Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

[chambers1517]

Years ago I use to pull a 20' bowrider with a jeep. I pulled it everywhere but never got pulled over. Never heard of anyone around here being pulled over for an undersized tow vehicle. How about where you live, do the police care what you drive?

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Years ago I use to pull a 20' bowrider with a jeep. I pulled it everywhere but never got pulled over. Never heard of anyone around here being pulled over for an undersized tow vehicle. How about where you live, do the police care what you drive?

I most states, there are no laws about tow vehicle rated capacity. I live in NH and the only limits are number of axles on the trailer and weight on the axles, not the tow vehicle.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Years ago I use to pull a 20' bowrider with a jeep. I pulled it everywhere but never got pulled over. Never heard of anyone around here being pulled over for an undersized tow vehicle. How about where you live, do the police care what you drive?

Ayuh,... They don't enforce the laws against Stupidity 'round here, either...

 

[Flying Sushi]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Police do not care as much as Insurance company would... If you get into an accident with towing over maximum capacity... Insurance company will likely reject your claim..... We know a few cases in here Massachusetts....

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

How do you determine if a vehicle is overloaded? The owners manual is ONLY a recommendation. In NC the only way that you can get a citation for being over-loaded is if you did not buy a registration plate to cover that amount of weight. If you buy the standard $25 registration for a pickup and haul firewood on it or a riding mower or pull a trailer you are in violation!

 

[Davem3]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Police do not care as much as Insurance company would... If you get into an accident with towing over maximum capacity... Insurance company will likely reject your claim..... We know a few cases in here Massachusetts....

actually they do care around here, and the mass state police and the DEP do nail people here from time to time ............it is not really that common though............. if the rear tires are rubbing the top inside fender wallls , that might be a indication

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

worked in insurance quite a few years, never had a single case denied because of it. Not saying it can't happen, but they only way I see it kicking in is if someone is GROSSLY overloaded, and only when they are doing it commercially but under the table... (aka, a guy with 20k behind a big diesel truck doing midnight hot-shot trucking is going to raise the interest of insurance and cops, but the guy 1000# over the tow limit on a crossover SUV, not a chance of showing up on the cops or insurance radar)

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Only time I've heard of it happening around here is guys with 1 tons and big trailers being checked by commercial enforcement. Regular police are only going to pull you over for unsecured loads.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Only time I've heard of it happening around here is guys with 1 tons and big trailers being checked by commercial enforcement. Regular police are only going to pull you over for unsecured loads.

Yup, around here the landscape guys get hit frequently for the wrong weight tag but the guy haulin his boat never gets a second look!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

In my neck of the woods nearly every trailer hauling a Bob Cat or skid steer loader is unsafe and they don't get a second glance by the law either. Two days in a row I saw one of these involved in an accident where the trailer had an issue. If that incident happened to involve me I would make darned sure the "Insurance Companies" were involved to the max. Irresponsibility has simply reached epidemic proportions. Just yesterday I'm on the interstate at 70 clicks and a guy passes me in a beat up old Olds with a mattress and box spring on the roof held down with clothesline rope that had seen it's better day. Fabric on this furniture was in the process of becoming a kite and the two units were skewed about 45 degrees. Don't know if he reached his destination without losing the load but where is the law when you need them. Even in our state, where nobody is too blame for anything, there is a law regarding "securing a load". But then many of the officers probably flunked high school physics so that would account for the lack of concern on their part.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

We periodically (every other month or so) have roadblocks set up where they are checking tires, seat belt, and registration/inspection dates. Any time I've gone through one of these with the trailer, they ask to see the reg. I asked one time and he told me he was checking the weight rating. Because we pay registration fees based on GVWR, many people register their 10K trailers for 1000 lbs. Not a problem, until they go through a roadblock with 10000# on the back. No idea of what the fine is as I was always legal, but I know they get some people.

 

[cobra1476]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Just yesterday (busy lake day), I saw a buick lessabre towing a 20' bowrider, Jeep Cherokee ( not grand just the boxy jeep) puling an overly massive 26'-28' CC, and a honda accord hauling another 19'bowrider. All of the rear ends looked like they were dragging on the ground.

I got a Ford F150 SC pulling a 21' Deck boat and believe me I can feel that behind me. I can't figure out how they even feel safe driving down the highway.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

The OP question was regarding an undersized tow vehicle. There is no law in NC that says you have to have a certain size vehicle to pull a trailer.

 

[rbh]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

The OP question was regarding an undersized tow vehicle. There is no law in NC that says you have to have a certain size vehicle to pull a trailer.

But the vehicle your pulling the trailer with has a sticker usually in the drivers door area that tells you what the max GVW your vehicle can handle including in most cases a tow rating.
Overload your tow vehicle, expect to get a fine, or worse get into an accident.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

But the vehicle your pulling the trailer with has a sticker usually in the drivers door area that tells you what the max GVW your vehicle can handle including in most cases a tow rating.
Overload your tow vehicle, expect to get a fine, or worse get into an accident.

That sticker isn't law, its a suggestion from the manufacturer... And as a bunch of posts above show, for the most part, unless you are grossly overloaded or doing it commercially, nobody cares.

Most tow ratings are because of american drivers. Take the identical vehicle outside the US, and the tow rating magically doubles. It isn't the vehicle that is changing, it is the nut behind the wheel.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

Not here in NC. They might look at the GVW and check to see if you are registered to carry that amount of weight but the size of the tow vehicle is irrelevant. Most people around here buy the standard weight registration tag which is good for only up to 4000 lbs which mean it is illegal to pull a trailer or haul firewood but is rarely enforced. I have went through license checkpoints numerous times pulling a 20' ski boat or 20' pontoon behind a tiny shortbed S-10 and all they were interested in was valid license and registration.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

In my neck of the woods nearly every trailer hauling a Bob Cat or skid steer loader is unsafe and they don't get a second glance by the law either.

If you have a bobcat behind a 1/2 ton truck, pretty good odds it is overweight. For a normal size skidsteer, you are talking 6000-8000 pounds, plus 2000 pounds of trailer below it. Throw in the usual gear that is added to a work truck pulling that load and a couple guys in the cab, and you are well over the limit.

Can't recall the last time I've EVER seen a 1/2 ton with a skid steer on a trailer pulled over for being over the weight limit.

 

[khelhelou]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

I live in Michigan and i pull my 16ft boat with my 2011 Ford Taurus...never had a problem and cops drive next to me all the time on the road.

 

[rbh]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

That sticker isn't law, its a suggestion from the manufacturer... And as a bunch of posts above show, for the most part, unless you are grossly overloaded or doing it commercially, nobody cares.

Most tow ratings are because of american drivers. Take the identical vehicle outside the US, and the tow rating magically doubles. It isn't the vehicle that is changing, it is the nut behind the wheel.

That sticker is law in the real world!
They take the axle ratings plus the maximum load rated tires for both axles to give you the GVW of that vehicle, as well they take into account the size of the brakes on all 4 corners to determine your towing/stopping capacity.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Anyone ever pulled over for overloaded tow vehicle?

That sticker isn't law, its a suggestion from the manufacturer... And as a bunch of posts above show, for the most part, unless you are grossly overloaded or doing it commercially, nobody cares.

Most tow ratings are because of american drivers. Take the identical vehicle outside the US, and the tow rating magically doubles. It isn't the vehicle that is changing, it is the nut behind the wheel.

If you get pulled over by someone that can interpert the numbers you will get sited.Those numbers is what they go by.