Exceeded GVWR

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csuder99

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“I did a lot of research before buying the truck and the camper, and both the Ram dealer and the camper company where we bought it said it was the perfect truck,”

LOL, taking the word from somebody who wants to make a sale is not exactly "research"....
 

utley

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Ill be honest, Id like to know what kind of truck that camper was made for. If a 3500 dual wheel 4x4 cant haul it, what the hell can?? An F650?
 

2003F350

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Ill be honest, Id like to know what kind of truck that camper was made for. If a 3500 dual wheel 4x4 cant haul it, what the hell can?? An F650?

My dad has been running a similar setup in his '08 F450 since he bought it new and even with all the salt our state uses, he hasn't had an issue. He also doesn't have a motorcycle hanging off the back of the camper, and the most he ever pulls behind it is a little box trailer that's 4x8 and filled with a couple propane tanks, a grill, a rake and shovel, and his tree stand. Even at that, he's technically over his payload, but not his gross axle ratings.

That's the thing about truck campers, especially when you start getting into the longer ones like the above. The center of gravity of shorter ones is ahead of the rear axle, which puts the top of the frame rails into compression - they're built to take that. Longer truck campers, or improperly loaded ones, can shift the center of gravity to just above the rear axle to BEHIND the rear axle (adding a motor cycle to the rear would DEFINITELY do this), which puts the top of the frame rails into tension - a situation they're not really designed for.

This is, though, EXACTLY why the numbers are important - this guy is out at least $17k, if not the cost of a new truck, because he didn't watch his numbers closely enough and exceeded them. Ram (and all automakers) put the numbers on the truck to cover their own butts, and it's getting them out of paying in this situation. I have a feeling that, if he tried to claim it happened after hitting a pothole or avoiding an animal, his insurance wouldn't pay for it either - because he's overloaded.
 

White six four

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Ill be honest, Id like to know what kind of truck that camper was made for. If a 3500 dual wheel 4x4 cant haul it, what the hell can?? An F650?
It's the options that make the difference. Just like the article says "7,680 pounds. However, that's only the case for a regular-cab, long-bed model with two-wheel drive and the 6.4-liter Hemi V8." Referring to the payload. So in that configuration it would have almost 2000 lbs more payload then what the article assumes the guy had. So by the numbers the reg cab hemi longbox would have enough payload to haul it. 4x4 doesn't do anything in this instance and actually hurts his payload numbers since 2 wheel drive trucks in the same configuration are lighter. Just like the aftermarket front bumper isn't helping him either and also cutting into his payload.
 

62Blazer

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The big factor that nobody mentions is what type of roads and terrain has the truck been subjected to, and how many total miles? Did he hit some huge dip or pothole a few miles before this happened? Was it bouncing down some dirt road for 100 miles? The fact he was in Baja California (Mexico) makes me suspect it ran in some pretty nasty road conditions. Even the "major" highways down there are known to have regular serious potholes and other issues that cause vehicle damage. Running down I-70 through the central US is a lot different than traveling through Mexico. There is a large safety margin built into these trucks when talking about payload capacity. Not like the payload capacity is listed at 5,500 lbs. and if you put 5,600 lbs. of payload on it the truck will suddenly snap in half just sitting there. Growing up in a farming community I can tell you that most farmers gave zero consideration to listed payload or towing capacity of their trucks....if it fits, it ships. It may be overloaded, but not by some huge amount is you consider the total weight of that setup. Very much doubt that would have happened if just driving down the highways in the US and not hitting any unusual obstacles/bumps/holes.
 

2003F350

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The big factor that nobody mentions is what type of roads and terrain has the truck been subjected to, and how many total miles? Did he hit some huge dip or pothole a few miles before this happened? Was it bouncing down some dirt road for 100 miles? The fact he was in Baja California (Mexico) makes me suspect it ran in some pretty nasty road conditions. Even the "major" highways down there are known to have regular serious potholes and other issues that cause vehicle damage. Running down I-70 through the central US is a lot different than traveling through Mexico. There is a large safety margin built into these trucks when talking about payload capacity. Not like the payload capacity is listed at 5,500 lbs. and if you put 5,600 lbs. of payload on it the truck will suddenly snap in half just sitting there. Growing up in a farming community I can tell you that most farmers gave zero consideration to listed payload or towing capacity of their trucks....if it fits, it ships. It may be overloaded, but not by some huge amount is you consider the total weight of that setup. Very much doubt that would have happened if just driving down the highways in the US and not hitting any unusual obstacles/bumps/holes.

This is all true, and for most people this is exactly how it'll go down. You can routinely overload a truck, but as long as you are aware of the stress and strain you're putting on it and drive accordingly, something like this won't happen. And you're right, it doesn't mention how hard he's driven it on bad roads.

BUT it doesn't change the fact that, because he's over the rated numbers for his specific truck, his warranty doesn't have to cover it.
 

utley

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I just find it odd that eagle cap fits perfectly on the bed of that truck would be too much for that truck. Now I get the fact the eagle cap is definitely overloaded, probably would have helped him to stuff some crap in the mothers attic instead 5 feet aft of the tailgate. He should have left the motorcycle at home...willing to bet its a 7 yr old Harley with 4500 miles on it.
 

mtofell

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What many are missing is the motorcycle (or whatever) hanging off the receiver (to be fair it's not really visible in OP's link but definitely is in other pics on the net). That weight is magnified as it gets moved rear of the axle and undoubtedly contributed. The camper is largely centered over the rear axle and wouldn't have caused that failure. Hanging a pack of anvils 10 feet behind the axle? Well.....
 

62Blazer

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What many are missing is the motorcycle (or whatever) hanging off the receiver (to be fair it's not really visible in OP's link but definitely is in other pics on the net). That weight is magnified as it gets moved rear of the axle and undoubtedly contributed. The camper is largely centered over the rear axle and wouldn't have caused that failure. Hanging a pack of anvils 10 feet behind the axle? Well.....
That is a good point. That has got to be at least 5' back from where the factory trailer hitch would be. Even a 300 lb. motorcycle would be putting a lot of leverage (tongue weight) on that truck, and even feasible it's getting up to the max rating. Add in the weight of the camper hanging off the back and you are probably easily exceeding the rate tongue weight. If you look at how the truck is sitting it's obvious it is due to much rear weight behind the axle.

This is a pretty obvious case of vehicle misuse, or even abuse, and no fault of the truck at all.
 

Dusty

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“I did a lot of research before buying the truck and the camper, and both the Ram dealer and the camper company where we bought it said it was the perfect truck,”

LOL, taking the word from somebody who wants to make a sale is not exactly "research"....
...especially a salesperson!!

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 82990 miles
 

Marshall

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Reminds me of the big city fellow that bought a 30+ ft 5 th wheel and forgot he had it and went under a drive through and wiped off 2 AC units , he was pissed at the AW girls for having a roof over the lot. He could not back up a trailer as well. You can have lots of money and be dumb as a fence post.
 

1 MEAN66

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The weght number for the camper by itself, was he given ship weight of camper, gross weight of camper, And had he ever put it on a "cat" scale to see what in fact what it actually weighed? Not only that but to see how much weight was on each axle of the truck in question. There are a lot of people that tow! A vast majority of them do not understand weight ratings for the tow unit, the towing unit, and how to place the weight in/on the tow unit. Ever see a video of a vehicle towing something a after a bit that trailer starts waving at everyone behind the operator. Usually that occurs if the weights were even correct, BUT where the weight actually was on the trailer (was to far to the rear of that trailer). That is why ( if any of ya drive semi) once we were loaded you went to the truck stop and weighed it on a scale. The official term is called Bridge weight, to make sure that you are not only over weight, BUT also that no one axle is overloaded! At the "BUD" facilities you were weighted before you were loaded AND BEFORE you left their grounds. It had to be correct or it was corrected. NO CORRECT paperwork you did not leave! This protected "BUD" also. as a quick stab of the brakes could shift the load. That's on the driver not the loader. More to towing than dragging something down the road! PS; CAT is a trusted maker of scales. Popular at "truck stops". When I loaded the 66 on the steel deck for the first time. Weighed it and mark the trailer where it goes to get it correct. Each and every time.
 
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Dusty

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Reminds me of the big city fellow that bought a 30+ ft 5 th wheel and forgot he had it and went under a drive through and wiped off 2 AC units , he was pissed at the AW girls for having a roof over the lot. He could not back up a trailer as well. You can have lots of money and be dumb as a fence post.
Which brings up another piece of information we do not have. A lot in this thread believe he was seriously over weight, but did he have the experience to know better? He may have been a rookie with the cash to buy the ticket but didn't know where he was going.

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 83038 miles
 

2003F350

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Which brings up another piece of information we do not have. A lot in this thread believe he was seriously over weight, but did he have the experience to know better? He may have been a rookie with the cash to buy the ticket but didn't know where he was going.

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 83038 miles

I'm guessing he didn't, since he bought the truck and camper (which, honestly, probably would have been fine), then hung a heavy motorcycle off the back of it. Pretty much anyone with any kind of truck camper experience knows you just don't do that. A small trailer with very little tongue weight would have been a much better solution.
 

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