Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey Card
If you are happy with the 80% rule then that is your decision but as an engineer I can assure you that you are simply adding to the very adequate safety margins that have already been calculated into the design of your vehicle.
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I will agree with this statement to a point. But, the point is undefined.
If the factory published spec if for 3500 pounds how much more can I carry without voiding the warranty?
If I am 5 pounds overweight and the brakes fail I would not expect much of an issue with a warranty claim. If I am 2000 pounds over the limit I would expect the factory to deny the claim as I was clearly at fault.
If I am overweight, and the brakes fail, and an accident occurs and someone dies I really don't want my attorney explaining to the jury that the factory has an undocumented margin of safety built into the vehicle. I doubt seriously that my attorney would be able to get an engineer from the factory to agree in a trial that it was perfectly safe.
If you were to somehow determine that Ford has a margin of error built in of 30 percent, can you assume that GM and Toyota have at least the same 30 percent? How do you look it up, or do you just guess?
I rolled a Jeep CJ3B once because I overloaded it. Luckily my 4 passengers and myself did not get hurt. I don't ever want to experience risk of injury to my friends and family again because I exceeded the factory specifications by just a little.