a towing question you should ask yourself - how much does my state think is legal?

jeeplj8 · 03-03-2013, 02:41 PM

After reading so many threads from people about how much they can (or should) tow, I was reminded of an episode years ago that I believe most people think about.

In my home state the Department of Motor Vehicles treats all light duty and medium duty trucks the same. The are licensed with a particular weight plate. When you go to register your new to you truck the kind lady will ask you what weight rating you wish to register your truck. The lowest is 6,000 lbs. And that is what the vast majority of people will pick because of course it cheapest. What most people do not understand is that weight rating is GCVWR, so it includes not just the truck, but anything attached.

Several years ago I was assisting a friend with a traffic ticket. I witnessed this law in action, and it was ugly. The story was that a couple was doing to landscaping work on their house. They owned a Chevy 1500 extended cab pickup and had gone to the local rental place to pickup a tandem axle dump trailer to move some dirt. Husband had filled the trailer with dirt and then sent wife on down the road to dump it. A state trooper saw her and stopped her. He had the scales and weighed her, then issued a ticket they will never forget.

The combination weighed in at over 21,000 lbs. The truck itself was 7500 lbs (I am guessing some serious tongue weight) and the trailer a little shy of 13K. Incredibly the trooper told the judge the truck had some sag in the rear, but not much. He sounded surprised it weighed in so heavy.

They were over their plate rating, no question and no defense. The fine is $100.00 for being over, plus .10 per pound. It was a $1,600.00 fine. Plus they had to pay a tow bill (the trooper would not let them continue with the trailer), attorney's fees (not that the attorney was able to help them much) and court costs. Total was probably in the neighborhood of $3,000.00.

Obviously this was an extreme case. I will certainly never forget it. I always tagged my trucks as close to my rated GCVRW as possible to avoid this, but it sure hammered the point home. I have seen the MO state troopers out with 5th wheels pulled over with the scales out.

As the couple walked away I caught the look the wife gave her husband and it occurred to me, the fine he just paid was nothing compared to what the divorce was about to cost him.

pwrstroke2012 · 03-03-2013, 02:48 PM

That is so misleading. When I went from a 1/2 ton to a 1 ton all the Ohio BMV said you have a truck now, pay extra.

The little guy to the left was them behind the counter.

Oakman · 03-03-2013, 03:10 PM

I've been hauling a fifth wheel trailer for over 9 years all over the state of MO and I've yet to see a fifth wheel pulled over for weight. I've also saw plenty of fifth wheels with bass boats in tow that are well over the legal limit in length and have yet to see one of them pulled over either.

ChooChooMan74 · 03-03-2013, 06:20 PM

All the local states where I live do not have that rule. Up to a certain GVW, you can register passenger. Above that, Commercial. They don't care how big of a trailer you tow.

**Herk7769** · 03-03-2013, 07:31 PM

In PA the weight class is not combined weight but the maximum truck weight (GVWR).

The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search

If you register your 3/4 ton as a Class 1 truck and ever haul (OR WEIGH) more than 5,000 pounds you will be getting a pretty big ticket if you are ever stopped.

Since most 3/4 ton trucks weigh more than 5000 empty, just having a Class 1 registration could get you a ticket worth several hundred dollars even empty.

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms...rms/mv-70s.pdf

The fine is 2 times the cost of the correct weight class sticker PLUS the cost of the correct sticker. Since my 3/4 ton has a GVWR of 9300 pounds it requires 4A (9001-10,000 pounds). It costs 198.00 per year. If I had it listed as a Class 1 pickup, the registration would be $58.50 per year. The fine plus registration if stopped would be $396.00 plus the 198.00 or $594.00

The CAMPER must be registered at ITS max gross weight (not empty weight) as well. That sticker is pretty cheap at 12.00 (up to 10,000) or $27.00 (over 10,001)

asquared · 03-03-2013, 08:02 PM

Good luck getting a correct interpretation from your DMV. I have been trying to figure out what to register for here in NC. The DMV had no idea and the DOT isn't answering my emails. I'm registered at 10,000 lb right now which covers me for truck weight plus tongue weight and then a little cushion. My TV and TT combined weigh in at 15,500 lbs. my truck gcwr is way above that.

**Herk7769** · 03-03-2013, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anaro

Good luck getting a correct interpretation from your DMV. I have been trying to figure out what to register for here in NC. The DMV had no idea and the DOT isn't answering my emails. I'm registered at 10,000 lb right now which covers me for truck weight plus tongue weight and then a little cushion. My TV and TT combined weigh in at 15,500 lbs. my truck gcwr is way above that.

Your web site is notoriously unhelpful.
There is NO plate fee listed for a private truck over 6000 pounds.
http://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/fees/default.html?s=DF

asquared · 03-03-2013, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herk7769

Your web site is notoriously unhelpful.
There is NO plate fee listed for a private truck over 6000 pounds.
NCDOT: License Fees

I have to agree with you herk. i gave up in the website a long time ago. In NC you can renew a vehicle registration up to 6000 lbs online. Over 6000 lbs must be done by mail or in person. Please tell me how mailing a check makes a difference over renewing online? The person at the DMV doesn't even care what weight you register your truck for as long as the boxes are checked. It is utterly ridiculous.

**KyDan** · 03-03-2013, 09:25 PM

In Kentucky the standard plate for a pick up is not marked but it's 6000 LBS.
It looks exactly the same as a car or SUV plate.
The 10,000 plate IS marked with 10000 on the lower edge.
They cost the same.

lbrjet · 03-03-2013, 09:33 PM

When I got my truck a few years ago the DMV lady wanted to put a 7000lb plate on it, because she said the truck weighed 6500lbs. I told her I wanted the 9000lb plate and after some arguing she finally relented. She couldn't understand why I wanted to pay the additional 20 bucks a year when 'I didn't have to', according to her. I keep a weight ticket in my truck showing 8400lbs fully loaded weight with my trailer attached in case I ever need it. Here in Indiana there is no weight listed on the RV tag, just the truck.

jsk · 03-03-2013, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anaro

Good luck getting a correct interpretation from your DMV. I have been trying to figure out what to register for here in NC. The DMV had no idea and the DOT isn't answering my emails. I'm registered at 10,000 lb right now which covers me for truck weight plus tongue weight and then a little cushion. My TV and TT combined weigh in at 15,500 lbs. my truck gcwr is way above that.

Here is my understanding about the NC DMV. If it has a bathroom in it then that weight does not have to be registered. The registration weight must cover my truck and boat but not truck and camper. I called the DMV in Raleigh and my local DMV confirmed when I went to get tags. Not saying it makes sense but this is what was told to me. This all took place in 2011.

puff · 03-03-2013, 09:53 PM

Well I drive truck up here in Canada B.C. and I know they are starting to crack down. they have scales all over our highways and portable ones as well...

If your hauling your 5th wheel the first thing you need as a driver is a "heavy hauling endorsement" - this is a test with your truck and trailer (over5000kg) to show you know how to handle your unit or a class 3 drivers license which is air and small trucks.

My cousin from Alberta was driving from there out here and was turned back just after the border and was told to take his 2500 Chevy and his 36ft trailer home,

he was sagging pretty good.

Most DMV DOT guys are pretty good in doing their job, however, I know if your dragging a big girl behind your 2500 it better look like it can handle it. Any 1500 truck with a big trailer almost always gets looked at twice and most often pulled over and weighed out.

We don't have plates up here stating weight, it is on our insurance papers. And your GCVWR is what they are looking at. And get the right guy on the wrong day and it could be anyone's worst night mare..!

jeeplj8 · 03-04-2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oakman

I've been hauling a fifth wheel trailer for over 9 years all over the state of MO and I've yet to see a fifth wheel pulled over for weight. I've also saw plenty of fifth wheels with bass boats in tow that are well over the legal limit in length and have yet to see one of them pulled over either.

Have you seen the new Tahoe's on I-70 around Warrenton? The MOHP got a federal grant to equip them with portable scales. That is there only function, to pull people over and weigh them. Over on my side of the state Troop A has 2 trucks, so does Troop F. I have seen them quite often on 13 coming out of Clinton.

ChooChooMan74 · 03-04-2013, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeeplj8

Have you seen the new Tahoe's on I-70 around Warrenton? The MOHP got a federal grant to equip them with portable scales. That is there only function, to pull people over and weigh them. Over on my side of the state Troop A has 2 trucks, so does Troop F. I have seen them quite often on 13 coming out of Clinton.

So they are looking for big rigs and people with MO plates towing?

jeeplj8 · 03-04-2013, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChooChooMan74

So they are looking for big rigs and people with MO plates towing?

Technically they are looking for any possible weight violation. That would include GCVWR in excess of your registered weight, or any DOT violation for commercial carriers.

I think for private individuals they probably focus mostly on toy haulers because of the size, but that is just an assumption.

Oaklevel · 03-04-2013, 11:46 AM

Every state is very different for anything under 26000 lbs then it can come under DOT (Usually commercial)

After talking with a state trooper his comment was DMV will sell you anything but does not excuse the owner not having the correct tags, etc...... Having said that they try to overlook RVs because of the high tourst $$ coming into the state. But of course if something is totally wrong like double towing they will be stopped & ticketed and be made legal before continuing . He also said the comment about not being able to catch all the fish in the lake while fishing......

Virginia has two main types of regular tags Car & Truck "Car under 7500 lbs & truck over 7501. Then there are sub sections that will be listed on the registration (such as up to 10000 lbs). I see alot of duellys with car tags (up to 7500) but put anything in it or tow then they are asking for problems....... Here the truck is tagged for the truck & the trailer for the trailer weight.......

I have not seen the state DOT scale guys with an RV pulled over but commercial vehicles is another story.......

myredracer · 03-04-2013, 12:00 PM

Over the years I have seen many people put extremely heavy loads in the beds of their 1/2 ton trucks - gravel, cement blocks, bags of concrete and the like. So much so that the rear bumpers are almost dragging on the ground and the rear tires look like they are going to pop. It's extremely dangerous. Yet, I have never seen or heard of anyone ever getting stopped or fined for this. I just don't know how people can be so stupid. It seems like such an obvious no-no.

In comparison, I can see how people can overload their tow vehicles with their TT or 5er and either not know or understand how unsafe it is. I have to wonder how many people out their are towing something with a bumper-mounted ball that grossly exceeds the bumper capacity. That scenario is so easy to happen. Maybe they shouldn't sell trucks with a hole in the bumper for a hitch ball??

In the municipality that we live in, you almost never see cops doing any kind of traffic/road safety enforcement. They seem to have a real laisse-fair attitude here.

It can be so easy to ignore motor vehicle regulations and they sometimes don't get enforced very well. However, if you ever do get in an accident and you violated any rules or regulations, the law will come down on you like a ton of bricks and you will pay the price. It's better just to check out what's required first.

Oaklevel · 03-04-2013, 12:32 PM

I agree but going a few miles overloaded in a pickup is very different than pulling a trailer overloaded on the interstate........ Many over load a pickup either because thats what they can "afford", it a "one time thing" or what ever.......... Going from Lowes to home is very different......................But I agree you see some wild things going down the road...

When I was younger I had a Bronco Half Cab 4x4 with a dump bed (DW hated it) that I loaded with 1/2 weight but the frame rode on the rear axel. It was stable ... good for the truck??? Unsafe????? Of course a 70 Bronco was alot tougher than a 2013 F-whatever . Ever seen a mobile home (not an RV) being towed down the road by an F250.

Now with my 12.5K camper I would not think of pulling it with less than a heavy truck....

puff · 03-04-2013, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myredracer

It can be so easy to ignore motor vehicle regulations and they sometimes don't get enforced very well. However, if you ever do get in an accident and you violated any rules or regulations, the law will come down on you like a ton of bricks and you will pay the price. It's better just to check out what's required first.

I think this is the point exactly..! Many of us choose or think our units are just fine or under the limits of the truck or DOT or what ever your evil. Some people turn the other cheek and ignore it, others er on the side of safety.

What we choose to pull or put in our trucks is our choice. Get into an accident and watch how quickly the tables will turn in that it was overloaded or over the GCVW or what ever.

My .02 worth

DnD · 03-04-2013, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puff

I think this is the point exactly..! Many of us choose or think our units are just fine or under the limits of the truck or DOT or what ever your evil. Some people turn the other cheek and ignore it, others er on the side of safety.

What we choose to pull or put in our trucks is our choice. Get into an accident and watch how quickly the tables will turn in that it was overloaded or over the GCVW or what ever.

My .02 worth

X2

Additional point...It isn't just your equipment/life potentialy at risk, you could hurt or kill someone else.

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