Towing at near max for your truck

I have done research too and have not found any specific cases of insurance denying a claim but I also know how courts work and my fear would be leaving a civil decision in the hands of 9 jurors (usually 9 in a civil cases) where only 5 need to believe the 'victim' to change my life forever. Imagine I'm legal to tow 10,000 and I'm towing 10,500 and I'm in an accident where a car goes through a red light but I hit them and the whole family dies. If a good enough expert witness is brought in and tells the jury that my stopping distance was increased by 10% because of being overweight then the jury finds me 25% at fault in a $10M case then that will change my life forever. I have not seen specific cases of this but don't want to take that chance. If a lady can sue McD's for her spilling her hot coffee on her then...

And yes I was a witness in a civil case where 3 kids were hit by a car on the way to their bus stop. IIRC the driver was 70% liable, the school district was 20% liable and the kids were 10% liable. Might be off by a few % points but that was the ballpark result.
Boatman, you nailed it with "...change my life forever." In a horrible way.

It may cost me a few $1000 more to have the right truck and trailer and to maintain it. I keep records and receipts to prove due diligence. That's so cheap, compared to an accident where I'm found to be negligent. Years of my life gone: investigation, fighting with my insurance company, legal challenges, lawyers, court appearances, conviction and perhaps bankruptcy - and heavy fines or even prison for criminal negligence. And that doesn't begin to address the public humiliation, my possible injuries or the enormous guilt burden of injuring someone else, or worse.

All of that because I was a cheap, irresponsible, intentionally negligent old fool. "Oh, it's okay, an accident is unlikely and my insurance will take care of any problems.", you told yourself. Until your life changed forever.
 
So timely this post. I just paid my umbrella for the year and read some of the new exclusions. One new one for me this year is the exclusion of coverage for/during manufacture, use, transport, etc of controlled substances. I'm not a user but have plenty of friends that enjoy gummies throughout the summer. I believe this new exclusion would be impactful if someone made some mistakes whilst partaking in a gummie...

I'd ask your agent for clarification. Isn't recreational marijuana legal in MI? That contradicts state law.

If you have a kid on ADD meds, those are controlled substances. How would that work?

Best case your agent says don't worry about it, and his E&O is what covers it.

Tim
 
Boatman, you nailed it with "...change my life forever." In a horrible way.

It may cost me a few $1000 more to have the right truck and trailer and to maintain it. I keep records and receipts to prove due diligence. That's so cheap, compared to an accident where I'm found to be negligent. Years of my life gone: investigation, fighting with my insurance company, legal challenges, lawyers, court appearances, conviction and perhaps bankruptcy - and heavy fines or even prison for criminal negligence. And that doesn't begin to address the public humiliation, my possible injuries or the enormous guilt burden of injuring someone else, or worse.

All of that because I was a cheap, irresponsible, intentionally negligent old fool. "Oh, it's okay, an accident is unlikely and my insurance will take care of any problems.", you told yourself. Until your life changed forever.

Again, who suggested doing that?
 
Again, who suggested doing that?
Read through the thread. It's called inference.
Deflection, as you just did, doesn't alter intention. Being slippery is not the same as being clever. The game is intelligent debate and logical argument. There are accepted rules going back to the Greeks and the Roman Senate. If you are interested, study logical fallacies. Some here employ those regularly.
 
Read through the thread. It's called inference.
Deflection, as you just did, doesn't alter intention. Being slippery is not the same as being clever.

Yawn. If someone is dumb enough to do something based on what they read on an internet forum...

To the OPs post - I had a '19 Ram and it towed my 24' like it wasn't back there. A 26' that's within its stated tow rating will be just fine...

But I'd ask why such a low tow rating? Properly optioned out that truck is rated to tow a lot more!
 
Again, who suggested doing that?
You Guess? at your tow weight? Why would you do that?
Everyone underestimates weight unless just off the scale. The tow number is max. under perfect conditions. If you exceed that your insurance may be void.


He keeps changing the subject. I simply replied: Why would you say that insurance may be void? If that was true the insurance industry could get out of most claims. Stupidity is insured. I then asked for examples of insurance not paying because of a recreational vehicle being overweight. Crickets…
 
Well F.C., many people act on what "My friend says..." Statistically, half our population is on the slow side of the I.Q. curve.
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Instead of optioned out, why not buy the right truck to begin with? Manufacturers employ many engineers. Who put your tow package together?
 
He keeps changing the subject. I simply replied: Why would you say that insurance may be void? If that was true the insurance industry could get out of most claims. Stupidity is insured. I then asked for examples of insurance not paying because of a recreational vehicle being overweight. Crickets…
And you know full well that no one publishes the internal business that takes place between companies and their clients. Slippery devil!
 
Well F.C., many people act on what "My friend says..." Statistically, half our population is on the slow side of the I.Q. curve.
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Instead of optioned out, why not buy the right truck to begin with? Manufacturers employ many engineers. Who put your tow package together?

Correct and dealers order the trucks that are on the lot - most consumers buy off the lot...

The tow package is not what determines the tow capacity (btw the tow package is an option package determined by the manufacturer... you can often a la carte it as well). You can get the tow packages or even "max tow" and be nowhere near the max rating of that model. The fancy panoramic moonroof - takes away from the tow rating as do all options...

I don't buy off the lot. I factory ordered and get my name on the window sticker. Both my '16 F150 and '19 Ram were ordered - got to drive my Ram off the car carrier too! To achieve the max tow capacity it's a pretty bare bones truck as everything adds weight...removing from the available capacity...
 
Tow rating is based on GCWR minus curb weight. So if a 1500 Ram has a 15,000lb GCWR and weighs 6000lbs then the tow rating is 9000lbs. Simple math and a fact. The more options a vehicle has the higher the curb weight, thus the lower the tow rating. Gearing plays a big role in GCWR and thus my 2013 1500 Ram with 3.55's only had a max tow rating of 8600lbs. My boat/trailer combo weighed 8900lbs so I was technically not legal. The OP has an 8800lb tow rating. With my 25' boat he would be overloaded but my boat is pretty heavy for a 25'er so he may be close. Not saying it won't tow it. My 1500 towed mine fairly easily, just was a little over my limit. You also have GRAWR to consider. Not likely to ever exceed that with a boat but you easily can with a travel trailer. My step-son had a 2021 Grand Design Imagine 3250BH that I towed home from the dealer with my 2500. We weighed it at the CAT scale ands it weighed 9300lbs. He had a 2020 Toyota Tundra with a max tow of 9800lbs but he hooked his TT to his truck and went to the CAT scale and he was 160lbs over his GRAWR. The TT was empty as it was brand new off the lot so not much he could do to move weight around. He probably could have fine tuned his WDH and gotten closer but the fact is most people don't do this. They read 9800lb max tow and it weighs 9300 so I'm good. Granted that extra 160lbs likely wouldn't have caused an issue but it could have been 500lbs and many truck owners would have never known.
BTW-he sold the TT now so that concern is gone....lol
 
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@Juliery it appears you have very limited knowledge on this topic - why are you commenting in this thread?
Just for giggles, buddy. I don't really require your permission, either.

If you are truly a smart guy you would know you just made an Ad Hominum attack. That's where you deflect from the argument to the debater. That gets you disqualified. Be gone!
 
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Just for giggles, buddy. I don't really require your permission, either.

If you are truly a smart guy you would know you just made an Ad Hominum attack. That's where you deflect from the argument to the debater. That gets you disqualified. Be gone!

Oh no, you had a whole entire debate about how everyone else was wrong, while you were wrong, then tried to back out of your position! Then, you were proven wrong, again.

I reckon you should get some more time under your belt around these parts old man...you'll likely be gone long before I am.....

You guys north of the border sure are a fun bunch...
 
Oh no, you had a whole entire debate about how everyone else was wrong, while you were wrong, then tried to back out of your position! Then, you were proven wrong, again.

I reckon you should get some more time under your belt around these parts old man...you'll likely be gone long before I am.....

You guys north of the border sure are a fun bunch...
Okay, 'cause I'm apparently not as smart as you, please identify exactly where I was wrong. "Everone", is the same old crew of 4, that will often promote an illogical, irresponsible premise. I don't recall backing away from a position, either. Please elaborate. I think you are confused, F.C. And of course, I'm just one, fun guy speaking only for myself.
 
Moving to holding tank so you guys can learn to love each other Again. don’t be afraid to use your boat. Even if you can’t afford gas, beers are still cold sitting on it as well :)
 
Okay, 'cause I'm apparently not as smart as you, please identify exactly where I was wrong. "Everone", is the same old crew of 4, that will often promote an illogical, irresponsible premise. I don't recall backing away from a position, either. Please elaborate. I think you are confused, F.C. And of course, I'm just one, fun guy speaking only for myself.

Who said do something illegal or unsafe?

Moving to holding tank so you guys can learn to love each other Again. don’t be afraid to use your boat. Even if you can’t afford gas, beers are still cold sitting on it as well :)
Who can't afford gas? Everyone should have seen this shitshow from a mile away...hell some here even voted for it!
 
How 'bout drunk drivers? Every one I know of was covered when they smashed their cars. Some were cancelled after but not all of them.

My Uncle was a State Farm Agent. One of the insured wrecked his car. The guys girlfriend had started handling his pecker while he was driving. He let go of the steering wheel to play with her titties and ran off the road.:cool: On the accident report they called it reckless driving. State Farm covered it.

Thats perfectly acceptable. In fact ,I encourage it. :D
 

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