How would there be distribution problems in a front loading machine with no room for tumbling to allow an unblanced load? Actually the situation is almost impossible to achieve. I have seen commercial Milnors packed with dry laundry, but when the washer fills with water, the load volume decreases to allow room for tumbling. And what about if the packing, I mean overloading, restricts the movement of the agitator in a top loader? That would be the analogous situation to a front loader so packed that little or no tumbling takes place. That places strain on the clutch & transmission parts. At the very least, it could cause belts to slip and eventually break in machines where the belt serves as the clutch. The reason most washers go out on thermal overload is oversudsing and the resulting sudslock when it tries to spin, not overloading. Tripping the motor's thermal overload is not the same as overloading the machine, nor is it fatal. The thermal overload switch is designed to protect the motor. If tripping it killed the motor, what would be the point in having a thermal overload device to protect the motor?