Can you tow 38,000lbs with a F350?

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Adrian Gordon

Where does the obstruction of justice charge come from?

Probably from his interaction with law enforcement or lack of cooperation.

[doc73]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Probably from his interaction with law enforcement or lack of cooperation.

Agree or might have lied about his name or his intentions hindering their investigating.

[upflying]

Originally Posted by Adrian Gordon

True, assuming he is adequately insured, which is highly unlikely.

The owner of the boat and trailer is probably insured as well as the dock and staff that loaded the boat onto the trailer. Also liable is the trucking broker who arranged the tow.
The owner of the truck probably has insurance if the driver was leasing it.

[upflying]

NHP trooper Charles Caster told the Reno Gazette Journal that brake failure is the suspected cause of the fatal crash.

“It was overweight. This boat was a five-axle trailer that weighed about 38,000 pounds and there was no reason for this trailer to be on the road. It wasn’t able to stop and we’re suspecting brake failure leading to him going through that intersection and tragically killing two people,” Caster said.

I suspect Trooper Caster is reporting conjecture.

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2021/...ed/8589699002/

[Adrian Gordon]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Probably from his interaction with law enforcement or lack of cooperation.

Ah! I mjust have missed reading about that. Do you recaall where you saw it?

[boatman22]

The boat looks like a 35' Riva, not a Cigarette boat. Also, the specs say it's 6600KG (14500lbs). I don't know where the 38000lbs is coming from but I would guess the total weight is over 26000lbs which a CDL is required. It is sad that people had to die from an incompetent driver.

https://www.riva-yacht.com/en-us/mod...Aquariva-Super

[upflying]

Originally Posted by Adrian Gordon

Ah! I mjust have missed reading about that. Do you recaall where you saw it?

I doubt the driver's attitude/actions/lack of cooperation/lying/refusing to answer questions would be reported in the media.
It goes without saying, the driver would be understandably evasive with law enforcement after causing a crash of that magnitude.
This no doubt played a part in the decision of his immediate arrest at the scene of the crash.
A lot of this opinion comes from "reading between the lines".
Cops have an old saying, "don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see"

[Adrian Gordon]

Originally Posted by upflying

The owner of the boat and trailer is probably insured as well as the dock and staff that loaded the boat onto the trailer. Also liable is the trucking broker who arranged the tow.
The owner of the truck probably has insurance if the driver was leasing it.

What's your legal theory aganst an owner who presumably hired somone whom he reasonably believed to be competent to load and move the boat for him?


Same question as to the broker? What's your theory of liability there?


Do you really think that the boat owner is insured for bodily injury liability when the boat is loaded on a trailer and being towed by a third party? If you arranged to have your car moved across the state, do you think your automobile insurance would respond to a bodily injury claim when the flatbed that was hauling it was involved in an accident? What about a crate of household goods on a moving van? Will the homeowner's liability insurance respond to that claim?


As to the insurance on the truck, given two dead and dozens injured, how "adequate" do you imagine that's going to be?


I'm betting that the insurers that are going to end up paying the overwhelming part of this loss are the victims insurers under their no fault coverage.

[Mike134]

88 posts and counting.

No wonder news organizations have the saying "if it bleeds it leads"

The number of armchair experts is fascinating.

[Homebrew]

How do we know it was a third party towing the boat? He could be the owner.

[upflying]

Originally Posted by boatman22

The boat looks like a 35' Riva, not a Cigarette boat. Also, the specs say it's 6600KG (14500lbs). I don't know where the 38000lbs is coming from but I would guess the total weight is over 26000lbs which a CDL is required. It is sad that people had to die from an incompetent driver.

https://www.riva-yacht.com/en-us/mod...Aquariva-Super

Posts from Lake Tahoe readers of the news identified the boat as a Rivarama 44.
But since this is the internet, do not believe it until you see it.

[upflying]

Originally Posted by Homebrew

How do we know it was a third party towing the boat? He could be the owner.

The charges indicate he is a truck driver for hire.

[ppine]

One of the things that is not obvious is that the rig with the boat was coming down off Spooner Summit dropping about 3,500 feet. The operator burned up his brakes, he did not just have a brake failure.

[mtnlvr]

The boat owner/ marina/ transporter also used very poor judgment choosing to take Hwy 50 thru the Mtns from Lake Tahoe. They SHOULD have chosen the easiest flattest route from north Lake Tahoe/Truckee towards Reno.

[TowPro]

Originally Posted by Mike134

88 posts and counting.

No wonder news organizations have the saying "if it bleeds it leads"

The number of armchair experts is fascinating.

this thread reminds me of the movies where they crowd gather outside the sheriffs office with touches and shotguns, "sheriff, we're going to try this guy right now out here on the street, give us the prisoner" as they throw a rope over the tree limb.

[JamesInTahoe]

I drive over 50 to Carson City pretty regularly. Went over today. It was sad and eerie to see it. The truck left skid marks that start a couple hundred yards before the intersection, veering into the left turn lane - probably trying to miss cars at the stop light. Sadly the skid marks start just after the runaway truck ramp.

[PodGeek]

Originally Posted by JamesInTahoe

...The truck left skid marks that start a couple hundred yards before the intersection, veering into the left turn lane...

So the brakes were working well enough to lock up the wheels.

Maybe excessive speed was the main player here.

Originally Posted by Mike134

...The number of armchair experts is fascinating.

It's the damn internet...it's what we do.

[TitanMike]

If skid marks were laid down they are most likely from the trailer as the tow vehicle was surely equipped with anti-lock brakes and not very likely that the trailer had anti-lock brakes. Maybe but not likely.

Once the trailer brakes locked their effective braking force was diminished. It's all about dissipating kinetic energy of vehicle through tires to road and brakes into heat. Once wheels stop turning dissipation through brakes goes to zero and a skidding tire is essentially now sliding on melted rubber.

Speed is definitely high on the list of possible causes.

[aircommuter]

Driver error can cause excessive speed of course.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by aircommuter

Driver error can cause excessive speed of course.

Stupid does too.