How rigid is payload number

[TheGreatWaz00]

OK the Mrs and I have chosen a TT, Rockwood 8311SS. It is within my tow limit, the question I have is the payload number. How critical is it to be below your payload number?

I have a Ram 1500, with a payload rating of 1266. I have 800# of passenger and gasoline. The Hitch weight is 746 for the TT so I would have a payload of 1546 - basically 300# over the rated 1266 number.

??

[blt2ski]

BurbMan wrote:

blt2ski wrote:
Insurance company died alive driver, he at the end received his stunt fees from dead mans family and insurance company. As head was legal per state and federal laws.

You must autocorrect on that phone....LOL

thanks Don,

Think I would have learned after one or two of these on the phone.......Lolol is correct.

Marty

[jaycocreek]

TheGreatWaz00 wrote:
OK the Mrs and I have chosen a TT, Rockwood 8311SS. It is within my tow limit, the question I have is the payload number. How critical is it to be below your payload number?

I have a Ram 1500, with a payload rating of 1266. I have 800# of passenger and gasoline. The Hitch weight is 746 for the TT so I would have a payload of 1546 - basically 300# over the rated 1266 number.

??

Your on the low end of half tons..A quick look shows that trailer as:

Unit Specifications
Shipping Weight 7,180 lbs
Carrying Capacity 1,470 lbs
Hitch 646 lbs
Length 34' 9''
Height 9' 10''
Fresh Water 44 gal
Waste Water 38 gal
Grey Water 38 gal

If you decide to run with it, at the very least upgrade your tires and add something like Helwig overloads or similar.It does not change the payload but it is an upgrade for heavy hauling..

Good luck with your choice.

[BurbMan]

blt2ski wrote:
Insurance company died alive driver, he at the end received his stunt fees from dead mans family and insurance company. As head was legal per state and federal laws.

You must autocorrect on that phone....LOL

[TXiceman]

I guess being a little over your weight limits is like being a little pregnant.

Over is over.

[blt2ski]

Even if you literally kill someone by being over a rating, does not mean you will lose a case. This has happened to one person on this forum. His attny found numerous legal references to show manufactures numbers, over for one, are not legal terms.

At the end of this trial, reality was, the dead person pulled out in front of the pickup and trailer loaded to 30k, 10k truck, 20k trailer. Insurance company died alive driver, he at the end received his stunt fees from dead mans family and insurance company. As head was legal per state and federal laws. But the dead man was at fault helped a bit too.

Marty

[rbpru]

Kaydeejay

No the article did not cover max cargo sufficiently. My F-150 is rated to tow 9000 lbs.+. My TT weights 6000 lbs. loaded, well within the towing weight.

However, I can easily exceed the 1400 lb. Max cargo on the TV just by moving stuff from the TT to the bed of the TV.

Good luck trying to prove "improper load balance" with a towing load a third below the designed towing limit.

[TomG2]

Then there are those that get addicted to the forums and post the same question in a dozen different ways because they like all the responses.

[Nvr2loud]

hawkeye-08 wrote:
If someone wants some help checking their numbers, glad to jump in. If someone wants permission to exceed the limits of their equipment, then I am not interested.

Take some personal responsibility and make your own decision and be accountable for it. You are responsible for the consequences and risk, not an internet forum.

Well stated.

Even better is when people ask opinions and don't like the responses, then state they are going to do it anyway since a brother of a friend's neighbor towed 18,000 lbs with a Ford Ranger once so it is clearly safe.

[hawkeye-08]

If someone wants some help checking their numbers, glad to jump in. If someone wants permission to exceed the limits of their equipment, then I am not interested.

Take some personal responsibility and make your own decision and be accountable for it. You are responsible for the consequences and risk, not an internet forum.

[pappcam]

I'm always suspicious when a controversial question is posted here and then the OP never replies.

Just sayin'...

[kaydeejay]

rbpru wrote:
The article focused on proper hitch and towing capacity. It did not say much about max cargo.

Don't you think it's covered by these statements.....?
"“Any person who tows a trailer would be responsible to know that the towing vehicle has certain limitations which should not be exceeded."
and
"When it comes to negligence, or the failure of the driver’s “duty to tow only that which the vehicle is designed to tow,” Holleman and other attorneys agree if there’s an accident and the towing vehicle isn’t properly set up, the injured person would probably win any ensuing lawsuit."

[rbpru]

The article focused on proper hitch and towing capacity. It did not say much about max cargo.

Since the OP is committed to the trailer, hitch up and drive to the scales would be a good idea. That way you are sure how close you are to the limit.

[JIMNLIN]

the article in the clickie is just another example of tons of blogs/advertisements/lawyer advertisements/etc we see posted on the net.

This article was written by ;
Quote; "Bruce W. Smith is a full-time national automotive/boating writer, book author, and national talk show radio host who specializes in boats and tow vehicles."

He may specialize in boats and tow vehicles but he was wise enough to skirt legal issues which like the most folks know little about actual trucking regulations regarding size and weights (GVWR/payloads/GAWRs/tire capacities/GCWR/etc).

The article is certainly no smoking gun regarding this threads topic but more of a small pop from someone pushing a new book.

[BurbMan]

Back on topic specific to the OPs question: I think being 300 lbs overweight is wishful thinking. If the dry weight of the trailer is 7180, figure you will add at least 1000 lbs of stuff in that size rig, so the loaded weight is likely around 8200 lbs.

Figure 15% tongue weight, that's 1230 lbs on the hitch. Add in 100 lbs for the hitch itself, plus 800 lbs for passengers, and your truck is at 2130 against a rating of 1266 making you 864 lbs over weight.

Since you already pulled the trigger on the new trailer (congrats by the way) all you can do is wait till it gets here and see how it tows. I would suggest that after you take delivery, pack it up like you're going camping and take a trip over to the scales. All we know right now is that you will be somewheres between 300-900 lbs overweight, so best to get it weighed and see where it comes in.

After you weigh it and drive it, then you can make the determination about whether you are happy with the set up or whether you need another truck.