Is it still behind me??

biziedizie · June 11, 2003, 06:40:02 PM

Hey guys I bought a brand new trailer and when I picked it up yesterday they said that the receiver that I was using for my other trailer wouldn't work.
  K so I bought the one off them and here's the deal. The trailer weighs 1850lbs and I can load 5900lbs on it, the receiver says that the gross trailer weight is 6000lbs and the tongue weight is 600lbs.
  Is the gross trailer weight 6000lbs or do I add the trailer weight plus the max that I can load on it to get my overall weight?
  I know that I can be dizzy about things at times but I'm thinking that I have the wrong receiver.

   Steve

Tom · June 11, 2003, 06:47:53 PM

Gross is everything you can get on it. The trailer weight and the load comprises the Gross.

Something else I found out is that the Gross of your vehicle includes its load, the trailer and the trailers load.

If your truck has a gross of 20,000 and the trailer has a gross of 20,000 lbs then the gross of your rig is 40,000 (even if you are empty) and that puts you into the arena of a CDL.

biziedizie · June 12, 2003, 04:47:52 PM

Thanks Tom! That makes more sense then what the insurance girl told me. She told me that it goes by the gvw of my rear axle but from what I understand as the truck is a 4x4 it goes by both axles.

Steve

Furby · June 12, 2003, 05:01:28 PM

Hey Steve,
Are you useing tow bars?

Tom · June 12, 2003, 05:12:20 PM

It may be different way up there in that foreign country :D but in the USA the GVWR's are accumulatable. My truck is rated at 21500. My sawmill is 7500. The Mississippi DMV held me for over an hour to convince me that I was on the road with 29000lbs. My truck was empty and I was considering the trailer as my load. That's not how it works here. My empty truck weighs 10300lbs. I figured I was on the road with 17800lbs. Wrong! It doesn't matter what the scales read, it matters what the title reads. :P

biziedizie · June 12, 2003, 05:28:20 PM

Furby tow bars are the ones that attach to the frame right? If so then that's what I got.

Tom I think things are the same here because I think with my 1 ton I had to get the gvw upped as I was carrying too much weight. From what I remember all I had to do was go through the scales with a very big load and get a stub that could prove that I was carrying alot of weight.
As I drive back roads and try to stay off the highways I should be ok. I guess all your scales must be like ours and located on the highways. Ony difference is we have mud huts where we pay the man. :D :D Ain't Canada grand. :D :D

Steve

Tom · June 12, 2003, 05:43:01 PM

We don't have any mud huts but we have little towns that were incorporated for the sole reason to hand out traffic tickets. You drive into one of them that has "entering Punkinville" on one side of the sign and "leaving Punkinville" on the other. Get your ticket for doing 55 in a 20 mph zone. It's marked by a sign that is half hidden behind a tree and the zone is 20 feet long. You go to court at the Justice of the Peace's office which is a Army Surplus squad tent set up behind the local bar/restaurant where you must pay in cash. The restaurant might cash your check. There are a couple of "good-ole-boys playing checkers on a stump, being used for a table, beside the tent, under the big oak tree that has everything shaded and usually four to six of their beer drinking buddies standing there watching. They chuckle as you leave and wish you a good trip "now heah?".

biziedizie · June 12, 2003, 05:49:37 PM

Tom now that would make my blood boil. >:( I don't think that's fair for the average hard working guy to have to pay a ticket cause he's trying to make some money to feed his family.
I'm sure glad we don't have stuff like that happen here.

Steve

woodmills1 · June 12, 2003, 08:28:48 PM

any one who tows anything should pay attention to this thread. The GVW on the registration defines the total legal weight of the truck and trailer, understand that is truck + load and trailer + load. Ifen they are hooked together they weigh together. That means my 1 ton at 15,500 lbs registered is real close to being not legal with just my LT40 behind it.

Tom · June 12, 2003, 08:45:08 PM

Right and it doesn't matter whether you have a load on your truck or not. The truck is still responsible for the titled GVWR's. The scale is to see if you went over the registered GVWR's.

Always approach every situation with the assumption that your truck is loaded to the hilt.

Paul_H · June 12, 2003, 09:25:36 PM

Steve,
not many people know this...but the red bars on Canada's flag is in fact,red tape ;) (BC's flag has a fair amount too)

There is plenty to go around!

woodmills1 · June 12, 2003, 09:39:24 PM

red tape is a general kind of thing.

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Brian_Bailey · June 13, 2003, 07:36:02 AM

Here are the CDL requirements in New York.

You need a class A CDL if you operating a combination such as a tractor-trailer or truck-trailer that has a gross combination weight rating ( GCWR ) of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the gross vehicle weight rating ( GVWR ) or the GCWR or the vehicle(s) being towed is more than 10,000 pounds.

A Class B CDL - Vehicle Type, a Single - such as a heavy single unit truck. Vehicle description - GVWR of more than 26,000 pounds; or the tractor portion of a tractor-trailer combination ( Class B may tow vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs. or less)

A Class C CDL - Vehicle Type, Single - such as a heavy single unit truck or bus. Vehicle Description, GVWR of 26,000 lbs. or less that: is designed to transport 16 or more passengers ( which includes the driver); or transports passengers pursuant to Article 19-A of the V&T Law; or transport hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placards ( Class C may tow vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs. or less)

Now the kicker that I wasn't aware of !!

IMPORTANT NOTE : NYS residents who drive a vehicle with a GVWR between 18,001 pounds and 26,000 pounds must obtain a non - CDL Class C license. Written and road tests are required to obtain this class license.

Boy oh boy do I know a lot of folks that are in violation of the above !

dave719 · June 13, 2003, 04:17:36 PM

Now i think I'll throw a little more fun. Here in Missouri
we buy our plates for the amount we want to carry and it goes by axal weight same as any truck and trailer any where from 6000 to 32000 you can use 32000 on a one ton duelly your axal weight would 30000 gross for the truck but the truck carries the total for the entire load the combined weight of the truck and trailer
they don't even look at the title gross weight

ohsoloco · June 13, 2003, 05:12:54 PM

??? ??? ???

I've passed many cops with a well loaded trailer, and haven't been pulled over yet...guess that's good enough :

Welcome aboard, Dave 8)

biziedizie · June 13, 2003, 05:37:13 PM

   I got pulled over by a cop once cause he said there was smoke pouring out the back of my 1 ton. I took a look under the truck and we loaded it so full of weight that the deck was sitting on the tires. :D
  He didn't give me a ticket or nothing he just drove off. ;D

   Steve

ohsoloco · June 13, 2003, 05:43:35 PM

When I had new (heavier) fenders put on my trailer, the guy that did it lowered the fenders an inch from what the original ones were (without asking me first :( ). I'm always careful to watch how close the fenders get to the wheels when I'm loading up...easy to do since the wheels stick out the sides of the trailer. Loaded her up pretty good already, with no rubbing ;)

johnjbc · June 13, 2003, 07:49:26 PM

Just checked my CDL License Manuel and I think the Mississippi DMV got Tom ??? :

Class A Truck > 26000 Trailer > 10000
Class B Truck > 26000 Trailer < 10001
Class C Truck < 26001 Trailer < 10001

Below is a direct quote from the manual
A combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26001 pounds or more provided the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds

As Tom's Truck is < 26001 and the mill is < than 10000 he doesn't need a CDL in Pa
The manual refers to the Federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Act of 1986 so I would expect Mississippi's to be the same. 8) 8)

Kevin_H. · June 13, 2003, 08:38:26 PM

I pulled into the local casey's to by myself a soda and the local police man pulled in behind me.

"Your looking a little heavy" he said

I had 3 big hickory logs 8'6" across the front of the trailer with the bobcat over the axles.

I said "Hey chuck whats going on, going to be at work tomorrow or do you have class"

Bought him a soda and that was the end of the trailer conversation.

Sometimes it just pay's to know all the locals

J_T · June 13, 2003, 08:54:10 PM

In Ky all farmers are exempt from cdl's . Got me a tree farm. :D

Furby · June 13, 2003, 09:54:00 PM

Gotta get me a tree farm. ;D

Sawyerfortyish · June 14, 2003, 05:55:13 AM

Hey Brian
My brother got a ticket in N.Y.for running a truck at 24000 lbs without a class C licence. We are in N.J. a class C licence in N.j. is for busses and taxis not trucks. Trucks 24000 and under don,t need CDL in N.J..
We have farm plates on our log truck but were told it's a very grey area were in because logging is a commercial business but because we are a sawmill we use the logs ourselves and are not susposed to sell logs such as veneer.Just like a farmer would truck hay from the field to his farm. But when he puts it on a truck and sells the product it's now a commercial business. We argue the point that we dont sell logs we sell lumber. Thats a differant product as long as I don't get caught delivering lumber in my farm truck I think we can get away with it a few more years. But I wish the states would get togeather and make some kind of nation wide regulations on trucks so there all the same and get rid of the confusion

woodmills1 · June 14, 2003, 06:18:43 AM

Here in NH both logging and lumbering are considered to be farming operations.

Brian_Bailey · June 14, 2003, 08:12:40 AM

I agree that there are too many varibles and exceptions in what's legal !

I forgot to include this with my earlier post, it say's,

" A federally mandated, state issued CDL is required if you operate any of the following motor vehicles or combination of vehicles:"

To make things even more confusing,

NYS Class D which is what everybody has to have to drive, states,
Vehicle type, Single - such as passenger cars and light trucks.
Vehicle descriptions - GVWR of 18,000 lbs. or less. May tow a vehicle with a GVWR of less than 10,000 lbs. and may tow a vehicle of more than 10,000 lbs. providing the GCWR is not over 26,000 lbs.Recreational vehicles with a GVWR of 26,000 lbs. or less.

We've had many misuses of farm plates and the authorities are pretty strict if you're caught misusing them.