towing beyond GCWR

[PatrickCampbell]

Thought it must be Utah... assuming you have Utah plates?



Other states "should" not be able to question your Utah registration/plates as long as you are under 26,001 and don't do apportioned since it is an issueing state's issue.

 

[TWhite]

Like Answered Before, The Dot (federal Rules, So They Superseed State Rules) Goes By The Gvw On The Vehicle Plus Plus The Gvw Of The Trailer. The Gcwr Considers The Stress Of The Weakest Link On The Truck. If That Is The Transmission, A Lower Gear Gives It Some Relief Which Would Allow A Higher Gcwr.



I'd Be Most Concerned With Brakes, Be Sure Your Trailer Has Adequate Braking For The Additional Load. Be Sure You Don't Exceed Your Gvwr, Give It Time And It Should Be Fine. I Have Experience Pulling Above Gvwr On The 94 Dodge And Found The Weak Links Are The Automatic Transmission And The Cluth.

 

[GAmes]

I transport RVs and it really is irritating trying to figure out what's legal or not so I just drive and hope all goes well. My truck's GCWR is 16k and that makes it pretty hard to haul much and be "legal" since the truck alone is at or near it's GVWR of 8,800 with a full load of fuel.

It's not that difficult. If you ask a DOT oficer what GCWR is he will tell you it is the total of GVWR of the truck plus GVWR of the trailer. He could care less what the owners manual says. If the trailer GVWR is over 10,000 AND the GCWR is over 26,000 you need a CDL. Pretty simple if you ask me.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

This is exactly why i had my trailer down rated. the sum of the GVWRs is 26,000 on the DOT. No pun intended!!!

 

[CumminsPower98]

I don't have a CDL so I stay under 26k for sure but go well over 16k GCWR all the time. If I stayed below the 16k I wouldn't be able to tow much more then a match box. I go over the scales across the US all the time and no one has ever bothered me.

 

[DaveHess]

After reading a couple of these, I went and read my registration card to see what the registered weight was. It was 13,100 pounds. I was like, holy crap. I ran the truck across a Cat scale here and found the weight to be 7,460. So, armed with this new found data and the door placard in mind telling me a GVWR of 9,000 pounds, I proceeded to my DMV office in Bismarck, ND. Come to find out, with trucks, they take the shipping weight and double it. I brought to their attention the difference between the door post GVWR and their 13,100 pound. I was told that the state is betting on the average user to run that heavy for a GVWR with a pickup such as mine. I begged to differ and was politely told to shut up and color. In 2003, it costs me $84 to register my rig. In 2005, $156.

 

[J&LRam]

Rick Stewert

one of the first million mile Dodge/Cummins was a '94 2500 175/420 engine with 5 speed transmission. TDR mag has the article in issue #40. The '94/'95 truck have the same hp/torque numbers with the 5 speed. The kind of weight your talking about won't hurt the truck. Towing over factory GCWR is done everyday.

As others say the states we registered our trucks in can vary. In OK my '03 2500 truck is registered/tagged at the max which is 15000 lbs. It doesn't cost me ,non commercial, anything. If your tagging commercial the cost is extra [go figure]. GCWR is a factory number only and troopers here aren't interested.



JIM

 

[Nate]

I just got the tag renewal paperwork for my truck and for some reason it's registered at 5000 lbs. I have no idea why, but I'm going to call before I register it.





I was thinking with the weight rating thing. I can remember a few times my Dad taking his 79 Chevy (1/2 ton) across the scales with over 2 tons of stuff in the back.

 

[KBalzuweit]

It's not that difficult. If you ask a DOT oficer what GCWR is he will tell you it is the total of GVWR of the truck plus GVWR of the trailer. He could care less what the owners manual says. If the trailer GVWR is over 10,000 AND the GCWR is over 26,000 you need a CDL. Pretty simple if you ask me.

Thats correct, the gcwr is just what the oem suggests. I have been @25900 many times and been all over the country. Been plated right and never had a problem. Heck I used to pull a 45ft gooseneck (18000 gvw) with my 92 cummins 250 all the time.