Scary Towing Sights This Week...

beemerphile1 wrote:

cm11599ps wrote:
...What are the laws for towing? Could these rigs get ticketed for being way over their capacity?

In most states the maximum allowed by law is 80,000# for the entire rig and 20,000# for each axle. Manufacturer tow ratings have no legal status. Manufacturers do not make laws.

A LEO can cite any vehicle if it is unsafe in the opinion of the officer but the officer may be required to defend the action in court.

Actually 20k axle or 34k tandem or 80k gross has nothing to do with how much weight a lessor rated truck can legally carry. Those are max loads allowed on a road surface. We also have bridge weight formulas that differ but they also have nothing to do with how much weight a lessor rated truck can carry.

PA has some of the oldest weight regulations on the books and they say;
Maximum axle weight of vehicles.
(a) General rule.--No vehicle or combination driven upon a
highway shall have a weight upon any axle in excess of the
lesser of the manufacturer's rated axle capacity or the
following applicable weight:

(snip..bridge law formula/single/tandam/etc)

(c) Gross weight.--No vehicle or combination shall be driven
with a gross weight in excess of the sum of the allowable axle
weights as set forth in this section, nor shall any vehicle or
combination be driven with a gross weight in excess of the sum
of the manufacturer's rated axle capacities."

Texas says;
4. tires that carry a weight heavier than the weight specified and marked on the sidewall of the tire,..."

or from Utah;
(b) The tire load rating shall be marked on the tire sidewall. A tire, wheel, or axle may not carry a greater weight than the manufacturer's rating.

Many states may have a "weighing for a overload condition" statute. The ones I've seen say the same thing about axle and tires being exceeded.