jimh425 wrote: In other words, you know of no specific example involving a Truck Camper.
You're seriously going to argue that 1,500lbs overweight of truck camper is somehow OK when 1,500lbs of concrete or dirt isn't? Yeah, Ok..whatever. Any reasonable person would understand that overweight is overweight, it doesn't matter what the source of that weight is.
Bottom line though - it's won't be my ass looking at denied insurance claims, lawsuits, and potential prison time when something goes wrong. You can feel free to do whatever you like Including telling the judge "but hey, it was a truck camper, and EVERYONE is overweight with these things!"
1965 Ford F250 Camper Special 352/4spd - tow vehicle
1974 Juno Real-Lite - truck camper, currently undergoing rebuild
portscanner wrote: My weekend warror SL2805 fully loaded (100 gal water, toys etc) had a pin weight of 1200 lbs
That's pretty rare in my experience.
Regardless, he only has a payload of 1270lbs for the pin, hitch, family... The only way it will work is if he ignores the GVWR.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
jimh425 wrote: The number bantered about here is 1000 to 1500 over camper weight for the actual ready to go weight. The problem with that is that those people are carrying way too much and will be over capacity even with a DRW. That is of course, the falacy of the DRW argument.
What fallacy?
Are you saying that because the DRW would be overweight that a SRW truck is okay in the same situation?
Even if the DRW is 1500lbs overweight, it's still LESS overweight than the SRW in the same situation, and still well within the tire and rim ratings at least.
urbex wrote: You're seriously going to argue that 1,500lbs overweight of truck camper is somehow OK
No, I'm saying you have no actual example of any consequences related to hauling a Truck Camper. Of course, people can do whatever they want.
mkirsch wrote: Even if the DRW is 1500lbs overweight, it's still LESS overweight than the SRW in the same situation, and still well within the tire and rim ratings at least.
"same situation" isn't the normal case. The DRW and SRW rarely carry the same load.
The reality is many people buy DRWs to haul even bigger campers and falsely believe they can carry as much as they want including extra gear on the front and top, full water tanks, and tow trailers as well.
They can end up in worse shape than a SRW with a smaller camper and less gear. Finally, it's well documented that some DRWs can have less than 1000 lb advantage and as little as 500 lbs on payload due to differents in Gas vs Diesel and standard cab vs crew cab and brand a vs brand b.
'06 F350 Lariat Supercab SRW, 6.0 PSD 4x4 Long Bed, Intake Elbow, Walker Big Truck Muffler. '06 Host Rainer 950 Double Slide, Fastguns. Firestone Air Bags, Rancho 9000s, Vision 19.5s with Hankook DH-01 245s, Energy Suspension bump stops.
Seems we may have moved slightly off topic as to potential liability of knowingly operating in an overload situation.
Some may consider this a poor example of potential liability but I was retained by a law firm for the defense. The charge was that changing tires and wheel size & width from 5x14 to 6x15 "Made the handling unpredictable".
They were looking at a 7 figure wrongful death payout till I was able to prove the change did not make the handling unpredictable. Of course it cost almost $10k to develop the proof (buy a car, tires & wheels, rent race track video handling etc.) and they still decided it was less expensive to pay $50k to make the case go away. Obviously the insurance rates were going way up.
So lawsuits are not rumor or hearsay but are fact. Just hope you can afford to hire a good "Expert Witness" for your defense.
I'm outta here. You have been warned.
You can learn more if you visit my tire blog RVTireSafety
In my opinion as a QS9000 and ISO/TS 16949 Quality auditor the word "Quality" does not appear to be in the RV industry dictionary.
urbex wrote: You're seriously going to argue that 1,500lbs overweight of truck camper is somehow OK
No, I'm saying you have no actual example of any consequences related to hauling a Truck Camper. Of course, people can do whatever they want.
mkirsch wrote: Even if the DRW is 1500lbs overweight, it's still LESS overweight than the SRW in the same situation, and still well within the tire and rim ratings at least.
"same situation" isn't the normal case. The DRW and SRW rarely carry the same load.
The reality is many people buy DRWs to haul even bigger campers and falsely believe they can carry as much as they want including extra gear on the front and top, full water tanks, and tow trailers as well.
They can end up in worse shape than a SRW with a smaller camper and less gear. Finally, it's well documented that some DRWs can have less than 1000 lb advantage and as little as 500 lbs on payload due to differents in Gas vs Diesel and standard cab vs crew cab and brand a vs brand b.
When comparing apples to apples SRW vs DRW pickups, the payload difference is 1500-2000 lbs and the rear axle load capacity difference is 2000-3000 lbs, for late model trucks. For early model trucks, the differences are less, about 1000 lbs on payload and 2000 lbs on the axle.
It's pointless to compare a reg cab 2wd base model gasser to a crew cab 4wd top of the line diesel. The person who buys one, is not going to buy the other, so no need to make the argument between them.
SoCalDesertRider, it appears you have a small gasser and a rather large diesel DRW. I guess you should read your signature. It appears some people will buy both.
Oh, for grins and giggles, according to vehix, your '97 DRW has a GVWR of 8800 which newer SRWs can match or beat. Like I said though, it depends...
The stability of a DRW verses a SRW in the event of a tire blow out or a quick maneuver to avoid an accident is a safety factor that is without question even if it is over loaded.
Still kicking...just not as high.
2003 Chevy. Duramax,4WD,SB,CC,SB, White with all the bells and whistles.2002 Komfort 26T with pop out.
Two Suzukie KQ 700 for our adventures.
stutzismydog wrote: The stability of a DRW verses a SRW in the event of a tire blow out or a quick maneuver to avoid an accident is a safety factor that is without question even if it is over loaded.
... the effect of a front tire blowout is approximately the same either with a DRW or SRW. However, if someone with a SRW upgraded to 19.5 Gs and the DRW only had Es, the chances of a blowout are quite a bit higher with the DRW. Also, there are 6 tires and a wider path and more tires on the DRW which increases the chance for a tire failure.
tireman9 wrote: Stopping distance is not a formula but the result of actual vehicle testing. I would really like to see an individual owner try and argue that they know more about safe vehicle handling and stopping than the manufacturer
Stopping distance is determined by the vehicle GAWRs. Example is a trailer with two 7k axle has 14000 lb of braking capacity. The Mega cab in question has 5200 front and 6010 rear for 11210 lbs of braking.
Truck manufacturers do their own brake sizing and testing before minimum certification testing per NHTSA. I would assume tire manufacturers do the same.
The braking performance testing to meet FMVSS standards is done at the GVWR weight, not the sum of the GAWR's.
My truck brakes very effectively when loaded at or below it's 9200 GVWR weight. Loaded to 10,500-11,000 lbs, as I do regularly, the braking performance SUCKS. The truck was not made to stop effectively at weights exceeding it's GVWR weight. The sum of my GAWR's is 4650 + 6084 = 10,734, which just about what it weighs on a daily basis. I have never been satisfied with the truck's braking performance at that weight. That is why I bought an 11,000 GVWR dually to replace the SRW truck and haul the load more safely with bigger, more effective brakes.
GVWR cannot be just about the braking capability. What happens when you load a truck up to its GVWR, then tow a smaller trailer without brakes? The GVWR isn't a magic number where the brakes go from effective to crap. They get worse which each pound you add over empty. Adjust your driving accordingly.
I'd rather drive a truck 1000 lbs over its GVWR than one at its GVWR towing a 2000 lb trailer without brakes.
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Including telling the judge "but hey, it was a truck camper, and EVERYONE is overweight with these things!" 
