Should you get the higher gcvw
If you were buying a 2015 f350 would you get the 10000lb gcvw or the 11500 gcvw what exactly is the difference between the two.
Forum Discussion
Hi,
Several states like California require that "Commercial" vehicles not park on residential streets at night, and not drive on residential streets unless they need to make a delivery down that particular street. This keeps the very heavy delivery trucks on larger - wider streets that have thicker roadway base than the residential streets. A 4 lane highway might have 24" road base covered with 10" of asphalt, while a residential street might have 12" road base covered with 6" of asphalt.
So to make a long story short, the 10,000 GVWR is considered a "Personal Vehicle" by many states, while a 11,500 GVWR truck is considered a commercial vehicle by the department of motor vehicles. So it can not be parked on the street overnight in many locations. Who will check or not? Long Beach California started ticketing F-250's parked on the streets in 2005, and this is why and how I found out about all of these regulations. It seems that the city can ticket a vehicle over 7,000 pounds GVW if they want to - if parked on a residential street at night. Her F-250 had a factory shipping weight of 7,050 pounds. . The state of California regulation says that any truck over 10,000 GVWR must not park on a residential street. However Long Beach was enforcing a law they created restricting 7,000 pound GVW vehicles from parking on residential streets overnight. Later they changed, and now only ticket if it is a 10,000 GVWR vehicle parked overnight on a city street. Of course they do not ticket on truck routes, or commercial streets.
So there is one advantage of buying the truck with the lower GVWR option. However you might as well buy a F-250 for it's 10,000 GVWR. Yet I would much rather have (and recommend) that you get the normal GVWR of 11,500 for it's increased GVWR and much higher cargo rating.
The curb weight of both trucks will be about the same, yet with a 11,500 GVWR the truck can carry about 4,000 pounds of cargo and passengers. While the 10,000 GVWR will carry 1,500 pounds less cargo and passengers. So basically what you bought the truck for will be lost by selecting the lower GVWR.
One huge problem that you might run into with the lower GVWR truck is say you get in a accident, and they check the weight of the truck and what it was towing. If over 10,000 pounds, you could be in trouble with a 10,000 GVWR truck, while no problem if in the 11,500 rated truck while under 11,500 pounds of weight.
I plan on buying a dually F-350 regular cab, and installing a 92" sleeper cab behind the regular cab. Then install a wheelchair lift into the sleeper cab for my daughter. This will provide the ideal tow vehicle for me, with her having access to take along her 400# wheelchair and go on camping trips too! It would be able to tow a fifth wheel or any travel trailer.
Fred.
Several states like California require that "Commercial" vehicles not park on residential streets at night, and not drive on residential streets unless they need to make a delivery down that particular street. This keeps the very heavy delivery trucks on larger - wider streets that have thicker roadway base than the residential streets. A 4 lane highway might have 24" road base covered with 10" of asphalt, while a residential street might have 12" road base covered with 6" of asphalt.
So to make a long story short, the 10,000 GVWR is considered a "Personal Vehicle" by many states, while a 11,500 GVWR truck is considered a commercial vehicle by the department of motor vehicles. So it can not be parked on the street overnight in many locations. Who will check or not? Long Beach California started ticketing F-250's parked on the streets in 2005, and this is why and how I found out about all of these regulations. It seems that the city can ticket a vehicle over 7,000 pounds GVW if they want to - if parked on a residential street at night. Her F-250 had a factory shipping weight of 7,050 pounds. . The state of California regulation says that any truck over 10,000 GVWR must not park on a residential street. However Long Beach was enforcing a law they created restricting 7,000 pound GVW vehicles from parking on residential streets overnight. Later they changed, and now only ticket if it is a 10,000 GVWR vehicle parked overnight on a city street. Of course they do not ticket on truck routes, or commercial streets.
So there is one advantage of buying the truck with the lower GVWR option. However you might as well buy a F-250 for it's 10,000 GVWR. Yet I would much rather have (and recommend) that you get the normal GVWR of 11,500 for it's increased GVWR and much higher cargo rating.
The curb weight of both trucks will be about the same, yet with a 11,500 GVWR the truck can carry about 4,000 pounds of cargo and passengers. While the 10,000 GVWR will carry 1,500 pounds less cargo and passengers. So basically what you bought the truck for will be lost by selecting the lower GVWR.
One huge problem that you might run into with the lower GVWR truck is say you get in a accident, and they check the weight of the truck and what it was towing. If over 10,000 pounds, you could be in trouble with a 10,000 GVWR truck, while no problem if in the 11,500 rated truck while under 11,500 pounds of weight.
I plan on buying a dually F-350 regular cab, and installing a 92" sleeper cab behind the regular cab. Then install a wheelchair lift into the sleeper cab for my daughter. This will provide the ideal tow vehicle for me, with her having access to take along her 400# wheelchair and go on camping trips too! It would be able to tow a fifth wheel or any travel trailer.
Fred.
