[slowmover]

Get in touch with Andy Thomson [correct spelling] at CAN AM RV in London, ONT (the above link author). No one in North America knows more than he about setting up hitch rigging. As to what is legal and what isn't you'd need to understand that manufacturer ratings are not legally-binding. Only the government states conditions applicable to liability, not private corporations. In the U.S. it is generally tire and axle weight ratings. What can be done is much more than what is generally accepted (given that some situations with some tow rigs will not be tenable). These are not airplanes where performance ratings, structural loads and the rest are government set.

Were the liability assertion true then it is no different than cell phone use, and is considered contributing and not nearly so direct as this example as there are no studies I am aware of that lend credence to the argument (speaking of recreational users, not commercial). I can, and have made the argument several ways, including the one you cite. But it's a shadowy creation.

Part of the difference between Europe and the U.S. is that trailers over there have different design parameters that allow very light trailer tongue weights. In essence, a bumper hitch is attached to tow trailers. Over here one needs a different hitch -- weight-distributing -- that spreads the tongue weight over the whole vehicle and back to the trailer axles. A different design.

This situation is no different than what U.S. car owners faced in the 1960s': needs a hitch expert to set it up correctly. We exceeded the numbers on several family rigs in that era, throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for over 70k miles towing; cars that went nearly 200k each. Very good performance. In one case, the same trailer 27-years and but two tow vehicles. Do it once, do it right. A custom hitch is much better than an off-the-shelf piece.

The hitch -- the rigging -- is more important than the specific vehicles involved (contrary to the "wisdom" of the RV'ng crowd in general).

If Andy says you can do it, then you can count on the fact that he and his father have, through their RV dealership, set up thousands and thousands of rigs, many considered unconventional today. But not yesterday. Were there problems in this then their business insurance carrier would raise a red flag . . and it has not.

The Boler had a nice reputation from what I've read. As do the CASITA and SCAMP today. Continue your investigations, please.

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