raising 5th wheel

Get over yourself.

 

For trucks, I am an employee. I am also the owner of a fabrication shop that builds chassis's and suspensions for street rods and drag cars. I haven't been a certified welder for more than 10 years. It's not needed for what I do, so it's a waste of money. I am very liable when I build a street rod that may be carrying someones wife and kids on a the street with other people. More so than a drag car going 200+ MPH, it may seem that going 200 MPH would be a more severe crash, but believe it, it's safer than any 65-70 MPH crash on the highway. I understand the liability and I am insured. Almost everything I do is a modification to something that affects safety, insurance would be useless for me if they denied any modifications.

I agree with you 100% that if you build it, you are responsible, I'm not arguing that one bit. If those risers fail and the trailer falls off, he's liable and his insurance will most likely deny any claim. If that truck passed a legal FAI or state inspection after the mod, insurance cannot legally deny any claim due to a modification that was deemed safe and legal by a qualified inspection station. 5th wheel and mounting are part of the FAI or state inspection. The simple fact that it was modified doesn't mean it's inferior.

Some people should not attempt any safety related repairs, others can do just as good or better than the manufacturer. He'd carry more liability doing his own brake job than raising the 5th wheel like that.

 

Do you know why this forum has to delete epa posts for modification? It's not about getting over themselves. I will guarantee you, if they weren't held hostage, they would be very accommadating.

 

An interesting point to the liability issue before an inspection and after an inspection.

 

Ya know, all the guy did was build some quality 5th wheel risers & all you can do is crucify him. We get your point, your responsible for your actions. What do you do for a living other than run your mouth a lot?

 

Grape, you have helped out many people on this forum with what you know, me included. I respect you for that, because you are a caring person. I'm sure you have lots of other ways you could be spending your time, but you want to help out your fellow man, and that's admirable.

 

If you don't know the difference between modifying a vehicles emissions system (prohibited by law) and modifying a 5th wheel mount by adding a riser (in a manner which complies with the regulations), then perhaps you should consult an attorney to have it all explained to you.

Seriously, get your head out of your hind end. The guy obviously put some thought into the project and the end result looks pretty darn good...and not much different than what he would have received at any number of "professional" fabrication shops, but at a fraction of the cost because he did the job himself. Liability is only a crippling concern for people who don't know what they are doing and are pretty sure they'd screw it up if they tried to do the job. The rest of us know it is there, but aren't the least bit worried about it because we know the quality of the work we do. You've already shown us which category you fall into, just like Ezrider has shown us where he stands.

 

Lets keep it civil folks.

Hurst

 

This thread was headed for disaster in a hurry. I'd hate to see it locked cause there is valuable info here and opinions as well. Let's give ez some respect for starting a thread such as this to help other members out.