There is no rule really and there never has been. at least not in the west.

the reality of it is these vehicles are rated for more than the average knot head driver is rated for. the brakes on most trailers are not nearly up to the towing capacity of the tow vehicle and the majority of drivers don't realize it . I wish there was a CDL requirement for the larger trailers.

 

I am sure that if the Ford engineers said it is rated at 21,000 lbs that they factored in idiot over specs. They print specifications for a reason. If you are under the specs and do the prescribed maintenance then I am sure longevity will be on your side. If you abuse your truck for long periods of time, extreme conditions, poor maintenance then all bets are off.

Common sense maintenance, towing and hauling!

Just say’n

 

I believe that most people may do the rule and not think about it. Look at the thread on max towing I posted. Many folks who own the 6.7 tow at or near 75%. Only a few go up to max.

 

I wish there was a trailer endorsement requirement for ALL drivers wanting to pull a trailer, regardless of weight, with training and testing. I'm as concerned, or more concerned, about the guy in his SUV pulling a travel trailer that puts either too much or too little load on the tongue, trailers is not level and he can't see around the trailer because he hasn't added mirror extensions to the standard passenger car mirrors. The worse part is the guy is just clueless that what he is doing is very dangerous.

 

Personal freedoms only go so far. I have seen folks who are to old, pulling to much and not paying attention. No ageism here, I'm old. Almost wore a 5th wheel when an octogenarian tired turning at a gas station. I was parked. He was looking everywhere else. So many want to retire, buy a truck and a 5th wheel and ride off into the sunset. I would like testing as well, I would take a test. This is not a popular idea. So flame, I get it.

 

As time passes we seem to be losing more and more "personal freedoms". We are at the point now where there are rules for everything in the name of "safety". The simple fact is, nothing in life is safe. You can not continue to make more and more rules with the dream of making everything "safe". Three million people a year die in this country. We honestly do very little to prevent the actual real causes of death yet we waste resources constantly trying to get the low hanging fruit with very little return. It is sold as making things safer but the reality is, the real results do not support the mantra. It is almost always a "feel good" lie and we give up personal freedom for nothing.

That said, I am a huge advocate of actually training drivers. Our driver education in this country is abysmal at best. I have been through formal CDL training, held a Class A license for a couple decades. I had drivers education with the Porsche Club of America and reached instructor status with them. I learned off-road driving techniques from a man who trained our special forces in this area and practice and teach those skills regularly still. I love driving and take it pretty seriously. Most people are largely apathetic to good driving and you are not likely to change that. Americans are getting lazier by the day and most prefer the moderators position stated above, just do what you are told, follow the rules, do not bother thinking for yourself, rely on government to sort it out for you. Pretty sad if you ask me.

We just had a big diesel pusher RV go off the mountain pass the other day after blowing a tire on a rear dual. Most likely a trained driver could have kept the rig under control. Since the RV lobby has been successful in keeping real training and licensing on that front from becoming a requirement, these things happen. I am not sure where it ends or begins anymore but I am not convinced making yet another rule is going to change a thing. It will likely prove profitable for those pushing for a law like that because they will offer the required training. It is a follow the money deal 99.9% of the time and sold to you and I as a benefit to our safety. That is a ruse I can see right through.

 

It's the Oliver Wendell Holmes urban legend about yelling fire in a crowded building. When your freedom impacts my freedom from your negligence. Jessie Ventura when he was governor of Minnesota said , " you can't legislate stupidity". People so much want things their way regardless of how it impacts others. We are not free. I'm not, and your not. The idea of personal freedom is a myth. For every personal freedom you can say, I can say the opposite. So who right? No one, who's wrong? No one.

Life......

 

I'm not for overregulation but when does ones personal freedoms become more important than someone else's life ? nobody is saying anyone can't pull a trailer they just have to prove competence.

Around here everyone pulls gooseneck stock trailers. you see clowns put a Bloomer on a SRW that clearly should be on a dually and send their 18 year old daughter off to the barrel race. they laugh about how fast they can pull the hills and how you come down the other side just as fast because the brakes won't hold it.

You can't fix stupid, so you have to regulate it.

 

Safety is no different, simply does not exist. It is a fruitless endeavor to try and force it to be...

 

Please show me where regulating it has worked. We still have the same age old problems despite reams of new regulations added every year.

I vote for more natural selection, problem solved...

 

That's a pretty self centered attitude. the natural selection you want might take you and your family out with them, if you've noticed there's more than one vehicle on the road at a time these days.

Where has regulation worked ? everywhere. we can't survive without it we just have to know when we have enough.

 

Any time the government regulates anything, they are in the position of being the permission grantor or denier. Many times that decision is quite arbitrary. And it just so happens they collect a tax for your privilege of asking for that permission. If someone will post up the list of the things government is doing a good job at, I might be convinced to change my mind.

I'm not writing that we don't need laws. I am writing that we don't need more laws. Less would be better. Particularly when there is no reason for the government to have their say and take their cut. You will never be able to make driver licensing more effective. Why? 'Cause that's racist.

 

some states do have a requirement like this but its almost never enforced for campers. PA requires a non-commercial licenses based on the below. It is kind of scary that someone who has never towed a trailer can go to a rv dealer and buy the biggest heaviest camper on the lot and not be questioned. In the last year i have seen some really sketchy setups of campers and tow vehicles.

CLASS A (minimum age 18): Required to operate any combination of vehicles with a Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) of 26,001 pounds or more, where the vehicle(s) being towed have a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) in excess of 10,000 pounds. Example: A truck, with a GCWR of 28,000 pounds towing a vehicle or trailer with a GVWR of 11,000 pounds. The driver of the vehicle must have a Class A driver’s license to operate this vehicle.
CLASS B (minimum age 18): Required to operate any single vehicle with a GVWR in excess of 26,000 pounds or any such vehicle towing a trailer having a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 10,000 pounds. Example: Motor homes GVWR at 26,001 pounds or more that is not towing a vehicle or is towing a vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs or less would require the driver to have a Class B driver’s license.

 

Education would likely work better than more regulations. The example you gave, and it is a very real world one, could be handled by having the weight guys sit outside a few events and warn and write up a few. Do this several times a year and word gets around.

 

I have heard it called the 80% rule. I had an F150 with the 4.6l and a relatively light weight travel trailer that put me just about at the max GCWR. It pulled, handled and braked fine. But you could tell it didn't really want to do any more. So after selling my RV and going back to a trailer, I bought an F250. I did so for 2 reasons. To tow my trailer "better" even though it it is only 7,800 lbs max. And to be able to tow more than that if I upgrade later.

So in my experience, being at the max isn't a big deal and I believe they would not rate them so highly if they weren't safe at that weight. They would be sued to often and for too much money if they weren't safe at their rating.