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You can go past 22.5k GCWR. DOT has ruled that your GCWR is the max or the GVWR of the truck + the GVWR of the trailer, whichever is greater. You just can't exceed the axle weights or any other components max. You can reach cdl weights, but here we have farm exceptions and nationwide you have rv exceptions to the cdl.
DOT may not ticket you but you take the risk in wearing components out faster and civil issues.
Frankly thats a personal choice.
As I was replying to this thread we talked this morning at work about buying a 16K dumpbed trailer to hook to an F250 we own. Will give my 19 year old high school drop out nephew (by marriage) something to do. 3500lb pin at 18% would be like 19,000 gross trailer. The sterling axle will take it just fine.
DOT may not ticket you but you take the risk in wearing components out faster and civil issues.
I agree with wear and being smart. If you are pulling near max more than a few times a year , you should upsize. As far as civil liability issues, we often hear that you'll get sued if above the manufacturers numbers. II would think a good attorney could easily establish DOT sets the rules, the client didn't exceed them and was legal. It would probably be prudent for anyone that tows near max and is legal to keep a scale sheet showing such, It might make a difference down the road.
Yet another weight related thread is petering out. No problem, there will be another one soon. Before this one dies completely, I did some math that I wanted to share. I built a spreadsheet assuming that the the actual weight of my truck (I have not scaled it yet) is the GVWR minus the payload on the sticker. That may not be perfect but I'm sure it is pretty close. I did some research to determine the individual axle weights. There are a couple threads where folks posted their weights or an image of a CAT scale ticket. I added 350 pounds to the unloaded weight of each axle (700 lbs. total) to account for cargo in the bed and cab. Once again, not perfect but this is about getting a general idea. I used the specs of a Grand Design Reflection 303RLS which has a GVWR of 11,995 pounds. I assumed the trailer would be loaded to the max and allowed for a pin weight of 22% (2640 lbs.) with 11% (290 lbs.) on the front axle and 89% (2350 lbs.) on the rear.
If you are devoted to the GVWR/payload sticker, this is damning evidence of how utterly overloaded my truck would be towing a moderately sized fifth wheel. If your concern is the actual ratings of the component, this is validation of just how capable this truck really. It is interesting that even a SRW F350 would be over it's GVWR based on these calculations...and this is a relatively light, mid-profile trailer. It is also interesting how close the front axle is to the max rating.
Please check my work if you want. I think my methodology is at least sound enough to derive a reasonable picture.
By Ford’s numbers, my truck runs overloaded just about every weekend. My “golden rule” is stay under the tire ratings and let her rip. There is a bunch of redundancy built into these trucks. A responsible driver with good trailer brakes can accomplish great things.
Every situation requires common sense. No, I’m not taking 10 round bales and a 100 horse John Deere on a 200 mile trip down the interstate passing 2 scale houses. I will, however, move that setup between fields in a rural area.
Lots of good stuff in here. Visteon/Sterling rates the 10.5 at over 9k LBS. But other aspects that have to be accounted for besides weight is the increased power these trucks are making. That’s a lot of the reason the M275 Dana came into the picture. It allowed for a larger threshold for weight AND power.
Anyone actually swap the s110 to the rear, I am about to do that and swap my front 60 to a S60, mostly for bigger brakes, safety factor on tires for heat, road hazards and tire longevity, turn radius. The updates are not to pull more weight but to make the truck more stable and not have brake fade under the heavy use when towing.
Swap I did 2 years ago front whole frame clip with 60 axel from a 2005 F250 put onto the excursion so I did not have to stiffen the front frame just bolt up weld and put everything back.
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