After reading through some of the F250 vs F350 threads (and the regulatory reasons for ordering a F250), I decided to do some of my own research and came across multiple states that have regulations for all trucks with a registered weight over 10,000 (not just commercial). For example, Virginia states "Any person operating a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight or registered gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds shall drive into a permanent weighing station for inspection when directed to do so by highway signs."

Am I reading this right that if I register a F350 for 11,500 lbs in South Carolina, then when I drive through Virginia I would need to stop at every weigh station?

 

Hell in Texas with the GVWR of the truck and most trailers you technically have to have a class A license(not a commercial grade class A mind you) to pull an RV. Since the GVWR of most of these trucks is ~15,000 and most 5th wheel GVWR come in at or around 15,000 it passes the 25,999 texas allows. I don't know why they do that but I guess it makes the lawmakers feel like they've done something

 

Virginia is reciprocal with almost all other states for driver licenses ,registerations and a few other things, so if you are properly tagged in your state you should be good everwhere

 

The first time through I would pull in and see what they say. They may wave you through or check your registration. I would ask them directly and see what they say.

 

This sums it up. Your registration and license goes by your home state rules. Not the state you are traveling through.

Here in MA we are lucky on the registration and license requirements. SRW 350's are registered with passenger plates and GVWR has no effect on cost. (All DRW's need to be registered commercial regardless of their intended use and are charged based on GVWR.) On the license front, a standard Class D is good up to 26k unless you are towing an RV or vehicle driven is a motorhome etc. Then there is no requirement to get a higher class of license as RV's are exempt from the 26k Class C/D threshold.

 

The question posed has nothing to do with registration or licensing, it is about stopping at scale houses while traveling through Virginia. I haven't looked past the OP's citation of the law, but I agree that it seems clear that any vehicle with a GVWR while traveling in Virginia must stop at the scales.

Whether or not that will be enforced or not I have no idea. It may even be actively unenforced like in California. An F350 with a GVWR of 11,500 by California Vehicle Code is no longer considered a pickup truck but a "motor truck." By law the driver is required to stop at every scale. If you call the CHP office and talk to the motor carrier enforcement group, this is what they will tell you. And if you stop at the scale, the CHP weighmaster will rip you a new one. Go figure.

 

I've never stopped at weigh stations in VA while towing my RV. I can't imagine stopping just because I had a 350 with a GVWR of 11.5k. Your right though HQ, I missed the intent of the OP when I posted my earlier reply. Coffee hadn't kicked in yet...

 

I drove my Utah plated SRW F350 and big 5th wheel past about 50 weigh stations in 19 states (including VA) this last summer and had no problem. There were a few weigh station signs that were confusing and made me think they wanted me to pull over but I never did. I passed about a hundred camped-out highway patrol units running their lasers on me and everyone else. They always chose someone else. Knock on wood...

The charges I couldn't avoid were the tolls. And those increased exponentially due to the trailer's triple axles. Pretty sure I was well into $300 by the end of the trip.

 

Here's further clarification: "Operators of pickup or panel trucks registered for personal use with a gross weight in excess of 7,500 pounds but not in excess of 10,000 pounds are not required by law to drive their vehicles onto scales for weight inspection."

Since I am in Virginia a lot, I am now considering changing my order from a 350 to a 250 in order to avoid any hassles. Hoping someone who lives in VA can chime in.

 

If you are truly a personal vehicle, I would not worry about it. If you are hauling a trailer off the books, then I might worry. If you are hauling an RV for yourself, I would not worry about that either.

Buy what makes sense. I have driven a lot in my car and truck, I never see pickups in weigh stations.

I drive my 14,500 F350 on the I35 practice freeway that has a ban on trucks over 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) gross vehicle weight. Never a problem. I have been doing it for 15+ years. Get a 9,900 lb F350 if you want. An F250 has better than 7,500 GVWR anyway.

I have thought about stopping for a free weight check though...

 

That's why I registered mine for 11,400. Still a pickup!

Matt

 

As many times as I get pulled into the VA scales I have only seen the DOT wave in one pickup. It was because the trailer he was pulling put him over the 26,001 lbs. According to our safety guy you are suppose to but it is not a law they actively go after. That's all the info I can offer. Maybe down the road when more of these little towns get their own DOT divisions they will be looking into it for a bit more $$$$.

 

Thanks for the input. I don't know why the government makes it so hard for us that try to be legal. It's a lose-lose situation. We either have to choose to drive the bigger truck with more payload (and registered weight) to ensure we're below all ratings and legal when towing, but then deal with dumb crap like increased registrations, weigh station laws, and left lane restrictions, OR, drive the F250 with more relaxed regulations due to the lower GVWR, but then potentially be over payload when towing. All to pull a damn boat or RV.

 

I am a retired Virginia State Trooper and I can tell you that in my career I nor any body I worked with ever stopped and weighed a pickup truck pulling a camper no matter what size, and on a lot of secondary roads you are actually over length with some of the campers out there today. Length not a problem on Interstates but only approved secondary roads allow combination vehicles over 60 ft. If your involved in a vehicle crash they may take a look at length. Every Trooper in my area owned a pickup truck sadly some owned chevy and dodge

 

Another perspective, old info but informative.


https://youtu.be/TC3NMx6MQMI

More recent info (2017), different by state ...


https://youtu.be/BDR_3V65l6c

And then there is cases like these....


https://youtu.be/7UBGRpuIMEI

...and these...?! uuuughH


I do have a CDL and I happen to pull in when the light is green. Each time I got the green light to proceed after being weighed, and never had an officer came out to tell me either in person or over megaphone speaker NOT TOO ENTER. So many States and so many laws .....would be nice to have uniformity across the board. It's an ongoing research chore to constantly keep up with all the laws and regulations and changes.