Non 5'er----yet
I am fairly new to the RV scene. I have a 2008 Keystone pull behind but am looking at getting a newer and larger 5th wheel unit. I have a Ram 2500 Mega Cab 6'4" bed 4X4 with the 6.4 Hemi. It is rat...
Forum Discussion
Bobandshawn wrote:IdaD wrote:
The Hemi and the Cummins can have the same RAWR numbers. The Cummins adds all the weight to the trucks front axle with little to non weight to the trucks rear axle so both will have similar payloads we use out here in the real world.
Those payloads on your trucks tire placard are a GVWR based payload which isn't used for any legal weight issues.
Also the tire sticker numbers are not on all trucks prior to the '05-'06 era...but on all trucks after I believe the '06 era.
Example only; ... the 2500 Ram 6.4 Hemi or 6.7 Cummins truck may have a 6500 RAWR and have a rear axle weight in the 3000 range which leaves around 3500 lb for a payload. RAWR includes tires/wheels/brakes and rear suspension.
Agreed, but living in California with all these lawyers if a problem ever arises with an accident while towing and it's determined the tow rig was over it's factory listed GVW, in this case 10,000 lbs, then you have a liability. The GVW on a 6.4 and a CTD are the same but the CTD weighs about a grand more due to engine weight regardless of the individual axle weights. Hence I can carry two 500 lb women more in my back seat than in a CTD.
As far as hauling and towing I think you can haul a much larger load than what the factory says you can. Limitation is tires, but legally you could be in a world of hurt. If you cause a death or injury to someone in an accident you could even be criminally liable even if the weight of the rig had nothing to do with the accident. Lawyers are like that ya know!
As long as you aren't way out of bounds, you are exceedingly unlikely to ever run into any civil or criminal liability issues simply for being over your GVWR (barring other issues such as impaired driving or the like). I'm a lawyer and I used to practice insurance defense so I've been around auto liability cases quite a bit (no more, thankfully). You certainly aren't going to face criminal or civil liability for being overweight if it didn't cause or contribute to the accident - just being over in and over itself isn't enough.
Lastly, your legal weight going down the road typically has nothing at all to do with the manufacturer's vehicle ratings, but rather is based on your vehicle registration.
