Can I legally haul more than my OEM weight sticker says?

[JMDancoe]

GAmes: Thank you. I just knew we had one or two of you guys out there.
_________________________________________________________________________
86 / 92 Retrofitted Cummins w/auto 2WD 254,000 miles - 96 Ram 1500 short bed 318 w/auto 4WD 320,000 miles - 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4. 0 w/auto 4WD 200,000 miles

 

[GAmes]

If it wasn't legal the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of guys who hotshot and transport cars would be out of business. They operate in every state because they are governed by federal rules, not state rules. So the simple answer is yes.

 

[GAmes]

GAmes: Thank you. I just knew we had one or two of you guys out there.

That quote wasn't mine. I copied and pasted it from another site. I work as a transporter, so I have a working knowledge of the FMCSA rules, but I am no expert. I have gone through several roadside inspections without any faults found, so I think I'm pretty knowledgeable about pickups with trailers.

 

[Nyoest]

Yes. Here is the quote direct from ND DOT web site:



Can a vehicle legally carry 46,000 lbs if the manufacturer's plate shows a GVWR of 37,000 lbs?

Yes, the vehicle manufacturer plate shows the GVWR as manufactured. It is possible the axles on the vehicle were upgraded at some point after manufacture or some other change affecting the vehicle's GVWR occurred after manufacture.



MP

Yes. The state gets paid by the pound. 1st when you get your tags, second when you exceed the weight rating. You can put 24k tags on a ranger if you want and be "legal" to pul your toy hauler. Doesn't mean you should.



My father licensed his powerstroke for 46 or 48 k (I don't exactly recall). It was completely ludicrous but he never worried about being over weight.

 

[Bater]

I happen to have an old gooseneck deckover flatbed that I bought from an old farmer. The VIN tag was long gone. Since he was a farmer, it had never been registered and he still had the original Certificate of Manufacture. I used it to register it for the GVWR of 14,000 pounds. I could have registered it for more, but 14,000 seemed appropriate at the time. It has two 7000 pound axles under it, but there are no "tags" on the axles that an inspector could look at, I found out what they were when buying brakes and backing plates. I put the required lights on it and pulled it loaded from TX to VA then MA to WA and then loaded it again and came back to TX. Never had a problem with DOT and it is one ugly trailer.

GAmes, the back of your gooseneck looks similar to my trailer, one that I have no idea who manufactured, and had to register in NJ as "homemade". Can you share additional info in forum or as a PM? I would love to track down the original manufacturer or remnants thereof, so I will be able to register it in Pennsylvania at some point. (I also listed mine at 14,000, based on the axles. )



Andy

 

[NIsaacs]

The gooseneck part looks like an X-Cel, also it looks very sound, just that the paint is rock blasted off from the farmers gravel roads. I would also say it is not an antique as suggested since it has two jacks. The real old ones used only one as a general rule. How long is it, Gary? It looks like it is a foot longer then a well rope:-laf



Nick

 

[Bater]

I would also say it is not an antique as suggested since it has two jacks. The real old ones used only one as a general rule.

Nick

That would be like mine, only one jack in the center, mounted (welded) underneath a centered storage cabinet with sliding doors. Cabinet is kind of neat, but doesn't allow any way to get lubrication into the jack.



My gooseneck comes straight across, no "U" shape to it before the adjustable square channel drop to the hitch. This big flat area provides a spot for a spare tire mount that sits on a metal grate tack welded to the bottom of the gooseneck rails. All very sturdily built, but would be better for a flatbed than a pickup. With no "U" the gooseneck comes perilously close to tailgate level, and under certain non-highway circumstances can hit. I of course had to rip a tie down cleat from a stake pocket to learn this!



Andy

 

[GAmes]

The picture makes it look longer than it is, 24 ft X 102 inch deck. The title says PERO manufacture. I've had it for quite awhile now. When I bought it I contacted PERO to see if I could get a new VIN tag. They told me it was made by a company that had gone out of business and was now under new management, so no. Andy, maybe you can just write PERO on a registration form in PA?

 

[HBarlow]

That would be like mine, only one jack in the center, mounted (welded) underneath a centered storage cabinet with sliding doors. Cabinet is kind of neat, but doesn't allow any way to get lubrication into the jack.

My gooseneck comes straight across, no "U" shape to it before the adjustable square channel drop to the hitch. This big flat area provides a spot for a spare tire mount that sits on a metal grate tack welded to the bottom of the gooseneck rails. All very sturdily built, but would be better for a flatbed than a pickup. With no "U" the gooseneck comes perilously close to tailgate level, and under certain non-highway circumstances can hit. I of course had to rip a tie down cleat from a stake pocket to learn this!

Andy

Work trailer manufacturers tend to be regional so I would suggest looking for the manufacturer in your own home state and surrounding states first.

Dealerships that sell them tend to be small and somewhat local so you might try showing photos to an old trailer dealer or two to learn if they recognize it.

 

[NIsaacs]

If it is 102 wide it is probably a mid '90's model. Most trailers will have the vin. number stamped on the frame rail.



I think the last time I saw a picture of that trailer it had a classic car loaded on it



Nick

 

[CKelley1]

harvey you answered that a lot plainer than i could. i have towed very heavy for 44 years and with my 710 extenda hoe my cgw is 44,000 lbs my experience is the same as harvey's

 

[GAmes]

If it is 102 wide it is probably a mid '90's model. Most trailers will have the vin. number stamped on the frame rail.



I think the last time I saw a picture of that trailer it had a classic car loaded on it



Nick

:-laf My wife's "new" '54 Ford. I have the body off the frame. Waiting for my friend to have room in his paint shop, then going to the sandblaster. I borrowed a stamp set and put the VIN on the frame of the trailer. Maybe I ought to do the same with the Ford.

 

[Barry]

Looking at the pix of the trailer, I doubt if it was "shop built" or homemade. Somewhere on that trailer is a stamped VIN number. The first few letters and numbers of a VIN number identify the maker. The 10th digit or letter will tell you the year. M was a 91, N was a 92, skipped 0, P 93, skipped Q, R 94, S 95, T96, X was 99 and Y was 2000... ... ... ... ... and in 2001, they started back with 1

 

[NIsaacs]

Yup, nice car! I was wondering how the restore was going. The first of the overhead valve v/8, maybe a 239 cid. The frame on the car should have the vin. number already stamped on the top of the front rail ahead of the front axle, not sure which side.



Sorry, hijacked the thread again



Nick

 

[Barry]

Mr. GAmes,



I lived in Texas for 35 years. The design of your trailer is very distinctive. I think it is a copy or a knock off of the "Goose Neck" Brand. If you were to take a set of very good pix and stop in at some of the larger trailer dealers, there is going to be one of the old timers that will recognize the neck design and the pin striping that was done and probably tell you who made it. Armed with that info, and assuming the company is still in business, they can tell you where they hide the VIN number. Once you have the VIN, find a LEO that you can trust to run the VIN thru the computer.





mi dos centavos... ... ... .....

 

[Barry]

In 1950, a little old school teacher bought a brand new Ford 2 door sedan. In 1960, my friend in Shreveport, La. bought it from her while he was in the Navy and drove the car until he got out of the service. In 1966, he stripped the car and installed a small block Chevy with a Powerglide trannie. He also installed power steering, A/C and a host of other improvements. Then he had the car painted and did a rolled and pleated interior. Drove the car until 1971 and then stored it in one of his warehouses. It sits there today. He called me the other day and told me about the car. I never knew he had it. Said he is ready to get it out of his way.



I never cease to be amazed at what folks having laying around... ... ... ...

 

[GAmes]

Barry, You have Bater and me mixed up. He is the one looking for info on who built his trailer. I had the cert. of origin for mine. I had to stamp the VIN onto the frame because it is nowhere to be found, and the compay who made it went out of business. It is a '98 and the 10th digit is a W.



Yup, a 239. Apparantly '54 is an orphan year. Very few parts for a 239 ci overhead valve (the '53 flathead is 239 ci also). Authentic seat covers start in '55 in the only parts catalog I have. Lots of other things. But it keeps me off the streets when I'm home to work on it.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Does an old heavily used flat bed gooseneck trailer have a nifty little VIN decal like our Dodges with axle ratings? Of course not.



Have you ever read the Federal DOT handbook? They deal with tire ratings and calculate axle ratings based on tire capacity ratings.

I will agree with most of this but there are other considerations other than tire rate and axle ratings that go into the specs. Things like the Bridge Law come into effect. When they first came out with the spread axles trailers they were 9ft6in (I think) people bought them up like hot cakes because you could drop 40K on the back two axles 20K each. Then Oregon started giving out tickets like there was no tomorrow their law was 10ft2 in so the 9/6 was over load on the axle group.



HB is correct on the tire specs. Same thing when they came out with the super single tires the first were not spec to carry 20K on that axle the tire rating was only like 93-- pounds so on a single axle you could drop 20k on with duels on both sides with super singles you couldn't





As far as your question when I was pulling all my crap to MT I used my 2500 Dodge and a 30 ft goose neck trailer it has 2 axles 8 tires I had the puppy loaded to the max that it would MOVE not what was legal because the first few trips up it was legal and I pulled into every scale along the way and asked if I need to pull in. The answer was NO. Then the overloads started the majority of the weight was on the trailer axles and not on the truck I do have Firestone Air Bags And never pulled into the scales. I stopped one time at a rest stop/scale house near where we live in MT I didnt want to get to the inlaws in the middle of the nite. I got up and drove across the scales and went in to get some coffee that the Hwy Patrol offered up and all that was said was those damn Dodges can sure haul the weight cant they. And I know that it was way more than what Dodge said I could pull with it.

 

[Bater]

Barry et al, I apologize for confusing the thread. Thanks for your comments.



I will definitely crawl around under my trailer again to look for a VIN; it would certainly be great to find one.



To be clear, here are pix of my trailer on the day I purchased it, before I replaced the safety chains, added the proper reflective tape, repaired and corrected the lighting, put new tires on, fixed one bad brake, rewired the break-away, had a welder fabricate a replacement ramp, and, most recently, took it to a shop to have the shackle bolts replaced and a DOT certified inspector look it over.



Yes, sometimes I wish I had just bought a new trailer. On the other hand, this one came pre-rusted.



Andy

 

[GAmes]

Sorry, hijacked the thread again

I wouldn't worry about it. There are always two camps on this. One that believes the internet myth that says that insurance companies will not pay a claim if you are overweight and the one that knows the facts:-laf



Seriously, the fact is that heavy haulers are in the distinct minority as to being the cause of crashes involving 4 wheelers. That goes from hotshotters pulling 24,000 pound trailers with duelly pickups to 120,000 pound multiaxled class 8 rigs. Being within the manufacturers specs won't save you from a big lawsuit pushed by a scumbag lawyer. I can tell you about a retired Army SFC (E7) that lost his entire life savings because of the lousy tort laws in TX. To add insult to loss, he is permanently disabled from a crash that was not his fault.