Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin

I had the pleasure of getting beat to Hell in a towing accident- only I was under the tow limit and it was someone else's fault. I still had way too little truck when the time came. I was doing everything you posted about- I was 7 miles from home, I was going 50 in a 65 zone and I had every piece of safety equipment I could possibly have. I was at 90% of my tow limit and I know now that I was an accident waiting to happen. one slip, one small, quick correction, one wheel over the berm and it's off to the races. I now have a much bigger truck.

Originally Posted by sleeper_dave

So you're saying you did everything right and it didn't help. So basically if i crash i'm screwed anyway. So why bother?

I'd like to have an F350 as a tow vehicle. But it's just not practical. Purchase costs, maintenance costs, and operating costs are just too much right now, and what i have is rated for what i'm towing and just a wee bit more. If i wreck, i'm probabl still screwed. Oh well. **** happens.

Originally Posted by sleeper_dave

My god, you people get your panties in a wad sometimes.

I towed my 27' fountain behind my suburban all last year. The winch post was attached to the frame with two small pieces of angle iron. The boat and trailer all together probably weighs 7200 lbs. Most of the time, the rear of the boat wasn't even tied down (i asked the previous owner why not, he replied "i've towed it all over the state like that and haven't had a problem"). The tires were dry rotted. The breaks were screwed, and underrated. The truck was rated to tow 5500 lbs, the hitch was only rated for 4000 lbs weight carrying, and it was carrying the weight.

I didn't have any problems. Even when i picked it up and towed it 150 miles across the state without so much as inspecting the trailer (i did check tire pressures, though).

So to answer everybody's questions about "will it be okay if i blah blah blah", the answer is yes, probably. If your truck is rated for x lbs, it's rated to handle that at highway speeds, and can probably handle that and more at highway speeds even with a terminally crappy trailer. If you must tow more than your equipment is rated for, yes, you may have liability problems in an accident, yes, your equipment will take a beating. But if you're only going a short distance, and keep the speeds down to 45 or so, you'll most likely be fine. And if the boat's tied down to the trailer properly, i highly doubt you'll have any serious liability problems that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

Oh, and for all of you dicks who are about to berate me for my "reckless" towing habits and wish a darwin-esque death upon me, go to hell.

This year, i sold my fast car and crappy truck, and bought a truck rated to tow what i'm towing. I upgraded the hitch, put new tires on the trailer, bought new tie-downs, redid the brakes, replaced the surge brake actuator, installed a larger, over-rated winch post, and i'm even redesigning the front end of the trailer so that the winch post is mounted directly to the tongue, which i am also replacing with a larger, thicker piece. I'll probably be 2 or 3 grand into the trailer by the time i'm done. And that's more money to me than it is to a lot of you people, because i bought my boat and trailer for $30k.

Sometimes necessity and a lack of funds force us to do things that aren't necessarily 100% safe. Oh frickin' well. Just be aware and be careful, and you'll probably be fine.

Originally Posted by sleeper_dave

So you're saying you did everything right and it didn't help. So basically if i crash i'm screwed anyway. So why bother?

.

Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin

You're my kind of guy.

My advice to everyone who tows over-limit- please, for the sake of all humanity, take all your offspring with you when you do it. With any luck, you'll help remove this defective strain from the gene pool when the bow of your oversized monster boat pierces the cab of the K-car you're towing it with. To enjoy the full effect, please make sure to top off all your tanks- boat and tow vehicle.

Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin

An Analogy:

Hey guys!

I need an opinion here. I'm thinking about boning my neighbor's daughter. She's only 12 but she LOOKS older. She's real mature too. I figure she's able to decide for herself and since she's always over here talking to me, I'm guessing she's up for it. I'm not going to stick it all the way in and I plan to be gentle. I'll pull out, too. This should be OK, right?

Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin

Pulling a 10K boat with a dually pickup is fine for around town but not on the highway. It will pull the boat in a straight line and it will stop the boat in a straight line. A pickup doesn't have the mass or the stability to bring an out-of-control trailer back into control.

Originally Posted by CigDaze

Translation: You wish that death befalls these people and their families in a horrible, firey inferno. Nice..

Originally Posted by CigDaze

Translation: Towing over the limit is akin to raping your 12 year old neighbor. That's fukked up.

Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin

We get our panties in a wad because we've seen enough of this reckless behavior. We get our panties in a wad because people like you give responsible boaters a bad name. We get our panties in a wad because your own self-admitted actions jeopardize our friends and families.

What you described of your own behavior is wanton recklesness and a total disregard for yourself and others around you.

Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin

Since you decided to wade into this one. A simple question

Is it acceptable to tow a trailer that exceeds your vehicle's tow limit or tow with a vehicle/trailer that has deficiencies?