Tatest, great post and full of FACTS.
For the states that tax based on Gross Weight it is usually an option to pay more tax to up the Gross Weight of your rig.
Also, as has been said many times on this forum...the ratings do not account for modifications to the vehicle.
Adding airbags, customs hitches, transmission coolers, bigger radiators, LT tires, bigger or improved brakes, power adding devices, changing rear axle gear ratios.. etc...do nothing to the factory ratings (little stickers on the door) ...but people gloss over the fact that these modifications have changed capability of the vehicle significantly...
if you do not believe that mods change capabilities...don't talk to a Hot Rod owner who use to have a 6 cyl in his Mustang but now has a 400hp V8...despite the "Factory Rating of 165 hp" the rating that will never change...the car is much much more powerful because the owner increased the Capability of the car..
If we were to apply the same logic to Hot Rodding or Four Wheeling that we do on RV.net we would get laughed off the forum. Vehicle mods change (for better or worse...remember the guy who wanted to take a few leaves out of his 3500 series truck spring pack?) factory performance.
Thanks!
Jeremiah
