Towing Heavy (8k lbs +) a bad idea?

No one has mentioned liability. Its always the gorilla in the room. When you read these threads, imagine how they would sound in a court of law under questioning by a few sharp attorneys. Even if your complicity in an accident might only be found to be 10%, could you afford the cost if the settlement was large. Bad things do happen, and often do, whenever you get two or three or four misjudgements or poor assumptions lined up. Think about it - my .02 worth.

 

Towing that much on flat land is easy. Try crossing the Rockies with that much behind you.

 

I realize that, so I go easy on the loads with the dump trailer when I head north. The truck can pull the tractor anywhere.

 

worried more about stopping than anything else, loaded with top soil.

 

So you don't have a Tacoma, you're just debating to buy once correct? I get the idea from your first post that you're in the market for a new truck.

If you already have a Tacoma, I understand that you don't want to rent another truck just to tow the boat.

If you don't have a truck yet, get one that is designed to tow that weight from the factory. It makes no sense to purposefully buy a truck that is not even close to rated for that weight. 33% is a lot more than its designed for.

Especially 15 times a year, even if its a short distance.

 

I was going to say all of the above but now I don't have to.

 

I was already to try and find the thread about a guy using a late 80's regular cab 4x4 silverado to pull his 40 foot sea ray out of storage to get gas and then the slip twice a year, I was thinking you would only to it once to launch at the beginning of the season and once to pull it out to winterize. For that the truck could do it no doubt, trucks are over engineered, in 4 low it has plenty of power (depending on the steepness of the ramp). But to do it 15+ times each way nope, buy the silverado. Then you have the option of taking the boat to another lake for a camping trip with the family (that was some of the most fun we had when I was little, camping at different lakes), or if something breaks and it needs to be towed to boat repair shop it can. The wear on the suspension would be a ton, you have a better chance of getting caught and ticketed and many other things could happen doing it that often. The Silverado will get about the same mileage, cost close to the same or a little more and have more room, features and capability. Let us know which you choose.

Tyler

 

It seems you've never been pulled over by a trooper with portable scales.

 

ha! exactly. I grew up in the country and have had to deal with overweight when hauling issues more than a few times. But what do I know right? Another great example of why people call this place TardWorld.

 

I've done a fair amount of boat towing. I like matching the boat and trailer all-up weight to the max rated trailer weight the truck will haul - assuming a properly balanced trailer and good functioning trailer brakes!! More than that does tend to feel overloaded and uncomfortable. If you were doing it once or twice, I might favor the smaller more economical truck.

But 10-15 times a year is a lot. That's regular usage and you want it to go smoothly. So for that I'd go to the bigger truck rated for the weight.

 

No need to get nasty.

 

Stop.... what you meant to say is to make sure to put a GoPro on the truck so we can see footage of when the brakes finally give out and boat sucks the truck into the lake. Then we'll see if the insurance company will deny the claim due to the load being overweight.

 

Tundra.

 

That wasn't nasty - it is a documented fact. There are people that refer to TacomaWorld as TardWorld because of threads like this where people encourage other people to do bad/ illegal things. Hence the nickname. I didn't come up with it - I just found it fitting.

 

I've looked into truck rental before. You probably need to be a small business rather than an individual to qualify for that equipment rental. And U-Haul gets all uptight if you tell them you're pulling a trailer with their pickuptrucks.

 

You see that's a distinction without a difference right?

Example 1:
"You're a flithering blitherbit!"

Example 2:
"I can see why everyone thinks you're such a filthering blitherbit!"

Either one would draw you into fisticuffs in a seedy bar.

 

I see your lack of understanding on the distinction. As for being drawn to "fisticuffs"; well I would not be drinking in an establishment where the " men" would encourage such reckless and dangerous behavior such as towing a huge boat with a little truck. Seedy bars? Is that a gay bar reference? I'm not sure but cannot comment because I have no personal experience in seed bars.

 

once the trailer weight is over 3500lbs, trailer brakes controlled by the tow vehicle are mandatory. Does not change the tow capacity of the truck.

 

add to that, any insurance you may have would be invalid because exceeded capacity of vehicle. Driver would be on the hook for the damage to their own vehicle, their boat, and the other person's damages.

 

But he is only doing it 12-13 times a year so it is okay; right? It is like speeding or smuggling coke into the country in other peoples' asses - only illegal if you get caught.