Removing rear seats to increase payload capacity?

[rruff]

All it takes is some adjusters with a little training for people to lose a lot of money.

I've yet to find an actual law against an individual being over GVWR. Even at weigh stations where they are pulling over and weighing everyone, you get a pass unless they determine you are commercial. They care about commercial users because they tax them.

Safety is another matter entirely. Every truck hailing a camper is unsafe compared to a decent sedan or SUV... but most trucks+campers are safer (able to maneuver and stop better) than perfectly legal trucks towing big campers, big RVs, and bigger trucks. I mean seriously... they let a 85 year old pilot a monstrous land yacht with no training; perfectly legal. So what is the "standard" for safety? There appears to not be any. If the lawyers had any legal basis for getting obsessed about this, I'm pretty sure they'd already be all over it...

 

[Lownomore]

I've yet to find an actual law against an individual being over GVWR. Even at weigh stations where they are pulling over and weighing everyone, you get a pass unless they determine you are commercial. They care about commercial users because they tax them.

Safety is another matter entirely. Every truck hailing a camper is unsafe compared to a decent sedan or SUV... but most trucks+campers are safer (able to maneuver and stop better) than perfectly legal trucks towing big campers, big RVs, and bigger trucks. I mean seriously... they let a 85 year old pilot a monstrous land yacht with no training; perfectly legal. So what is the "standard" for safety? There appears to not be any. If the lawyers had any legal basis for getting obsessed about this, I'm pretty sure they'd already be all over it...

Safety is the angle insurance would be able to hit it from. I'm actually surprised we don't see more claim issues with trucks running aftermarket parts involved in accidents. For example, most aftermarket bumpers have no crush mitigation built into them which is often going to drastically increase the damage to both vehicles in a collision.

Agree though that there are many non-commercial vehicles that should probably require an endorsement to operate. You have to have a special license for a motorcycle that is most likely just going to kill the rider in an accident but anyone can go buy a 40 foot RV and cruise it down a 2 lane mountain road. Often towing something behind it.

 

[rruff]

Often towing something behind it.

In many states you can tow *two* trailers behind it!

IMO the "safety" obsession has gotten overboard and nonsensical (very strict in some areas, blind in others), but I doubt that will ever change given how well fearmongering works to manipulate people.

 

[Lownomore]

In many states you can tow *two* trailers behind it!

IMO the "safety" obsession has gotten overboard and nonsensical (very strict in some areas, blind in others), but I doubt that will ever change given how well fearmongering works to manipulate people.

We're probably going a fair bit off topic from the original discussion but I don't disagree. I worked in the car business for 17 years before I moved into a position at an outfitter and some of the "safety" requirements blow my mind.

 

[nickw]

I've yet to find an actual law against an individual being over GVWR. Even at weigh stations where they are pulling over and weighing everyone, you get a pass unless they determine you are commercial. They care about commercial users because they tax them.

Safety is another matter entirely. Every truck hailing a camper is unsafe compared to a decent sedan or SUV... but most trucks+campers are safer (able to maneuver and stop better) than perfectly legal trucks towing big campers, big RVs, and bigger trucks. I mean seriously... they let a 85 year old pilot a monstrous land yacht with no training; perfectly legal. So what is the "standard" for safety? There appears to not be any. If the lawyers had any legal basis for getting obsessed about this, I'm pretty sure they'd already be all over it...

There has got to be standard industry guidelines around this I'd guess, stop in XX distance in panic stop, quantitative evasive maneuver metrics, etc. There has got to be some court cases where a manuf got sued at some point about the performance of the car to the point where they design with an eye towards the law....which must have some metrics.

Here:

Laws & Regulations | NHTSA

NHTSA issues Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, administers statutory authority, and sets vehicle safety and highway safety regulations.

www.nhtsa.gov

Air Brake Systems Amends the FMVSS on air brake systems to improve the stopping distance performance of truck tractors. The rule requires the vast majority of new heavy truck tractors to achieve a 30 percent reduction in stopping distance compared to currently required levels. For these heavy truck tractors (approximately 99 percent of the fleet), the amended standard requires those vehicles to stop in not more than 250 feet when loaded to their gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and tested at a speed of 60 miles per hour (mph). For a small number of very heavy severe service tractors, the stopping distance requirement will be 310 feet under these same conditions. In addition, this final rule requires that all heavy truck tractors must stop within 235 feet when loaded to their “lightly loaded vehicle weight” (LLVW).

 

[rruff]

There has got to be standard industry guidelines around this I'd guess, stop in XX distance in panic stop, quantitative evasive maneuver metrics, etc.

I still can't find any. No standards, but plenty showing that big trucks typically take a lot longer to stop vs cars though.