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Wade Lippman
01-10-2018, 7:34 AM
My son lives 800 miles away and we will be seeing him in the spring.
Our car has a capacity of 1400 pounds.
He wants his weight cage, bench, and weights.
I figure that, and us, will weight about 1300 pounds.

Is driving that far with nearly the maximum capacity a safe thing to do?

I frankly have no idea.

Jim Becker
01-10-2018, 7:41 AM
Wade, it's important to understand that the cargo limit for a vehicle includes the driver and any passengers, the gear and any tongue weight if a trailer is attached. So in your stated situation and with just the driver, it's likely that the vehicle limit will be exceeded unless the driver is, um...very tiny. :) A small utility trailer may be a better idea for transferring this material to your son's location.

roger wiegand
01-10-2018, 8:01 AM
Wade indicated he was counting the passengers. The weight limit is the upper limit of safety, so if you are below that you are, from the vehicle manufacturers point of view, safe. There is almost certainly a built-in margin of error, I'g guess in most vehicles you could probably go 1.5 to 2x the limit before you actually start breaking parts. In trucks anyway tires are the weak point, followed, surprisingly, by wheels. Your load is the equivalent of five large people in the car, certainly something the car was designed to do.

That said, as you increase the load handling will change and braking distances will increase. You probably want to understand how your vehicle responds, particularly when you hit a bump at high speed or do a quick maneuver by trying it out on a quiet piece of road before roaring off at 80 mph.

When my truck is fully loaded with camper and trailer I sit right at the GCWR, with both axle weights very close to the max (23,800 lbs last time I weighed it). I relax, set the cruise control at 55-58 mph, settle into the right lane, and try to avoid excitement.

Alan Rutherford
01-10-2018, 8:03 AM
The manufacturer thinks it's safe. You can be sure that their legal department built some cushion into that weight limit.

We pulled a double-axle trailer loaded to about 5,000 pounds diagonally all the way across the country a few years ago, with a car rated for 5,000 pounds towing. Going uphill in the mountains was tedious (and you can't use your flashers because they activate the trailer brakes) and we only passed one vehicle that didn't pass us back when it had the chance, but I never felt that it was really unsafe. I had a rear-view camera that was on all the time.

If the snow has melted, you keep your rear view unobstructed and you learn to drive like an old man with survival instincts if you don't do that already, you should be fine. If you're concerned about cutting it that close, remember that 10 gallons of gas weighs 65 pounds. Maybe you should skip breakfast.

Using a trailer is not a bad idea if you are used to pulling one and your car is OK with it (my Prius is not).

PS: and don't put all the weight in the trunk. Keep it balanced and centered in the car as much as possible.

Ole Anderson
01-10-2018, 9:10 AM
If you feel comfortable driving with a full complement of large people (as Roger noted), with no significant luggage, then you should be good to go, weight is weight. Just be sure to secure it as well or better as you would any passengers.

Robert Engel
01-10-2018, 9:10 AM
Load it up and go for a test ride.

Check status of the struts first. Most cars need replacing after 75K.

Jim Becker
01-10-2018, 9:38 AM
Wade indicated he was counting the passengers. T

My bad...'didn't sleep well last night because I had to get up at "oh-dark-too-early" to take my daughter to a coworker's house so they could drive off to a company meeting a couple hours away and my latté hadn't yet kicked in. So yes, on that parameter, they should be fine. But I'd still opt for the trailer for that much stuff!

Ted Calver
01-10-2018, 9:58 AM
Make sure your tires are inflated to carry that load.

Pat Barry
01-10-2018, 12:05 PM
The weight is one thing but maybe more important is how the weight is distributed. I would want to make sure the weight was spread around between the back (what kind of vehicle?) and the front / passenger side, and back seat areas.

Jim Becker
01-10-2018, 12:22 PM
Pat is spot-on about weight distribution...too much in the back and braking/steering gets really squirrelly...

Matt Day
01-10-2018, 1:09 PM
Sounds like a good time to rent a trailer.

roger wiegand
01-10-2018, 4:12 PM
Watching people on the highway pulling uhauls I would go the other way and say that if you don't have experience towing and a trailer that you personally maintain in top shape you're probably much better off putting the stuff inside the car. Trailers add an order of magnitude of safety issues to driving down the road, ranging from poor visibility to equipment failures. It is rare to drive the Mass Pike across the state and not see a trailer pulled over that has lost a tire or wheel.

I venture to say he probably won't even notice the difference of that much weight in a moderately sized vehicle.

Jim Koepke
01-10-2018, 4:15 PM
Have you thought of renting a U-Haul van?

Here in the west they have a fairly good sized one that cost about $20 a day. Just do not tell them you need it to go out of state or long distance. Some are only for local use. Let them know you are going to rack on the miles. It might be better than taking a chance on your own car.

jtk

Wade Lippman
01-10-2018, 6:02 PM
It is a Mazda CX9; a reasonably big SUV.
We have no experience with a trailer, and no hitch.

The weight plates are 400 pound; nearly half of the load other than us in the front seats. I can put those on the floor of the 2nd row of seats, which is right in the middle of the car. I can put the rest in the back, so the car should be pretty well balanced.
Do you see any problem with 400 pounds on the floor?

Bob Leistner
01-10-2018, 6:58 PM
Only if you are stopped suddenly. Even a minor accident could be fatal.

Jim Becker
01-10-2018, 7:11 PM
Bob brings up a good point...it's important to have that cargo "contained" in case of a sudden stop. Flying objects can be deadly, even if they don't weigh all that much. In this case, they do. That said, getting the weight farther forward like that is a good idea relative to balance.

Perry Hilbert Jr
01-11-2018, 6:19 AM
Do yourself a favor and ship some of it. I have done quite a bit of hauling and I don't like driving a fully loaded car or truck. Ditto on Weight distribution is important, making sure there are no flying or shifting objects behind you in the event you hit something or must stop suddenly (witnessed a freak accident of a young man moving his personal belongings. He put a small tv set on top the stuff in the rear seat. When he slammed on the brakes to avoid a sudden collision ahead of him the tv set flew forward and broke against the rear of his head, knocked him out and he almost bled to death from the cuts on the scalp. My traveling companion had been a medic and saved the man's life. ) Keep the tires inflated properly but do not over inflate, particularly if you will be in warm weather on hot roadways. Full weight may affect steering & breaking distance, so drive accordingly.

Pat Barry
01-11-2018, 7:52 AM
It is a Mazda CX9; a reasonably big SUV.
We have no experience with a trailer, and no hitch.

The weight plates are 400 pound; nearly half of the load other than us in the front seats. I can put those on the floor of the 2nd row of seats, which is right in the middle of the car. I can put the rest in the back, so the car should be pretty well balanced.
Do you see any problem with 400 pounds on the floor?
When I first read this I imagined that the individual weight plates were 400lbs, something right out of the Worlds Strongest Man competition I watched recently. But, as long as they are contained so they don't slide under the seats, etc, they should be fine there

Wade Lippman
01-11-2018, 1:28 PM
When I first read this I imagined that the individual weight plates were 400lbs, something right out of the Worlds Strongest Man competition I watched recently. But, as long as they are contained so they don't slide under the seats, etc, they should be fine there

He is proud of squatting 385 pounds. I don't know what that means, but he is proud of it. still, 400 pound weights are probably not all that useful...

My wife came home excited yesterday because she erged a 23.21 5K. Not sure what that means either, but she is proud of it. Apparently it makes her 24th in the world over 65. Perhaps almost no women over 65 erg?

But more to the point, I have lots of webbing straps; I can probably secure everything to the seat bases.

Pat Barry
01-11-2018, 2:45 PM
He is proud of squatting 385 pounds. I don't know what that means, but he is proud of it. still, 400 pound weights are probably not all that useful...

My wife came home excited yesterday because she erged a 23.21 5K. Not sure what that means either, but she is proud of it. Apparently it makes her 24th in the world over 65. Perhaps almost no women over 65 erg?

But more to the point, I have lots of webbing straps; I can probably secure everything to the seat bases.
I have a neighbor who moved in next door as a tenant a few months ago. One evening I kept hearing a big thud inside our house and went out to investigate. After a while I heard it again very clearly from my front yard. Sounded like someone trying to break up concrete with a sledgehammer except it only happened one time every couple minutes. Turns out the new neighbor was doing some dead lifts in the garage and apparently, its expected behavior to drop the weight from knee high once you get it lifted up, especially when lifting very heavy weights. LOL At least now that's its cold out they have cut back on their lift and drop workouts.

Jim Becker
01-11-2018, 3:29 PM
I'm no lifter, Pat, but I believe they release the weights like that because it would be dangerous to try and set them down slowly. A proper mat should help mitigate some of the noise, but...a lot of weight crashing down is gonna make sound and vibration!

Myk Rian
01-11-2018, 3:41 PM
Just put most of the weight in the center of the vehicle, and enjoy the ride. No sense losing sleep over it. You'll be fine.

Bill Jobe
01-11-2018, 5:36 PM
I'd want great tires and brakes.

Jason Roehl
01-12-2018, 4:29 AM
I'd check the oil, air the tires to what the door sticker says, strap the stuff in and go. This is getting WAY overthought here...

Brian Brown
01-12-2018, 11:10 AM
Seems like a lot of engineering, and physics going to waste for a non-problem. It wasn't a problem for these people.

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Apparently the problem is that you are trying to put the stuff on the inside, where, as you can clearly see, the answer is to put it on the outside! :D:D:D

Actually, my solution is far more simple. Get yourself an arm sling, and the biggest knee brace you can find, put them on, and facetime your son. Tell him that the doctor has limited you to lifting 5 lbs, with a 300 lb aggregate. Also, let him know that it is past time for him to come visit you. While he is there, remind him that he wanted to have his weights. His vehicle has a higher load limit anyway. :D Sorry, I just had shoulder surgery, and feel like a total invalid. This is how my brain has to work for 4 more weeks. :mad: Seriously, no matter how you choose too transport the stuff, be certain you securely tie everything down. A local family went camping for the weekend, and on their return trip, a driver in the other lane fell asleep at the wheel. The head on collision was bad, but all would have survived except a dutch oven wasn't tied down securely enough, and the lid flew like a frisbee. This is gross, but it decapitated the driver. Everyone else recovered from their injuries, but the one item not tied down caused a disaster.

Wade Lippman
01-12-2018, 10:32 PM
I've told him to find weights on Craigslist and I'll bring the cage. The weights just aren't that expensive and carrying them 800 miles just doesn't make sense. I can sell his and probably break even. He doesn't like it, but he can use a little adversity.

I appreciate everyone's help.