Ram 2500 and F250 heavy duty diesel
For those people who have either truck, what would be the max 5th wheel pin weight you would feel safe with? I have been researching but I'm getting conflicting reports online. I figured I would go ...
Forum Discussion
JerryCan you site a statute, regulation or other rules, Federal or State, to support yours or Old Biscuits position?
The ONLY LEGAL limit you can exceed is the REGISTERED GVWR of your truck. If you registered it at 7200 lbs GVWR, you cannot exceed that. And guess what, you can register it at any weight you want (although there are guidlines for trucks). You could easily register a 1/2 ton @ 10,000 lbs GVWR. You pay more as the registered GVWR goes up. A lot of folks think they're sneaky by registering at 3,500 lbs and saving themselves $25 a year. Works as long as the cop pulling you over for a speeding ticket doesn't notice.
Other than that, there are specific laws for lbs /in width of tire and total axle and overall weight restrictions. Those vary by state and can be enforced on anyone. They are much higher than even the most insane person could load a 1/2 ton.
As for roadside scales, if you are commercial, you gotta go through. If you are not commercial, drive right by. There are folks that tow 30,000 lbs RV trailers behind an 18,000 lbs Freightliner MDT or HDT. They have a sign on the side that says not for hire. They drive right by the scales while all the commercial trucks (ones much smaller) have to go over them. Now, any police officer can stop a private vehicle and have it weighed, but again, he will only enforce the registered GVWR and road weight limits. ALthough, he could always go down the route of wreckless driving, but then he would have to sell it to a judge.
Towing 20k with a 1/2 ton is not against any law that I have read unless you exceed your registered GVWR, 20,000 lbs axle weight or the lbs / inch of tire width laws.
Ok, that's the legal side of it. The common sense side is up to the individual. Some have more of it than others. Would I tow 20,000 lbs, 10 miles on an empty road? Not with my 1/2 ton, but I would with yours.
The ONLY LEGAL limit you can exceed is the REGISTERED GVWR of your truck. If you registered it at 7200 lbs GVWR, you cannot exceed that. And guess what, you can register it at any weight you want (although there are guidlines for trucks). You could easily register a 1/2 ton @ 10,000 lbs GVWR. You pay more as the registered GVWR goes up. A lot of folks think they're sneaky by registering at 3,500 lbs and saving themselves $25 a year. Works as long as the cop pulling you over for a speeding ticket doesn't notice.
Other than that, there are specific laws for lbs /in width of tire and total axle and overall weight restrictions. Those vary by state and can be enforced on anyone. They are much higher than even the most insane person could load a 1/2 ton.
As for roadside scales, if you are commercial, you gotta go through. If you are not commercial, drive right by. There are folks that tow 30,000 lbs RV trailers behind an 18,000 lbs Freightliner MDT or HDT. They have a sign on the side that says not for hire. They drive right by the scales while all the commercial trucks (ones much smaller) have to go over them. Now, any police officer can stop a private vehicle and have it weighed, but again, he will only enforce the registered GVWR and road weight limits. ALthough, he could always go down the route of wreckless driving, but then he would have to sell it to a judge.
Towing 20k with a 1/2 ton is not against any law that I have read unless you exceed your registered GVWR, 20,000 lbs axle weight or the lbs / inch of tire width laws.
Ok, that's the legal side of it. The common sense side is up to the individual. Some have more of it than others. Would I tow 20,000 lbs, 10 miles on an empty road? Not with my 1/2 ton, but I would with yours.
