Overweight Toad?

Work the numbers:

1. GCWR minus tow vehicle's actual weight.

2. Hitch capacity.

3. Coach tow rating.

4. Chassis maker's tow rating.

REMEMBER it's the LESSER of all of these that determines safety.

Just chiming in here...to the OP...it's NOT simply " I have a hard time seeing that a rolling vehicle would subject the hitch and frame to huge acceleration forces." that will bite you in the rear....

It's the dolt that cuts you off so you have to slam on the brakes....it's the blowout on the dolly that will throw you into a spin..maybe some bad weather or high winds....it's the myriad of 'other' unknown factors that might be thrown at you in your journey that will cause you to regret your decision to over tow....just sayin.....Dennis

Thanks for all the post thus far. Some have pegged me incorrectly. Based on my last question concerning towing backwards, I have decided to disconnect the driveshaft and tow forward with my tow dolly brakes working as designed with my brake controller. Thanks for all the inputs on helping me come to that decision.

I am not trying to fish for ideas that support me, I'm trying to understand the limitations of my coach. You all are helping me with that and I appreciate it. I do have a reinforced extension on my P30. It's welded and reinforced with plate steel which is also welded to both frames. If I decided to tempt fate, I'll ensure my safety chains are long enough to connect to the coach frame if the entire rear of my RV detaches. Ideas like that are things I was looking to get from this post.

I'm understanding that there are 3 concerns here. Hitch failure, coach failure, and liability. I have a hard time seeing the hitch failing. It's box steel. The house frame could pull away from the coach frame, but I can't see this under normal towing conditions. The liability issue does concern me. There is the big "if" and as I've been told, "if is half of life."

I'm not sold on doing this. I have a hard time seeing that a rolling vehicle would subject the hitch and frame to huge acceleration forces. Maybe if I opened up the secondary barrels on the carb after every stop, maybe, but I would be very cautious knowing what I had behind me. As I said in an earlier post, the stopping forces concern me, but "if" my dolly brakes work as advertised, the hitch shouldn't be subjected to huge forces there either. I'll have to ponder the up and down forces based on the load. My tongue weight limit is 300 lbs, so I'm not sure if the vehicle on the dolly makes that much of a difference in the tongue weight. Most of the weight should be back over the dolly axles, so in my simple mind, I should be well under that 300 lb tongue limit.

I towed a 3400 lb vehicle from Alaska here, 4 down without brakes and the coach never seemed to mind. The Canadian Rockies were no joke either. Coming down from Mt. Rushmore was probably the toughest thing I did on the entire trip, and that was just because the brakes heated up. Otherwise the trip was easy. I may have the wife drive the toad, but I may tempt fate and keep a close watch on my welds.

garry1p wrote:
I think the majority of stress comes from the constant bouncing and jarring depending on road condition.

I have no idea how they come up with the 3500 weight limit but I am sure they would be conservative to protect themselves.

There is also the well known feature of most non-diesel motorhomes that the chassis doesn't usually extend to the rear of the unit. As is the case with the O.P.'s 1992 Winnebago Brave 27 footer, the hitch is mounted to what amounts to the "house" frame, usually not considered sufficient to tolerate more than maximum class II towing capacity of 3500 pounds.

Though some might be fooled by the OEM 2" receiver opening, class II is the hitch specified/supplied by Winnebago for this unit. Link to brochure that says so. That brochure also contains an illustration of the chassis/frame components themselves, so it's easy to see where the chassis ends and house-framing-only begins.

I think the majority of stress comes from the constant bouncing and jarring depending on road condition.

I have no idea how they come up with the 3500 weight limit but I am sure they would be conservative to protect themselves.

donkeydew wrote:
if you are in a accident your fault or not it will be your fault.

X2

Bumpy nails it as usual...gonna begin and end this post by agreeing with BOTH of his earlier opinions! :)

Bumpyroad wrote:

obviously you just asked so that you could get one person to say, "yes that is a good idea to tow it", and intend to do it anyway.

Sounds right to me- very much in keeping with t'other "question" you posted about whether or not it's a good idea to tow the rwd Infiniti in question BACKWARDS on the dolly, this despite mfr. directives against the practice.

Your decision after two pages link of mostly don't-do-it advice:

Dachristianman wrote:
So before everyone starts tossing eggs at each other, I think I'm going to put my tires on the opposite side of the car so when I'm towing backwards, they'll be rotating the correct direction. I'm not going to use the brakes on my dolly, as not having the weight on the dolly could cause braking issues. I'll put a strap around the steering wheel just in case the locking pin snaps.

Hopefully it will go well, but I'll be sure to take it slow for the first day or so. Thanks for everyone's advice. Maybe I'll drop a line to the mythbusters to see if they can test some of these theories out. It would make for some good entertainment. :-)

Tom

So let's sum up:

You're going to tow the car backwards, thereby putting most of the stabilizing weight on the ground, and without auxiliary braking .
Which last is I believe against not just common sense but the law to boot.

And now you further seek an endorsement of the idea that it's O.K. to ignore the tow limit stated by the RVmaker, which by the way likely ALSO includes a requirement for auxiliary braking.

Here's my multiple-choice opinion- please choose your favorite from among the following choices:

#1:
Sure-go ahead and do it....provided you do so at a speed never in excess of 25 mph or that achieved by that Honda towing the space shuttle, whichever is slower.

OR

#2:

Bumpyroad wrote:

if it is truly a one time thing, have somebody else drive the toad.
bumpy

Most likely 700 lbs. won't be a towing issue! If you get into an accident and the investigation reveals your towing over hitch recommendations, then you will be liable and possibly sued if your insurance company refuses to pay due to your negligence.

if you are in a accident your fault or not it will be your fault.

You've been on here for a year... you should know better than to ask such a question on here as there are plenty of weight police. Not sure why it's either 3500 or 5000 or 10000 so yes I'm one of the ones that says if the frame runs all the way to the rear and onetime in the East I'd do it but I would not ask on here.:W