BIg Kahuna

I have a 2004 Ram3500 with a HO Cummins and a 6-speed. I also have a Pak-Brake.

My son and I race (www.moparstyleracing.com) and want to get a 5th-wheel stacker trailer to take both of our cars. My understanding is that the Gross combined weight is 23000. The truck weighs 6300 so I understand that trailer and load can be 16,700. The cars weigh about 7000 pounds -- so that only leaves 9700 for the trailer.

Am I doing this right?

Is there anything I can do to LEGALLY tow a larger load. The Texas Troopers have a lot of pickups with portable scales to weigh pickups with large trailers -- so I need to be legal.

Advice?

welder27

Is that the factory's gross combined weight figure? I know lots of guys on here have hauled more than that for thousands of miles through lots of states. Your trailer w/ a load can weigh around 20,000 lbs...at least that's a figure I see on here a lot. Some guys even have a set-up to haul 30,000 lbs.

kandgo

26001 lbs and above, then it goes into the commercial area of DOT. Goodluck,,Rick Check this site out http://www.rvsafety.com/state.htm

J BODY

Wow Dave! You stepped out of the Ford for a Dodge?!? From what I've seen on the dealer listing I believe the highest trailer weight with the proper equipment was 16,400. Oh, and welcome to DTR!

Haulin_in_Dixie

Talk to BBD, he is in Texas and hauls heavy.

Barry Smith

I haul 26000 to 29000 regularly. I have a 2500 the way I understand it is the gross of your truck and gross rating of the trailer. 2500 11000 lbs trailer 20000lbs =31000lbs gross combined weight. And you have to have a class A cdl.

bulabula

Barry, I'm trying to figure out the formatting of your post; are you saying your 2500 has a Gross Rating of 11,000 pounds?

Is that because it's registered for that weight?

BIg Kahuna

Thanx for the welcome J-Body.

I'm still confused as to how much I can legally tow with my truck. I've towed overwight in the past -- but states are now picking up on the revenue generated by having Troopers with pickups and portable scales pulling over medium duty trucks with large trailers. The fines are staggering -- so I want to make sure I fully understand what I can legally do.

I'm interested in if there is anything that I can do (I already have the Jake-Brake -- but maybe tires, air bags, etc.) that might legally increase the Gross Combined Vehicle weight of my truck -- and if I'm properly understanding this concept.

1320

I think the GCVWR is recommended and not law. The oem recommends the gcvwr but on the door is the GVWR. My 98 duallie is 11k gvw. I don t believe I will have a problem pulling up to a GCVWR of 26000 as long as my axle weights are not over and my truck is under 11k total. In my state we have a seperate endorsement for trucks pulling more then 10000. I pull two cars in an enclosed. I don t know how much a stacker weighs but I go in at 24500 to 25500 total. Two cars, 2750, 3250, gen, quad, lounge, supplies one spare for the truck and two for the trailer.
My truck is a 4x4 QC duallie 4x4, 7220 no passengers, full of fuel, spray in liner, turn over ball and 4 alcoas and otherwise loaded. I wouldn t mind getting a fiberglass hood, and cutting a few pounds in other places too just weight concerns.

BIg Kahuna

1320 -- what do you race (I assume a name like 1320)?

BIg Kahuna

BTW -- I don't thing the Gross Combined weight is not a recommendation, but a weight limit for safe opertaion of the vehicle based on frame, springs, tires and brakes. These limits are typically conservative for a safety margin -- and so it shouldn't be uncommon for people to be able to state that they regualrly carry heavier loads. However, I'd doubt the "I know people that carry heavier loads all of the time" defense will have any bearing with the State Trooper or judge that pulls me over.

I'm not a lucky man, and three of the last four tickets have been for:

1. Not having mudflaps on a dually (my Ford was customized and the customizer forgot to put them back on)

2. Tint too dark on my Magnum

3. Not wearing a seatbelt.

If anyone can get a CS ticket -- it is me. As such I want to avoid the real expensive ones.

1320

I run several drag cars....66 vette, 64 elcomino , 89 tta, and a couple more in the works....a 54 henry J, 65 cobra, 65 vette,57 chevy

I said recomendation, because virtually anything the manufacturer says is a recomendation. They state the tire size for every car or truck but you can improve some with a better tire choice. I know most of us run 265 tires and larger on trucks that came with 215?'s, should it be a law? No imo.

I don t think it is conceivable for every trooper to carry up to date manufacturer limits on GCVWR's. Every truck model is different then every manufacter? Just locating the information would be almost immposible,, thus they are recommended. For that reason it appears the state laws focus more on a more liberal 26000 lb limit, knowing that is a reasonable limit for a non commercial use limit using any truck.

Also probably why the GCVW is not on the vehicle, if it was absolute the manufacturer would put it on there.......but instead only the GVW. The manufactuer limit is what they feel anyone could saftly tow......that means the guy that can t read, but can get a drivers license, the women that doesn t drive more then 2000 miles a year, but still has a license from 1944, and a 16 year old that has been driving for one week. People that can read, do have reasonable experience and have matured into adulthood , and are aware of the conditions and equipment can saftly use the same equipment to a higher extreme.

On a side note....how could it be possible for a guy to weight 53k but still be alive if the gcvwr as per the manufacture is only 16k or there abouts.....? That poor old dodge should have failed in what 40 or 50 areas....broke right in two or three pieces......killed the drive and everyone and thing around him......

gunracer1

if you stay under 26k gross you will fine. i can't belive what i have got away with hauling. i have been over 30k many times and never been messed with. but my truck looks like a farmers rig, not fancy at all. mike

pappyman

GVWR is the posted number on your door post of your truck...in my case 10,500 you can't change this MAX GVWR unless you remove the bed and license you truck commercially which is hard to do in most states unless it's a 1 ton or larger

The trailer also has a GVWR....I have 2 trailers one at 18,000 3 axle and another with 4 axles at 24,000

Anytime your truck and trailer GVWR exceeds 26,001 you need a CDL, I do have a CDL class a with all endorsements but even that will not save you if your combined unit GVWR is over weight....this is the reason truck driver scale their rigs after loading to be sure they are not over weight on any axles

Now as for your question "How large of a trailer can I tow" give us your truck GVWR and your trailer GVWR and the overall length and width of your trailer number of axles and then we can tell you if your legal

ddestruel

GCVWR is a recommendation not a legal boundry, what dictates weight capacity is trailer legal gros plus truck legal gross and the ability to bridge the wieght.... distribute the weight properly so that no one axle is over loaded.

If this wasnt the case, alot of Semis hauling over 80k lbs would be locked up because on thier door tags it says GCVWR 80k lbs yet they can haul up to 126k in some states 105500 in others and with a spread axle they can haul more than 80k in a straigh configuration. Same goes for commercial carriers in LD trucks we all have to pass over scales and be inspected yet the DOT does not red flag us.


Pappyman's got it give us your details, its all math.

Dusty