j28s

OK, for you experts out there. I'm getting some conflicting information and I'm trying to figure out who I need to talk to. I live in North Carolina, the only state that if you are in an accident where it is the other persons fault and if you contributed (i.e. 0.0000000001%) to the accident then the opposing insurance company DOES NOT have to pay one cent.<br><br>First, I know the truck will pull the weight, that is not the question. Now the question. My truck is rated at 21,000 lbs GCWR, but I will be pulling a load that is around 23,000+ lbs next month (~ 800 miles round trip). If I'm involved in an accident, what's the worst case scenario (either my fault or not)? If I'm going to get the short end of the stick (i.e. loss my truck, trailer and boat), then I'll just get a company to pull it. I know NC has some wierd laws and they are cracking down on people hauling heavy loads (i.e. non-commercial).<br><br>Thanks, JON

ck1

Jon,...i am a claims manager for an insurance company (no boos or hisses guys..its the attys that mess everything up for us!!!) and I ONLY deal with Calif.so it may NOT apply to your state but guess it will by your statement on fault!! so here it goes....if you are involved in an accident that is your fault and the CHP (calif Highway Patrol) or other police entity (CHP are the only ones that I have seen do this) weighs your rigand it is overweight, than you will be assesed fines according to the &quot;crime&quot; committed and if grossly overweight and or alcohol,drugs or sheer neglect for the safety and well being of the driving public you could serve jail time. Depending on what insurance company you have they may or may not pay for the damage to your vehicle and or the o/p's vehicle...YOU MUST read your policy exclusions...very important READ YOUR policy...most companies will pay and then cancel your policy after the claim is settled....beware...READ YOUR POLICY...my two cents<br>Cameron

Haulin_in_Dixie

Jon I will try to give you at least some direction to head on this thing. The way it is supposed to work is this... The Fedearl law says that the GCWR is determined by the GVW of the truck and the total weight of the trailer and load. Some state laws are different in that the GCWR is the GVWR of the TRuck and the GVWR of the trailer added together. In a practical sense if you can load your trailer so that the trailer GVWR and the truck GVWR are not exceeded you are ok. My truck only has an 8800 GVWR and yet I legally load real heavy. 8800 + 21,000 = 29,800 I run over that and have not been bothered. I am plated for 33,000. I have heard war stories of California requiring the GCWR from the manufacturer but I cannot state that positively. Here is how you find out. Get in touch with your state DOT and ask how the GCWR is determined in your state. Go from there. You may be able to find it on the internet.<br><br>You will find that the GVWR is on the door post, the GCWR is not, therefore is not displayed for the road check. Generally if you are within the tag limits, and do not exceed the axle ratings or GVWR of the truck you are ok at a scale or roadside stop. Hope this helps, the answer is to check with your state regulations in how the GCWR is deterimined. Everytime you see a three car or better hauler on a dually, it is exceeding the manufacturers carring weight rating. A trailer is around 7000 pounds and three cars are around 3000 each so that is about 16,000 plus the truck. Usually it is hard to keep under 26,000. If you see them running in your state you can count on that the manufacturer limits are not held by law.

Ray,IN

Jon, The Gross Combined Weight Rating has no legal standing. It is an amount set by mfgrs to insure thier truck outlasts the warranty. The Gross Vehicle Weight for the truck is Law, as is the trailer GVW. After the law is finished with you, as described by Dixie, you can expect lawsuits out the wazoooo! This is only if you get caught or involved in a crash. The decision is yours alone.

pappyman

Everything varies by state with a private tow units<br><br>Its best to stay within weight limits of the axles for tow vehicles and trailer that gives you a legal leg to stand on....most state laws become very confusing trying to apply big rig laws to private tow units since private RV's most times are over weight and the owners don't know it and unless its a special situation DOT doesn't weight non-commercial vehicles....unlike big rigs that weight every load along with shipping papers that state the load weight<br><br>As others have stated our trucks can tow more then the GVWR on the door post...thats put there as a safe weight the manufacturer has determined by testing all truck componts and the DOT looks at that weight as max

j28s

Thanks for the info guys. I'm in the process of communicating with the NC DOT and DMV (they haven't responded yet). Let's just say I will have to check there answer a few times. Why? One local NCDMV office (in Charlotte, NC on Independence) told me that regular tags (i.e. the type of regular tag you get for you little Honda Accord) is all you need for your truck. I said even to pull a 12,000 lbs trailer, and she said yes (note: I knew this was wrong). Then I call another office (Winston-Salem) and they say somethig totally different (i.e. need a commercial tag including the total weight being towed) which is what I have done. Then if I call the headquarters in Raleigh, they have no clue and tell me to contact a NC DMV patrol office. Basically, no one has a freakin' clue what the law is and it's there job. No disrespect, just calling them like I see them.<br><br>I know if I'm in an accident (hoping I won't, but you can never tell), I'm sure someone will say that I should have found out the laws even if the NC DMV doesn't know. I've contact the N.C.: DMV, DOT, and Insurance Commission. When I found out I'll let you guys know. Just making sure my a$$ is covered.... Thanks again, JON

wheezer

Pappyman - HID, I don't know much about this but I'm interested in this. How do the weigh you? When you are loaded heavy, doesn't the hitch weight put the truck over the GVW for the truck? Or is this ignored and just the axles weighed, or do they just go by GCWR of truck and trailer? I know it must differ by states, but I was wondering how it works for you? ???

Haulin_in_Dixie

The important stuff is the tire rating and the GVW on both the trailer and the truck. Rarely checked is the axle weight but exceeding it can earn a ticket. Basically if your gross carring weight is an actual 27,000 and the trailer axles weigh 20,000 they won't go much further. To tow properly (safely) the hitch weight needs to be 25% of the trailer axle weight. I regularly exceed the 8800 pound truck GVW and nothing gets said. But I do have dual wheels on the truck which really increases the capacity of the rear axle. To be perfectly legal, the front axle needs to be within limits, the rear axle within limits and the truck GVW within the limits. The tire capacities do not need to be exceeded at any time for your safety and every one elses. The truck brakes need to stop the truck efectively. Almost every week I am tinkering with the brakes on either the trailer or the truck. One weak spot on brakes is the connectors. Mine are soldered at all junctions and the ground is soldered at the plug. soldering those junctions raised the amps draw from 14 to 17 which is great increase in braking power. Crimp on splices just do not get it here. Incidentially my truck is registered as a &quot;tractor&quot; so the process is the same as a big truck. In over 180,000 I have never had an overweight ticket. I have gotten some wrinkeled brows from scalemasters a few times. And has been said, most of them have no clue as to what they are doing. Throw something out of the ordinary at them and they are confused.

thatguy

here in Virginia... if you have passenger/car tags (7500 lb GW and under) your truck and trailer stand alone on their respective gross weights.. they way each one separately<br><br>If you have truck tags (7501 gw and UP).. the trucks gross weight has to cover BOTH the truck, trailer, and cargos...<br><br>Maybe that is what the NC DMV person was trying to say..<br><br><br>good luck..

moss2904

&quot;If I'm involved in an accident, what's the worst case scenario (either my fault or not)?&quot;<br> You are killed in the accident.

bigfoot

I agree with what has been said above and will only add this. When talking to the DOT/ DMV or any other state or federal know- it- all. Before you leave / hang-up get their Name, Rank, Phone # and Mailing address and write down what they say, even record it just let them know that you are doing so when the conversation is complete read it back to them. It may not save you the ticket but it will help in your defense. It also will cause the person behind the counter to think about what they are telling you. I only work for a city and I see this every day. (People that have never driven or even sat in a truck trying to act like they know what they are talking about).<br><br>OK I’m done (putting soapbox away) can you tell what kind of a day today was? <br>

redramnc

j28s,<br>You must be tagged to cover the weight of the pulling vehicle AND the towed weight in NC (gross combined weight of conveyance). They have even started printing that on the registration as of this year (at least on mine they did).<br><br>The partial liability law WILL be enforced if the other person's insurance company has a brain cell left when they investigate (Don't ask how I know about that).<br><br>NC does not, to my knowledge, hold you to the manufacturer's ratings on weight, just whatever you are tagged to. I tried calling the State DMV here in Raleigh but all I got was a voicemail. The following site is not much help but it is the only one out there I know of http://www.dmv.dot.state.nc.us/<br><br>As I just bought a larger tractor to have to haul around and I know I was running the hairy edge of my tagged weight already I will have to figure out the best way to go now, also.<br><br>I will post whatever I find out. Hope I can help on this instead of just getting more confused.

j28s

redramnc:<br>Thanks for the info. The reason I mentioned the &quot;partial liability law&quot; was because a guy pulled out in front of me and I hit him. I had (3) witnesses told the police officers he pulled out in front of me, and the police officers agreed and gave the ticket to the other guy. HOWEVER, his insurance company (no comment on the name, let's just say they are known to do this) denied coverage bacause they said there was partial liability on my behalf. Even after arbitration (note: I won), I'm still pulling &quot;tooth and nails&quot; to get them to pay for the damages and it happened last May.<br><br>Now you see why I want to make sure I won't get screwed again. Thanks again, and I have yet to hear back from the NCDOT, NCDMV, and NC Insurance Commission. Go figure....

MnTom

I don't know about the insurance thing, but I do know that here in Minnesota the state DOES use the mfg. cgvw as the LEGAL limit for weight. Check my post &quot;I found the answer....&quot; for clarification.<br>Tom

redram

j28s- Here's what Dodge says about your truck:<br><br>GVWR-11,000 lb.<br>GCWR-20,000 lb.<br>Max.Trailer Weight-12,950 lb.<br><br>Strangely enough, according to Dodge, I can pull a heavier trailer(13,100 lb.) than you!!!! <br>