icanon wrote:
Without quoting the limits of the OP question, if some one is near their payload limits or above then why not redistribute the weight inside the TT to obtain the required 10 -15%. I understand the TW and Payload etc. but everyone seems to say 10-15% and give examples of 13%. therefore if you have a loaded TT of say 7500# with a TW of 13% = 975# but if we redistribute the load the TT properly your TT is still 7500# you can reduce the TW to 11% = 875# or even better to (minimum 10%) = 750# a difference of (975#-750#) 225# that is a huge difference.
You can redistribute weight, but lighter tongue weight increases risk of sway and poor control over the whole vehicle. Then you have to constantly weigh to figure out what the sweet spot is, something that changes every trip.
Can it be done? Yes.
Is it feasible to do? Probably not.
In reference to the comments about vehicle liability... Simply being over or under an arbitrary number has little impact on liability.
If something breaks, your manufacturer would have to prove that you overloaded the vehicle to the point of failure. Now, I don't know the exact numbers, but the failure point for most components of vehicles are higher than they are rated to carry. If you are rated to 3500 lbs on the rear axle, that doesn't mean that it will automatically fail at 3501 lbs... or even 3600 lbs and likely not even 4000 lbs. What is the fail point? I don't know, but I guarantee that an engineer at Ram knows the point of failure of every piece.
If you are involved in a collision and the other driver wants to sue you, they would have to prove not only that you were OVER your payload, but they would also have to prove that you negligently loaded your vehicle and you should have known (or a reasonable person should have known) that loading your vehicle to that point was likely to cause failure. Again... at what point are you grossly negligent? Is being over by 300 lbs grossly negligent? In and of itself it probably isn't. But if you were 300 lbs over weight, haven't inspected your trailer brakes in 4 years, you were speeding in the rain and failed to stop at a stop sign... yea that makes it easier to prove negligence. Simply being a couple lbs over isn't enough to meet the burden of proof in a civil liability trial.
My truck's GVWR is around 7200 lbs (can't remember exactly and its 9 degrees outside). I can register my vehicle in the state of Maryland for up to 10,000 lbs without doing ANYTHING except for paying a higher registration fee. That means that LEGALLY I can exceed my GVWR by 2800 lbs. The police can stop and weigh me and can't do much about it so long as my tire width is sufficient to handle the weight. FYI my E rated tires are rated for almost 12,000 lbs.
There is a lot of internet posturing and fear mongering that goes on at RV.net. Almost NONE of it is based in FACT.
Like I said, you shouldn't ever exceed your payload. Half tons are great trucks when used properly. I have no reason to believe that a half ton can't tow within its ratings. It probably can tow over its ratings... but is it worth the risk??? To me the answer is an easy NO. If I had to have a heavier trailer, I would have a heavier truck. Its not worth the aggravation and stress.
OP, I think you are underestimating your weights. I don't think that it will cause catastrophic failure and I don't think it will cause you any serious liability, but I still wouldn't want to be pulling over your weights.
All the internet lawyers mean well (most of them do... well at least some of them mean well) but I wouldn't rely on them for legal advice. If you decide to move forward with this rig, drive carefully. Keep your speed down and make your you have a quality WDH. Good luck, be safe and have fun camping.
