Pics of my new wood hauler.

Blah Ho Vick said:

The mfg weight rating IS the legal maximum registered GVWR on ANY vehicle, anything else is an illegal registration.

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... in Canada. In every state in the US I'm familiar with, you can register a pickup truck for 40,000lbs. Stupid, but true.

KarlP said:

Blah Ho Vick said:

The mfg weight rating IS the legal maximum registered GVWR on ANY vehicle, anything else is an illegal registration.

Click to expand...

... in Canada. In every state in the US I'm familiar with, you can register a pickup truck for 40,000lbs. Stupid, but true.

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You can register a pickup for any weight you want in any state you want. The state will more than gladly take the big $$$$( my tri-axles cost about $3,000/year for registration and permits) for plates from you. Does not make it LEGAL. If you get pulled over they will go by the weight on your door sticker.

Blah Ho Vick said:

If you get pulled over they will go by the weight on your door sticker.

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Uugh. Nevermind. Believe what you want... To everyone else out there. Research the actual laws yourself.

KarlP said:

Blah Ho Vick said:

If you get pulled over they will go by the weight on your door sticker.

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Uugh. Nevermind. Believe what you want... To everyone else out there. Research the actual laws yourself.

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I think you need to research the laws my friend. I'm in the trucking business and I know whats legal and not.It's my job.

Blah Ho Vick said:

I think you need to research the laws my friend. I'm in the trucking business and I know whats legal and not.It's my job.

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Which is meaningless since the CMV weight laws, do not apply to non-commercial vehicles...

Karl said:

Blah Ho Vick said:

Nice trailer . You got a good deal. Be safe.
Just FYI. If those are 3500 lb axles and you register it for 9000, that is considered an illegal registration and if you are weighed they will go by the axle rating.Tag or not on the axle or trailer they (DOT) know just by looking ( it's their job to know) what most any axle is rated for and it's up to you to prove them wrong. They will let you register it at whatever weight you want at the DMV knowing dam well its illegal counting on you getting stopped and fined BIG. They can get you 3 ways for overweight. Over on your tire capacity, over on your axle rating, and over on your gross weight. Ben there done that.

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What state do they check axle ratings for non-commercial vehicles? Can you provide a link to an axle weight law for non-commercial vehicles?

As far as I know, your axle can't be more than 20k lbs and you can't exceed the registered weight. Other than that it would have to be really excessive and would then come down to unsafe operation or something like that, not a weight violation.

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Hay karl , you cant possibly believe you could stuff your wife's SUV with a cord of fire wood and register the truck for 18000lbs and giggle at the DOT guys as they ride you on to the scales. I would like to be a fly in the wood pile when you explain this to the cops. You should check with your local DOT. If your not commercial you don't need a CDL but you cant load over your GVW no matter what your registration says Riding over weight is a huge ticket trust me .

wellbuilt home said:

Hay karl , you cant possibly believe you could stuff your wife's SUV with a cord of fire wood and register the truck for 18000lbs and giggle at the DOT guys as they ride you on to the scales. I would like to be a fly in the wood pile when you explain this to the cops. You should check with your local DOT. If your not commercial you don't need a CDL but you cant load over your GVW no matter what your registration says Riding over weight is a huge ticket trust me .

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This is one of many things that I could legally do that I'm not dumb enough to do...

I'm pretty sure the GVWR posted on the door has no legal meaning in the US. I'm really open to learn something here. However, you must bear with me. I'm a skeptic. I don't believe random people on the 'net that don't cite sources. A friend of a friend story, a commercial vehicle being ticketed for overweight, someone cited for unsafe operation for being 10,000lbs overweight, or the like won't convince me.

Can anyone point me to a law that prohibits a non-commercial vehicle from carrying more weight than is on their door tag?

/moderator mode ON/

Seems to me like this is getting a bit out of hand - some people have opined that the GVW sticker matters, others have opined that it doesn't.... It also seems like some tempers are starting to get a bit frayed over this, which is not good. (Though I'm glad folks have stayed polite about it :coolsmile: )

Rather than wasting a lot of everyones time throwing opinions back and forth, lets either post some legal references, or pointers to them, or drop the question. Verifiable cites matter, opinions don't!

/moderator mode OFF/

Gooserider

42030.1. (a) Every person convicted of a violation of any declared gross vehicle weight limitation provision of this code, shall be punished by a fine that equals the amounts specified in the following table:

[Fines imposed for a conviction of a violation of operating a vehicle in excess of it's declared gross vehicle weight.]*
Pounds in Excess of the Declared Gross Vehicle Weight

Fine
1,001-1,500

$ 250
1,501-2,000

300
2,001-2,500

350
2,501-3,000

400
3,001-3,500

450
3,501-4,000

500
4,001-4,500

550
4,501-5,000

600
5,001-6,000

700
6,001-7,000

800
7,001-8,000

900
8,001-10,000

1,000
10,001 and over

2,000

(b) No part of the penalties prescribed by this section shall be suspended for a conviction of any of the following:
(1) Section 40001 for requiring operation of a vehicle upon a highway in violation of any provision referred to in this section.
(2) Any provision referred to in this section when a second or subsequent conviction of a violation thereof occurs within three years immediately preceding the violation charged.
*The bracketed information has been added editorially to meet accessibility requirements and is not part of statute.
Added Sec. 58, Ch. 861, Stats. 2000. Effective September 29, 2000. Operative December 31, 2001.




Note that it says "any declared gross vehicle weight limitation ". It does not designate between commercial and non-commercial. Pretty much common sense . Why wood a non-commercial vehicle be exempt!

Q. What will be the penalty for driving an
overloaded vehicle that has a GVWR of
5,500 kilograms, or less, if that vehicle is
manufactured after January 1, 2001?
The driver of any vehicle manufactured after
January 1, 2001, which is loaded above its
GVWR, may receive a violation ticket. The GVWR
is the standard for determining if a vehicle is
overweight.
A change to the regulations affects the drivers
of vehicles that have a GVWR of 5,500 kilograms,
or less, and are manufactured before January
1, 2001. This change was made to allow owners
of the exempted vehicles time to upgrade, if
needed, to vehicles that are better suited to
their load-carrying needs. The change will also
give vehicle dealers time to ensure consumers
are advised about the GVWR and its implications
when purchasing a vehicle.

hey I wonder if these guys read the sticker on their doors.

Anyway it's all for fun, so be safe in the woods and on the road. The last thing I would do is be bitchin' about makin' more then one trip home with a load of wood. If anyone needs me to take some of the gross weight of oak off your trucks let me know.

Oh yeah nice trailer. Good luck the sides look great for small rounds not falling out. Something we need to work on for our trailer. Ours is just a rail at the moment.

This is the first time I ever heard of these fines for non com. you don't even want to see our truck and trailers when we score a load. It doesn't look too different from the pics I posted. I even had a cop stop me and ask me what kind of wood I had and if any was for sale. I know I was double my limit that day. I had a full trailer and I was pulling it with a full ford ranger. We always take back roads if we can. just for safety not fines. I wish I never heard about the fines cause now it's just one more thing to worry about. The things that go through ones mind on the way home: "Man this is alot of wood, did I leave my coffee thermos in the woods, where is my saw, damn I should of put some gas in the truck and not just in the two stroke jugs, man this is alot of wood." haha

Blah Ho Vick said:

Q. What will be the penalty for driving an overloaded vehicle that has a GVWR of 5,500 kilograms, or less, if that vehicle is manufactured after January 1, 2001?

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We already covered this one ...

KarlP said:

Blah Ho Vick said:

The mfg weight rating IS the legal maximum registered GVWR on ANY vehicle, anything else is an illegal registration.

Click to expand...

... in Canada. In every state in the US I'm familiar with, you can register a pickup truck for 40,000lbs. Stupid, but true.

Click to expand...

Blah Ho Vick said:

42030.1. (a) Every person convicted of a violation of any declared gross vehicle weight limitation provision of this code, shall be punished by a fine that equals the amounts specified in the following table:

...

Note that it says "any declared gross vehicle weight limitation ". It does not designate between commercial and non-commercial. Pretty much common sense . Why wood a non-commercial vehicle be exempt!

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Because its a truck tax to pay for road maintenance. Weight laws are not primarily about safety....

When you look at the form needed to declare your gross vehicle weight ...

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg4008.pdf

"All registered owners or lessees of commercial motor vehicles operating at 10,001lbs or more Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) or Combined Gross Vehicle Weight (CGW) (pickups excluded) registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles are required to declare the gross/combined gross weight at which their vehicles will operate (see definitions below)."


And you look http://www.dmv.ca.gov/commercial/cvra.htm#faq

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Q - Does the CVRA law affect all truck owners?

A - No. This law does not affect:

* Pickups, as defined, that weigh under 8,001 lbs. unladen.
* Lightweight trucks, vans, taxis, and rental limousines (including charter-party carriers operating limousines that pick up and deliver airport passengers), if the vehicle's GVW is 10,000 pounds or less.
* Commercial motor vehicles registered with special equipment or exempt license plates.



My Tacoma is barely over half of the maximum unladen weight. I'm pretty sure if I registered it commercial, I still wouldn't try to put 6000lbs of wood in it for reasons other than an overweight fine. ;-)

Karl
This is from your link above.

NOTE: A declared Combined Gross Weight does not authorize a truck without another vehicle in tow to exceed the truck's authorized axle weight limits.

Blah Ho Vick said:

Karl
This is from your link above.

NOTE: A declared Combined Gross Weight does not authorize a truck without another vehicle in tow to exceed the truck's authorized axle weight limits.

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Well before that point and as I quoted above these laws only apply to commercial vehicles over 10,001 lbs. That means the law matters to the driver of a commercial truck delivering log length wood. It does not apply to your average wood scavenger with their own private trailer.

Try another state?

Backroads said:

On second thought....forget I asked anything. It doesn't matter anymore anyways since I feel asleep on my way home from work and turned a telephone pole into toothpicks with my 2fity.

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Ouch!! Sorry to hear that, hope that you are OK, even if the telephone pole isn't...

Gooserider

Backroads said:

I like the storage for the ramps under the trailer behind the wheels. Can they be removed from either side? Just wondering if you have to take them out before you back into a tight area.

No prob about the drifting, being informed can save all of us a lot of money!!

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Those slide in ramps are only accessible from the driver's side and they are 5 feet long. Yes, I've been in a spot where I had to move the trailer to pull the ramps but it sure beats the alternatives which aren't pretty when the trailer has a dovetail.

On slight overloads-well, I am willing to be within a few hundred pounds of the limits since that falls under "splitting hairs" for me and if I get a ticket for 100 lbs overweight then I will be going to court.