This should be a sticky here

JIMNLIN wrote:

Please enlighten us on what you think is the info me missed and the DOT guys look for?

I've towed commercially *LEGALLY* for over 11 years and 1.2 million miles and have been across scale houses in a eight state area many many times.
anyway...Some states may have some type of weight (gvw/gvwr/tonnage/gcwr/gross) and others for registration purposes. Some states like mine has no weight for registering a non commercial vehicle.
....just like the California commander says in a email reply dated oct 2009 to a rv.net person asking Quote; (snipped for length)

"Q: “Many of the owners travel over their tow vehicle GVWR and /or
GCWR. Are there any state laws against this? Or does the owner just
take the risk if they wish?”

"A: The California Vehicle Code (CVC) does not contain a law that
specifically limits the amount of weight a vehicle may tow based on the towing vehicle GVWR or GCWR. There are, however, laws that limit the amount a vehicle may tow based on other criteria.

Section 1085(d) of Title 13 California Code of Regulations prohibits
the loading of tires above the maximum load rating marked on the tire,
or if unmarked the maximum load rating as specified in the applicable
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, or in a publication furnished to the public by the tire manufacturer. This would most likely happen in the case of a pickup truck towing a large fifth wheel travel trailer, as those types of trailers tend to transfer a larger portion of their weight to the last axle of the towing unit causing that axle to exceed the tire load limits.*

I trust this has adequately answered your questions. Should you desire
any further information, please contact Officer Ron Leimer, of my staff, at (916) 445-1865.
Sincerely,
S. B. DOWLING, Captain
Commander
Commercial Vehicle Section" **