oh yes i have received a few of those
my bus is rated at 32k gvwr, with 42 gcvwr
i run max weight on my 20k rear axle since new (2009) and get blasted often.
i also run 100% of gcvwr ALOT, like freaking almost every trip when we have the car hauler in tow
my cummins seems to be happier working its butt off
the new 250...well it has not had to work yet but i suspect the same will apply

 

Around here it's always been 25% over rated capacity or whatever it happens to weight . whichever is highest.

 

Most of the “ratings” came about as a result of advertising.


Hell, I pulled many loads out of ther field in excess of 30,000 pounds with my old ‘78 F 250., and it lived for 30 years. Pull what you want, until the ICC (Internet Camper Cops) shut you down.

 

So after 2013 it no longer applies. I guess I'm showing my age.

 

Sounds like a good idea to me. I know farm tractor manuals sometimes say not use more than 80% of rated hp long term (ie.. pulling too large of disk all day) for long engine and drivetrain life.

 

I drive a semi for a living. I can't even imagine pulling 100% of capacity regularly in a 1-ton platform. Drove a F-450 with 30k behind it for 400 miles and It was not an enjoyable drive. Today's trucks are more capable and refined than ever but there are limits to what a light-duty platform can do comfortably. Just my opinion.

 

75% rule? I polled my "older" family members and they didn't recall it. To our defense we are all northeast hill country types...
I did noticed on these threads that there's an assumption that these trucks are exclusively purchased to haul over the road and nothing else. Some of us use them to haul/tow things on farms, private roads, properties...We use the beds to put heavy things in... We buy them to plow with.... We don't own campers.
I digress....

 

It doesn't seem likely that anyone else is concerned about how much weight is pulled or hauled off road on private farmlands and ranches.

Once getting onto public roads at highway speeds in the presence of other motorists... that's where there is legitimate cause for concern.

The innocent are forced to share the same road with the insolent, as well as the indolent, and that is an unfortunate elevation of exposure to unnecessary risk.

It may be that some internet cops are giving those who ignore weight ratings the full benefit of the doubt... chalking it up to a shortage of information, rather than an overage of invincibility.

The volunteer weight police have raised the topics of axle, tire, and weight ratings to those who may be new to RV'ing... and that effort may have resulted in safer combinations, and ultimately, fewer injuries to the innocent.

I've never received a citation. But that's just dumb luck, because I'm not smart enough to re-rate a truck based on the limited information that the manufacturer provides, so I just take the manufacturer's word for what they stated it is rated at, and remain within their ratings. Nevermind what laws or rules of thumb axioms exist or don't exist, I just don't want an innocent bystander's personal injury attorney investigating my neglect (negligence) to adhere to the ratings. And that simplifies life.

Just like following the speed limit. I laugh when I see a litter of brake lights light up ahead, and then a blue light suddenly appears from behind a roadside bush, on it's way to take down the guy who burnt a gallon of fuel roaring past me. I'm not laughing at the guy who got caught. I'm laughing with relief. You see, I used to be that guy some 40 years ago. Always looking ahead or behind for the headlight signature of a Plymouth Satellite or Dodge Coronado or whatever the highway patrol drove back then. I knew them all. Always on the look out. All that extra energy expended, and for what? It is so much easier (and quicker, at the end of the day) to follow the limits on the signs. Some argue that speed limits are "recommendations", not laws, and in some jurisdictions, that may be true, or not true. But rather than parse that out or second guess the intent of the sign, it is so much easier to simply follow it. I laugh with that sense of relief in mind. I didn't see the cop. I don't even look out for them.

Just like I don't look out for the internet weight police. I follow the sign on the door jamb, and they turn their attention to someone else that they seek to educate.

 

Over the road absolutely follow DOT etc..
I'm speaking also to the longevity questions and as if we all calculate every time we hook up to something(not OTR) not enough time in the day, they are a multitool. Tools break and it's a cost of doing business.

 

With my F-150 I regularly towed right at or slightly over max ratings. With my F-350 I should have plenty of capacity, but wouldn't hesitate to take it to the limit if I had something that heavy to tow.

 

Why take it easy?They are down-rated from factory. You coddle your weekend drive not your heavy duty worker.

 

It makes a big difference if the operator is experienced or not.

Someone that drives their work truck every day and pulls trailer multiple times a week can run at max gvw and never even think about it at in all probability never even have a fender bender even if that Prius runs the red light. Shoot, He can probably even back up to his trailer with out camera and drop the ball right on the receiver.

But take the mall crawlers platinum 450 - it takes him half a day with the camera and a check list off utube to hook it up. The dog sneezes in the back seat the 35ft, quarter million camper goes into a tail wagging the dog and ends upside down in the median strip.

 

I've owned way too many trucks and several fifth wheels thru the years and I do pay attention to the payload numbers. I've never heard of a percentage rule. I had a really nice cushion with my 2020 and our new Jayco Pinnacle until Ford said no you don't. Loosing 508 pounds on the recall did not help my nice cushion. I suspected the original figure was wrong so I was cautious when we shopped fifth wheels last year. While I'm still under my payload the percentage of it being used is pretty high. Even using as much of it as we are it is still the best riding and handling combo we owned over the past 40 years.

 

I've heard it as the 80% rule, but it was in the context of half ton trucks.

 

I use a 150% rule with my F350 SRW but I think if I had an F450 I wouldn't want to tow much more than I do with my current truck.