A trailer has (2) 3500 pound axles and is called a 7000 pound trailer. The trailer weighs 2150 pounds. The payload is 7000-2150=4850. 15 percent of the load is carried on the rear axle of the truck. The truck is an F-450 so neither gross vehicle weight or combined weight is an issue. The trailer is loaded with a 6000 pound SUV. 6000 + 2150 = 8150 but only 6928 pounds are on the trailers axles the balance is on the F450. Is the trailer overweight? Is it legal to tow as described across the country on the interstate?

 

personally, I would not even think about doing a X-country trip like that with that load on a 7K trailer. Too much room for trouble…….tires, bearings, axles, along with whatever else seems to go wrong in an endeavor like this. Local stuff you would likely be fine with what you have.
I would want a minimum 10,000 lb GVW trailer under that SUV for a X-country trip like that.

 

Yes you will be fine with that, I have towed quite a bit heavier on my trailer with 3500 lb axles and it had no problems. Make sure the bearings are greased properly and the tires are in good shape.

 

My question is more on whether or not it it legal. If that truck were forced into a weigh station or weighed on the road would it be deemed overweight? Can a 7,000 pound trailer carry 6,900 pounds on its axles or is it limited to 7,000- 2150 (what the trailer weighs)=4850? Even with a 4,850# car on it, if weight were properly distributed so 15% of trailer load were on the towing vehicle, only 4123 would be on the trailer axles.

When researching towing the GCVW is detailed very extensively and the GVW of the towing vehicle is also. @Desert Don said he would have a minimum 10k trailer. With the tow vehicles GVW at 16k 2006 F-450, that is the only other option because a 12k trailer would put the GCVW over the legal limit of 26k. Furthermore I think there is some kind of lingo about towing a trailer over 10k puts you into CDL category.

Has anyone ever been forced to be weighed or been thru a weigh station? How do they determine if your trailer is overweight? As mentioned it is really easy to weigh everything or even axles.

 

Yes it would be legal, but you aren't going to be weighed with that setup, unless you have DOT numbers on the truck. If you go through a weigh station they go by your axle ratings.

 

I just purchased an F-450 that has a flatbed and has a ****** tow set up. It is strictly for private use but will raise eyebrows.

 

This is why many 5 ton trailers have a “rating” of like 9990, while having two 5100 lb axles under them. That way the GVW on the trailer is under the 10,000 lb threshold.

 

Agreed. However it is a catch 22. I was speaking with Kaufman Trailer that evades the answer to the question I posed here regarding payload or axle rating legality and responds something to the effect that he builds trailers and people are towing 3 car trailers with xyz.... "check the back of your license." Kauffman also says they will print a sticker that will make you legal. Okay. Lets look at that. Suppose I get a 24 foot 12k gooseneck trailer and he puts a 9990 sticker on it. That is great yes? I have extra strong trailer. However, if the trailer weighs 1500 pounds more empty than a 10k trailer, lets say 4500 pounds versus 3000 pounds, I have just reduced the amount I can legally carry from 7k back down to 5500. In a few places I have read that the weight limit on the trailer is the loaded trailer unattached to the tow vehicle sitting on a scale versus the GVW of the trailer.
I am wanting to purchase a trailer that I can legally tow that keeps me legal and citation free if scrutinized across country. Obviously the BigTex 70DM that I already own is not big enough for what I want to do and the fenders make it difficult to load any skidded materials. With the length of a 4 door F-450 I would think a bumper pull type trailer would make parking more difficult than a gooseneck but the GN obviously would ad weight thus reducing payload if the rational of how they calculate trailer weight is true. As mentioned the 450 would never be overloaded and the GCVW of the vehicle would never be exceeded.
I am thinking about this trailer. https://www.appalachiantrailers.com/...eneck-trailers

 

what is the GVWR of the trailer? Is it listed at 7,000 or is it listed at 7,700? Some manufacturers include the tounge weight just for reasons like this.

regardless, if you roll across a scale, and the trailer axles come in under GVW, no one will bat an eye. Same for the truck, if it is under GVW, no hassles.

as to the vehicle raising eyebrows, a simple “not for hire” sticker on a window should remove all doubt.


id probably make this trip, but would be somewhat cautious as you are literally at the max for the axles. And this assumes that the axles are loaded evenly, which often isn’t 100% true.

 

Trailer is 7000. I am thinking of leaving my auto trailer home and towing the Yukon home behind my new/used F-450 using the towing unit on the 450. I would remove the Yukon driveshaft. Have you ever done that? After removing what would you do to cover the transmission where the driveshaft was removed? What do you think of that Appalachian GN trailer?

 

Well, sorry; But I can niot answer all the hypothetical legal situations put forth here. On an open forum such as this, most likely what you are going to get are opinions, and we know how that goes.
My experience here in the mountain west, great plains, and prairie states has been that most permanent scale houses are closed, unless D.O.T. Has set up a roadside spot check inspection. Without DOT numbers on the truck, I have never been pulled over for any reason, regardless of what I was pulling, Nor have I ever stopped at a weigh station when they were open. (Just wave when I go by!) So I tend to worry more about equipment problems that the legalese side of things.
I have, however, hauled things locally that definitely push the limits of my equipment without issue, either mechanically or from the law dogs.

With all this being said, in order to gat a 100% correct answer to your question about the legality of you set-up; you will likely have to ask an attorney that specializes, or at least has some experience, in DOT regs., The cops themselves don’t know all of the answers.

 

Same here.

 

Might start with the highway patrol and ask where to go for answers.

FWIW, my camper was set up with the presumption of a minimum amount of weight setting on the truck. The tires and axles are not rated to hold the entire weight of the camper's GVWR. The tires I know were rated to handle 8800 lbs but the camper's GVWR is 10,300 lbs.

 

Open forum or not, the question can be simplified and should be one that anyone that tows would want to know the answer to.
The question: How much weight can a trailer carry?
I believe the legal answer is the gross trailer weight minus the weight of the trailer.
There are no hypotheticals in that question and it pertains to any trailer not limited to auto, dump, camper, boat, or....
I would think any person towing a trailer would want to know how much their trailer can legally weigh.
If a trailer company downgrades a sticker so the purchaser can remain under the CDL I would imagine that that person can only legally haul on that trailer what the number is on that sticker minus the weight of the empty trailer. For every pound the empty trailer weighs a pound needs to be deducted from what can be put onto it. Weight that is absorbed onto the tow vehicle is not weight that can be cargo on the trailer.

 

Regardless of what's on your trailer, you can't exceed the axle or hitch ratings. It's theoretically possible to be under the trailer's weight rating but overloaded on an axle or the hitch...that's a no-no.

I think you're overthinking.