Who has ever been weighed when RV towing?

After 6 page of replies, looks like it is time to move on to other topics. This discussion is becoming argumentative and may soon evolve into all out war. Don't need that to start the new year! :W
Barney

bid_time wrote:

fpresto wrote:
I guess you can count me in the weight police camp but it has nothing to do with being pulled over and getting a ticket. Any fine from being over weight for the TV is peanuts compared to the dollar amount from a civil suit. You may not even get a ticket but if you are involved in a wreck and sued; juries decide civil cases on emotion. I can guarantee that if you are overweight the plaintiffs lawyer will find out and will stress that fact over and over to the jury. You will be painted as reckless and a danger to the public and probably a threat the American way of life. If there are injuries, especially to children you will probably lose. The civil suit lawyers are experts at playing on a juries emotions.

So can you point to even one case where that has happened - Didn't think so. The fact is you would have to prove "Gross Negligence", a very high threshold and you would be hard pressed to get there. All in all, you got a better chance of being struck by lightning - twice.

and YOU can prove WITH statistics that the odds of being struck by lightning twice is more apt to happen to someone than one being sued for "gross negligence" if a TV and what it's towing were involved in a wreck and someone was injured??? Really??? When people sue over getting a cup of coffee that was too hot from Mickey Dee's? When people sue anyone for anything in these United States...Believe you could have used a more "reachable" illustration than "better chance of being hit by lightning twice" ( which is something like 1 in 9,000,000), though it HAS happened..

I believe odds are MUCH better in these United States to being sued over just about ANYTHING, than to be struck by lightning twice.

Most in here are more concerned about those who ignore all weight limits recommended by their vehicles manufacturer, those that also ignore speed ratings on their ST tires, thus, possibly making them a danger to others around them...nothing may ever happen, but I figure if I tow under all my trucks limits at speeds that are "safe", then I figure I have a pretty good chance of having a safe towing trip to and from wherever I'm going or coming from, won't abuse my truck, will get fairly decent mpg and will do it all as safely as possible. ...BUT, it still doesn't mean something may not happen, don't believe anyone can guarantee that....

I won't recommend people overload their trucks or whatever it is they're towing, just because the "odd's" are they will never be pulled over....What does that have to do with being safe or not abusing ones vehicle? much less whats it say about a person who does knowingly overloads and races down the highway and doesn't seem to care what happens to them or anyone around them....just doesn't make sense to me that some can promote this type of towing and make fun of those who don't want to tow like that....

fpresto wrote:
I guess you can count me in the weight police camp but it has nothing to do with being pulled over and getting a ticket. Any fine from being over weight for the TV is peanuts compared to the dollar amount from a civil suit. You may not even get a ticket but if you are involved in a wreck and sued; juries decide civil cases on emotion. I can guarantee that if you are overweight the plaintiffs lawyer will find out and will stress that fact over and over to the jury. You will be painted as reckless and a danger to the public and probably a threat the American way of life. If there are injuries, especially to children you will probably lose. The civil suit lawyers are experts at playing on a juries emotions.

So can you point to even one case where that has happened - Didn't think so. The fact is you would have to prove "Gross Negligence", a very high threshold and you would be hard pressed to get there. All in all, you got a better chance of being struck by lightning - twice.

VintageRacer wrote:
In Ontario they regularly set up road-side checks on the highways to cottage country on long weekends and pull in just about anyone - they are looking for over weight, incorrect license, hitches set up wrong, too many passengers, seat belt law violations. Ontario people need a restricted Class A license to tow over a certain amount, and Class A and Super C motorhomes need a Class D or higher license for over 26K lbs in total combined vehicle weight - and DOT sets up at the border crossing in the spring to catch Snowbirders coming home towing their cars and over-loaded. So it is actually very common in Ontario. In Nova Scotia, where I live now, there is a weigh scale on the exit and entrance of the province where everything over 3000 Kg registered gross weight is supposed to stop and cross the scales. I've been pulled into weigh scales in New Brunswick where they flash a sign at you if you get picked to pull in, truck pulling a trailer. So I would say I've been weighed a bunch of times.

I will say that my impression is that they are looking for trailers over 10K lbs and no upgraded driver's license, vehicles over their licensed gross weight, combined weight over 26K (the metric equivalent, actually) because a lot of Class A's are under until they hook up the towed car, and air brake endorsement on Class A RV's. Probably 75% of the Ontario drivers I've casually asked did not have the correct driver's license to drive their big Class A pushers, or tow their 15K lb fifth wheels.

Brian

Seems simple enough.

I guess you can count me in the weight police camp but it has nothing to do with being pulled over and getting a ticket. Any fine from being over weight for the TV is peanuts compared to the dollar amount from a civil suit. You may not even get a ticket but if you are involved in a wreck and sued; juries decide civil cases on emotion. I can guarantee that if you are overweight the plaintiffs lawyer will find out and will stress that fact over and over to the jury. You will be painted as reckless and a danger to the public and probably a threat the American way of life. If there are injuries, especially to children you will probably lose. The civil suit lawyers are experts at playing on a juries emotions.

First, to the OP - never pulled over by LEO. I've weighed at CAT Scales, but that was by choice (and for the fun of it).

I'll continue the hijack.

NC Hauler wrote:
;;Though it was a design engineer from Chrysler, Ford or Ram that used the manufacturer component ratings to set up tow ratings for one's truck....I don't care what the road bed can tow....I care about what "MY" truck can tow safely without abusing it. I will look at GVWR numbers, GCWR numbers, RAWR and FAWR numbers...can't help it, I'm an Engineer,and old school at that. I know buffers have been built in...I know what the experts have stated...I can go out and buy a license for carrying more capacity than truck is rated at and for more GCWR than truck is rated at, and people do it...and it's legal....doesn't mean it's safe whether a LEO cares about it or not...doesn't mean you might not be abusing your truck whether you care about the numbers or not or have paid for a license that states you can carry and tow more...that license doesn't make the suspension components, the axle, the tranny, and the brakes more "heavy duty"....Can't help myself...I KNOW if I follow the specs, I won't be overloaded, I won't abuse my truck and I know the truck will perform at it's peak safety processes...nothing more, nothing less...being able to purchase a sheet of paper doesn't make it right or safe....I'm an idiot, I go by weight ratings, and know I have buffer in all the numbers and don't have to worry about
compromising my safety or prematurely wearing out my truck.

Hey, I really don't care if one want's to overload their truck, possibly wear it out sooner and possibly limit safety factors built into the truck...not my truck, not my rv and not my family. But I'm going to go with what the design and manufacturing engineers recommend what I tow and load into the truck they manufactured..figure it'll give me my money's worth in the long run. In the long run, I'm not going to change anyone mind on this and no one is going to change mine...so, let's hook up and go camping.........

NC Hauler did a nice job in stating why I follow manufacturer's recommendations. I'll add to it- having a properly sized truck and 4x4 saved me from me when I botched my attempt at parking at a campground in Ohio this summer. One side of the camper sunk 8-9" into the mud and the truck was in its own mud on the other side of the gravel pad. I obviously don't know what had happened if I had been in an undersized tow vehicle, but I do know that the truck had enough muscle and oomph to get me back out of the mess that I created. Whereas, the campground ranger told me of another camper who had to be pulled out by a semi. (shrugs) We all make our choices.

I don't care if others tow over your ratings or not. I just want those who do to do it knowingly.

No.

Yeah, guess maybe we did:).....sorry bout' that..

NC Hauler wrote:

06Fargo wrote:
There is lots of posts to do with weights and ratings etc. etc.

Has anyone ever been stopped and weighed by enforcement authorities while towing an rv?

Appears THIS particular thread was started by 06Fargo.....

Don't recollect anyone that I can think of that has been pulled over or ticketed for possibly having their TV overloaded.....never seen it.

Believe most of the weight post are more about, "Can I tow this?" type question...It's rare anyone asked if anyone has ever been pulled over for being over weight, or has there been any wrecks due to one being over weight....I've never seen it....Again, It's about when someone poses the question or ask about being able to tow a certain something with an "X" truck...That's when the weight questions come out, and most who have been on these forums for years know that's exactly how it's brought up...

IMO its best to ask your sate size and weights folks directly how they enforce weighing for a non commercial overloaded vehicle and what criteria they use to determine a overload condition of private use vehicles.

The OP question and answers comes from just a handful of RV folks on just one RV website so not much in the way of what goes down in the rest of the world to draw any conclusion.

The OP question was a simple yes or no type question but got hyjacked from us usual participants :B.

06Fargo wrote:
There is lots of posts to do with weights and ratings etc. etc.

Has anyone ever been stopped and weighed by enforcement authorities while towing an rv?

Appears THIS particular thread was started by 06Fargo.....

Don't recollect anyone that I can think of that has been pulled over or ticketed for possibly having their TV overloaded.....never seen it.

Believe most of the weight post are more about, "Can I tow this?" type question...It's rare anyone asked if anyone has ever been pulled over for being over weight, or has there been any wrecks due to one being over weight....I've never seen it....Again, It's about when someone poses the question or ask about being able to tow a certain something with an "X" truck...That's when the weight questions come out, and most who have been on these forums for years know that's exactly how it's brought up...