Broken in Half?

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Bluetick

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In the pic in the original post that Ram appears to be a short bed with a camper meant for an 8' bed so that multiplies that lever even more
Egg zackly. This guy has more than a problem with his truck; he has a problem with reality.
 

392DevilDog

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In the pic in the original post that Ram appears to be a short bed with a camper meant for an 8' bed so that multiplies that lever even more
The original truck is a crew cab 8 foot bed dually.

That tells you how huge that camper is


Mega Cab would have the 6’4 dually...and even the owner would have realized it wouldn't fit...maybe
 

turkeybird56

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Ron White said it very elegantly: "You can't fix stupid".
But I's a BOIRD, wat do I know.
 

Dusty

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Sadly it NOT the Camper Manufacturer and/or the selling Dealer that is at fault.
The truck owner is the ONLY guilty party . . . .PERIOD!
When a person buys a product there is an implied warranty of fitness of purpose, which is even more predominate if the product requires factory (manufacturer) or dealer installation. The buyer, relying on the dealer's knowledge and guidance, may assume under U.S. law that the product meets the suitable goods clause to meet the buyer's particular purpose or requirements of UCC § 2-315 .

"The principal of fitness for purpose is basic and must be present in the article supplied regardless of the limitations surrounding a sale by sample or by description." [Loomis Bros. Corp. v. Queen, 1958 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 269, 4-5 (Pa. C.P. 1958)]

ONLY IF the dealer in this case advised the buyer before sale that the product was not suitable for their specific application and usage, would the dealer provide some manner of defense against liability. I say some, because a smart dealer would realize the potential of liability claim and not have installed a camper that exceeded the vehicles specifications in the first place.

Regards,
Dusty
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RamDiver

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ONLY IF the dealer in this case advised the buyer before sale that the product was not suitable for their specific application and usage, would the dealer provide some manner of defense against liability. I say some, because a smart dealer would realize the potential of liability claim and not have installed a camper that exceeded the vehicles specifications in the first place.

Another similar case to this point; was soon after I bought my new Ram. I had just recently replaced both summer & winter tires on my previous truck and the Ram tires were junk, so I kept the previous sets of tires and the dealer agreed to perform the tire/rim shuffle.

One fine day that summer, I picked up a roofing nail in one of my Michelin Defenders, and too close to the tread block. The tire was garbage and couldn't be repaired.

So, being the frugal Costco member that I am, I ordered a replacement at Costco to match the other 3 tires. It was the best price and had a road hazard guarantee that I couldn't find anywhere.

Doesn't the mechanic call me to advise that my selected tire was just slightly below the specified tire load rating on the doorjamb sticker for my truck and that Costco would not be able to install that tire under any circumstances? It didn't matter about the other 3 tires on the truck.

I didn't get nasty with the employee doing their job but wasn't too impressed. The bottom line is; they were protecting Costco's liability, which is I believe the same story here.

Had there been death and dismemberment associated with this silliness, as daft as the owner might be, I believe that a large amount of the responsibility would likely have fallen on the camper installation company.

YMMV :cool:
 
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dhay13

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Another similar case to this point; was soon after I bought my new Ram. I had just recently replaced both summer & winter tires on my previous truck and the Ram tires were junk, so I kept the previous sets of tires and the dealer agreed to perform the tire/rim shuffle.

One fine day that summer, I picked up a roofing nail in one of my Michelin Defenders, and too close to the tread block. The tire was garbage and couldn't be repaired.

So, being the frugal Costco member that I am, I ordered a replacement at Costco to match the other 3 tires. It was the best price and had a road hazard guarantee that I couldn't find anywhere.

Doesn't the mechanic call me to advise that my selected tire was just slightly below the specified tire load rating on the doorjamb sticker for my truck and that Costco would not be able to install that tire under any circumstances? It didn't matter about the other 3 tires on the truck.

I didn't get nasty with the employee doing their job but wasn't too impressed. The bottom line is; they were protecting Costco's liability, which is I believe the same story here.

Had there been death and dismemberment associated with this silliness, as daft as the owner might be, I believe that a large amount of the responsibility would likely have fallen on the camper installation company.

YMMV :cool:
Your situation makes sense as they are performing the work and a failure would fall on them. In the case of the camper it may have actually been legal when they installed it as it was empty. Their 'defense' would be that it was legal when it left their garage. I'm not saying 100% that the dealer would be off the hook but pretty sure they would not be held liable.
 

Dusty

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Your situation makes sense as they are performing the work and a failure would fall on them. In the case of the camper it may have actually been legal when they installed it as it was empty. Their 'defense' would be that it was legal when it left their garage. I'm not saying 100% that the dealer would be off the hook but pretty sure they would not be held liable.
That may very well be true as we don't really have a good set of facts. However, there seems to be a fair amount of opinion that the camper itself, without considering any potential overloading by the vehicle owner, is an improper choice for that truck. If that is true, a dealer does have liability.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 3 June 2018. Now at 82657 miles
 

sam darakjy

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Sadly it NOT the Camper Manufacturer and/or the selling Dealer that is at fault.
The truck owner is the ONLY guilty party . . . .PERIOD!
Buck definitely stops with the owner for sure. Still a competent truck camper dealership is not going to do a set up if it's not the right match..at least the ones I have dealt with.
 

Dodge 1500 4X4

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First place that the owner should have gone after loading for his trip, top off the freshwater tank and propane, is to the scales to weigh the truck W camper:
#1 weigh the empty truck at the scales.
#2 weigh the truck& camper loaded for the camping trip.
#3 Read the sticker on the driver's side pillar for Max weight.
#4 the lack of not doing this and being ignorant, caused this tragedy to happen.....
 

dhay13

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First place that the owner should have gone after loading for his trip, top off the freshwater tank and propane, is to the scales to weigh the truck W camper:
#1 weigh the empty truck at the scales.
#2 weigh the truck& camper loaded for the camping trip.
#3 Read the sticker on the driver's side pillar for Max weight.
#4 the lack of not doing this and being ignorant, caused this tragedy to happen.....
Yeas but he probably had people tell him that payload is just a number and means nothing.
 

jagman_xjs

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1st off that is NOT an RV it is a slide in camper. Second I do NOT know about the 3500s but the 1500s come with a paper in the console in big letters that says this truck is NOT suited for a slide in camper. I may still have mine. If I do I will take a pic and post it.
 

18CrewDually

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In case folks missed it, the guy traveled with his RV for 45k miles. This did not happen pulling out of the driveway on day 1. This was a torture test and the RV won. The frame fatigued over time. Plus the RV DRY weight (that means empty water/holding tanks and no gear/supplies) is 5500#s. He was overloaded, no doubt.
 

Randy Grant

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I believe in personal responsibility. Whatever you're driving or hooking up to, it's your responsibility to make sure you can drive it safely and that you 100% know what you're doing in terms of exceeding limits (yours or the trucks etc). If a dealer tells you "you can pull it", it's still your responsibility to make sure you actually can.

So in terms of "fault", it's all on this owner.

But a dealer who doesn't at least try to warn a newbie is pretty scummy regardless. Part of being a basic human being, you see an accident about to happen, you warn them, even if that means you take home a little less money that day.
Something about ignorance not being a defence. that's why there is a vehicle operators manual in every vehicle. And we all read it cover to cover, doncheknow.
 

slbenz600

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I feel bad for the owner of the dually, I believe the people that sold the camper has some ownership because of his knowledge of the load. The sales person should have sold him the overload wheel assemble to mount under the camper and is held in by the receiver.
 

MyGirlis2Phat

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My question is what stock street truck can reach the 6500 pound load anyway?seems like these campers are being made and sold without there being that many trucks that can actually handle it.I’ve seen pics exactly like this with fords and a Chevy too.
 

CanRebel

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In case folks missed it, the guy traveled with his RV for 45k miles. This did not happen pulling out of the driveway on day 1. This was a torture test and the RV won. The frame fatigued over time. Plus the RV DRY weight (that means empty water/holding tanks and no gear/supplies) is 5500#s. He was overloaded, no doubt.

As per the owner, he drove 25K miles, not 45K miles.

It's also not rv, it's a camper. dry weight for one he has is 4900, his truck payload is 5500(a reporter showed him where payload sticker is). Since he never weighted. We can guess he's overloaded, before he added the bike(s).

He also broke it 2 days earlier, based on his own statements. Then drove it for 2 more days.
 
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