I'd push it. No way can they try to enforce any combination of vehicle/load over 8k at a given point in time. GVWR (9900 lbs on my truck) or unladen weight I can see, but not something as dynamic as current weight.

Mark

 

Huh

Weight laws based on current load carried have been in effect for years in most states. And since the Idaho staute says any vehicle with a placarded GVWR of 8001lbs or more must pay a weight fee and have a commercial plate it can very easily be enforced.

He was fined for not having the correct plates and paying the weight fee for an 8001Lb GVWR or more vehicle. It is up to the owner of the vehicle to purchase the correct weight rating from DMV when they are going to haul heavy loads. There is the base fee for the 8001Lb GVWR and then the additional fee paid when you get above a certain GCVWR.

 

Well i would be mad at the dealers lot you drove it off of, because generally the car dealer submits the registration paperwork to DMV and collects the appropriate fees. DMV only looks at the submitted forms and issues the plates as requested based on the weights listed on the paper work.

It sounds like your selling dealer did not properly fill out the vehicle registration forms that they submitted to DMV.

What does your current registration have listed for GVWR?

Your current registration should have as a minimum the same weight rating as the GVWR on the OEM sticker on the door jamb.

 

The procedure is no different than a tractor and trailer. You have a posted GVW on the side of the vehicle and for each pound you are over you are fined a certain $$ amount. This is only enforced on commercial vehicles. I personally register my truck at 5000 because i don't use if for work or to make money and i'm never gonna haul with it. The difference in registration fees is huge. But if i get caught over weight one day the fine could also be huge.

 

I have had similar dealings with the locals in MA here if you have a vehicle that has a registered gross weight of 10,001 lbs or more it must be registered commercial. Also if you use your vehicle for buisness (Passanger transport is different) and you letter your vehicle then you must be registered commercial, but if you are under 10,001 lbs and no lettering then no commercial plates are required Period.

I keep the law in my glove box because I have had some cops try to give me the buisness, I very politely ask them if I could show them my copy of the law and after reading it I am left alone. I must stress the politely portion of that picture as we know how fragile some cops ego's are

oh yeah if you haul a trailer that weighs more than 10,001 lbs or more the tow vehicle must be commercially registered and insured.

CONFUSING ISN'T IT!!!!

 

mine weighs 8400 lbs Fla law requires comercial registration think over 7800lbs
truck is registered for 21000 lbs for combined GVW

 

Probably best to trow yourself on the mercy of the court, explain what happened, that the dealer filled out the origional licensing paperwork and based on that, you were operating the truck in good faith and to the best of the information that you were in possesion of.

Harder though is the commercial use part of it. According to federal guidlines, any truck being used in a commercial for profit business has to be commercialy licenced and properly licenced for the weight carried and or towed. There is no work around for this law.

Best wishes with this. I hope it works out well for you, a $1600 ticket is nothing to sneeze at. I feel for you, a friendly "wake up to the rules" talk with the commercial enforcer might have been better in my opinion, if this was a first offense, which I am assuming it was.

Sometimes though, I have found as a CDL holder, these guys/gals don't seem to have much humor.

David

 

In new york if your truck wieghs over 5500# it has to be commercial plates regardless if you use it for personal or a business.I just registered my 2000 f350 reg cab 4by4 at 5830#(written on the title)Just over the cut of.

 

Lots of luck fighting it
am sure state laws differ but in Fla the not knowing thing don't go
the DOT officer has what you are registered to haul private or comercial and what you are hauling the difference you are fined
kinda like being caught with a smokin gun,not much way out of it

 

Just to confuse things a little more, in Calif any pickup must be registered as commercial (regardless of weight) or you cannot carry ANYTHING in the bed. This includes your weekly groceries. Don't know how well that part is inforced, but if caught it would be steep.

 

Its just rediculous how these states find ways to pry your hard earned money out of our hands.Sorry if thats a little political.

 

Don't Cops have more important things to do?
How about enforcing our countrys immigration laws!

This is just another exsample of the working class getting screwd!

 

You could look at it that way. SOMETHING has to be done about the borders, a great big fence/gate/lock might help or be a good start, but that is a different topic for a different thread, and I don't want to be accused of Hi-Jacking this thread!

One thing though, if they were commercial regulation enforcement, that is there main task, that is about all they do on a normal duty shift. obviously if they see or have a violent issue at a truck stop / scale house they will act, but they are not called out for anything but commmercial enforcement, or in the case of a major accident, they may be impressed into service, helping with that paticular incident.

Commercial laws are a interesting thing to get one's arms around. As a CDL driver I have a pretty good understanding of them, and how they apply to not only the commercial vehical, but also to the CDL driver. It is lucky that the afore mentioned truck was only at 23k, if it had been above 26k, then a whole new set of driver rules would be needed.

This may be something that as trucks increase in size and weight, will have to be addressed by all of us in one way or another. The current F450's come to mind, if you hook up a large 5th wheel, and have GCVWR over 26k, some states require a Class B drivers endorsement for that, even if not used commercialy. Basicly we are looking at a set of laws that never took into account that individual non commercial drivers would have a pickup with GVW above 10k (evidently more restictive in Idaho at 8k) and this was the case until fairly recently.

Time to change / review the law book in my mind to better reflect what individuals are driving in the way of pickups.

David

 

Unless you have a "permanently attached" covering on the bed. In which case you can register it without a commercial plate. Or at least you could when we lived there.

/trill

 

First question about weight:
If you want actual weight, you'll have to stop at some scales because everyones truck weighs differently. I have a Superhitch and camper tie downs installed and that adds weight to my truck. I also carry chains under the rear seat. Etc, etc. All that stuff adds up to 7500 lbs for my truck. We also need to know if your truck is a diesel or not (the diesel is 500 lbs heavier than my V10).

About the ticket:
I'd check around locally for lawyers that specialize in traffic tickets. I just got a ticket dismissed by paying a local lawyer $265 and I didn't even have to show up in court. It was worth it for me because my insurance rates would have gone up WAY more than what I paid the lawyer. You could try the mercy of the court thing, but it's been my experience that the judges usually have no sense of humour and don't care that you weren't aware of the law. But you might get lucky.....

About state laws:
I don't think there will ever be a standard for all states about truck registration. Here is WA, if you are a non-commercial user you don't have to register for your actual weight. The minimum for pickups is 1.5 times the curb weight, rounded to the nearest 2000 lbs. So my dually is registered for 10,000 lbs. My GVWR is 11,200 lbs but that doesn't matter in any way to the state. When I load my camper, I'm usually at about 11,500 lbs and that doesn't matter to the state. I could tow a trailer for a combined weight of 23,000 lbs (which is over Fords ratings for my truck) and the state doesn't care. The key is that my truck is not used for commercial purposes.

Because I drive to places like Idaho occasionally, I researched my state laws about vehicle registration and printed out the relevant sections. These are stored in the glovebox in case questions arise on the side of the road (it's always better to avoid the ticket in the first place rather than having to go to court to prove your case even if you know you are right).