That is exactly the number I will choice. I go by my tag. That's what will tear you a new butthole. In Al. And I suspect in most states the law goes by the tag. In al they don't have a tag for 8800 lbs. So if they force you to tag it according to gvwr and you have to get a 10k tag cause there's no other tag between the 8k and 10k they have to let you. Gross the tag weight.

 

can we compile a list of states that allow people to operate a piece of equipment above the GVWR because a piece of paper issued by a bureaucrat says it's okay?

I would really like to avoid those states when possible, as the GVWR is generally limited by the braking power of the vehicle.

 

The GVW is the number engineers designed it for. The are other limiting factors beside axles and tires. Brakes and frame are good examples. No numbers ratings on those. But the engineers know what the weak links are, and rate a vehicle according to the weakest link in the chain, not the strongest. DOT and state police will write you for being over on the weakest rating. because in their eyes, exceeding any weight rating is being overloaded.

 

Yes, because that means I could load my 19,500 truck up another 6500 pounds. Because I have a 26,000 pound plate. Better yet, let me buy an 80,000 pound plate for my F550 and I could haul anything! Talk about stupid laws......

 

Sharp looking rollback you've got there! Have you thought about putting a set of Alcoas on it?

 

A bit costly, but it would looks some sharp with them.

 

Is the GVWR the number Ford engineers picked? Or is the the number Ford lawyers picked to reduce their liability.

Because if the truck really is limited in capacity to the GVWR, there are many thousands of people running around with RV's and slide in campers and stock trailers and whatnot's regularly exceeding the capacity of the truck with little ill effect.

 

If the right deal came up.

 

You are confusing GVWR, and GCVWR. Trailers over 3,000 all have brakes which allow the truck to haul more weight in combination. The trailers brakes must be rated for the axle capacity's allowing safe transport of bigger combination loads. Tow trucks (except those with air brakes or pulling trailers) can't use the towed vehicles brakes, so our trucks brakes must stop the entire load without the disabled vehicles brakes. It can be tricky towing something big in the rain. Try pulling a 20K# trailer without connecting the brakes, and you will understand why the chassis have ratings.

 

No, I'm really not. I understand GVWR and GCVWR pretty well.

To make my point, my truck is an F-250 with a GVWR of 8800 and an empty weight of about 7500, which gives me a total cargo capacity of about 1300 lb.

This means that even a 1 ton pallet of wood pellets (which doesn't even set my truck down to the factory overload springs) is overweight according to Ford's rating. That's ridiculous, I've carried that load dozens of times and it really has very little effect on the driveability and safety of the truck.

I once owned a 3000 lb Lance slide in camper. That really put me over. Yet it drove like a truck with a slide in camper. I certainly didn't want to swerve, because of the high center of gravity. But I never had any problems making rapid stops or anything of that nature.

I'm set up to pull a gooseneck trailer and did two 1000 mile trips to Colorado with a 16' stock trailer loaded to about 13.5k, and one local 100 mile trip with an 18' trailer, three cords of wood at 15.5k. Again over both GVWR and GCVWR. But with good trailer brakes and a little common driving sense all done very safely.

My point is that the truck is clearly engineered to carry and pull past Ford's ratings. If it weren't, there would be loads strewn all over America's highways from hell to breakfast. If we have to live within the letter of the ratings, my truck is essentially a really big car with a really big trunk, but not very useful as a truck. Later models are better because ratings went up. I think what needs to drive us is common sense, not a made up number. If we don't have the common sense, then we go with the number or not at all, I guess.

 

Do what you want, I personally don't want the legal headaches. From a officer writing a ticket, or a lawsuit if my truck doesn't stop quick enough and a kid runs out in front of me and gets run over. Your truck would be impounded in an accidental death, and gone over with a fine tooth comb, including weight if they suspect you're over on any ratings. The lawyer would sue you for gross negligence if you are overloaded. I certainly know these trucks are capable of much more than they are rated for, I will not go much over my GVW at all, because I don't want the legal headaches, or liability that comes with it. I just went about 1,000 # over my 19,500 GVW today, because It would've taken me a lot longer to switch trucks, and I did not want to leave a guy sitting on the side of the road in his Dodge dually for an hour longer the necessary. My V10 pulled it great & handled great, but it was not a legal load. If it was 10% over my GVW, I wouldn't have used the flatbed. That to me is where I draw the line. This is my 550's max:

 

On this picture my truck is close to 5000 lb over GVW. It wasn't the heaviest load I had, but load distribution is the biggest problem. The rear axle is up front of the bed.
Authorities don't care if you are over manufacturer GVW. All they care is that you pay the registration for the weight you are carrying.

 

If you had 2' more wheelbase, and had the load further forward it would not look so overloaded. That load would put you out of service by the ISP here! Actually surprises me that Cali would let you get away with that. They seem to be seem to be the strictest on EVERYTHING else!

 

Drove it via 7 states and pulled boat behind for 800 miles.

 

Did you pull into the weigh stations?