Presteaux! said:
You guys just forced me to actually Google my tow vehicle and hitches/equipment. Okay, so the factory rating for the vehicle is only 1,000 pounds. But I used to regularly do double that with no problems. Heck, actually felt good.
Now, the hitch I'm finding is rated for 2,000 pounds and 200 pound tongue weight. But it's only 1 1/4" at the receiver. Now, if I use that I'll have to buy a new hitch. But I already have a REALLY good hitch
Andersen Rapid Hitch that I wanted to use. However, it's a 2 incher. And all of the adapters/expanders that I find reduce the hitch's capacity by half and/or have the admonishment not to tow with it (only use it for a bike rack or something similar). The search is on!
For what it's worth... Tow ratings aren't just about "how strong is my motor?". They also take into account things like "How stiff is my vehicle's basic structure, and how much abuse will it take?" It's not just about "Can I pull it down the road in a straight line, once, and get away with it?". It's about "What happens if I'm cut off by a semi at 70 MPH while driving down a steep slope, or am rounding a curve when a child runs out in front of me?"
Here's an example of how subtle it can get. The two-door and four-door Jeep Wrangler are almost identical in every way, except for a few inches of length. Same motor, same transmissions, same brakes. Yet the four-door is rated for 3500 pounds, and the two door-- which I wanted to tow with-- only 2000. Why? It took me rather a long time to find our, but it has to do with the distance between the wheels. The longer wheelbase of the four-door serves to directionally-stabilize the trailer better than the short-wheelbase can, and under certain driving conditions those few inches apparently matter so much that the four-door is rated at little more than half the towing capacity of the otherwise-identical four-door.
Yes, you may be able to pull over 1,000 pounds a short distance, a few times, and get away with it. But do it a lot, and the following are very likely to happen.
--Transmission failure. likely sudden and without warning
--strange body-related problems related to massive overstresses
--suspension failure
--brake failure
--tire failure
--an accident, possibly resulting in your death or that of others.
Please, don't do it. I had to buy a bigger, more capable vehicle even though I didn't want to and you should do the same. Or. choose a Runaway-type camper that's within your safe, reliable limits.
