Quote:
Originally Posted by wagonman76
I'm all for staying within weight limits too. I just think if I ever got into an accident while towing, even if it wasn't my fault, if I was towing overweight I'd probably be up for a lawsuit. Besides, I've towed up near the limit, and I don't think I would want to go more than that anyway.
I added quality brakes to my trailers to help keep things safer, even though Michigan doesn't require brakes on anything under 3000 lbs. I also think typical hitch mountings are pretty sad with their little nuts that could pull through. I back my hitches with angle iron inside the frame to distribute the load through the entire rear end. And I use a lot heavier safety chain than the wimpy little dog chain that comes on most trailers.
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I agree with you on all this.
In the UK we have amaximum unbrakes trailer weight of 750kg or half the vehicles kerb weight or manufacturers specified limit which ever is the smaller. I can't imagine 3000lbs unbraked!
I did once tow when the load in my box trailer shifted and I ended up with negative nose weight. I couldn't go above 20mph without the trailer weaving the car a I tried to find somewhere safe to pull over. That was scary.
I would like to improve the strength of my hitch but here we are also stuck with type approval so if it hasn't been approved, or has been modified, then it isn't legal.
Even though I made my trailers out of scrap yard finds I made sure the brakes and the hitch were new and spot on.