Overweight Toad?
So I just noticed yesterday that my tow hitch says max 3500 lbs. With my tow dolly and car, I'm going to be up around 4200 lbs. Is that too much? I know there has to be some wiggle room in that 350...
Forum Discussion
OhhWell wrote:If 700 lbs over is the difference between breaking the hitch or not, I don't want to be anywhere near that coach even if its not towing anything.
So, he shouldn't be towing even at the rating in that case right?
Structural limitations for towing a trailer are tensile, compression, flexural (up and down) and flexural (side to side). Tensile and compression are a non issue, as one is not going to be remotely close to those limitations. Up and Down Flexural is eliminated from the tow dolly. Side to side is reduced by the tow dolly. No doubt the towing limitation is a calculation made by GM, not the coach manufacturer. As soon as you screw a floor to the frame, you have significantly strengthened the side to side support of the frame. You can bet no one accounted for that addition, as the coach manufacturer is not going to go to that much trouble. So the only structural stress that a tow dolly will put on the coach is compensated for by the flooring. Probably the biggest concern would be drive train stress, which is the one thing the OP as complete control over. I think I would be inclined to do it. Pick travel times and routes where traffic is light. And most importantly DO NOT REPORT BACK TO RV NET that you went ahead and did it.
