Hello.Anyone in Virginia who can opine on this?I am getting ready to buy a 1ton cab and chassis dually and put a flatbed on it. I also have a 14,000 lbs horse trailer I want to pull and travel with.How is this treated in the eyes of DMV/state police? I see here (https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/drivers/#whatiscdl.asp) that a commercial vehicle is defined as "A combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 pounds or more if the vehicle(s) being towed has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds".The dually has a GVWR of 14,000lbs and the trailer's GVWR is also 14,000 lbs (combined 28,000 lbs). Does this mean that this now puts me in the "commercial" category? If so, what implications does this have? Do I need a CDL to drive this "rig"? How do I register my truck? We do not make money with the truck, it is just for personal purposes - driving around and hauling our horses to trails (but not shows or any activity where money can be earned).Thanks!

I suggest you ask at a VA DMV and/or State Police office. After you determine what’s legal and what you are going to do, talk to your insurance agent.

I’m not in Virginia.I’m in Kentucky. I think that you’ll be fine with a regular license as long as you run your place as a hobby farm and not a business. If you can prove that you are not running a breeding operation if need be. Then you should be good to go.

I'm in VA. You aren't commercial because you aren't doing anything that can produce income. You will register your truck and trailer just like any "normal" person would register any other truck or trailer. However, If you have the vehicles registered to a business or lettered for a business or go to a competition where you can win money then you will be considered commercial and you would need a Class A CDL.

KD4UPL wrote:I'm in VA. You aren't commercial because you aren't doing anything that can produce income. You will register your truck and trailer just like any "normal" person would register any other truck or trailer. However, If you have the vehicles registered to a business or lettered for a business or go to a competition where you can win money then you will be considered commercial and you would need a Class A CDL.That would make sense to me. So, when I register my truck, I would register it for the highest weight below 26,000 lbs? This would only allow me to legally pull up to 12,000lbs? What if I want to put a 15,000 lbs trailer behind the truck? Would I register it for 30,000 lbs, for example? This would not interfere with any driver's license requirements, if you were pulled over? Thanks!

I don't think you register the truck for the weight it's towing. You register the truck for the weight it's axles are supporting.Is this a GN or FW trailer? The rules might be different for that but I think the truck is only registered for it's GVWR. That's how all my trucks and trailers have been for over 20 years. But, I don't have any GN or FW trailers.My dually (it's registered commercial) has a GVWR of 11,400 but I have it registered at 14,000. My 24' flatbed is registered for it's GVWR of 16,xxx pounds. When I have my dually loaded heavy and the trailer hitched up it sometimes puts the truck just over 13,000 which is why I registered it for 14,000. Thus, I maintain my Class A CDL from my truck driving days even though I'm an electrical contractor now.

Virginia GCWR rules / commercial / travel trailer

20 Replies

ognend
Explorer
Jun 13, 2021
GDS-3950BH wrote:
ognend wrote:
Birdnst wrote:
I got the f350 srw 11300 gvwr, if registered that way it is right at $100 more to register annually. Tell them 10000 gvwr and a cheaper registration annually.

Yeah but what happens if you are pulled over and they realize your tags don't match real GVWR? Besides I am talking about a 14,000 lbs gvwr dually ;)

Yeah:S. Because that happens so often I've never seen nor heard of it happening to anyone in 40 years of driving.

Slap your head all you want ;) but what you are suggesting is technically fraud (tax evasion), no? I know my vehicle is 14,000 lbs GVWR, it says so on the sticker and I go and tell them it is 10,000 lbs GVWR... No shooting offense but why willingly put yourself in a situation where you can be dragged through the system. I am pretty sure nobody will pull you over for fun and check your tags for correct weights but it MAY happen if you were involved in a (serious) accident, no?
GDS-3950BH
Explorer
Jun 13, 2021
ognend wrote:
Birdnst wrote:
I got the f350 srw 11300 gvwr, if registered that way it is right at $100 more to register annually. Tell them 10000 gvwr and a cheaper registration annually.

Yeah but what happens if you are pulled over and they realize your tags don't match real GVWR? Besides I am talking about a 14,000 lbs gvwr dually ;)

Yeah:S. Because that happens so often I've never seen nor heard of it happening to anyone in 40 years of driving.
ognend
Explorer
Jun 13, 2021
Birdnst wrote:
I got the f350 srw 11300 gvwr, if registered that way it is right at $100 more to register annually. Tell them 10000 gvwr and a cheaper registration annually.

Yeah but what happens if you are pulled over and they realize your tags don't match real GVWR? Besides I am talking about a 14,000 lbs gvwr dually ;)
Birdnst
Explorer
Jun 13, 2021
I got the f350 srw 11300 gvwr, if registered that way it is right at $100 more to register annually. Tell them 10000 gvwr and a cheaper registration annually.
ognend
Explorer
Jun 13, 2021
KD4UPL wrote:
I don't think you register the truck for the weight it's towing. You register the truck for the weight it's axles are supporting.
Is this a GN or FW trailer? The rules might be different for that but I think the truck is only registered for it's GVWR. That's how all my trucks and trailers have been for over 20 years. But, I don't have any GN or FW trailers.
My dually (it's registered commercial) has a GVWR of 11,400 but I have it registered at 14,000. My 24' flatbed is registered for it's GVWR of 16,xxx pounds. When I have my dually loaded heavy and the trailer hitched up it sometimes puts the truck just over 13,000 which is why I registered it for 14,000. Thus, I maintain my Class A CDL from my truck driving days even though I'm an electrical contractor now.

My understanding is that in Virginia, you title for GVWR and register (get tags) for GCWR. So, if you have 3 trailers, one weighs 3k lbs, one weighs 6k lbs and one weighs 10k lbs and you have a 3500 drw with gvwr of 14k lbs, you would tag for the highest GCWR combo - 24k lbs - this way you are covered all the way to the highest gvwr of the trailer and thus, highest gcwr.
KD4UPL
Explorer
Jun 12, 2021
I don't think you register the truck for the weight it's towing. You register the truck for the weight it's axles are supporting.
Is this a GN or FW trailer? The rules might be different for that but I think the truck is only registered for it's GVWR. That's how all my trucks and trailers have been for over 20 years. But, I don't have any GN or FW trailers.
My dually (it's registered commercial) has a GVWR of 11,400 but I have it registered at 14,000. My 24' flatbed is registered for it's GVWR of 16,xxx pounds. When I have my dually loaded heavy and the trailer hitched up it sometimes puts the truck just over 13,000 which is why I registered it for 14,000. Thus, I maintain my Class A CDL from my truck driving days even though I'm an electrical contractor now.
ognend
Explorer
Jun 12, 2021
KD4UPL wrote:
I'm in VA. You aren't commercial because you aren't doing anything that can produce income. You will register your truck and trailer just like any "normal" person would register any other truck or trailer.
However, If you have the vehicles registered to a business or lettered for a business or go to a competition where you can win money then you will be considered commercial and you would need a Class A CDL.

That would make sense to me. So, when I register my truck, I would register it for the highest weight below 26,000 lbs? This would only allow me to legally pull up to 12,000lbs? What if I want to put a 15,000 lbs trailer behind the truck? Would I register it for 30,000 lbs, for example? This would not interfere with any driver's license requirements, if you were pulled over? Thanks!
KD4UPL
Explorer
Jun 12, 2021
I'm in VA. You aren't commercial because you aren't doing anything that can produce income. You will register your truck and trailer just like any "normal" person would register any other truck or trailer.
However, If you have the vehicles registered to a business or lettered for a business or go to a competition where you can win money then you will be considered commercial and you would need a Class A CDL.
Diamond_c
Nomad
Jun 12, 2021
I’m not in Virginia.I’m in Kentucky. I think that you’ll be fine with a regular license as long as you run your place as a hobby farm and not a business. If you can prove that you are not running a breeding operation if need be. Then you should be good to go.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Jun 12, 2021
I suggest you ask at a VA DMV and/or State Police office. After you determine what’s legal and what you are going to do, talk to your insurance agent.

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Virginia GCWR rules / commercial / travel trailer

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