Oh man, this is all confusing me!
I've been trying to learn as much as possible about all this stuff by visiting sites such as this one and others, and I'm still unsure what is legal and what isn't, what limits can or are frequently exceeded and so on.
Here's my situation: I'm wanting to purchase an ASV RC-100 rubber tracked skid loader and mount a Fecon brush shredding attchment on it. The combined weight of both pieces of equipment will be 12,400 lbs.
From what I've been learning on this site and others, is that a 1-ton dually just isn't going to have the capacity to haul that load legally after you factor in the weight of the trailer too.
So I've been looking at purchasing a 2000 Ford F450 chassis cab that is for sale locally. It's a 7.3L diesel, 6-speed trans., 4X4 and has a crew cab. From what I've been able to learn:
2000 F450
GCWR 26,000 lbs
GVWR 15,000 lbs
Max. towing capacity 17,300 lbs
Big Tex 20GN trailer
GVWR 20,000
Actual weight 5,440 lbs
RC-100 + Fecon cutter
Weight 12,440 lbs
Just the combined weight of the trailer, skid steer & brush cutter is 17,880 lbs, which is 580 lbs over the max. towing capacity of the truck according to Ford.
If you then add the weight of the truck, say 7,000 lbs, you're then at 24,880 lbs, only 1,120 lbs below the GCWR of the truck. Would I be ok exceeding the towing capacity of the truck if I don't exceed the GCWR of the truck?
And it's so confusing to me to read on this site & others how guys are out there towing 30K lbs or more with F350's and even F250's! Are they just simply breaking the law and hoping to not get busted?
Is it legal to exceed the GCWR of a truck?
Is it legal to exceed the manufacturers max. tow rating for a truck?
I thought that by going to the F450 I'd have more than enough truck to pull this load, but the more I look into it, it seems that the F450 is not enough. Am I wrong? Am I missing something or misinterpriting something?
If someone can shed some light on all this for me I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!
I've been trying to learn as much as possible about all this stuff by visiting sites such as this one and others, and I'm still unsure what is legal and what isn't, what limits can or are frequently exceeded and so on.
Here's my situation: I'm wanting to purchase an ASV RC-100 rubber tracked skid loader and mount a Fecon brush shredding attchment on it. The combined weight of both pieces of equipment will be 12,400 lbs.
From what I've been learning on this site and others, is that a 1-ton dually just isn't going to have the capacity to haul that load legally after you factor in the weight of the trailer too.
So I've been looking at purchasing a 2000 Ford F450 chassis cab that is for sale locally. It's a 7.3L diesel, 6-speed trans., 4X4 and has a crew cab. From what I've been able to learn:
2000 F450
GCWR 26,000 lbs
GVWR 15,000 lbs
Max. towing capacity 17,300 lbs
Big Tex 20GN trailer
GVWR 20,000
Actual weight 5,440 lbs
RC-100 + Fecon cutter
Weight 12,440 lbs
Just the combined weight of the trailer, skid steer & brush cutter is 17,880 lbs, which is 580 lbs over the max. towing capacity of the truck according to Ford.
If you then add the weight of the truck, say 7,000 lbs, you're then at 24,880 lbs, only 1,120 lbs below the GCWR of the truck. Would I be ok exceeding the towing capacity of the truck if I don't exceed the GCWR of the truck?
And it's so confusing to me to read on this site & others how guys are out there towing 30K lbs or more with F350's and even F250's! Are they just simply breaking the law and hoping to not get busted?
Is it legal to exceed the GCWR of a truck?
Is it legal to exceed the manufacturers max. tow rating for a truck?
I thought that by going to the F450 I'd have more than enough truck to pull this load, but the more I look into it, it seems that the F450 is not enough. Am I wrong? Am I missing something or misinterpriting something?
If someone can shed some light on all this for me I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!