I'm Calling the Cops on the weight Police

[CZNEDY]

I just got back from three weeks of weight police blogs/comments/postings/opinions...........REHAB. I was so scared, i almost went out and bought a brand new F-250.

I cant beleive I survived the years of my parents towing a 19' trailer with our beat up Rambler Station Wagon. Then, one time we towed a 10,000 lb trailer from Massachuseets to Florida in a Ford Country Squire and blew the radiator. (So, I guess I am from of the school of you better have a transmission cooler and radiator cooler if you are gonna tow anthing). Then, one time, when I was 30, I was towing my Pop-Up home from a weekend camping trip. Just me, my oldest (4) and our best friends two chldren. Wife was home with our youngest, 3 months old. Transmissionnblew. Stuck on the side of the road on the Mass Turnpike for an hour.

Once we even went camping with our conversion-van and put an air-conditioner on the ground, connected it to a dryer tube and blew cool air into the van.

So, as we all know, good things and bad things happen while camping. I went and looked at bigger trucks and decided I am staying with what I have for now. If I upgrde to a Dodge, 2500, i get maybe 1200 lbs payload and 1,000 more towing. If i get a gmc, I get maybe about the same, depending on the options. If i go to a 3500, I get a littel more, but then I own a truck that I will have to use once a week to drive myself to the clinic to undergo Kidney Dyalisys for the punishment I will endure during my daily driving, it may not be worth the cost.

My only choice for a 7000 - 8500 lb fifth wheel would be a Ford F-250. (PERIOD). And that's only because the max- tow F150's are hard to find in the right color. Even the F-250's are hard to find in the right color and combo. Dealers in the Northeast tend to tailor to the work truck buyer, not the RV Hauler. like I said, I was in weight police re-hab for three weeks and had plenty of time to research.

So, for now...... I am driving my truck around S.E. Massachusetts, dragging my fifth wheel and waiting for the final scale weigh-in. I already weighed the truck. Not telling you the numbers until the final weigh in is done. If I had bought a new F-250 Lariat last week, I would have never went to the scales. I would have just dragged my 5'r around, ate popcorn and watched the debate unfold, just like everybody else.

So, this weekend, we are off to our 15 mile treck to Normandy Farms, then My truck will have 7 days of rest before it has to drag the 5r home again. I am still so nervous about towing after reading all of the doomsday towers posts, that I am taking the back roads and stopping every chance I get on the way.


Geeeeeeeze.


Maybe next year I will find the right truck with the right options and tow ratings and the right color.

Don't get mad at me. Just try to see it from my perspective, if you love camping.

[ependydad]

Holy trolling, Batman.

[asquared]

looking for a little negative attention? you have your opinion. We have ours. I will still steer clear of you on the highway. Please try to stay safe.

[CZNEDY]

Not looking for negative attention at all.

[another_newfie]

What exactly is your point, besides attempting to create havoc?

[CZNEDY]

I guess just my point of view from the other side of havoc

[garbonz]

Originally Posted by CZNEDY

I just got back from three weeks of weight police blogs/comments/postings/opinions...........REHAB. I was so scared, i almost went out and bought a brand new F-250.

I cant beleive I survived the years of my parents towing a 19' trailer with our beat up Rambler Station Wagon. Then, one time we towed a 10,000 lb trailer from Massachuseets to Florida in a Ford Country Squire and blew the radiator. (So, I guess I am from of the school of you better have a transmission cooler and radiator cooler if you are gonna tow anthing). Then, one time, when I was 30, I was towing my Pop-Up home from a weekend camping trip. Just me, my oldest (4) and our best friends two chldren. Wife was home with our youngest, 3 months old. Transmissionnblew. Stuck on the side of the road on the Mass Turnpike for an hour.

Once we even went camping with our conversion-van and put an air-conditioner on the ground, connected it to a dryer tube and blew cool air into the van.

So, as we all know, good things and bad things happen while camping. I went and looked at bigger trucks and decided I am staying with what I have for now. If I upgrde to a Dodge, 2500, i get maybe 1200 lbs payload and 1,000 more towing. If i get a gmc, I get maybe about the same, depending on the options. If i go to a 3500, I get a littel more, but then I own a truck that I will have to use once a week to drive myself to the clinic to undergo Kidney Dyalisys for the punishment I will endure during my daily driving, it may not be worth the cost.

My only choice for a 7000 - 8500 lb fifth wheel would be a Ford F-250. (PERIOD). And that's only because the max- tow F150's are hard to find in the right color. Even the F-250's are hard to find in the right color and combo. Dealers in the Northeast tend to tailor to the work truck buyer, not the RV Hauler. like I said, I was in weight police re-hab for three weeks and had plenty of time to research.

So, for now...... I am driving my truck around S.E. Massachusetts, dragging my fifth wheel and waiting for the final scale weigh-in. I already weighed the truck. Not telling you the numbers until the final weigh in is done. If I had bought a new F-250 Lariat last week, I would have never went to the scales. I would have just dragged my 5'r around, ate popcorn and watched the debate unfold, just like everybody else.

So, this weekend, we are off to our 15 mile treck to Normandy Farms, then My truck will have 7 days of rest before it has to drag the 5r home again. I am still so nervous about towing after reading all of the doomsday towers posts, that I am taking the back roads and stopping every chance I get on the way.


Geeeeeeeze.


Maybe next year I will find the right truck with the right options and tow ratings and the right color.

Don't get mad at me. Just try to see it from my perspective, if you love camping.

oh my. Might really need therapy. I have enjoyed the discourse and make my own decisions. I am a better RV'er for it and that's the important thing.

[OL Creeker]

Ok, I'll get into this one as well. Look at my signature. There you'll see what we are going to tow and what we'll tow it with. I've gotten grief as well. I added air bags for better balance. The weight police at the rv dealership, the truck dealership as well, ran the numbers. I'm legal and safe.

[wyo700]

You think to much. KCCO.

[OL Creeker]

KCCO?? Please decipher

[wyo700]

Haha I knew I was gonna get asked. There is an app out there call the chive. More focused on the younger group of people. But what KCCO stands for is Keep Calm and Chive On. But his case I would say keep calm and camp on. I guess all I'm really trying to say is just check everything and be careful. I'm sure he is probably ok with his set up.

[bakken]

CZN, just how much does your Ram sink when you drop your camper on it?
I have a very similar fifth, and I also drive a Ram 1500 for my everyday truck. I cannot imagine putting them together. Maybe I am just chicken?

[F and E Damp]

My uncle (in the UK) towed an 18' "coach-built" (pronounced "heavy") TT for a good 20 years. They went all over Europe with it. His first TV was an Austin A55 Cambridge sedan - 4-cylinder 1.5L engine that maybe put down 50 hp on a good day. After about 6 years he upgraded to a Ford Cortina (2.0L, 70 hp) then to a "big" Austin with a 2.6L 6-cylinder engine.

US tow ratings are ridiculous. My '02 Kia Sedona (3.5L, 5-speed automatic) is rated to tow up to 3500 pounds. The identical car in Europe is rated at 3000 Kg. What are the vehicle manufacturers scared of? Are US drivers so clueless or is it the insurance companies that have them buffaloed?

[goduc]

Are U.S drivers clueless? I would suspect a lot are judging by what I read on forums and see in CG's. Also isn't there a 55mph speed limit over there when towing? People tow 60-70mph over here. Would you want some goofball 1st timer towing 6,000lbs with a Kia Sedona running 65-70mph?

[Rugged Brown]

CZNEDY; I'm probably in the same camp as you. I read the posts too, but I try not to let my inadequacies bother me. I am certain to have a underrated tow vehicle for my fiver. I take the utmost in driving care , take er slow and easy and arrive alive. You can have the biggest truck available and still experience the dangers of the highway. I would love to have a bigger truck, but I'm maxxed out. In other words, I don't have the funds to support that truck at this point. My Dodge Ram (Timbrens installed) squats about 1 1/2 " in the rear and 1/2" in front. Just this past weekend, a fellow camper with a F350 was hooking up to leave late in the evening. I was sitting by my campfire with his truck lights glaring in my eyes. When he hooked his fiver to the truck, the lights pointed skyward. Not sure thats a measure of a truck's capability, but it was mentioned in this thread. A hundred pounds, here or there, is not as big a deal someone driving a big rig and not able to handle it. I fear that more. I've said it before and I'll say it again, some drivers shouldn't be driving a Corolla, let alone a F350 with a 15,000lb trailer in tow. Scarey.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by goduc

Are U.S drivers clueless? I would suspect a lot are judging by what I read on forums and see in CG's. Also isn't there a 55mph speed limit over there when towing? People tow 60-70mph over here. Would you want some goofball 1st timer towing 6,000lbs with a Kia Sedona running 65-70mph?

We have more than our fair share of goofballs with 1t, 1-1/2t and bigger truck towing 70-80mph here that think just because they have a BIG truck that doesn't violate a lawyer sticker that they can tow as fast as they want regardless of the tire limits and swear they are safer. Get real.

[Taylorgso]

In the days before the internet "Weight Police" I towed a Rockwood popup (GVWR of 2200#) for years (and it was always pretty much fully loaded) - with an '81 Plymouth K-car, which I recall had a 2000# tow limit. Towed that thing all over the place - to Florida (Disney World), up into Virginia & NC mountains (it struggled), and this with a wife, two kids, and all the stuff we could stuff in the trunk. Had no auxiliary braking, no transmission cooler, and no WDH or booster springs/shocks. Yep, she squatted low to the ground, but being ignorant, I plowed on ahead.

Never had a problem with either the car or the camper!

Just goes to show that exceeding design limits does not ALWAYS result in tragedy! (Of course, I wouldn't want to be the one who bought that car after I traded). In '84, bought a TT and a van to pull it with after my business began to take off, and had all the necessary stuff! I shutter to recall how I was pushing the lints

[Terier]

Originally Posted by goduc

Are U.S drivers clueless? I would suspect a lot are judging by what I read on forums and see in CG's. Also isn't there a 55mph speed limit over there when towing? People tow 60-70mph over here. Would you want some goofball 1st timer towing 6,000lbs with a Kia Sedona running 65-70mph?

Speed limit can vary from state to state. Here in California we do have a 55mph speed limit when towing.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Terier

Speed limit can vary from state to state. Here in California we do have a 55mph speed limit when towing.

And if you think everyone abides by it, go down around LA and try to run the legal speed limit whether towing or not and you will be the cause of the largest traffic jam in the world.

[ridersfan]

The biggest problem with the weight police... is that someone may chime in about weight when nobody asked them to. Nobody goes and ridicules them for using a dually to tow a tent trailer, so the same crowd needs to learn to bite their tongues when they see a pickup at its max. Sure, mock a guy that fits a 5th wheel hitch to the trunk lid of a K car and then hauls a 12000 pound mammoth... but when it's apparent that common sense is still in play, it's best left alone.