Towing a Travel Trailer with a Pontiac G8

[syndrome85]

Hello all. I have a general question about towing a 2,600 lb (when completely empty) light weight travel trailer with a 2009 Pontiac G8. The manual on the G8 says about towing: It should never weigh more than 2,000 lbs. But even that can be too heavy. I tried to explain this to the person that has this set up, but they told me that has to do with a class 1 trailer hitch. He insisted that his towing setup (hardware) is well equipped to handle the trailer, cargo (both in the trailer and in the car), 2 adult passengers, and an infant. My concern is that they are putting their kid (and themselves) in serious danger by towing this trailer with the current set up. I wanted to know if anyone else has experience with this or with dealing with someone like this. The G8 has a brake controller installed and the tongue weight on the trailer is 312 lbs according to the trailer manual. Can someone please let me know if i am way too worried about this? Do you think this is a safe set up? Is there something else i am missing? Please let me know.

[dodge_guy]

Good to hear! I'm glad they didn't roll over into a burning heap in the ditch. It would've made some of us look bad!!!!

[syndrome85]

Thank you all for your replies, opinions, words of wisdom, and commentary. My bro is back from towing and it appears to have gone smoothly....this time. Again, Thank you all!!!!

[boosTT]

Let him try it and stay out of his business. Its not that crazy and I doubt he would try towing at 75 MPH.

[Rvingis4me]

All your tow package adds is extra cooling and a larger alternator. He'll be fine towing,

[Bumpyroad]

Rvingis4me wrote:
I have the same car and would have no problem towing his trailer with it as long as he has a proper hitch he is in good shape. The same Australian Holden vehicle is rated to tow over 4000lbs. Here in the gold old USA manufactures want all of us to go spend 40 to 60k on a truck to tow anything because they are profitable for them.

apples to oranges?????????
my highlander is rated for 5,000 lbs., 2,000 lbs. without the tow package. Oh I almost forgot, he is going to get 500$ worth of stuff from J.C.Whitney and beef it up.
bumpy

[Rvingis4me]

I have the same car and would have no problem towing his trailer with it as long as he has a proper hitch he is in good shape. The same Australian Holden vehicle is rated to tow over 4000lbs. Here in the gold old USA manufactures want all of us to go spend 40 to 60k on a truck to tow anything because they are profitable for them.

[allen8106]

In my humble opinion he won't be towing it long. He'll blow either the tranny or the engine sooner than later.

[Bumpyroad]

the vast majority of RVs I saw in Italy & Switzerland were TTS that I would estimate were 18-22 ft long. they made good use of a screened room that fit into a molding along the roof line and pretty much doubled their floor room. Did see one large Class A, I believe at the Zurich airport, looked out of place. 🙂
bumpy

[GrandpaKip]

soren wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

Shal36 wrote:

My point is that this whole thing about if you tow overweight (even by ten pounds) your truck will fall apart and you will crash into a busload of innocent orphans and you will automatically be held 200% liable for all damages and you will lose all your worldly possessions when a band of RV attorneys chase you down and flog you in public is a bit overdone on this forum.

and also over done is the continual insistence that you won't face a civil suit for doing stupid things, such as try to tow with a seriously deficient tow vehicle.

bumpy

Well at least you are consistent.

If you actually want to learn something,take a look at the work of Can-Am RV in Canada. They have spent decades properly outfitting vehicles that all the "experts" here are certain, in their "professional" opinion, will get you killed before you get to the end of the block. They can also explain that, having the engineering skills, and experience, they actually know what makes a vehicle safe, and why.

I'll give you a hint, a lot of it has to do with using something like the Pontiac in question, with plenty of power and brawn to do the job and a low COG. Funny how they warn against what a lot of you think is the best. High COG vehicles with outdated suspensions, soft squishy tires, and overall poor handling.

Maybe a few of you should take a trip to Europe this month. That might just give you one final heart attack, seeing the highways full of tiny cars pulling much larger travel trailers. How can that be, is it a parallel universe? Is everything I know totally wrong? Why does my head hurt? What does this do to my delusional self appointed status as an internet towing expert? Why, what, how ......................?

LOL, some of you are hilarious.

I remember well the time we saw a VW Golf pulling a 2 horse trailer in England. Lots of small cars with that funny looking hitch ball (we call them boy cars; the ones without are girl cars). The one thing you don't see much of in Europe is a truck pulling a caravan. Lots of Mercedes coupes, though.

[soren]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Shal36 wrote:

My point is that this whole thing about if you tow overweight (even by ten pounds) your truck will fall apart and you will crash into a busload of innocent orphans and you will automatically be held 200% liable for all damages and you will lose all your worldly possessions when a band of RV attorneys chase you down and flog you in public is a bit overdone on this forum.

and also over done is the continual insistence that you won't face a civil suit for doing stupid things, such as try to tow with a seriously deficient tow vehicle.

bumpy

Well at least you are consistent.

If you actually want to learn something,take a look at the work of Can-Am RV in Canada. They have spent decades properly outfitting vehicles that all the "experts" here are certain, in their "professional" opinion, will get you killed before you get to the end of the block. They can also explain that, having the engineering skills, and experience, they actually know what makes a vehicle safe, and why.

I'll give you a hint, a lot of it has to do with using something like the Pontiac in question, with plenty of power and brawn to do the job and a low COG. Funny how they warn against what a lot of you think is the best. High COG vehicles with outdated suspensions, soft squishy tires, and overall poor handling.

Maybe a few of you should take a trip to Europe this month. That might just give you one final heart attack, seeing the highways full of tiny cars pulling much larger travel trailers. How can that be, is it a parallel universe? Is everything I know totally wrong? Why does my head hurt? What does this do to my delusional self appointed status as an internet towing expert? Why, what, how ......................?

LOL, some of you are hilarious.

[Bumpyroad]

Shal36 wrote:

My point is that this whole thing about if you tow overweight (even by ten pounds) your truck will fall apart and you will crash into a busload of innocent orphans and you will automatically be held 200% liable for all damages and you will lose all your worldly possessions when a band of RV attorneys chase you down and flog you in public is a bit overdone on this forum.

and also over done is the continual insistence that you won't face a civil suit for doing stupid things, such as try to tow with a seriously deficient tow vehicle.

bumpy

[Shal36]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Shal36 wrote:
In most accidents, if there are injuries, you can expect an attorney to be involved. The choice of attorney probably comes down to who advertises in that market. I doubt plaintiffs are thinking, "that RV was overweight...I'd better contact a special attorney for this." The attorney doesn't care if you were overweight, underweight, towing with the refrigerator running on propane, towing with a full tank of fresh water, or if you had your outdoor speakers playing while driving....they want to recover the maximum amount. Maybe it's easier for them to settle for the max if they can show gross negligence to the insurance company.

How many World Famous RV litigators do you need? A quick google for "RV accident attorneys" will yield you many.

Litigator

Maybe not world Famous, maybe not famous at all, but I quote.

"Because of their weight and length, recreational vehicles are subject to special regulations. For instance, Arizona law requires an auxiliary braking system when towing 3,000 pounds or more, such as a camper trailer or car. RV manufacturers also specify maximum weight and towing loads. We can bring in professionals to examine the wreckage for evidence that the motor home was dangerously overweight or unbalanced, that the tires or brakes were worn, that the hitch was not rated for the load"

I Think their angle is to demonstrate max liability in seeking a max settlement. That's easier to do if there's a bunch of stuff the defendant did "wrong." It's easier to deflect liability if you have "clean hands." Once the accident happens, the defendant' insurance company is on point for resolving he matter with the plantiff's attorney. The RV attorneys may be able to get closer to max payout relative to an attorney who doesn't specialize in RV accidents but the defendant won't notice a difference.

My point is that this whole thing about if you tow overweight (even by ten pounds) your truck will fall apart and you will crash into a busload of innocent orphans and you will automatically be held 200% liable for all damages and you will lose all your worldly possessions when a band of RV attorneys chase you down and flog you in public is a bit overdone on this forum.

[drsteve]

Another factor is his insurance would likely not pay out in an accident due to his negligence.

That's what insurance is for--to pay for accidents/negligence/stupidity. If they could weasel out of paying because the insured was at fault, they would do it all the time.

They pay when the driver is drunk. They pay if he falls asleep because he tried to drive too long. They pay when the tires are bald and one popped and caused an accident. Anything less than a deliberate criminal act is generally a covered peril.

[Ralph_Cramden]

Shal36 wrote:
In most accidents, if there are injuries, you can expect an attorney to be involved. The choice of attorney probably comes down to who advertises in that market. I doubt plaintiffs are thinking, "that RV was overweight...I'd better contact a special attorney for this." The attorney doesn't care if you were overweight, underweight, towing with the refrigerator running on propane, towing with a full tank of fresh water, or if you had your outdoor speakers playing while driving....they want to recover the maximum amount. Maybe it's easier for them to settle for the max if they can show gross negligence to the insurance company.

How many World Famous RV litigators do you need? A quick google for "RV accident attorneys" will yield you many.

Litigator

Maybe not world Famous, maybe not famous at all, but I quote.

"Because of their weight and length, recreational vehicles are subject to special regulations. For instance, Arizona law requires an auxiliary braking system when towing 3,000 pounds or more, such as a camper trailer or car. RV manufacturers also specify maximum weight and towing loads. We can bring in professionals to examine the wreckage for evidence that the motor home was dangerously overweight or unbalanced, that the tires or brakes were worn, that the hitch was not rated for the load"