mowermech wrote:
lbligh wrote:
Francesca Knowles wrote:
:B
Look out, weight cops- O.P. came to the party loaded for bear!
"Loaded for bear" and over weight. Another "engineer" who thinks that they can somehow increase hitch capacity ratings with a welder and knows better than the manufacturer. Just want to make sure that I am not behind or along side this guy (or others) when the equipment failure happens.
Safe travels.
Please, do yourself a favor and do not come to Montana. There are a LOT of rigs here that are "farmered" to enhance weight capacity, usually by "backyard engineers".
That guy in front of you hauling firewood? Yep, he probably increased the Load Range of his tires and installed overload springs so he can haul nearly a full cord of wood on his half ton truck. the same applies to the guy with the 10 foot camper, the hitch extension, and the trailer with 4 four wheelers on it. Or the guy with the short bed truck with a four wheeler in the bed, towing a 20 foot travel trailer with a boat trailer as a second tow.
I know a guy in Northwestern Montana who needed a long truck, so he got 2 1946 Ford pickups, cut them in two, and built a truck with a 12 foot box. It worked just fine for many years.
Remember, Henry Ford was a backyard mechanic!
One really should look up the list of famous people who never finished school. I did, and it is very informative!
Sorry friend, but being from Montana has absolutely nothing to do with the issue, nor does it exempt you from federal safety standards. Not that it matters, but in fact, we own property in Montana and spend a great deal of time there. Over weight is just that... over weight. Specifications are set by factory engineering standards including capacities for axles, breaks etc.; not some guy with a welder and some added air bags. Also, just because this guy may have a 5000 lb rated hitch, I would love to know what his federal weight certification tag shows for "max gross towed weight." It may be far less than the 5000 lb rated hitch.
Safe travels.
