Exceeding GVWR?
#11
Senile member
For sure if something happened and somebody got hurt, in highly litigious venues like Florida, NY, Cali, TX, and others, a lawyer would sniff it out in a heartbeat and use it against you.
Aside from the fact that I'm fairly sure exceeding GVWR is illegal........even if it isn't, don't do it. It's not a 'suggestion'.
#13
Intentionally exceeding the known stated capacity of a vehicle could be grounds to disclaim coverage for a claim; absolutely. Some carriers may consider it an intentional act.
For sure if something happened and somebody got hurt, in highly litigious venues like Florida, NY, Cali, TX, and others, a lawyer would sniff it out in a heartbeat and use it against you.
Aside from the fact that I'm fairly sure exceeding GVWR is illegal........even if it isn't, don't do it. It's not a 'suggestion'.
For sure if something happened and somebody got hurt, in highly litigious venues like Florida, NY, Cali, TX, and others, a lawyer would sniff it out in a heartbeat and use it against you.
Aside from the fact that I'm fairly sure exceeding GVWR is illegal........even if it isn't, don't do it. It's not a 'suggestion'.
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Silver Fiend (07-03-2019)
#14
Thanks for all the input. Greatly appreciated.
The trailer, as pictured in the photo, is only used for hauling my raft when it's fully inflated (short hauls <3hrs). When I do long hauls (Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, etc.), I add rails to the trailer for securing the load.
The trailer, as pictured in the photo, is only used for hauling my raft when it's fully inflated (short hauls <3hrs). When I do long hauls (Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, etc.), I add rails to the trailer for securing the load.
#15
Agree. The idea that this truck would be safer with a trailer towing that load is absurd. In most states a trailer at that weight wouldn't require brakes, so all the talk about GVWR being based on things like brakes is nonsense too.
#16
Intentionally exceeding the known stated capacity of a vehicle could be grounds to disclaim coverage for a claim; absolutely. Some carriers may consider it an intentional act.
For sure if something happened and somebody got hurt, in highly litigious venues like Florida, NY, Cali, TX, and others, a lawyer would sniff it out in a heartbeat and use it against you.
Aside from the fact that I'm fairly sure exceeding GVWR is illegal........even if it isn't, don't do it. It's not a 'suggestion'.
For sure if something happened and somebody got hurt, in highly litigious venues like Florida, NY, Cali, TX, and others, a lawyer would sniff it out in a heartbeat and use it against you.
Aside from the fact that I'm fairly sure exceeding GVWR is illegal........even if it isn't, don't do it. It's not a 'suggestion'.
What mike is stating is that we have heard it forever, it makes perfect sense, yet there is very little evidence to support the statement that they would come after you.
I, like you, and others stay under GVWR religiously but all of us would love to see examples of lawyers, in any state, easily winning cases against overloaded recreational towers. It happens DAILY and we see it at every camp ground and nobody has been in trouble. Many tell of wrecks using truck x and why they bought bigger truck y, but never mention how they were financially responsible or served jail time.
No argument here, just don’t see the number of cases vs the number of overloaded trucks. Thanks for any info that you have.
#17
If it was me, I'd rather transfer some of that weight to my trailer. I'd feel safer with a third axle sharing the load. With a low profile trailer I don't think the mpg difference would be significant.
#18
Out of curiosity, can any of us actually cite a state or federal law that states it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle above its manufacturer GVWR or GCWR?
#19
I agree stay within GVWR if possible, but only being slightly over with no visible squat etc, he is probably fine. As for the litigation risks, most small sport utility vehicles(escapes, CRV, etc) only have 1000lbs or less of payload. 4 200lb adults and luggage for vacation puts them over the GVWR, but no huge outcry there.
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Silver Fiend (07-03-2019)
#20
Senior Member
I doubt there has ever been a truck that wasn't loaded over GVWR at some point in time. If it is something done on a regular basis, or if you're going over significantly then you need a bigger truck. But personally, if I were within 200ish lbs and only doing this once in a while for short distances I'd probably go for it. But not 1000 miles, and not 400 lbs, and it sounds like this is something you do on a regular basis. If you have a trailer I'd transfer some of the weight to it.
You didn't gain much. My Tacoma is rated at 1200 lbs payload and most Frontier's should be close to that. Many F150's are less than that, but around 1600-1800 is typical for F150's. Yours is below average and others are over 2000 lbs. It depends on the individual truck.
I have a raft trailer that I've been using for 13 years with my Nissan Frontier but was hoping to avoid having to deal with it on this trip. It was one of the reasons I upgraded to an F-150 but I never gave any thought to the GVWR (live and learn)