How do you have your truck GVW registered?

[DirtySouthTruck]

I pull my 24k goose neck with my 10k truck.

Everyone tells me something different.

Everyone being a different DOT officer to old time truckers.

Do I need to register my trucks GVW for the truck and trailer or just the truck?

It was at 7000, which is less then she weighs empty, but that is how she came from the Chevy dealer.

Just upped it to 25,999 this week, as per a DOT officer recommended to me.

As I read the laws I am legal to pull my trailer, and gross out at a max of 34,000. 10,000 as my trucks sticker says, and 24,000 as my trailer sticker says.

So was the 25,999 over kill?

Do semi trucks register there truck at 80,000 lbs or just the GVW of the power unit?

Sean

 

[Ford LT-9000]

If your pulling the trailer on a regular basis or as a business you gotta license the truck for the total weight you carry. Load the trailer up with the heaviest load you carry go to a Cat scale and see what your total weight is and license the truck for that.

 

[tylermckee]

edit

 

[Duke]

I pull my 24k goose neck with my 10k truck.

Everyone tells me something different.

Everyone being a different DOT officer to old time truckers.

Do I need to register my trucks GVW for the truck and trailer or just the truck?

It was at 7000, which is less then she weighs empty, but that is how she came from the Chevy dealer.

Just upped it to 25,999 this week, as per a DOT officer recommended to me.

As I read the laws I am legal to pull my trailer, and gross out at a max of 34,000. 10,000 as my trucks sticker says, and 24,000 as my trailer sticker says.

So was the 25,999 over kill?

Do semi trucks register there truck at 80,000 lbs or just the GVW of the power unit?

Sean

What you are asking about is not GVWR, but GCWR (Gross combined weight rating) That is the registered weight of truck & trailer combined.

I'm assuming your 10K truck is a 1-ton dually. If that's the case, you are way over on your manufacturer's GCWR for your truck and driving your truck well past what is rated for and possibly creating an unsafe situation for your equipment, yourself and others driving around you. Check your GCWR for your truck and don't exceed that rating for your own safety and the safety of others or move up to a truck that is rated for a GCWR of 34K or greater, which would be a F-650 sized truck.

If you do decide to rate your truck for 34K, you'd be driving a combination of vehicles that requires a class A license to operate. If you register at 25,999, you don't need a class A CDL to operate the combination, but you are over on your trucks' GCWR.

MVCE cops are cracking down on guys with pickups pulling these huge trailers up my way, so be on the lookout and keep it safe.

 

[Loaderman380]

Duke, You hit the nail right on the head. You need to keep the truck within the manufacter's GCVWR (gross combined vehicle weight rating). The DOT guys arent stupid and will know if you are registered for more than the GCVWR. You also make a good point about the CDL requirement for combination vehicles over 26,000lbs.

 

[CascadeScaper]

This is just about like the guy I saw pulling a 26 foot sky bridge Bayliner yesterday behind an early 90's Toyota 4Runner. :Banghead

Your GCWR, in any state, cannot be greater than 26,000 without a class A CDL. Some states require that if your trailer is tagged for more than 10,000 itself you need a class A CDL. The GVWR of your truck is 7,000 and the GVWR for your trailer is 24,000. I suppose it would be legal to get your class A CDL and tag the truck for a GCWR of 31,000 but that's a lot of weight for a 1 ton truck. I'd suggest tagging the truck for a GCWR 26,000 and leaving it at that, even that much weight is pushing it even though we all know that truck will pull it, yadda yadda yadda.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

If he never leaves Florida he is probably fine what is it going to hurt if he takes out some old geezer :laugh

The commercial vehical inspectors in B.C. are also cracking down on P/U trucks and trailers they know these guys are over weight.

 

[Duke]

This is just about like the guy I saw pulling a 26 foot sky bridge Bayliner yesterday behind an early 90's Toyota 4Runner. :Banghead

Your GCWR, in any state, cannot be greater than 26,000 without a class A CDL. Some states require that if your trailer is tagged for more than 10,000 itself you need a class A CDL. The GVWR of your truck is 7,000 and the GVWR for your trailer is 24,000. I suppose it would be legal to get your class A CDL and tag the truck for a GCWR of 31,000 but that's a lot of weight for a 1 ton truck. I'd suggest tagging the truck for a GCWR 26,000 and leaving it at that, even that much weight is pushing it even though we all know that truck will pull it, yadda yadda yadda.

Several issues arise with that scenario:

1: Most states will not let you take a class A CDL test in a pickup truck. Mine will not. I have heard of a few that will and that is based more on ignorance of the testing officials than anything. Handing a class A CDL to someone who takes a CDL test in a 1-ton pickup with an over 10K trailer is like making a Army Green Beret soldier out of someone who passed their NRA rifle safety course, IMO. The CDL holder may now legally drive much larger vehicles, which he/she has no business driving.

1B: When you arrive to take the test in a 7,000lb pickup and a 24,000 lb trailer, the testing officer will immediately point out that the trailer is too heavy for the towing vehicle and will therefore not allow the test to be taken.

2. At 7,000 or 10,000 lbs for the towing vehicle, the trailers' PIN weight (or tongue weight) will be far in excess of the trucks' rear axle capacity. Think about it: if it's registered at 7K, the truck probably weighs close to 7-8K, so even empty, the truck is over weight for its' registration. If it's registered at 10K, that would help, but it would only leave 2-3K for tongue weight. A 24,000lb trailer fully loaded would result in a tongue weight of ~3,600 lbs. That's far in excess of of the trucks' tongue weight and probably it's rear axle capacity.

3: To properly show enough capacity to tow a 24K trailer "on paper", he would need his truck to have a 5th wheel hitch and about 4,000 lbs of tongue weight available to not overload the rear axle of the truck and have some margin of safety and weight left over for fuel, passengers and a few tools. Tongue weight is just like cargo in the truck bed. Most 1-ton dually pickups weigh 8,000lbs. Most have a GVWR of ~12,000lbs. That means that with no other cargo in the truck, the driver would have 4,000lbs available for trailer tongue weight. If the truck is registered at 10K, this would be impossible since an 8,000lb truck would have less than 2,000lbs of tongue weight available.

4: As I said before, the truck would be far in excess of its' GCWR set by the engineers at Ford, GM or DC that designed the vehicle and therefore it would be unsafe and unpredictable to operate.

 

[nedly05]

IMO the best thing to do if you are going to stay in the trucking business is go get your Class A CDL and get that pete 330 you were talking about. This will not only open up more avenues for your buisness but you will also be VERY LEGAL!!! I know that when I lived in FL it seemed like they were easier on the truckers than in other states. If you pulled into a checkpoint in NY with your set-up you would likely get put out of service, even if you were empty! Good Luck!!

 

[nedly05]

I was just on your web site. Very nice! You should haul your trailer with your old B Mack. That would be cool!

 

[DirtySouthTruck]

Thanks for all the info.

Yes, I have had my CDL before I started up.

In FL, if I came with my rig to take a CDL, I could get an A or B, but it would have a No Air Brake RESTRICTION.

In FL, any trailer over 10k, you need a CDL. I only need a B, but I went for the A.

Now for all the guys with large fishing boats over 102" wide, who knows. But no one cares. :Banghead

They do not consider a goose necks or pick up 5th wheels a semi. I don't get it, they turn and back the same.

I consider my truck very safe. As most big trucks she stops better when there is a load on the back. The trailer brakes do most of the work.

And I try never to overload the tongue weight.

I am working on that 330. The dealer is building me one, well spec sheet.

But, back to my question. It was the DOT officer who told me to up it. And my requisition says it is the GVWR, not GVCWR, so I think I am legal for now.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[thejdman04]

in il you register the truck fro the weigth of the truck and the trailer for the weight thatll be on the trailer if you ran them across the scales.

 

[T Red]

I'm fairly sure you register the power unit (truck) for the total wt of the truck and the trailer loaded. All of my trailer tags from tag along to semi are blank where the gross wt is supposed to be.

My truck for example. 2004 F250 single rears
This is out of the owners manual.
Max trailer weight tag a long 12,500
Max trailer wt fifth wheel 10,600 explain that to me.
GCVW is 20,000 truck and trailer

So I pay registration fee on the truck of 20,000 lbs. but I'm only allowed to tow 12,500.

What does your owners manual say the GCWR is and what it will tow. There's a lot of options in my manual from regular cab to crew cab and engine and transmission types. I doubt you can gross over 26,000 lbs per the manufacture.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

Just keep in mind insurance companies love getting out of paying claims so if you do get in a accident and you try claim it the insurance company is going to be looking for ever way to get out of paying or paying the full amount.

Your big worry is the insurance company will say oh the manufacture says its not rated to pull that kind of weight sorry insurance null and void.

So if you register your truck as combination vehical above the manufactures GCWR you may or may not get insurance coverage if you get in a accident.

 

[thejdman04]

municipalities are broke and big trucks, (or little ones groosly out of regulation) are big money so watch out, cops love killing little guys

 

[Jeff D.]

My semi tractor is registered for 80k lbs. The trailer's I pull all have a one time semi trailer plate from the state it was manufactured, and that stays with the trailer no matter where it's used. It doesn't have any weight stickers on it, nor any expiration. I'm guessing interstate operated semi trailers are all done this way, with the tractor needing to register for the total combined weight, but may be wrong.:beatsme

On the dumptrucks and trailers I've owned, registered to only run in Minnesota intrastate, each was registered for it's own gross weight. The combined was both wieghts added together. I've not had a DOT person ever tell me this wasn't correct when I've been stopped, but being solely intrastate, this may vary state to state.

Semi trailer's plates will say "semi trailer" on them, atleast the ones I've pulled, so they may have different laws that pertain to them.

Good luck, hope you can get a definative answer that'll make you feel comfortable.

 

[Duke]

Just keep in mind insurance companies love getting out of paying claims so if you do get in a accident and you try claim it the insurance company is going to be looking for ever way to get out of paying or paying the full amount.

Your big worry is the insurance company will say oh the manufacture says its not rated to pull that kind of weight sorry insurance null and void.

So if you register your truck as combination vehical above the manufactures GCWR you may or may not get insurance coverage if you get in a accident.

Correct.

Most of the little guys I see running around in little trucks pulling trailers way beyond their truck's rated GCWR are just an accident waiting to happen. Plow over a car full of kids and the folks you maim/kill will be suing you for millions because you operated your truck way beyond its' rated capacity. The first thing they'll do is "lawyer-up" and start looking for any defects in your truck, the way it was configured and your commercial driver training, medical condition, log books, etc..

Buying the right truck, rated for what your load is, will make the world safer & more responsible for the owner/operator and all of us.