Overweight Toad?

My pickup hitch is rated at 12K but I hooked on a Tractor trailer in my yard that couldnt get out and pulled about 50K. It did'nt pull the ball off.

Sounds like a lot of folks on here know more about towing and laws of physics than any of them dumb old engineers anyway, so go for it. If you're stopped or have an accident, just tell 'em the guys on RV.net said it was ok....that should work......Dennis

OhhWell wrote:
...This poor guy just wants to tow a little over his hitch rating on a tow dolly of all things. It is 10000000x more likely that he will blow his transmission on that 'ole p30 than kill your family...

What is interesting to me, is that no one seems to have given ANY THOUGHT to the PHYSICS of difference in mass and the force on the hitch (IN THE EXPECTED CONFIGURATION OF THE OP).

I expect no hitch issues if the OP drives with due diligence, and uses brakes on the tow dolly.

There is more to the equation then just mass ("weight" for the weight police) as F=MA.

So, if the OP were driving some monster DP with 1000+HP, there could be a problem with the hitch staying straight. But, I just don't see the problem if the OP drives his stated vehicle with care; not like a rental car with the insurance.

Since the OP is going to tow with a dolly, the lever arm and fulcrum are different then towing four down. So, in this case, I expect less lateral forces on the hitch; so this should be non-issue.

Since the OP has brake assist on the tow dolly, the deceleration forces on the hitch should be well UNDER the forces if towing the rated vehicle weight without brake assist.

And, to the OP, if you are still reading. I would be cautious, like the previous poster I quoted, that you take care of your transmission. It might be a good idea to add a trans temp gauge, and possibly an extra cooler if you expect to tackle any significant grades.

Have Fun!

Dachristianman wrote:
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 3500 number, but I'm not sure how much. My 454 should be more than capable of the weight. My Tow Dolly has brakes, so that should help with stopping the vehicle, and I'm not going to drive it like I'm headed to the races.

Let's hear your thoughts.

Tom

You might want to have the hitch looked at by a welding shop, just to be sure and with being overweight in general, climbing and such, it's usually not the engine, but the transmission that suffers from overheating. How do your GCWR stack up? As for going down mountains, good toad braking is essential and shouldn't pose a problem, as long as it's adequate.

Daveinet wrote:

OhhWell wrote:

Daveinet wrote:
So you answer this question, which puts more stress on the frame, towing at 3500 lbs for 200,000 miles, or towing at 4200 lbs for 1500 miles?

The answer apparently is that as soon as you pull out of the driveway a couple hundred lbs over the hitch rating, you have instant and massive failure of everything. It doesn't even matter if the poor guy has a re-enforced frame or not.

That thought process is silly. Metal fatigue happens over time. The extra weight is in no way close to actually bending something pulling out of a driveway, especially with no tongue weight. The load is tensile and compressive. There is a small amount of side to side stress that could be greater than the original design, however the side to side load would be prevented from excessive movement because of the coach flooring.

Dave, that was sarcasm. This is one of the silliest weight police holidays I have seen to date. A tow dolly with brakes and almost no tongue weight carrying 1/3 of the weight of the motorhome with a frame possibly re-enforced and a couple hundred over the hitch rating :?

jfkmk wrote:
What I find the most disturbing with all this is some people's willingness to put other's lives in danger because they are too stubborn/stupid/pig headed/cheap, whatever you want to call it to do things the right way or legally. Unless you have a design background you cannot rationally reinforce a hitch properly, and you certainly can't ensure safety by "keeping an eye on the welds". The laws aren't in place to protect you. They are in place to protect me and my family from people like you.

What laws exactly? :?

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone and all of that right? I break the law every day when I drive. How many here actually follow the yellow speed advisory signs for turns and such? There is no law that says you have to stay under the hitch rating weight. Anyone ever drive with a little less tread on their tires than they really should have? Ever drive the car a block or so on a residential street without a seatbelt? Did you ever keep driving when you knew you were probably a bit too tired just to power through and get home because you were pretty close? How many owners of mid 1990's large GAS class A's went over their GVWR after adding a toaster?

I was driving south on i75 this weekend and saw a early model Durango pulling a 28' or so TT without a WD hitch. It looked about how you would imagine. I mentally called him a fool but I'll be damned if he didn't keep it at about 55mph and it tracked straight as can be. I also saw a suburban towing a 25' TT with a WD setup and he was booking with the fragging thing wagging like my hound dog.

This poor guy just wants to tow a little over his hitch rating on a tow dolly of all things. It is 10000000x more likely that he will blow his transmission on that 'ole p30 than kill your family. Be more wary of the guy with an entire wrought iron outdoor set in his Tacoma with nothing holding it in. Neither one is breaking any laws.

Protect your own family by being vigilant and aware of others. Laws are important for a civilized society but I swear, people these days seem too ready to live in a nanny state in perfect "safety".

BTW, I know I can't weld worth a damn. I currently tow within my hitch rating and when I do upgrade, it will be by paying a reputable professional. It's not worth my time or money to buy a welder and learn the craft just for a project or two. Being a competent person however, I do understand that there are others out there.

OhhWell wrote:

Daveinet wrote:
So you answer this question, which puts more stress on the frame, towing at 3500 lbs for 200,000 miles, or towing at 4200 lbs for 1500 miles?

The answer apparently is that as soon as you pull out of the driveway a couple hundred lbs over the hitch rating, you have instant and massive failure of everything. It doesn't even matter if the poor guy has a re-enforced frame or not.

That thought process is silly. Metal fatigue happens over time. The extra weight is in no way close to actually bending something pulling out of a driveway, especially with no tongue weight. The load is tensile and compressive. There is a small amount of side to side stress that could be greater than the original design, however the side to side load would be prevented from excessive movement because of the coach flooring.

The weight police on here might learn something... Nah I doubt it.:B I do like this truck loaded with logs but the cop does not.

ferndaleflyer wrote:
How do you ever get anything done?????

Safely, lawfully, and without endangering innocent people.

If we listen to all the experts on here we will need a bubble to live in----never saw so many excuses for NOT doing things.....How do you ever get anything done?????