I have to post a question here, in my province of Ontario Canada the DOT says the door sticker of GVWR is not what they go by but the GAWR is what they use to determine if you are overweight. My truck says GVWR is 10,000 lbs but my GAWR is over 11,000 lbs, the DOT licensed my truck for 11,000 lbs because I am approx. 10,500 to 10,800 fully loaded depending what I bring with me so the question I have are you legal or not if I am legal in my province? I know this has been disguised before but I could not find any threads on it.
Dave
Dave
"In BC you are legal if you are legal at home"
is overstatements. When some vehicle requirements can be grandfathered from your home jurisdiction, some will not.
Typical sample are semitrailers, who can be double towed in Canada, WA, OR, but the 2nd trailer needs to be unhooked when entering CA.
Typical RV sample is big motorhome pulling long trailer.
Lot of states allow for the combo to be 75' long, but only 65' in California.
True is that nobody have seen CHP with tape measure in his hand, but the law is there.
Same with DOT scales were never been enforced in the past, but in last years we hear more and more about by passers chasing.
is overstatements. When some vehicle requirements can be grandfathered from your home jurisdiction, some will not.
Typical sample are semitrailers, who can be double towed in Canada, WA, OR, but the 2nd trailer needs to be unhooked when entering CA.
Typical RV sample is big motorhome pulling long trailer.
Lot of states allow for the combo to be 75' long, but only 65' in California.
True is that nobody have seen CHP with tape measure in his hand, but the law is there.
Same with DOT scales were never been enforced in the past, but in last years we hear more and more about by passers chasing.
Hi lap527 hope all is going well, thanks to all who replied I was really wanting to know about my USA travels and because I am legal at home and registered right I guess I'm good where ever I go thanks again to all
Dave
Dave
mountainkowboy wrote:
Oh my truck is NOT tagged commercial in Oregon, it's tagged as an RV and fee's are on my gross combined rating...AND I have to pay tags on the TC too.
That shows how different rules can be in different states or provinces.
I had my truck/TC registered as and RV in California and the fee was not weigh-related.
1 ton or 40 ton RVs pay the same and no tags on TC.
Funny part in CA, having TC on my RV truck I could pull 30.000 lb trailer with bulldozer on it, still not paying any more fees.
We need to start with basic that :
GVWR is taxable rating and you can get a ticket for not paying taxes for the weight you are carrying
GAWR is technical rating and exceeding it indicates safety issue, so in extreme situation the vehicle might get impounded
Also bare in mind that when you have "commercial" on your registration (and in lot of cases you will) - you have legal obligation to observe DOT scales on your way.
My truck has NV registration, who doesn't recognize commercial at all, yet in WA the automated system pulled me over to the scales.
GVWR is taxable rating and you can get a ticket for not paying taxes for the weight you are carrying
GAWR is technical rating and exceeding it indicates safety issue, so in extreme situation the vehicle might get impounded
Also bare in mind that when you have "commercial" on your registration (and in lot of cases you will) - you have legal obligation to observe DOT scales on your way.
My truck has NV registration, who doesn't recognize commercial at all, yet in WA the automated system pulled me over to the scales.
I run 10,480 fully loaded and ready to camp. That's over my GVWR according to my sticker, but well under my axle sticker weights and tires...heck my 4 rear tires will hold more than both axles will. As far as I know DOT in the US only cares about axle and tire ratings. My truck came with 2 different GVWR's depending on how it was optioned from the factory...1 was 10K and the other was 11K. Same truck....same drivetrain...go figure.
And on another note Fords "sticker" says my rear axle is rated at 7,450...but the manufacture rates it at 9,800 so the springs are the limiting factor on that....verified. The whole "weight" thing is VERY subjective and is set by the bean counters. As for me? I only care about the axle and tire ratings. Red doesn't give a hoot about being 500-700 "over" sticker, she still has a 1.5 inch rake with the TC on her and I only run upper stable loads. She has NO PROBLEMS running fully loaded at 70 mph and handles just fine.
For example, we had a 2000 F350 dump truck at work that was 1,200lbs over GVWR before ANYTHING was in the dump bed. It spent its life at 16,000+ pounds, that's 5,000lbs OVER the sticker. When I retired in 2013, it was still being used daily and had over 140K on the clock with no break downs with just regular maint. The ability of your truck FAR EXCEEDS what it is rated for.
This is just my opinion and experiences...the weight police will chime in eventually. Some people are scared to use their truck at the top of its ratings and abilities. I however am not one of those. Last year Red came home at just under 17K gross, at 65mph with the AC on for 1,100 miles without a hiccup. I was over on GVWR and GCWR, Red didn't care and the sky didn't fall...lol
And on another note Fords "sticker" says my rear axle is rated at 7,450...but the manufacture rates it at 9,800 so the springs are the limiting factor on that....verified. The whole "weight" thing is VERY subjective and is set by the bean counters. As for me? I only care about the axle and tire ratings. Red doesn't give a hoot about being 500-700 "over" sticker, she still has a 1.5 inch rake with the TC on her and I only run upper stable loads. She has NO PROBLEMS running fully loaded at 70 mph and handles just fine.
For example, we had a 2000 F350 dump truck at work that was 1,200lbs over GVWR before ANYTHING was in the dump bed. It spent its life at 16,000+ pounds, that's 5,000lbs OVER the sticker. When I retired in 2013, it was still being used daily and had over 140K on the clock with no break downs with just regular maint. The ability of your truck FAR EXCEEDS what it is rated for.
This is just my opinion and experiences...the weight police will chime in eventually. Some people are scared to use their truck at the top of its ratings and abilities. I however am not one of those. Last year Red came home at just under 17K gross, at 65mph with the AC on for 1,100 miles without a hiccup. I was over on GVWR and GCWR, Red didn't care and the sky didn't fall...lol
Ya Keyteg I know what you are saying but they are pretty helpful in Ont. here that's where I got the info about the axle weights, drove truck all my life and everywhere you went they checked axle weights GVWR ment nothing.
Dave
Dave
When you want lot of personal opinions and comments with whining - you come to right place.
If you want legal information - call your local DOT or equivalent office.
Don't expect a miracle thought.
When in California, I stop at DOT scales and went inside to ask about definition for "pickup". Took 2 smart guys several minutes to run via fat books to find the answer.
If you want legal information - call your local DOT or equivalent office.
Don't expect a miracle thought.
When in California, I stop at DOT scales and went inside to ask about definition for "pickup". Took 2 smart guys several minutes to run via fat books to find the answer.
