No trucks over XX tons, do you pay attention?

[Walholler]

I once drove a 18 wheeler dry bulk tanker that if fully loaded would gross out at 80,000 lbs. or 40 tons. I picked up a load of dry powder chemical used in the oil well production one night and since I got paid by how much weight I hauled, I got the old boy loading my truck to put a few extra pounds on board. When I pulled onto his scales, my truck weighed 140,000 lbs. or 70 tons. No way to unload any of it at the supplier, so I rolled grossly overloaded, I was praying that I did not blow a tire. On my way to the barge to unload I came upon a bridge sign that read, 25 ton weight limit, I never slowed down. I am guessing that Louisiana just builds better bridges than most, that bridge held the weight, but I never ask for a load again that exceeded my truck load limits.

[Delco Bobby]

Thanks for the MD info. I haven’t been down 95 since the new signs went up but expect in near future.


QUOTE=nomad297;2302218]I have noticed over the last year in a lot of places in Maryland, particularly on Route 95 that they have changed their signs for (mostly) various lane restrictions and some other purposes from “All Vehicles Over 5 Tons GVW” to “All Vehicles Over 5 Tons GVW/GVWR”. Most of the signs just have just been pasted-over with a sticker to add the “GVWR”, but some are brand new. So, anybody driving a DRW pickup can be easily spotted and pulled over because they all exceed this GVWR. My 3500 SRW is rated at 11,400 GVWR, so I can probably risk driving in the restricted lanes without a hassle.

Bruce[/QUOTE]

[rockfordroo]

My county imposes spring weight limits. When my well died in late Feb 1988, the well driller had to get a permit to bring his drill rig into the neighborhood.

I "believe" most of these signs are directed at commercial trucks, not private individuals. That still leaves UPS and FEDEX type trucks in a grey area. It's very possible that UPS/FEDEX simply get county permits each year.

[aircommuter]

We have a 2 lane mountain road that varies between 13-19%. The sign there say no trailers, motor homes, weight limit 7500. The reason the new sign went up was due to tourists with small rented RVs losing the brakes due to overheating and going off the edge. Several deaths equals a sign because government must protect People from themselves.

[U.S.ArmyVeteran]

Originally Posted by jimmarako

Something to keep us busy while sitting around.
Jim M.

I think you got your wish......and more.


Have fun!

[koller1509]

Originally Posted by CampCoffee

First, the sign does, indeed, refer to Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), not Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). If your actual Gross Weight equaled or exceeded the posted limit you would be in violation; regardless of whether someone told you your 2500 was a passenger vehicle, not a truck.

The question isn't limited to enforcement. If a vehicle exceeding the posted weight limit is involved in a collision, regardless of fault, the overweight vehicle could be held liable; civilly and otherwise. Current thinking, and precedent exists, is the non-compliant vehicle should not have occupied the space, at that time, and if the vehicle had complied, no collision could have occurred.

You haven't seen the sign, so how do you know that??? Most times these signs are for commercial traffic and are due to road or bridge conditions. Many cities will put these up to keep commercial vehicles out of residential areas. You are making a lot of assumptions without all the facts.

[upflying]

"No trucks" signs apply to commercial vehicles not privately registered pickups.
And commercial trucks are allowed if they have a reason to be there..such as a delivery.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

I'm of the opinion that a sign stating "no trucks over 4 tons" is referring to the carrying capacity of the truck. A 2500 is considered a 3/4 ton (although rated a bit higher.) I'm hoping that one of our LEOs on the forum can clarify this for us.
I do pay close attention to signs stating "no trucks over XX weight" as I still drive fire trucks and this can be a huge concern for us.

In my state the GVWR on the "sticker" is all that matters. Other than being a legacy term, 1/2, 3/4, or 1 ton means nothing.

[John Hendrick]

A significant number of those signs (especially bridges) are right at the entrance to the bridge, quite honestly if you are pulling a heavy 5th wheel, how do you back out of that, you don't. The signs need to be in places that allow people to detour elsewhere, you seldom have such an opportunity.

[Oafdawg]

Asking for legal advice in a forum such as this is never a good idea. When someones says "yes, go for it" get it in writing from them that they'll pay your legal bills when you get a ticket, or worse, get arrested and have your rig towed!

[itat]

Around here we have what we call “half load season” every Spring that restricts vehicles with an actual weight above 5 tonnes (a metric tonne is about 2200#) on most rural roads (not the main arterials). The reason is that the road structure is more susceptible to damage as the frost melts. It may not be enforced vigorously but too many people ignoring the sign will result in the road condition deteriorating faster than it should.

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by John Hendrick

A significant number of those signs (especially bridges) are right at the entrance to the bridge, quite honestly if you are pulling a heavy 5th wheel, how do you back out of that, you don't. The signs need to be in places that allow people to detour elsewhere, you seldom have such an opportunity.

There are trip planning websites that will help with bridges, and routing. When one starts driving bigger and heavier things planning is part of it.

[IICAPN]

Could be that if there is damage caused to a bridge or other feature, and the road authority (government) can show your "overweight" vehicle was a direct or contributing cause, they would then make a claim against you and or insurance company for their determined damages. I've heard of more outlandish things happening...

[aircommuter]

That does happen. We had a concrete truck delivery to our job one time and he took the short cut over a bridge that was not rated for that weight. Someone turned him in and his employer had to have the bridge inspected by a structural engineer and post a bond for one year and have it inspected again prior to the expiration of the bond.

[rockfordroo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHxvj7C0OT8

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by aircommuter

That does happen. We had a concrete truck delivery to our job one time and he took the short cut over a bridge that was not rated for that weight. Someone turned him in and his employer had to have the bridge inspected by a structural engineer and post a bond for one year and have it inspected again prior to the expiration of the bond.

Same happened not long ago not far from me. Nobody had to turn the driver in though. His truck and most of the bridge was sitting in the bottom of the creek.

[67L48]

When I was last in Boulder, there were signs in the area that had weight limits of 7,000 lbs or below. I hadn't ever seen a sign with such a low rating that would preclude anything over a 1/2 ton from entering.

This is from the corner of Valmont Rd and Fulsom Rd, where Valmont turns into Edgewood Dr. I don't know enough about city ordinances to know if passenger trucks would be excepted or not. But it's about the 341st reason I avoid Boulder like the plague.

[jimmarako]

Originally Posted by 67L48

When I was last in Boulder, there were signs in the area that had weight limits of 7,000 lbs or below. I hadn't ever seen a sign with such a low rating that would preclude anything over a 1/2 ton from entering.

This is even more confusing. My 2500 has a curb weight of around 6700 pounds. So does that mean I'm OK on this road? Curb weight = empty weight? So when I go to the quarry and load up with 3000 pounds of gravel I still good to go.

Jim M.

[GoneSouth10]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

I'm not an engineer, but isn't this how suspension bridges are supposed to work? Although the flex is very exaggerated and thus easily visible here, I'm pretty sure that the bridge flexes whenever vehicles go over it, you just can't see it. Pretty cool to see it flex THAT much . . .

On the other hand . . .

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by 67L48

When I was last in Boulder, there were signs in the area that had weight limits of 7,000 lbs or below. I hadn't ever seen a sign with such a low rating that would preclude anything over a 1/2 ton from entering.

This is from the corner of Valmont Rd and Fulsom Rd, where Valmont turns into Edgewood Dr. I don't know enough about city ordinances to know if passenger trucks would be excepted or not. But it's about the 341st reason I avoid Boulder like the plague.

When i lived in Colorado we joked that you could go there on a nice day and just sit in your car with the windows down to get high. Didn"t have to even smoke weed, there was enough smoke already in the air.

Anyone remember the weird press conferences their police chief held during the Ramsey kidnapping investigation?