Dealer requires suitable truck

[Luke_Porter]

I was talking to a salesman at Lazy Days Tampa about a fifth wheel. He wanted to know about my truck, engine, rear end, etc. He said they require your truck be rated to tow the weight of the trailer.

He didn't ask about the hitch.

[NMace]

laknox wrote:

JIMNLIN wrote:
There is no liability issues on the dealers part for selling us any size trailer.


I sure wouldn't want a saleseman that didn't know my states size and weight regulation telling me what size trailer for my truck I need.

A good attorney would eat a dealer alive if they also sold the hitch, installed it, then sold a trailer to be used on that truck that was way over-speck for the truck. =Especially= if they watched it being towed off the lot. Their lack of care could be construed as "implied suitability", especially if it were brought up, discussed and witnessed. Sounds like the Lazy Days guys are doing a proper job, though I'd argue about a sliding hitch requirement for a short bed.

Lyle

Please quote your source, it must have happened for you to be so sure it will happen in the future. Nothing on Google or Lexus/Nexus to prove your point. I think it is just your opinion, of something that could. But in my opinion very unlikely to happen. I prefer to be more concerned with what is likely to happen.

[laknox]

S Sullivan wrote:

Dave H M wrote:

MTPockets1 wrote:
Our first truck was a short bed and Lazy Days would only install a slider hitch... I was happy they led me there.

That sounds like another way to get the bucks out of a customers pocket. My short bed does not require a slider.

Yeah ........... said a very good friend of ours ....... just before he popped out his back window when making a tight turn..... :B

Some of us simply can't hit the cab going forward, so it's a moot point. ALL will hit in reverse...

Lyle

[laknox]

JIMNLIN wrote:
There is no liability issues on the dealers part for selling us any size trailer.


I sure wouldn't want a saleseman that didn't know my states size and weight regulation telling me what size trailer for my truck I need.

A good attorney would eat a dealer alive if they also sold the hitch, installed it, then sold a trailer to be used on that truck that was way over-speck for the truck. =Especially= if they watched it being towed off the lot. Their lack of care could be construed as "implied suitability", especially if it were brought up, discussed and witnessed. Sounds like the Lazy Days guys are doing a proper job, though I'd argue about a sliding hitch requirement for a short bed.

Lyle

[Sandy___Shirley]

What we found interesting years ago is how everyone was so worried about the truck and noone cared about the brake controller.

In 2004 a lot of the brake controllers we basic time delayed systems. Today most are like the Brake Smart we paid big bucks for back then, hooked into the brake line to give the trailer brakes the exact stopping power of the truck instantly.

Who cares how fast you can get 22,000 lbs up to speed! I want to know how fast you can stop it in an emergency.

[MetalGator]

I also purchased a trailer from Lazydays. Before I talked to my salesman about what I wanted, he asked for all the information on my truck, down to the details (what size tires the truck had, rear end ratio, engine, etc). He only then showed me trailers that my truck was capable of pulling. It was a great sales experience and I will be back there when I am ready to pull the trigger on a new fifth-wheel.

Burch

[PennyPA]

The OP's dealer might not have asked about hitch capacity because perhaps they were buying the hitch from the dealer also.

[rascalsweet]

My co-op store wouldn't sale me any thing less than E rated tires even with class D's being in specs with the upgrade from 245 to 265. Was a mote point considering the tires were only made C and E.

It's good business since to match the TV to RV. I'm sure breaking part on the underpowered TV or dealing with the unstableness of a overloaded TV could make a person want to get out of RVing. Even mine right at specs isn't fun as diesel power would be.

Back in 2004 the owners manual list the max trailer comp rating at 12k for all the diesel powered trucks, 2500hd srw to 3500 drw.

[GPG52_]

SORRY TYPO!
Should have read.
"This DOES NOT eliminate the fact that the consumer is ultimately responsible to ensure that his combo is safe either at the outset of a coach purchase or when trading his TV."


VS.
This however eliminate the fact that the consumer is ultimately responsible to ensure that his combo is safe either at the outset of a coach purchase or when trading his TV.

[GPG52_]

SORRY TYPO!
Should have read.
"This eliminate the fact that the consumer is ultimately responsible to ensure that his combo is safe either at the outset of a coach purchase or when trading his TV."


VS.
This however eliminate the fact that the consumer is ultimately responsible to ensure that his combo is safe either at the outset of a coach purchase or when trading his TV.

[GPG52_]

Like most I applaud your dealers approach to selling you a properly matched combo.
Several years ago we had an unfortunate accident where a young family purchased a TT which was mis-matched for the TV.
On their first trip out from Ontario to Disney they lost control in Pennsylvania and all four occupants were killed.
This sparked concerns and the Ontario Legislature pass regulations whereby RV dealers were made liable both criminally and civil liability if they knowingly sold a mis-matched combo. Protecting not only the purchaser but also the rest of the traveling public.
In 2010 we fell in love with a 5th wheel, had all we wanted etc., mid stream the sale process the salesman brought us in to the Owners office, he proceeded to go over my TV specs 2006 RAM, Mega CAB. Although the Mega Cab is built on a 2500 chassis its rating did not meet the 5er limits. We were thanked for our interest but advised that he could NOT sell us that particular model. We moved another model and have been very happy as we do travel to Florida on a regular basis with no worries or our weight or towing capability.

This however eliminate the fact that the consumer is ultimately responsible to ensure that his combo is safe either at the outset of a coach purchase or when trading his TV.

GPG

[Slownsy]

I did by a TT 7800lb and dealer installed 6000lb towbal witch I kindly handed back and went and got a 10000lb

[LostinAZ]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

azjeffh wrote:
My truck is "rated" to tow a 16K lb fiver, which we all know is BS. Bet they wouldn't hesitate to sell me one that has a 15.5K GVWR.

Pray tell then, what size rig would a "Good' dealer sell you? Just how upset would you be if they refused to sell you something you wanted to buy? And should that be extended to all businesses? For example, if you are 20 pounds overweight, should McDonalds refuse to sell you a cheeseburger? If you want your life run by a nanny, hire one, don't expect one to be provided by every business you deal with.

WoW! Who woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning? I suspect most of us, maybe even all of us, would be happy to receive advice from the delaer about how much they think our TV can handle safely during the sales cycle of the RV. I don't think the dealer has refused to sell the Rv, just has advise the client what is recommended or not. However, in our experience we would have been shocked into stunned silence if the RV seller had been concerned at all about how we intended to use the 5th wheel or what we intended to tow it with. We were quite surprised by the low product knowledge and low professional selling skils of most of the RV sales people we were exposed to at multiple dealers. There were an exception or two and we bought where we gained confidence in the sales persons product knowledge and professional sales skills. Where we messed up was not doing an adequate job of properly accessing the dealerships professional follow through. The salesperson was even frustrated with the aftersale support, or lack thereof, and eventually left the dealership as well. Our general observation was that RV Sales people were worse than car sales people. And the product quality was no where close to the quality of a new vehicle.

[azjeffh]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

azjeffh wrote:
My truck is "rated" to tow a 16K lb fiver, which we all know is BS. Bet they wouldn't hesitate to sell me one that has a 15.5K GVWR.

Pray tell then, what size rig would a "Good' dealer sell you? Just how upset would you be if they refused to sell you something you wanted to buy? And should that be extended to all businesses? For example, if you are 20 pounds overweight, should McDonalds refuse to sell you a cheeseburger? If you want your life run by a nanny, hire one, don't expect one to be provided by every business you deal with.

OP suggested this dealer won't sell you a trailer unless your vehicle is "up" to it and didn't ask about the hitch rating. hmm

I only suggested that a dealer will look at the fifth wheel tow rating of the TV to determine whether it is "up" to it or not. I know it's true as I've been to many RV shows that have tried to sell me 15K+ vehicles.

I have been weighed and know my 10K trailer puts 2075 in the bed of my truck, just 50 lbs under its GVWR. I also know I'm 650 lbs under my GAWR. I can go on about the weights, but why bother.

See no analogy to McDonald's or Nanny's, so I will ignore that part of your post.

Hope you have a better day tomorrow.

[LostinAZ]

Luke Porter wrote:
I was talking to a salesman at Lazy Days Tampa about a fifth wheel. He wanted to know about my truck, engine, rear end, etc. He said they require your truck be rated to tow the weight of the trailer.

He didn't ask about the hitch.

This is a professional operation. Wish there were more of them.