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Are you serious?
Look at the frame, axles, and the 19.5" wheels and tires that truck has. That is why it has a higher load capacity, not because it has more axles or whatever you may think.
A pickup on 16" tires and wheels cannot be compared to something like you've got pictured above with HUGE axles and wheel bearings, springs or air ride, an 8" tall heat treated frame, etc, and you'd be a fool to even think of comparing such a truck to a pickup.
There is no question that a pickup is capable of pulling FAR heavier loads than it is rated for, but that doesn't mean it is safe, or right.
Manufacturers test to see that their vehicle can safely tow their rated load under even the worst operating conditions. That is why the limit on paper is much lower than the point at which it will no longer pull anything else. There has to be a safety factor in there....but I see no point in pushing it to the limit either way.
Yeah, I know nothing about towing at all....that's why I always check my rig, I have the proper hitch, tires, trailer with brakes, tiedowns, etc. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I just look at it as doing the job the right way.
As to the above vehicles being DOT legal, great, but I'd love to be the lawyer on the plaintiff's side when you get involved in an accident and although you're plated for 30k lbs your vehicle's GCWR is 17000-20000. I'd love to see a judge make a field day out of someone that would overload a truck by 30-40% and insist that it is safe because it has a certain license plate or the driver has a Class A license. You'd be a fool to think that makes such action safe in my opinion.
You guys might think I go overboard, but I wish more people on the road would pay attention to ratings. One day, it will all come back to bite us when the lawmakers realize what people are doing. If nothing else it'll be another potential for income for the government, and they'll write people HUGE tickets just because they can.
IMO, a truck should not be overloaded under any circumstances, and any arguement to the contrary is foolish.
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First I agree with you in principal, but I don't agree that 2 big axles are better than multiple smaller axles, it might be cheaper on rubber use that is why some companies do that, but Physics, which is my specialty dictates that a load distributed on smaller axles could be as good or even better depending on the size.
Go to any trailer manufacturer to get a 10k trailer, they will offer you 2 x 5200 axles or 3 x 3500 axles, why because they are the same.
As for the rating, it's all about the equipment, talk to some RV manufacturers and see how they raise the payload and retag their chassis when they add bigger brakes, air springs or more leaves, that can make it better, and with the brakes on the trailer, it can be a safe combination.
Now granted, that's not what most people do, since like someone said, they see a dually with a bed they assume it's a regular 1 ton, so they go and get a 1ton and do the same.
That said, you can't arbitrarily say this is not safe before checking excatly what is under the skin.
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