dhay13
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2015
- Posts
- 3,230
- Reaction score
- 2,831
- Ram Year
- 2018
- Engine
- 2500 6.4L Hemi 4.10's 'Off-Road'
No they won't stop you but if you are in an accident with death or serious injury I'd bet you'd wished you were legal
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No they won't stop you but if you are in an accident with death or serious injury I'd bet you'd wished you were legal
This is incorrect. I'm not going to wade into whether or not it is safe or advisable to exceed your payload sticker rating or use your axle weights, but I do need to correct this.Your payload is not actually increased. Even though that may be the only difference, your payload is what the sticker on your door shows from a legal standpoint.
This is incorrect. I'm not going to wade into whether or not it is safe or advisable to exceed your payload sticker rating or use your axle weights, but I do need to correct this.
From a LEGAL standpoint (legal meaning that a police officer could pull you over and ticket or impound you), the sticker means nothing. The sticker is a compromise between the lawyers, the accountants, the engineers and marketing at any manufacturer. Engineers know exactly what the breaking point of any given part is. Marketing wants to have the highest number for commercials. Lawyers want to limit liability. Accountants want to keep costs down.
Most modern 3/4 ton trucks are a Class 2B truck. Class 2B has a maximum GVWR of 10,000 lbs. Class 3 trucks start at 10,001 lbs up to about 14,000 lbs. That is an arbitrary number picked by the government for registration purposes. Some states don't allow a truck over 10,000 lbs to drive in the left lane of highways. Others don't let a truck over 10,000 lbs on parkways. Some jurisdictions don't allow trucks over 10,000 lbs to park in subdivisions. The restrictions keep going.
The Ram 2500 is a class 2B truck from the manufacturer, which means that it is designated as having a maximum GVWR of 10,000 lbs. When you go to register your vehicle at the department of motor vehicles, they see the 10,000 lbs GVWR and charge you the tax/registration fee for that weight and you are perfectly legal to drive at that weight. If, for some reason, you get stopped by the police and they weigh you and you are OVER that weight, you can get a fine for being overweight.
However, it is PERFECTLY LEGAL to pay a higher tax/registration fee and register your vehicle for a higher GVWR. You can go and pay for 12,000 lbs or 14,000 lbs for a 2500 and be PERFECTLY LEGAL driving down the road 2 tons over the sticker weight on your door.
I had a 2010 Tundra that had a 7200 lbs GVWR sticker. In Maryland I could register it for 7000 lbs tags (and legally "lose" 200 lbs of already precious payload) or I could register it for 8000 lbs tags (and legally "gain" 800 lbs of payload). I registered it for 8000 lbs just in case I ever got stopped. The sticker means nothing from a legality standpoint. Now, Toyota could theoritically try to refuse to honor some parts of the warranty if they suspected that I was overloading the truck, but that was never an issue for me.
Again, I am not telling anyone to ignore their weight ratings, I am just pointing out the a sticker is not the "LEGAL" factor. Registration and federal bridge weight limits are the defining numbers.
I can't envision too many juries handing out jail time for a clerical issue (failure to register the proper weight).and second, the right jury will give you jail time. If you register your truck at a higher limit and you cross all your T's that's one thing,
I can't envision too many juries handing out jail time for a clerical issue (failure to register the proper weight).
I was responding to the post about it not being LEGAL. Your comments are more along the lines of a civil issue. In order for someone to go to JAIL for a collision, they would have to prove that your actions were reckless and wanton indifference towards human life. Going over a superficial sticker rating, but under your axle ratings is nowhere near that standard. It is far easier to argue that you were over speed, inattentive or failed to perform basic maintenance like brake pads or tire wear than it is to argue that you were over the sticker but under the manufacturer axle ratings.Considering you can sue McDonalds for having coffee that is too hot, if you think you can kill somebody in an accident while running over the specs of your truck... again, first there is the conscience thing, and second, the right jury will give you jail time. If you register your truck at a higher limit and you cross all your T's that's one thing, nobody here does that and nobody here is talking about that. We're talking about guys hooking up a trailer to their truck and just running down the road over loaded. Many people do this.
So yes, the sticker is king; unless you reregister but then you get a new sticker (so to speak). The point is, don't run past the specs on your truck that you are currently registered for, and for 99.9% of people that is the door sticker.
But also remember: "the breaking point of any given part" is not the same for every copy of that part. It's a scale, some break sooner, some break later because manufacturing is not flawless. So going past the spec and thinking "they leave some wiggle room", while true, you could be at the beginning of the bell curve and that will ruin your day.
In Pennsylvania a class C license is good to 26000 lbs GVWR. Class B (CDL) is for over 26001...but that is more because of the air brakes required.The 10,000 pound classification, actually has nothing to with a vehicles capacity
10,000 pounds is a DMV rating, it is the maximum rating for Class C licenses
10,001 is the point the DMV says that you must have a Class B license
Law enforcement does not normally stop a private vehicle with a trailer, unless it is weaving or it appears to have another issue
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This semi going 5mph over the speed limit has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with a pickup possibly being over the GVWR.I find it hard to believe the number of users on here telling newbies that it's ok to ignore maximum ratings. Anytime you exceed maximums you are opening yourself up to litigation. I personally know of a case where a semi driver was doing 5 MPH over and t-***** a car. No the police would not have pulled him over for being 5 over but the driver lost a huge lawsuit worth millions. Other than the 5 over the semi was legal
I have said in several posts that police are highly unlikely to stop you for these 'infractions'. Most wouldn't know the difference and I say that as having been one in the past. But my point is more the liability in the event of an accident. If there is serious enough injury you can bet insurance will do whatever they can to get out of it and the other party will do whatever they can to make it look like you caused it. And if they hire an 'expert' that tells the jury that you were over the maximum towing capacity there is a 50/50 chance the jury will buy that and you are screwed. To me it isn't worth it. I have been involved in too many similar cases that I know anything can happen when it comes to juriesThis semi going 5mph over the speed limit has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with a pickup possibly being over the GVWR.
I asked you on a prior occasion to post any records of someone being stopped, inspected, weighed and then ticketed for being over their GVWR.
You don't have any because it rarely if ever happens to recreational RV'ers.
No one is telling people to intentionally overload their pickup by thousands of pounds. But if they happen to be over by a little bit I don't think they have anything to worry about.I have said in several posts that police are highly unlikely to stop you for these 'infractions'. Most wouldn't know the difference and I say that as having been one in the past. But my point is more the liability in the event of an accident. If there is serious enough injury you can bet insurance will do whatever they can to get out of it and the other party will do whatever they can to make it look like you caused it. And if they hire an 'expert' that tells the jury that you were over the maximum towing capacity there is a 50/50 chance the jury will buy that and you are screwed. To me it isn't worth it. I have been involved in too many similar cases that I know anything can happen when it comes to juries
Then you search for it. I have searched in the past and found a couple of cases. The cases I was involved in weren't GVWR related but the fact still remains people exceeded limitations of some sort and the jury made them pay. And yes, a few hundred pounds might be ok but where do you draw the line? At some point a jury will say 'you screwed up'I want to know when and where it has happened.
I'm not the one making these false claims, you are. If you don't have proof then it must be pure conjecture on your part.Then you search for it. I have searched in the past and found a couple of cases. The cases I was involved in weren't GVWR related but the fact still remains people exceeded limitations of some sort and the jury made them pay. And yes, a few hundred pounds might be ok but where do you draw the line? At some point a jury will say 'you screwed up'