately be found at fault , you will also forfeit any chance you have for restitution through insurance co.

Dice it anyway you guys want .. but for me this issue is black and white .. no grays. If you are exceeding GVWR / GCWR and put your rig in Drive your flat out wrong.

Not all of us live in a black and white world

Legal, smeagle! My 1979 Chevette (compact car) was rated in the Chevy towing guide to tow 3000#. I couldn't figure out how to attach 3000# since there was no frame in back to attach it to!

Our current Jeep Grand Cherokee is rated for towing 7000#:confused2: No way would I tow that kind of weight with the Jeep! But it's "legal"?????

Everything we do in our lives is inherently risky. But there is much higher risk towing something 50 miles at highway speed in hilly, curvy country than there is towing something 5 miles at 20 mph on a flat, straight road.

Scootr2d noted the penalties for causing a death with an overweight vehicle if one is negligent. I'll bet they apply even if one negligently kills someone even if you aren't overloaded.

 

[schmism]

i'd love to see that element "panic stop" that trailer and load......

no different than some overloaded 3/4 ton with 20,000 lbs behind him on a gooseneck. or some SUV pulling some 8000lb RV....

chances are the Element driver knows hes rideing the safe line and is going to be vigilante about his driving and stopping distances vs the guy who "tows every day" that thinks nothing of having his rig overloaded "cause i do it every day just fine"

 

[Ken45101]

no different than some overloaded 3/4 ton with 20,000 lbs behind him on a gooseneck. or some SUV pulling some 8000lb RV....

Mostly agree with your statement except that the gooseneck will have it's own brakes whereas I doubt the OP's picture here has trailer brakes. That brings up an important issue regarding emergency maneuvers that hasn't been mentioned in this thread, the importance of trailer brakes.

 

[jayste]

the importance of trailer brakes.

And having them adjusted properly with the weight on the trailer!:thumbsup:

 

[lostcause]

i see tons of car and landscape and equipment trailers hauled by 1/2, 3/4, and 1 ton trucks all the time. many, but not all all hitches have a 500lb tongue / 5000lb trailer weight capacity unless used with a weight distributing hitch. i don't think i have ever seen correct hitch used on anything but the occasional camper. i can guarantee that some (and probably many) of them are exceeding the weight limit right there.

yes, the law may be black and white, but the application of the law for trailering seems to be handled with more of a gray attitude. probably 25%-50% of the trailers out there are some sort of moving violation. how many people know if their breakaway battery is charged? is the tongue weight or trailer weight distribution past the hitch rating, etc. generally when you see a trailer stopped and being checked, it LOOKS like a moving violation - missing fenders, bent frame, load unsecured, overloaded, swaying, mismatched tire sizes, etc.

as far as lawsuits go, in this country they have little to do with right and wrong, but everything to do with whether you can get money out of someone.

 

[tlbuser]

Is it just me?

Count me in. Too sharp of a turn and he'll be banging up the honda's sheet metal

 

[zzvyb6]

The Honda Element has an optional Class III hitch available (which I believe we are looking at the shiny pin in the picture, pinheads). The tires are obviously well sized for that load so its never going to jackknife. All manufactirere load ratings are stated with the vehicle fully fued, loaded with passengers in all seats and with luggage space ballasted. If the Honda is empty, then there's legally no issue with this rig.

I sure wish more armchair process types would get up and move around a bit. All these exspurts without an ounce of experience or follow through for checking out the experiences of others: check your aprons, the knot's coming untied.

Now I ain't got no experience with this, but a gravel driveway is a sure way to kill your family and the dog at the same time. Red 'bout dat once on the innernet. Time to pull the trigger. Gotta flush, 20th century is coming, don't know how to tell the horses...

 

[Diamondpilot]

The Honda Element has an optional Class III hitch available (which I believe we are looking at the shiny pin in the picture, pinheads). The tires are obviously well sized for that load so its never going to jackknife. All manufactirere load ratings are stated with the vehicle fully fued, loaded with passengers in all seats and with luggage space ballasted. If the Honda is empty, then there's legally no issue with this rig.

I sure wish more armchair process types would get up and move around a bit. All these exspurts without an ounce of experience or follow through for checking out the experiences of others: check your aprons, the knot's coming untied.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Manufactures state the tow limits on best case situation. A truck with less options will tow more than one with more options. It all comes down to GCWR and GVWR. If the GVWR is say 7,500# and the GCWR is say 17,500# a truck with no options will weigh less leaving more room in the GVWR for payload or tongue weight. It will also leave more towing capacity in the GCWR.

Take whatever truck you own and have it weighed with less than a 1/4 tank and just you in it and then get into the books and see if it can tow what they say it will. Some will but most will not. Now load up the tank, bed, family, ect and you will be lucky to be within 1,000# of the stated MAX Tow Rating.

Chris

 

[20 20]

I readily admit this one is just a hot topic for me.. I stated my viewpoint , Ill back off now and go have a cold one, Peace.

At one time I drove tractor trailer so I understand your concern. I also noted a few post back you said you speed. Would it not be only fair if you give yourself a good ole a-- whooping 1st :laughing: :laughing: Of course once your done kicking your own butt then by all means go after others Okay lets have a cold one now :drink: OH YEH no drinking and driving.........NOT EVEN 1