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crazyro's avatar
crazyro
Explorer
Jun 03, 2020

Truck GVWR wrong weight listed on registration

I'm in SC so that may make a difference... Purchased new to us TV, and noticed on the registration paperwork that GVWR is listed as 8,000 lbs. I wonder if dealership had it listed as such for lower fees? However, door sticker lists it at 10,000 (almost 3,000 payload capacity on this 2500). I have an appointment with the DMV and would like to update it (my understanding is that if I'm ever in a wreck and weight is incorrectly stated, insurance company could deny claims) but wondered if you guys have ever had to deal with this. I'm assuming they'll fix and I'll pay the difference but wonder how this may have happened. TIA.
  • This makes perfect sense - thank you for the responses. It hit me today why it's listed at 8,000. I transferred the tag from the old Mega Cab (GVWR of about 8,500, listed at 8,000). I guess I can leave it alone and maybe change it next year when it comes up for renewal? Or I may be thinking too hard. We do plan on getting a golf cart to carry in bed of truck and pull our camper (5,000 lb or so) so with the truck weighing at around 7,000, I'll definitely exceed the GVWR listed. At the end of the day I know it won't really matter. Peace of mind? Just keep trucking? What say you? What would you do? :D
  • I had a similar situation with my truck when I bought it and didn’t realize it for the first year. The dealer did the original registration and the GVWR was really low. I would have been overweight with just me in the truck. This would have been a big fine if I had ever been pulled over (which is common on some highways here).

    On renewal I had it changed to the max GVWR for my truck. I only need the higher GVWR for when I’m towing in the summer months and can reduce the rating to save on fees for the rest of the year but can’t be bothered with the hassle. I pay the higher license rate to avoid the penalties if caught underrated.
  • noteven wrote:
    Has any insurance company ever shovelled up the debris field plus the wreckage and hauled it all to a scale to weigh said wreckage?

    X2
    That has been my thought to whenever the chicken little's start running in circles about "busting" payload, getting in an accident and insurance denying you.
  • Has any insurance company ever shovelled up the debris field plus the wreckage and hauled it all to a scale to weigh said wreckage?
  • In SC, they register and tax based on what you "plan" to carry, so the weight on your registration is probably the curb weight of the truck. I registered a 2500HD that I planned on pulling a travle trailer with... had to add in the loaded weight of the TT to the truck registration if I didn't want to be cited for weighing more than what I was registered/taxed for.

    Rob
  • Can't answer for SC but here's for IL.
    It doesn't matter what the door sticker says when getting registration. The registration weight is a fee for the weight limit you intend to carry. If you never intend to carry a total weight (cargo and truck) over 8000 lbs then you register for 8000 lbs. If you think you might carry 12,000 lbs then you pay for 12,000 lb registration. If you never intend to carry 12,000 lbs then it's silly to pay the higher fee for a 12,000 registration when you could get by just paying for the 8000 lb fee.
    You can register you truck for whatever weight you want if you want to pay the state the registration fee. There's nothing preventing a person from registering a pickup for 80,000 lbs if you don't mind paying the state all the extra money. You would never carry 80,000 lbs in a 2 axle pickup but if want to pay the state the extra money they'll be happy to take your money.
    Registration is just the fee you pay for carrying the weight you intend to carry. What the door sticker says doesn't matter.