overweight

[janpaul]

Yesterday I saw a truck like mine, 2500HD Diesel, pulling a huge 5er triple axle toy hauler. It was squatting so low to the ground that it seemed it could scrape the bumper. Obviously he was way overloaded, besides the obvious danger of driving and handling, what effects will that have on the vehicle? If you go way over the GVWR of the truck could the springs or suspension fail?,because there was also stuff loaded in the bed and it had to exceed the trucks weight capacity.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Yes, the suspension can fail (physically break) and the chassis may actually bend or crack. In addition, drive train components will suffer extreme wear and the engine may labor as well.

 

[janpaul]

I have also seen contractors, masons in particular, with trucks very heavily loaded, if they are at or slightly over GVWR will that have much effect on the truck?

 

[Ron]

In addition to what Gary mentioned the guy is placing anybody around him in danger since he is over weight.  IMHO anybody that operated a vehicle in an over weight condition be it an RV or a contractor the operater elevator obviously does not go to the top as he is not only placing himself at risk but also anybody who happens to be around them.

 

[Carl L]

One can only hope that the idiot burns out his transmission before he gets out of control and kills somebody.

 

[janpaul]

That's probably what will be the result. I have a buddy who is a masonary contractor and says he usually weighs his truck at the yard where he gets materials and keeps it right at or sometimes a couple hundred over the 9200#GVWR of his truck but has never exceeded 10000#. He has been using the same truck for years, so I guess if you don't go crazy or be too stupid the truck will be able to perform at what it is rated for.

 

[Jim Dick]

I'm sure there's a fudge factor in all the specs for axles, suspension, etc. They must be engineered so they don't fail when pushed to their max rating. A hundred pounds or so on an axle probably won't do any damage but it's still overloading the vehicle and breaking the rules. In an accident, should the police decide to weigh the vehicle, that person just might be liable regardless of the circumstances.

Someone recently mentioned the drive axle on their motor home was rated at 23,000 lbs. Most manufacturers list their axles at 20,000 lbs, which is the legal limit in any state. I'm sure they really are at least 23K.

 

[Ron]

Someone recently mentioned the drive axle on their motor home was rated at 23,000 lbs. Most manufacturers list their axles at 20,000 lbs, which is the legal limit in any state. I'm sure they really are at least 23K.

Manufactures that rate the axles at more than the legal limit are just setting a trap for the unsuspecting driver.  In all but 9 states the maximum legal weight limit on any one axle is 20.000 lbs.  The other 9 states allow up to 24,000 lbs but I understand that even in at least some of these states this is only on non-fedral funded highways.

Run into a RVer in Michigan that was a victim of this rating axles at more than the legal limit by a manufacturer.  I am not sure of the make of the coach but they had rated the rear axle at 26 or 27 thousand LBS.  A lady pulled out from a strip mall onto a two lane highway right in front of him and contact was made.  During the investigation the officer asked if the motorhome driver was within the legal weight limits to which he replied "yes".  Next question was how did he determine this and the answer was "I had it weighed and I have the weight ticket to prove it"  Officer asked to see the weight ticket which showed the rear axle weight to be 24000 lbs (4000 lbs over the legal limit).  Well I guess when the report was in and the insurance companies got hold of it he was considered a major contributor to the accident because he was overweight.  When he told me of his experience he indicated he was to go to court the next week and his lawyer didn't really give him a warm feeling about the proable outcome.  Had he not mentioned the weigh ticket he might not have run into the liability issues but he was confident he was ok since the sticker in the coach indicated the axle was rated at 2 or 3 K more than he had on that axle. Oh apparently the lady started having back and neck problems and she was trying to get him to pay. Never seen the guy again so I have no idea what the final result was. He did indicate he was going to take the manufacturer to court for misrepresenting the allowable payload.

So if your coach has an axle that is rated above 20000lbs better subtract what ever it is rated for above 20K and that will come off the real legal payload.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You can buy all kinds of vehicles that are too heavy, too tall, too wide or too long for at least some (but not all) highways. If you buy one of them, the driver is responsible for operating them within the laws that apply to any given highway. Heck, even a Jake brake is illegal in many places.

Where the manufacturers - and the RVIA - are derelict is that they do not warn buyers that they need to be aware of road restrictions when driving these super-sized vehicles. The same restrictions apply to cars, but the chances of violating one of them in a car is remote at best. In a large motorhome or truck & trailer, it becomes liekey that one will encounter at least a few roads where one is not legal.  I guess they are afraid they will discourage sales with that sort of warning, but they will get burned by a lawsuit one of these days.