Spotted on my way home today.....

[Rrizz]

An older chevy 1500 pickup (looked in poor condition) Towing a Sunset trail reserve. I'm not sure of the length, but I'm guessing 31'er. I noticed from about a quarter mile back he was all over the highway, swaying in the slow lane doing about 60-65. As I got closer, I realized how hard the trailer was nose diving, then I see the truck, As# to the ground, front end to the sky. No WD hitch involved...... Good lord was he overweight. The scary part is I'm in Pa, and he had Florida plates
I'll pray for him tonight.

[sleepyT]

Rrizz
A friend of mine's parents lived in Fla. and he was telling me that they do NOT have mandatory inspections for their vehicles in that state...I am prone to believe that drivers in states that have inspections would be more aware in general of thing that affect their driving experience due to regulations they have to abide by, that drivers in states with no inspections do not...That's my story & I'm sticken to it...

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by sleepyT

Rrizz
A friend of mine's parents lived in Fla. and he was telling me that they do NOT have mandatory inspections for their vehicles in that state...I am prone to believe that drivers in states that have inspections would be more aware in general of thing that affect their driving experience due to regulations they have to abide by, that drivers in states with no inspections do not...That's my story & I'm sticken to it...

Texas has vehicle inspections & I've still seen this type of setup numerous times with maybe 1 in 10 being a junk truck towing a junk trailer, the other 9 we're fairly new truck & trailer, so vehicle condition is only a very small part of this issue.
There are 2 problems causing this, #1 the salesman, RV &/or truck, don't have a clue or don't give a s##t as to how to determine a trucks weight carrying abilities or actual RV weights to calculate from just as long as they sell something, #2 the newbie RV/truck buyer listens to/trust the salesman, BIG mistake, they should do some of their own due diligence prior to purchasing either.
The truck manufacturers should NEVER advertise the "max tow ratings" for their trucks, that means nothing when towing RVs, most will exceed the trucks payload & axle weights long before ever towing the max. Only causing confusion!
The RV manufacturer should NEVER advertise the dry RV weight or dry pin/hitch weights, these numbers mean nothing to the RV buyer & only gives the salesman tools to sell something the buyer can't handle. Again causing more confusion!

[dagst1]

I have a lot of years on the road and this is no surprise. Usually a little further up the road they will be in the ditch or worse. Just another case of the tail wagging the dog.

I do not understand why people would pull a bumper pull camper with no weight distributing hitch and some that do have one are not adjusted correctly. Went camping last weekend and some campers coming in had the bars so loose that they were just swinging Don't know if this is a dealer not showing them or just the "i know" generation.

[sleepyT]

dagst1
I was part of the I know generation that was 50 years ago...Now my grand children tell me I am now in the you don't know nothing generation...That's why I am hanging around my great grand kids more & more they just hug and love me...

[dagst1]

I know what you mean. We just got a new to us Granddaughter and she is great.

[sleepyT]

Originally Posted by dagst1

I know what you mean. We just got a new to us Granddaughter and she is great.

Congrats on the grand daughter...

now I'm done hi jacking this thread...

[rhodesd]

Not Likely

[egrum]

We have a 2012 Sunset Trail 26' and a Ford F150 Lariat and I believe we are on the cusp of being to light to tow an 8000 lb trailer.
We used to have a 2007 GMC Acadia rated at 4700 lb towing capacity towing a 4500 lb trailer, the very next year of Acadias GMC up the towing capacity to 5400 lbs with no changes to frame or drive train or brakes, not sure where the increase came from. We were in a cross wind once and just about went over, I believe the towing weight is a false number given by vehicle manufacturers, as long as everything is ok, straight highway, no hills or winds you are OK however you could be in the ditch very quickly. I have seen many a smaller SUV, pulling a larger trailer and often thought you are asking for trouble. Recently saw a Ford Explorer or equivalent pulling a trailer that was at least 25 ft, when I saw it the trailer was doing side to side flips in the ditch luckly the tow vehicle had come unhitched and was still on all fours in the ditch. This was on a crowed highway on a Sunday afternoon. I have no idea what happened but it was in the blink of an eye. Get a vehicle large enough to pull the trailer. Just cause you have a rated SUV doesnt mean you can pull SAFELY.

[dagst1]

I agree with most of that but one thing i see far too often is campers being towed way too fast. Just because you can does not mean you should.