My boat and trailer weight 7700 pounds. According to my owner's manual, the max weight for towing a trailer is 7150 pounds. That puts me about 550 pounds over the limit. Since the boat is 10 feet wide, I have to get a "wide load" permit.
Does anybody have any experience how much slack the law would cut me being 550 pounds over the limit?

 

you'll be fine, most dot and troopers wont ask for weight slips.

 

Should be fine. Just be careful towing that. You would be better off with a 2500 as they have better braking, but if it has good brakes on the trailer you should be fine as long as your smart and take it slow.

 

What about weigh stations?? Could get fined for every pound your over weight if you get pulled over / or not. All depends .

 

Most places when you're pulling a trailer with a pickup that isnt a 5th wheel you usually dont have to weigh in.

I never did pulling my 410 ditch witch and florida is ****'s when it comes to dot

 

I've never heard of someone with a pickup getting a ticket for towing more than what the truck is rated for.

I've pulled a couple 9-10k lb trailers and wasn't worried a bit about getting pulled over because it's unheard of around here (unless you're driving an 18 wheeler or a dump truck).

 

As said above, you don't get tickets for being over the max tow rating. Officers don't carry around a book with every different truck ever manufactured, including the different options available that affect the tow rating.

What you should be worried about is towing that boat. If it's just one time you'll be fine, but if you plan on doing it a lot your life is going to be hell. Trying to make a 1/2 ton to the work a 3/4 ton is supposed to never ends well.

 

I agree, I would be more worried about the wear and tear on your truck. The max towing weight of 7150 that you stated is for when your truck was brand new.

 

Thanks for the input. The trailer is brand new so the surge brakes should be fine. I just inspected the brake system on the truck and it's fine. I've done a lot of work on the truck to get it ready for this so it should be up for the job. I'm not planning to set any speed records towing it and I've towed some pretty heavy loads in the past but nothing I had to get a permit for and nothing over the limit.
I'll probablly only tow the boat once every couple of years so I don't know that it's worth sell the truck and buying a new one. I wanted to get the 3/4 ton Cummins 10 years ago when I bought this one but for some reason the sales guy talked me out of it. He said unless i was doing a lot of towing it wasn't worth it. That was wierd because I'd never had a car salesman talk me into spending $8k less. I guess he didn't appreciate the fact I buy a new vehicle and drive it until the wheels fall off.
But that combined with the fear of diesel fuel going to $5/gal because of the looming ultra-low Sulfur regulations made me go with the 1500. The truck does have the 5.9L and the towing package. I guess at some point, I could add heavier springs and better brakes.
Thanks again.