Refused entry with a truck & camper

You said it you have a 33,000 "MOTORHOME".
Casa rodante in Spanish, otherwise it is a pickup truck with cargo on the bed not a "MOTORHOME" that is what they are going with, the excuse is the weight and the fact that the camper is detachable as in cargo plus the narcos like the trucks a lot to haul mota.

I am not trying to argue – I am trying to understand and to try to help others find a way to understand - and to try to find some sort of solution to this problem. I know what is being said and I get most of it. But are the guys at the border misinterpreting or misunderstanding some rule?

I am well aware that Mexico is not the USA – and the USA is not Mexico. There are different rules – laws – definitions – etc. Things are looked at differently. What we know in the US may have nothing to do with Mexico. We would like to find a way to find out why Mexico is saying what they are saying about RVs and why they are saying it. What terms are then using and what do they mean?

Along with my concerns for those friends of ours who have truck campers or heavy “Pick-Up” trucks pulling various towable vehicles – trailers – 5th wheels – I have questions about exactly how Mexico authorities might choose to define and enforce some of what we are hearing and reading in this thread.

So our “Motorhome” or “Casa Rodante” is actually a truck built by Freightliner that Tiffin Motorhomes built a house on. The chassis is a truck built by a truck manufacturer and it has a VIN that came with that chassis before Tiffin Motorhomes did anything to it. Tiffin built a “house” on this chassis and gave the house a serial number which is completely different than the VIN. Our registration actually shows these two numbers – I do not know if all states show this this way on their forms but ours does.

Most motorhomes are built on truck chassis by motorhome companies that buy the chassis from a truck or chassis manufacturer – be it Freightliner or Ford or whoever. Whether they be Class A, B, C or whatever – most of them are built on some sort of truck chassis which is built by some company other than the company that built the truck – they are two separate things if we really look at these things and how they come to be.

Yes – I know there is a difference from a house that is built on a chassis as one unit and a pick-up with a removable house on it. But by some definitions they could all be classified as trucks.

We see many motorhomes in the US built on chassis that many would consider truck chassis - Ford E-350, Ford F-350, Ford E-450, Ford F-450, GMC 5500, Ford F-550, Chevrolet Kodiak/GMC Top Kick C6500, Ford F-650, International Durastar, and the list goes on to bigger and heavier – such as our Freightliner.

Here is my concern and why I take an interest in this. What if Mexico were to decide to classify all motorhomes as trucks – which technically they are? What happens to their weight factors then? This may never happen but to me this could be confusing.

From the links I listed above it does appear there are rules and regulations for “commercial” or business vehicles. This could be where the problem lies. Are they looking at the rules for commercial vehicles and applying them to private vehicles? Somewhere out there someone might just find an answer. But we should keep asking questions and trying to figure this out.

Can businesses in Mexico import various small trucks from the US based on what the rules on the website I posted above? Can Mexicans legally import small US trucks based on those rules?

Sometimes – but rarely – someone at the border has come into our vehicle and tried to figure out our weight and just what we are. Here are the numbers from the sticker pasted on the wall off our Bus. These are the only numbers (they do show the same in kg.) found on the sticker.

GVWR 33,860

GAWR FRONT 13,860 REAR 20,000

There is no entry showing what the chassis weighed when Freightliner built it and nothing showing how much it weighed when it left the Tiffin plant.

All this tells us is that our Bus can weigh up to 33,860 based on the components installed by Freightliner when it was built – and it shows how much of that weight can be on the front and/or rear axle. (US and state law for the most part says no axle can exceed 20,000 lbs so our rear was built to the max allowable weight).

There are other terms and definitions used to tell different weight classifications and factors. I found some definitions on a few websites including Wiki. The following are NOT MY WORDS....

The gross combined weight rating or gross combination weight rating (GCWR), also referred to as the gross combination mass (GCM), gross train weight (GTW), or maximum authorized mass (MAM),

The gross axle weight rating (GAWR) is the maximum distributed weight that may be supported by an axle of a road vehicle. Typically, GAWR is followed by either the letters FR or RR, which indicate front or rear axles respectively.

In motor vehicles, the gross trailer weight rating (GTWR) is the total mass of a road trailer that is loaded to capacity, including the weight of the trailer itself, plus fluids, and cargo, that a vehicle is rated to tow by the manufacturer. In the United States and Canada, the static tongue load, the weight of the trailer as measured at the trailer coupling, is generally recommended to be 10-15% of the GTWR.

Curb weight (American English) or kerb weight (British English) is the total weight of a vehicle with standard equipment, all necessary operating consumables such as motor oil, transmission oil, coolant, air conditioning refrigerant, and sometimes a full tank of fuel, while not loaded with either passengers or cargo.

Tare weight, sometimes called unladen weight, is the weight of an empty vehicle or container. By subtracting it from the gross weight (laden weight), the weight of the goods carried (the net weight) may be determined.

Dry weight is the weight of a vehicle without any consumables, passengers, or cargo.

By definition, dry weight does not include any of the following:

Gasoline, diesel or any other fuel
Engine oil
Coolant
Brake fluid
Power steering fluid
Transmission fluid
Washer fluid

The difference between dry weight and curb weight depends on many variables such as the capacity of the fuel tank.

Over time, most domestic vehicle manufacturers have more commonly used the term 'shipping weight', which refers to the vehicle in as-built, no-option condition. This would include engine oil, coolant, brake fluid and at least some small quantity of fuel, as vehicles have traditionally been driven off the assembly line and these fluids were necessary to do so.

Table of US GVWR classifications

US truck class Duty classification Weight limit Examples

Class 1 Light truck 0–6,000 pounds (0–2,722 kg) Dodge Dakota, Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger

Class 2 Light truck 6,001–10,000 pounds (2,722–4,536 kg) Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Ford F-150

Class 3 Light truck 10,001–14,000 pounds (4,536–6,350 kg) Ram 3500, GMC Sierra 3500, Ford E-350, Ford F-350, Hummer H1

Class 4 Medium truck 14,001–16,000 pounds (6,351–7,257 kg) Ram 4500, GMC 4500, Ford E-450, Ford F-450

Class 5 Medium truck 16,001–19,500 pounds (7,258–8,845 kg) Ram 5500, GMC 5500, Ford F-550, International TerraStar

Class 6 Medium truck 19,501–26,000 pounds (8,846–11,793 kg) Chevrolet Kodiak/GMC TopKick C6500, Ford F-650, International Durastar

Class 7 Heavy truck 26,001–33,000 pounds (11,794–14,969 kg) Autocar ACMD, GMC C7500, Ford F-750

Class 8 Heavy truck 33,001 pounds (14,969 kg)+ Autocar ACX, International WorkStar, Kenworth T600, Kenworth T660, Kenworth T680 - Semi-trailer trucks fall into this category

Class 9 Super-heavy / special duty truck 33,001 pounds (14,969 kg)+ Usually class 8 truck with special duty characteristics, e.g. - Autocar ACX 12x6, International WorkStar, Western Star 6900 (6900XD or 6900TS).

Light truck or light-duty truck is a US classification for trucks or truck-based vehicles with a payload capacity of less than 4,000 pounds (1,815 kg). Similar sized goods vehicles in the European Union are known as light commercial vehicles.

It's important to understand that a vehicle's GVWR is not a measurement of how much a vehicle actually weighs. A vehicle's actual weight is the gross vehicle weight, or GVW. The two numbers should not be confused -- the GVW of a vehicle is constantly changing, but the GVWR will always remain a constant.

You can think of the GAWR as a weight limit for each of your vehicle's axles -- a weight limit determined by the automaker. A vehicle's axles should never be loaded beyond the manufacturer's listed GAWR.

Even though all of these costs, statistics, weights and measures are published, or somehow available to consumers, there are still a few numbers that cause some confusion among new car and truck buyers. Truthfully, most people don't even know what some of these numbers really mean, or the consequences of ignoring them. One example is a vehicle's gross combination weight rating, or GCWR.

A vehicle's GCWR is a specific weight determined by the manufacturer to be the maximum weight of a loaded tow vehicle and its attached loaded trailer. The total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer should never exceed the manufacturer's listed GCWR

CCC: (Cargo Carrying Capacity) is the maximum weight of everything you add to the RV, including all belongings. GVW: (Gross Vehicle Weight) the total weight of a fully equipped and loaded RV with passengers, gas, oil, water, and all the other stuff you have in there.

FROM OTHER SOURCES OF DEFINITIONS

GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) means the maximum allowable weight of the fully loaded vehicle, including liquids, passengers, cargo and the tongue weight of any towed vehicle. Note: The tow vehicle and RV each have a GVWR.

GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) is the maximum allowable weight each axle assembly is designed to carry, as measured at the tires, including the weight of the axle assembly itself. The GAWR is specified by the vehicle manufacturer. It is established by considering the rating of each of its components (tires, wheels, springs, axle), and rating the axle on its weakest link.

The GAWR assumes that the load is equal on each side. This is a rating of the maximums for an axle. It is possible to be overloaded on one end of the axle, and still not exceed the GAWR – hence the recommendation that you obtain individual wheel position weight measurements and inflate tires according to the load.

GCWR (Gross Combination Weight Rating) is the maximum allowable combined weight of the tow vehicle and the attached towed vehicle. GCWR assumes that both vehicles have functioning brakes, with exceptions in some cases for very light towed vehicles (less than 1,500 lbs). Check your chassis manual or manufacturer towing guide.

UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight) is the weight of the unit as built at the factory. with full fuel tanks, engine oil and coolants. The UVW does not include cargo, fresh water, LP gas, occupants or dealer-installed accessories.

NCC (Net Carrying Capacity), used from 1996 – 2000, is the maximum weight of all personal belongings food, fresh water, LP gas, tools, dealer-installed accessories and other items that can be carried by the unit.

CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity), used Sept 2000 – present, means GVWR minus the following: UVW, full fresh (potable) water weight (including that for the water heater) full LP gas weight, and SCWR. Note: Remember that optional accessories or equipment not included in the UVW will take up part of the Cargo Carrying Capacity.