I did read the whole law. It says all vehicles, not all commercial vehicles. The link in my post is to a Maryland DMV web site.

 

I read your post too....but it's within a question/answer section of the CMV laws.

 

I don't know, I could be wrong (it has happened once before). All I know is the sign said "all vehicles over 10k must enter weigh station". I was a vehicle weighing about 16k, so I entered the weigh station.

 

Aside from the weigh station discussion, and to get back to the OP, if you are involved in an accident and you are over on any of your weights it could also be an issue. States treat factory GAWR as the line you dare not cross, they don't care if you have airbags.

 

We need those weight numbers before anyone can give you any true advise.

 

I was overloaded with my previous 08 F350 SRW pulling the same 11 Brookstone. Thing I most noticed was when taking corners, the trailer tried to push the rear end of the truck sideways. Disconcerting feeling.


Decided to upgrade to a new 13 DRW and that feeling has gone away. Overloaded is not good. So many people do it, then when they upgrade to something properly rated, they talk about how much better towing is.


If you stay with what you have, be sure to slow down more than you normally think you should, before making a turn, to help cut down on the instability.

 

sorry to take this off track again, but looking at nebraska it says "All trucks over 1 ton must stop, except a pickup truck pulling a recreational trailer." unless you have farm plates, you have commercial plates (even my f150) according to this if im just out cruising in my old 55 f600 I would still have to pull through the scales. but in an f350 I could be hauling steel off to the scrap and be fine. DOT is all kinds of screwy.

 

Unless I'm required to have DOT numbers on the side of my truck I'm not going to stop at a weigh station! I've kinda bragged about this a few times but this is what I pull with my 06 v10 f350 and Dad has done the same with his 00 v10 f250....

I've pushed 36,000 lbs total combined weight a few times, I wouldn't recommend it for a long trip but the 50+ miles we pull it we've never had a problem.

Edit, I'm in Iowa and I'm not sure of the laws in other states but do know I'm in the gray area even for a farm trailer legally... Hasn't stopped me yet.

 

The problem with the weigh stations is that there are so many combinations of axles, wheels, tires, gross vehicle weights and gross combined weights for light duty trucks, they have no idea what your weight limits are - and they aren't going to take the time to do the research to figure out what the axle limit is on a 2001 Ford F-350. On a big truck, they have specifically defined limits for each axle or set of axles. They don't care if you are overweight on an axle, they want to know if you are heavy enough to damage the roadways with an overweight axle.

 

I don't care about you worrying about hurting your truck by overloading it, while not worrying if it is safe. I don't think you are cool for posting pics of your grossly overloaded trailer & truck.

I care about the others on the road & their safety. Please read these stories before you choose to disregard safety & common sense. It could happen to you, or someone you love.

Accident on Rte. 8 shatters 'miracle' family | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Detached U-Haul Trailer Strikes, Kills Pittsburgh Artist | www.wpxi.com

Dangerous Trailers: Loose Bomb Squad Trailer Under Investigation

 

None of those stories even relate to the subject.


You could be driving down the road and have a tire come off a car...should that be cited as well?

 

Hmm think I should bring this up at my next DOT inspection?




Still though senix is right, not good examples. These are all examples of the dangers of improper hitching, not overloading. Really it shows the dangers of amateurs and idiots more then anything else. It shows a shortcoming or more accurately a dumb hypocrisy in the law. That professional drivers who know what they are doing have much more stringent safety laws then amateurs who don't. Also that amateurs, bureaucrats, insurance companies, and accountants are writing the laws and dictating the equipment.

 

Curious, you have any idea how much is on the rear axle? You must be pushing the limits on those rear tires?

 

Honestly I've never weighed the rear axle, but I'm guessing it's probably over 6,000 lbs pin weight and might've pushed the 7,000 lbs on the big lodes, had a good inch before the bump stops on the biggest load. I've pulled this trailer numerous times and checked the tire temps halfway home with a infrared thermometer and never had any heat buildup or tire problems, the 18" rim/tire is surprisingly better at towing than the 16" rim/tire, I still don't enjoy paying for the dumb things...

 

4,000 lbs just barely makes the helper springs touch on my truck.