Games - - I am soooo excited I have your heart aflutter. I obviously made your day. Carry on in your Games world. I am not going to argue with your ill conceived logic. I started my post with the warning this topic always gets the hearts aflutter with those that have the logic their truck will do anything.

So, I will stick to the rules - - you carry on and do what you wish - - let's just stay friends. OK????

Bob

 

gotta love TX, it is a unique state. most of us have it a lot different then you tx boys.
As the CHPs/ and USDOT on several occassions have told me they are getting the overweights one at a time and the fines are big. i've had two friends nailed within the last year.

 

tx dot hits just as hard here, but we dont blow it out of proportion. they go mainly by the tire carrying capacity. i get stopped on avg about every other month buy the black and whites just for the heck of it.

 

As usual the topic of limits always get its people [including me] that have their input.
I suggest you do what fits your conscience. When I use my trucks commercially and I got fined for being over the manufacturers limits, I was really ticked off because I know my rig is safe and I know I was not over the axle or tire limits. I was also insured for a lot more them my total over the scales that day. Did not matter, had to drop the load and got the fine.

Thats a fact not hearsay or internet rumor.

It made me think twice about what really is legal out there when I drove away without the load and consulted my insurance company. The two people I spoke to told me I was registered legal but its up to the DOT to interpret what is safe. Now that to me sounds like the wording I got from my insurance company should be the other way around. So yeah, my insurance company says its legal yet the DOT said it was illegal. Big gray area out there and if you are lucky...it will work in your favor and you'll stay aflutter.

Go ahead and explain it away with whatever rationalization you prefer.

 

Scotty, you failed to mention you were in B.C. at the time. To my knowledge they are the only province with that law in Canada, as you know SK nor AB has that law. Someone will have to show me a law from the U.S. that limits vehicles to GVWR or GCWR. I'd especially like to see the one from CA since two posters claim that state is issuing tickets.

 

Where did you come up with 'aflutter'? Now ya got me doing/saying it.

thanks. I think.

I have a friend here that works in Commercial with sask gov insurance...SGI.
She has been there for over 20 yrs. I called her when I got the fine out in BC.
She said if they [DOT and/or SGI] want to enforce such a thing they can but its quite often left as a judgment call. Again...still a gray area. She 'speculated' that if there was an accident, depending on the severity, SGI could refuse insurance if the manufacturers limits where exceeded. She did not know of any cases of that happening in Saskatchewan.

The guy that wrote me up said; "If you were going to other way [east] I would have let you go." He then went on to tell me that that kind of load and a possible accident after I was over the scale would not only create grief for me but for himself as well.

I did mention BC on a few other threads in this area. My bad not to say so in this thread.

Scotty

 

I have seen the link to the BC law so I know it exists. Even personnal use RVs get hammered there.

 

GAmes, one was a driver for a plumbing contractor and the other was a general contractor my godson was working for. both got nailed at weigh stations. you know here we have what is called a CA # for commercial verhicles and you are required to stop at weigh stations even if it is a 3500 with a flatbed or a business that has a fleet of several trucks will be required to display numbers on even 2500s.
i had my US DOT safety audit about two months ago. the woman doing the audit, whom had spent 18 yrs at the Gilroy weigh station with the CHPs, and i were talking about GCVWR and if they were even considered. she explained that they look at one ton dullies as having a safe GCVWR of 18k and they can ticket them if over.
She agreed that it was so arbitrary and up for interpretation but that is the way the state lawyers like it.
i have my 30k sticker even tho my GCVWR is 26k, because if i am pulling my track loader, a full tank of fuel and a few tools i am over 26k in my 5500. i have weigh stations all around me. this is for local area trips only. she gave my 30k sticker the evil eye.
she did gig me in the safety inspection when reveiwing my driver logs for making it from San Jose, CA to the I-10 AZ border in eleven hours. said i could not do it without exceeding the speed limit while pulling a trailer.

 

i guess it's kinda like going a few mph over the speed limit hundreds of times and finally you are caught. you can take the ticket and smile at the officer for all of the times you got away with it. :-)

 

Well we brought home a nice 3-horse LQ trailer with a dry weight of 9-10k. Truck handled it well. I ran the Smarty down to SW3. Just have to keep an eye on those EGT's. It isn't difficult to exceed 1300*. Next up, a boost fooler to help with that! Plus, some air bags to help the suspension out.
Thanks all for the input.

 

It is only 563 miles from San Jose to Blythe. Easy to make that trip in 11 hours without speeding, if traffic allows it.

As for your friends tickets, it has been my experience that if a ticket is issued but the driver is allowed to continue then the ticket isn't for safety, it is because the rig isn't registered for the weight. If the driver doesn't have the correct drivers license (CDL required in CA for none RV trailers over 10,000 GVWR for example) then a driver with the correct license is needed to leave the scales. If the truck/trailer is overweight according to tire ratings (or max axle weight in the case of big trucks) they wouldn't allow it to leave after just issueing a ticket either, the overload has to be shifted or moved onto another vehicle. So, just making the blanket statement that tickets for being overweight doesn't really mean anything to me. I'm interested in what code or ordinance was cited.

It is interesting that the inspector views 18,000 as the GCVWR limit. Even the manufacturers rating is higher than that with most duellies. So was she saying that if the actual combination weight exceeds 18,000 CHP will ticket you or if the GCWR (as defined by FMCSA GVWR + GVWR) exceeds 18,000 you will be ticketed? I just delivered a Teton 5er in MS ysterday. With it's 14,950 GVWR my GCWR was 25,340 pounds. The actual weight of the combo was about 22,000. FWIW, the GCWR printed in my owners manual is 20,000. I am confident that I could have delivered that same trailer to a CA buyer with no hassles what so ever, and I do not have a CDL. The reason for that is I was well within FMCSA regulations and CA doesn't have the authority to impose different standards to interstate carriers. Unfortunately CA residents in intra-state commerce do not have that same protection.

 

Your 2500 is the same setup as a 3500 SRW, the only difference is the overloads on the 3500... But those take so much weight to engage they are about useless, it takes over 2K lbs in the bed to even touch them. Airbags are much better, so no need to modify anything.

I don't know what bed or gears you have... but a LB 3500 SRW with 3.73's can tow 13,646 (GCWR 21,000) and with 4.10's 15,646 (GCWR 23,000)..

So with airbags there is no reason you can't safely go off of those limits. Just don't exceed the rating of your wheels/tires. I don't think there are any G rated tires for 17" rims, and the OE rims are only good for 3195lbs, so stronger "E's" wont really do any good. 18" or 19.5" rims would be the next best bet.


Do the H2's have a weight rating stamped in them? I have read in several places they are only rated for 2769lbs a piece.

 

Weight rating is stamped in them, 3195 stamped inside all the of the 3 sets of them that I have. I have 1 set alums and 2 sets chrome.


CD

 

Thank you!

 

I can show you that. At least for class 8 rigs and I would think it would not be different for our rigs. I have last years permit out the Pete I drive and it specifically says they you cannot be over the weights posted on your vehicle. It also says you can't go over the rating on the tire sidewall. I read it a couple nights ago and if you don't want to believe it I will take the time to quote it word for word for ya. This is an OR permit.

I also got an overload ticket about 2 months ago pulling a car crusher across the Woodburn scale. I would have been legal with a heavy haul permit but didn't have it. They only let me go to the next truck stop, and no farther, and get the permit. The rig weighed 80,900 lbs. And the ticket does matter now because it goes against YOUR driving record.