Depends upon the state dot you are talking about. Federal level, all they care about is you get a min/max of 20K per axel, IF you have enough tire width to spread/bridge the load across the road, so you do not damage the load.
If you are licensed in Wa st, as I am, they do not give a rats rear end what the manufactures sticker says, You are licensed to the next highest ton by taking your tare wt time 1.5. So if you have a 4800 lb truck as I have, my sons also have a Toyota tacoma and K-1500 equal, mine being a C2500, 4800X 1.5 = 7200 lbs, ALL three of us have 8000 lbs plates. We are legal to that number. Manufacture GVWR and GAWR's mean squat, nada, nothing!
GCWR means nothing no where!
With this in mind, I can see where some jurisdictions where one does not have to pay tonnage with a pickup, unlike here, then a lower manufacture gvwr could be a good thing. BUT< if you have to buy tonnage, why do a lessor amount, if you can go higher, legally carry more etc. All three of the trucks I mentioned earlier, all have 10-10.5" tires, we get 500 lbs per inch width, so we could go as high as 20K per rig, 10K per axel......would that be smart? probably not, but it would be legal. I will also say this, and LEO will get either of the three of us OFF the road if we were anywhere close to 20K gvw. There is a sheet load of laws and rules they can get us off the road with, but damaging the road will not be the issue, ie DOT wt laws and how they are enforced.
marty
