This is a great thread ... and perhaps a deal-buster for me buyin' an SMB.
The legal ramifications can't be overlooked. Regardless of who's at fault in a collision, if the other party can prove your over GVWR and hire at least a second-year law student ... you lose. Everything. Everything you own ... everything you will EVER own ... and prob'ly everything your young'uns will ever own. It's a simple number. Jurors like simple numbers. I sold my 1-ton dually and bought a Peterbilt to tow my tow hauler for this very reason ... just to make sure the simple numbers were legal.
The engineerin' ramifications can't be overlooked neither. Constantly operatin' equipment at max load ain't good. Metal fatigue is cumulative. Lil' here ... lil' there ... then thangs start to break. Do some real wheelin' and the fatigue rises exponentially from the stress. My 4800 lb. rockcrawler has 1-ton runnin' gear. That's overkill. Overkill is REAL good.
In the maritime industry, weight is critical when you buy a new barge or ship. Extra weight means less cargo. Less cargo means less profit. Therefore, you can actu'ly refuse payment/delivery if the new vessel comes in at more than the designed weight. Wonder how that'd go over at SMB??
Just some deep thoughts from a shallow mind.
And a newbie question ... does anyone from SMB frequent this forum??