Is there any thing you can do to increase your gvwr rating on your truck. I have a 2003 dodge ram 2500 quad cab 410 rearend with a 9000# gvwr. To pull what I am wanting to get it is about 500# under what the pin weight will be. The truck weight with me and wife full of fuel is 7250# the trailer pin weight is 2040 empty and I expect 2 to 3 hundred more pounds added to the pin weight. Any help would be appreciated.

 

You can't change what is posted on your door frame GVWR....if your weigh by the DOT or involved in an accident and your over the GVWR its trouble...unless your truck is licenced a commerical vehicle

Second answer is can you safely pull more then the GVWR of your truck.....the short answer is maybe....a few hundred lbs over is not going to effect anything....a few thousand lbs over could be hard to stop and mite be unsafe

 

HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF USING AIR BAGS

 

AIR BAGS are designed help level out the load and NOT increase the lod carring ability of the truck
Of course if you installed them yourself then you would have read that info in the instructions

 

The most common problems that one runs into with the 2500s when pulling fivers is that the truck grosses out from the pin weight long before you reach the max trailer weight rating. Short of buying a new truck there is nothing that you can do that will increase the legal GVWR. You will also be surprised how much that pin weight increases as you load the trailer up. Virtually everthing you load in that trailer will add to the pin weight. It is just the way the fivers are designed with the relative positioning of the pin and axles. And most fivers with bedroom slides will require a 3500.

Casey

 

The GVW is determined by the weakest part(s). If you upgrade the weakest link, what then becomes the weakest link? This could go on until you have built yourself a 1T truck. Then it would still be a 3/4T by law. There is a truck shop that will, and is authorized to, upgrade the GVW and replaque it with the new GVW. I read aboutl this shop on one of the camping forums, but don't remember which one or what mods they do.

 

The only thing I can think of to change is the rear axle. But then the frame would become the next weakest link. So, you'd have to beef up the frame, then the next weakest link would be.........

 

I wouldn't be too concerned about slightly exceeding GVW if you're not commercial you'll never have a problem if it "looks right" going down the road.

make sure your tires are up to the task...that's the weakest link on a 3/4 ton.

I defy ANYONE to give me a FIRST HAND occurance of all the legal horror stories you hear about overladen pickups. I've heard 'em all and it's ALWAYS "some guy".

Canada may be the one exception and it only concerns newer rigs. Older ones were grandfathered in as "do not enforce". I high percentage of these trucks are over GVW..particularly with slide in campers. Heck...my 3500 is 1K over with a slide-in.

 

There must be law breakers all over the place because I ALWAYS see single tire Ford, GM, and Dodge trucks pulling big 5er's! And I mean BIG trailers. Dont know how a trailer store could legally let someone drive away with a trailer that exceded the limits of the truck, unless dry was OK but loaded puts you over the limit. I got this truck to tow anything I needed to tow but all I here now is how much I cant. Guess my next ride will be a Peterbuilt.

 

I think to up the GVWR of a 2500 Dodge is to change the rear spring setup to the 3500's. With that change, I don't think there is any difference other then the sticker in the door jam and the 2500 plates on the sides of your truck.

 

Rattletrap1,

You make a good point. I have never seen anyone ticketed for being overweight in a non-commercial vehicle. I can offer this from a fairly reputable source, however:

1. Denver Post ran a story last summer about a serious accident on I-70 involving an old 1/2 ton pulling a large trailer. The driver of the truck was cited for careless driving when he lost control of the trailer coming downhill and took out two cars before rolling the trailer into the median. He was not cited for any weight violations. He was, however, being sued by several parties because his insurance company denied coverage. The article "implied" that coverage was denied because the load exceeded the truck's hauling capacity.

2. My next door neighbor is a State Trooper. I asked her about the weight laws and whether an overweight truck could be ticketed. She said yes it could, but that non-commercial vehicles were not enforced for weight limits. If the truck is in an accident, they cite the driver for other violations rather than wieght limits. Seems that trying to weigh the pieces of the truck and/or trailer would be too time-consuming and expensive for a minor fine. From talking to her, I think the laws here have more to do with violating the vehicle registraion weight limits than safety.

These certainly aren't first hand evidence. I've seen some scary vehicles going down the road, but can't say that anyone I know has ever seen someone ticketed for it. Sometimes I wish they would though!

 

I believe in a previous discussion that even commercially....they were only concerned with axle limits.

It is NOT a coincidence that a 2500 shod stock with 235/85-16 @ 3042 # each will have a sticker of 6084 rear axle rating. The axle is actually good for considerably more (8k???)...though it might be a hard sell to an authority...265/75-16 will gain you about 800# capacity total.

FWIW... I've been all over western canada and U.S. with 8600 gvw Ford weighing 11K. that was a bit spooky at times, but with air bags and some other upgrades it "looked" right.

I feel perfectly fine with my 3500 with 11k gvw running 12K. It's solid and neither axle is over it's own rating. The miles melt by in comparison to the old Ford. The braking in the 3500 with 4 discs is vastly superior as well. My slide in has a sticker of 2950#. Ready for camping it's really almost 5K. Many people would never even know they are carrying that much weight due to the sticker. The sticker doesn't include many of the common "extras" and certainly not personal gear.

I agree there are a few tow rigs out there pulling way out of their league. When it truly becomes a hazard, then gross negligence can/should be a factor in an accident. I would tend to think any decent lawyer could get you off if the sticker weight didn't overload the axles. The people that have a clue as to what their dragging/carrying aren't the ones to worry about. The Ricardos are another thing altogether.

 

I think the time has come for non-commercial rv's to be weighed.
There have been several accidents in recent months, attributed to overloads. Unfortunately no state has the guts to come forward with a plan, b/c they know the family coach assoc will fight it tooth and nail.