Know the load carrying capacity of your SUV – It’s IMPORTANT!

One of the major hidden liability issues related to buying/owning a SUV these days is the payload capacity of the vehicle. Most people are not aware that several new SUV models are overloaded by around 200 lbs in the form of passengers alone. Most SUV manufacturers are aware of this issue so there is no safety bets on this. Older SUVs are much better in this regard because they had higher payload. However, the newer models are overloaded merely by 4 passengers and no additional cargo. This increases the risk of the vehicle overturning, especially when making sharp turns at high speeds.

A significant misleading factor that makes consumers overlook this issue is that the SUVs have such large cargo carrying capacities. There is plenty of room to keep things in the SUV even when the payload is quite low. Now just imagine attaching a tow-hitch or a roof rack and you are simply asking for trouble.

How to check load carrying capacity of SUVs?

Another contributing factor is that there is no easy way to find out the load carrying capacity of SUVs. There are only a handful of SUVs that include this information in their list of specifications. Most owner manuals do not even mention this important detail. Some documentation even has the outright effrontery to suggest that you should go around to the local grain elevator or local truck stop to find out the weight of the SUV. Unfortunately, knowing the weight of your SUV is not exactly like knowing how much load it can carry safely. What you need to do is use the empty (also called dry or curb weight) and then subtract the gross weight of the vehicle from it to calculate the maximum payload of the vehicle. Of course, once you start adding additional things to the vehicle like towed packages or racks then the whole equation needs to be revaluated.

Do not worry about the tyres because their payload is much higher than the vehicle's and mentioned clearly on the sidewalls. There have been some tests conducted where the SUVs tyre was deliberately blown and did not cause the vehicle to go into a roll. However, most of these tests are performed using unloaded SUVs. When you read about these tests pay careful attention to the test conditions to make sure you are actually reading the results correctly. Weight load is a critical factor in testing a vehicle's stability.

Why are SUVs preferred?

The reason why SUVs are more trustworthy than other forms of transportation is their suspension. The SUV suspensions are designed to make driving over rough terrain smoother. SUVs because of their design, have a much higher centre of gravity since they have a bigger ground clearance. The more weight you add to an SUV the higher its centre of gravity becomes and this increases the risk of the vehicle overturning.

Smaller SUVs run a far greater risk when compared to larger SUVs. A smaller size means a smaller wheelbase. That, in combination with a high centre of gravity means more instability.

So, is the SUV  your choice of transportation? Don’t forget to pay attention to these details when you are buying a SUV or when you are loading it.