What am I missing on GVWR??

Old-Biscuit wrote:

twodownzero wrote:
Same law here in New Mexico. Don't bring your overloaded trucks here. Trucks cannot be tagged for more than they are rated for.

Got a LINK for that statement?
The one where NM uses GVWR and will fine if exceeded?

As with all questions involving the law, "it depends."

For truck camper loads, it's simply a matter of registration laws. The MVD will not, and cannot (by both statutory and administrative law) register a vehicle for more than its GVWR. So if we're talking about a single vehicle, the fine would be for being over one's registered weight, which is equal to GVWR. When a person goes to register a vehicle in NM, the registered weight is on the registration and is either a byproduct of the vehicle VIN or a VIN inspection, where the clerk will physically look at the door sticker and issue a registration for that number.

This is in contrast to where I've had vehicles registered elsewhere--in Indiana they tried to give me a 7k lb. plate for a truck that weighed more than that empty! I had to specify what plate I wanted, which there were certain milestones, I think I picked 9k because I didn't anticipate using any more than that at the time. In Illinois a regular truck plate is 8k pounds; then next milestone was 12k.

For trailers in NM, it's a matter of administrative regulation and statute. MVD has the authority to define license classes. The administrative regulation defines what a "Class D license" is. A class D license authorizes the operation of a vehicle less than 26,001 pounds, which may tow a trailer equal to the weight of the "towing vehicle," or greater if certain conditions are met, the first of which is "manufacturer's rated capacity."
http://164.64.110.134/parts/title18/18.019.0005.html

Also, like the rules for truck campers/single vehicles, if GVWR is exceeded, the same law regarding registered weight would be violated as well.

So if you're in NM and you're towing a trailer, for example, that exceeds your towing vehicle's GVWR (e.g., through excessive tongue weight), you would be guilty of both operating your vehicle in excess of its registered weight (simple, weight > registered weight) AND operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license (because your license is not valid when the vehicle combination you're operating is not within the license class you hold).

Obviously no clear answer is available for all possible factual scenarios, but the simple answer is that generally it violates at least one traffic law in New Mexico to operate a non-commercial vehicle in excess of the rated capacity of the vehicle.