Quote:
Originally Posted by moaboy
Bill, are you suggesting that those of us who tow with 3500lb TV's are not safe?
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The separation between SAFE and UNSAFE is not a bright, hard line. There is a whole continuum of risk between the two. It is up to each owner to study and assess the risk, and decide where he feels comfortable – his risk tolerance. And his risk tolerance may be different from yours or mine.
It is not the function of this board to tell anyone how much risk he should take. However, it is a function of this board to identify and discuss the elements of risk, so that an owner, particularly a new owner, can make an informed decision about his risk tolerance. Questions like -
------Where will you tow?
------How much stuff will you bring along?
------Do you know the difference between dry weight and loaded weight?
------Do you know what the manufacturer means when he puts an asterisk or a footnote beside his Tow Rating?
------Does the manufacturer demand a factory-installed tow package as part of the Tow Rating?
are important parts of this discussion. Judging by the questions we commonly get from new owners, most aren’t even aware of these issues, and certainly haven’t included them in their thinking. They are looking for that non-existent bright hard line.
This board will always challenge an unthinking, unsupported statement like “a 3500-pound vehicle is always safe”. At the same time, it will also challenge a statement like “a 7000-pound vehicle is always required”. If you have spent any time reading the many past discussions on the topic, you know that this has always been true. Everyone is entitled to express his own opinion, but that doesn’t mean your opinion is right for everyone else. And you shouldn’t expect it to be.
Bill