Transferred the title and got the registration for my 2004 Pace enclosed 20ft trailer. The lady asks me what GVWR I want the registration to say. If it is below 5k then I get permanent tags and if it is higher then I only get one year tags. If I say 5k and get the perm tags and then get caught with more weight than that I can get a ticket. If I say more than 7k (which the trailer is rated at) then it is more expensive. How likely am I to get pulled over for weight check with this trailer? How much can I safely overload this trailer? The title says the trailer weighs in at about 2600 lbs, so how much can I actually load onto the trailer? Moving cross country and dont want any problems. Thanks.

Kevin

 

Just Tag it for the rated weight of 7000 lbs why play games cant be that much more money

 

My trailer is rated at 9990lb and Va gave me the option of permanent tags. Of course that's what I got! I have put about 2000lb more than I'm supposed to in my trailer and it did OK but the tires were sagging quite a bit. I even got a flat loaded down like that and a cop showed up and didn't even ask about GVWs....

Your trailer is either a 7000lb gvw or 9990gvw. Subtract the empty weight and that's how much you can safely put in it. It's pretty simple...

 

If you are changing residences from one state to another the permanent tags won't do you any good anyway. You are just going to have to re-license it.

However, if you will maintain the same state of residence where you license it my vote is to get the permanent tags and load "about" 2400 pounds in it.

 

Hmm, didn't the trailer come with a certificate of origin? You should have the GVW listed exactly the same as the manufacturers specs. Here in Ohio trailer registration is done by unladen weight. The 20ft. car hauler I sold in March had a 10K GVW and cost me $25 to register because the unladen weight was under 4K.

 

I would reg it at what it's rated. Makes the sense.

 

OK registration is done and over with, got it done at 7k. My question now is this, I am moving with this trailer and own probably about 6k-7k pounds of personal propety to be loaded into this trailer. Can I put the heavier items in my truck bed and the lighter items in the trailer and tow safely?

 

hmm i would say,

Plus i was taught to load this way.....Put the heavier items on the axles of the trailer if at all possible. Load what you can onto the trailer with the heavier items on the axles, simply cause they are the most balanced point on the trailer, and they are also the strongest components on it as well. You can load your heavy items in the bed of your truck but why do you want to make it squat down more than it has to? that is what dont make sence to me.

Tx

 

Not that I want to squat my truck, just that I dont want to overload the trailer. Plus when you only have one shot at making a 2000 mile trip you have to get it all in there at one time. Since the trailer is already bought, it is all I have to use. I am in the military and get paid by the pound so the more weight the more money. The weight of the trailer counts because I own it. Now, I will be stopping by Mom and Daddys in Texas and they will be following to Georgia from there so he can help out with his truck bed. I just want to make sure I can get everything in there at one time without any safety issues. How much weight can come out of a 3 bed 2 bath 2 car garage?


Kevin

aka Tx

 

I don't see how you could "put the heavy things in the truck" enough to really make a difference on trailer weight. Just leave the weight set, the boat anchors, and the cast iron bath tub behind.

Load up that trailer and take it for a test spin, and adjust the load for safe riding. Get it weighed if you really think your overweight.

Beds, TV, Couch and "stuff" ..just how much stuff is the killer.

 

I would definitely make sure you have a spare tire with you. It absolutely SUCKS getting a flat and you can't find a shop that has trailer tires to replace yours....

You can get quite a bit in a 20' trailer. More than the trailer will legally hold. If you load the truck bed down heavy than you might want to save some other heavy stuff for the rear section of the trailer to help level things out. A weight distribution hitch will help a lot with bouncing and swaying. It's worth the couple hundred bucks to buy one....

 

Ca has permanent trailer liscense plates even for my 4x8!!

Rick

 

Ahh but we still have to pay every 4 years I think..... a whole 15.00 dollars it funny , we have permanent license plates , but no stickers on them.

 

Well the trailer will have to be weighed for sure, I have to have proof of how much weight I have. Will there be any questions at the scale if I am heavy? I pretty much dont have a choice in the matter so the trailer is going to get loaded properly and we are going to have to make it with what we have. Just wanted some other opinions. The trailer has a brand new spare, the trailer is brand new for that matter, still has all the manuals and papers hanging in the plastic bag inside.

 

Go to a private scale. They could care less what you are rated at and what you weigh.

Make sure your spare isn't buried under/behind all your stuff. Also make sure you have the proper lug wrench. Chances are it doesn't match your CTD. It would also be a good idea to make sure your spare even fits because when I bought my brand new trailer the goof ***** included the wrong spare and sure enough I got a flat and it didn't fit!!!!! Said a few choice words that night.

DO NOT put heavy stuff in the rear of the trailer!!! It will cause the trailer/truck to fishtail. I've experienced this first-hand and was lucky to make it through but it was a VERY exciting few moments while slowing down. Make sure you have more weight in front of the trailer axles than behind them. A good way to tell is how much the truck lifts as the tongue of the trailer is raised off the ball vice/versa as the tongue is lowered.