In a personal vehicle that is not a semi and is not for hire you do NOT have to stop at any scale. However DOT can pull you over for any reason what so ever to look you over though and can weigh you if they are having a bad day, happened to me also dipped my tank because I had a transfer tank in the bed. In fact in CA and Nevada there are signs posted just before scales that say pick ups and box trucks "Do Not Enter Scales".

 

N.M DOT are hard asses, they will cite you for anything, being commercial, private etc. But they sure keep our roads safe

 

You don't have to, Because unless you are pulling one of these monster 35' 5vers, they know your not grossly over 16K. I pull a 31 footer and don't get a second look. But I've gone thru a few States that have required ALL Multi-Axle Rigs stop at the Scales. And I've gotten Popped twice, with a Big Farm Tractor, on a Car Hauler for being Overweight for the Highway. Didn't notice Signs posted on side of the Road stating the requirements for pulling off to the Scales, and I paid dearly for it.

 

this is going to sound very dickish....

but load up the truck and trailer minus the purchase, keep in mind weight so keep extra "stuff" to a minimum. then go hit up a local public scale and get some weights so you have a remote clue what your empty weight is.... cross your T's and dot them I's with your mechanical stuff i.e. lights tires etc want to keep the b.s. stuff LEO can bug ya about to a minimum.

then go buy the damn bus and as long as your not over width or height, re-scale and see what your weight is then.... then at least if there is an issue you can know where you stand if your overweight... you can ask for opinions on forums, but you will get a lot of good and bad info... and people whining and suggesting till there blue in the face...

now for my opinion....load the thing up and run with it.... understand the risks, make sure your junk in in good shape and hope for the best. you see pictures, hear about it, and personalty see much worse on the road... don't stand out! blend in and run with it...but that's just me.

none the less i did some pokeing around online for 10 min and this was as close to what your asking about as i could find. on of the replyers said 9k empty.

How much does a 1998 E450 Collins school bus weigh? - School Bus Conversion Resources

 

Nothing dickish about it I am with you all the way, lights, license etc all ducks in a row. I checked chassis VIN and naked wt is #6000+- and I'm figuring 3 or more for the body so I'm close to that #9000 that came up on that site, thanks for that. As for keeping my nose down, blending in, and acting like I'm with the pack that will be tough to do with a short bus up there with the tires right to the edge of the trailer and a height of about 12'.

I hear what Sous is saying too but I see a gray area there and when in doubt avoid the scale. Here is a site with some info on it.
State of Maryland Weigh Station Page
It says that all trucks over 5 tons must weigh and I do not see any exceptions listed. My experience tells me that weight limits are for everybody, not just commercial drivers. I have seen RV 5er's in line at the scale house and snickered about it and I doubt that the man would chase down an RV that passed his scale.

Another thing that comes into play is the relationship that PA has with MD...they don't really like us but that's another story.

 

I understand that if you are traveling in an unsafe manner that DOT/LE can stop you and cite you for having a blown tire or something. Although, I was 99% sure that if you are towing a 5th wheel you were not required to stop at weigh stations.

If I look back deep into my memory, I can remember during my travels I have seen signs posting anything over 5 axles or anything weighing a total of 26,000 lbs or more must stop. I can even remember some weigh stations with a sign that say "NO PICK UP TRUCKS".

Please understand I am not trying to argue a point, I am attempting to educate myself and any other reader of this forum that happens to find this thread during a search.

I am open to all criticism.

EDIT: I did just find this resource, although I cannot speak to the validity of it. I was a bit concerned at first, then I realized I was reading GVWR as GCVWR and then read on.

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/weigh-stations/#

 

Good link there.
I'm with you. Having been a CDL driver all my life I still don't have all the answers and I have found that neither do all of the law enforcement officers. With a heavy truck the maximum allowable wt is on the power's registration. i e #80,000 GCVW, trailer has none but there are maximum weights for each axle or tandem if they are 4' apart. Ours are different but if nabbed the weight laws apply, hence our registration weights, which are not combined wts. Weighing everything and having it legal could be an option and I will get my truck and trailer weighed at the feed store so I'm in the know. However, with that max trailer wt of #10,000, a tare wt of #3500 and load wt of #9000 I would need to get #2500 on the tongue to get the trailer legal. I believe that truck is registered at #8800 but I am not 100% on this one. I do not currently know its empty wt. Then there is that designation that 'commercial' trucks need to stop. Our license plates used to have the 'commercial' designation on them years ago, now they just say 'truck'. Commerce is the interstate transportation of merchandise for hire. I am not that. I am not agricultural either. But should I take that and run with it and drive past an open weigh station my money says that I have a chat with a trooper a few miles up the road and he probably won't know any more than I do but he won't admit it. Then there are allowable overages and I think that is #1000. So...I'm leaning towards trying to get it legal and bypassing the scale if it is open...If I 'win' a short bus.

 

if seats are not needed goto scrap yard and strip the seats out, might save ya a few hundred pounds and make ya a few bucks in metal... drain as much fuel out of it too...not much weight savings but its something.

 

I would suggest taking and parts that you don't require off, either scrapping/selling those, or put them in a chase truck that would further refuse the overall weight and if you can take the wheels off and put it on blocks or something might take another few hundred pounds off, just a thought

 

If it makes you feel better, paint " Not For Hire " on each side of the trailer and be sure the bus receipt is in your name-for personal use. Even the words salvage or scrap can be taken by law enforcement as commercial .

 

Is your truck is registered commercial?
If so...your commercial. You will get nailed for anything wrong. Anything and everything from wrong load range tires, wrong psi in your tires, incorrect registration weights, not tied down properly, Trailer brakes? everything working correctly?
Every state needs the money....big fines for what you would consider small things wrong.

 

You won't be over the limits to need a CDL.
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/pdf/dmv109.pdf

26001 lbs requires a CDL. It is the limit pretty much nation wide.
"Operators of vehicles having a manufacturer’s gross vehicle
weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 or more or a combination of
vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR)
of 26,001 pounds or more if the vehicle(s) being towed has
a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds are required to hold a
valid CDL permit.The following situations exempt operators of certain
vehicles from the CDL requirements.
1. Operation of a vehicle for personal use only, such as
a recreational vehicle or truck to move your personal
belongings"

Also talks about a 20k single axle weight limit. (shouldn't be a problem)

Looked through MD, but there stuff is much more scattered and not clear, but I can't find anything that says anything other that the 26,001, unless your exceeding your trailer's sticker or your truck's sticker which is then even very sketchy at best. It sounds like to me from reading it, If your between 10,000 and 26,001, we do what we want. If you don't give them a reason to stop you, as said above (lights tires) I don't think anything they would write you up for would hold in court. Any lawyers in the house that can do the official look?
Again, I'de do it. Like Sous, I've gone back and forth across the country about 4 times now, doing another move in July. I pulled my truck packed to the brim with a car hauler and a 4x4 blazer packed to the brim. Never had a problem. If your really worried call a DMV officer and ask.

 

With a 1 ton with dual wheel you need a physical exam card just like with the big rigs with the exception of a CDL.

 

A call to a scale house wouldn't hurt and I will do that if I get the bus. That will give me an idea of what those guys are thinking.

 

That should have been suggested a long time ago.