by Frank Gummersall
I have heard the phrase "I don't worry about that' many times in relation to the weight, size, balance, etc. of RV equipment and it really concerns me. Most recently, I talked with a gentleman from Texas (not to pick on Texas), and he asked me what I was removing from the driver's area of my toad. I said it was a braking system for the toad. He responded vigorously " I don't worry about that kind of thing".
He was driving a new 38" motorhome on a Ford Chassis with a tag axle. I asked him about the restriction that Ford has on towing (1500 lb.) and he said he had heard about that but, no one else pays any attention to that and he was "not going to worry about it either!". He was towing a 3000 lb.+ Saturn four down. I asked him if he had been to Canada. He was quick to say yes, but that he was well within the 4400 lb. restriction in British Columbia. He was right, and I wondered why BC arbitrarily changed the restriction from 3000 lb. to 4400 lb. with no new safety data --- I think it was pressure from the tourist board.
I then asked him about the limits placed on toads by every State. He said something about hearing someone say something about that at a campfire type talk, but "I don't worry about that". I got out my Campground directory and showed him the State by State restriction, and he said "well I haven't heard of any enforcement of those restrictions so "I'm not going to worry about that" because I drive very carefully".
I watched him hook up his new Saturn to his new Motorhome and drive out of the campground "very carefully". The investment in RV equipment has to be over $80,000 but he's "not going to worry about toad brakes since they cost $600. His coach was loaded well beyond the GVWR in my opinion, since they were full timing and every compartment was chuck full of stuff. I thought, I hope he does not have to make a panic stop, because he will not do it very well, overloaded, and with no braking system on his toad.
I think RV and Toad salesman tell us just what we want to hear and our egos just love not having to spend the money, because "we drive carefully". Many of us are past the time in our lives when our eyesight, reaction time, and motor skills are in their prime. We drive too fast for the weight and our own capabilities. We drive too close to traffic. We don't watch our mirrors as close as we should. And WE OVERLOAD OUR RIGS. Salesmen say "everyone does it so it must be OK" because he does not want to lose the sale. He'll say that your one ton dually will safely tow that 14000 lb. fiver because "everyone does it".
Well everyone should not do it! It's not safe. 99.999% of the time that everyone does it and it is OK. The problem is the 0.001% of the time when to save your life and property, you have to stop. Getting and overloaded rig up to speed just takes a little more time --- But when you need to stop an overloaded rig in a panic stop, a little more time is not available!
I encourage everyone to take a reflective look at the most important consideration in RVing: The Personal safety of those we love and those with whom we share the highways and byways. In the case of the overloaded Ford Chassis and a toad without brakes, spending $600-800 for a toad brake is just a small fraction of the cost of medical expenses for any kind of an accident, let alone the physical damage to property that would result from one panic stop situation. Care in loading the compartments must be exercised or the rig will just not stop when we need it to.
Please go to a public scale and actually weigh your rig and compare this actual weight with the GCWR and GVWR of your rig. I use a rule of 80% for safety sake. Do not go beyond 80% or these ratings. I know in some rigs that means that you and your spouse can't get into it without going over that reduced weight. Well the time to worry about that was before you bought that heavy chassis and all those options like washer/dryer. Get your rigs under the weight ratings, spend some money on safety enhancing devices like toad brakes - because "I want you to be able to go down the road safely and really not have to worry about any safety issue.
Frank Gummersall has long been a major contributor to RVers Online. We're pleased to have his outstanding expertise shared with our readers. And we strongly endorse the editorial position he has taken concerning the careful observation of weight limitations of the rigs we drive.