All valid points and you are correct, non-CDL insurance carriers do not look at GVWR when writing policies. It is assumed that any non-commercial vehicle sold in the U.S. market is under the 26,001 pound GVWR limit. Same goes for fleet sales and insurance on HD vehicles. Commercial (26,001 pounds plus) operating weight and non-commercial licensing is the point I’m focusing on. I’d wager anyone with a 2500 or 3500 operating a rig with a combined weight over 26,001 pounds does not hold a commercial drivers ‘ operators license.
For example, my fleet of Ram 4500 / 5500 heavy truck service vehicles have base GVWR ratings under 26,001 pounds from the factory. When equipped and in the field, most are 28-30,000 pounds and I REQUIRE commercial operator licenses for my drivers.
If you cause an accident, are over weight and do not have a commercial license, you can / will be cited and fined for every pound you are over weight.
We can agree to disagree beyond this point but I trust my legal team and follow their advice to ensure I operate legally. I encourage you to research the weight and operational requirements in your area or anywhere you intend to travel.
The fine is Texas for a non-commercial vehicle operating over their registered GVWR(not to be confused with the manufacturers GVWR) is that you have to pay for the registration of the GVWR you got caught with every year that you had the vehicle and from that point on every time you register that vehicle. The manufacturer's GVWR means nothing and it is only the GVWR that you register your truck for which can be higher than the manufacturer's GVWR.
In regards to 26,000 lbs, many states have a CDL requirement if the combined GCWR of both the truck and trailer is over 26k and the tow vehicle has a GVWR over 10k. Ironically, based on the verbiage in many states, if the tow vehicle has a GVWR below 10k, then no CDL is required. So in this instance, a 2500 driver with a GVWR below 10k will not need a CDL to tow a 20k GVWR trailer(even if the actual weight being towed is only 10k), but a 3500 driver with a GVWR over 10k would since his higher GVWR puts him over 26k GCWR of the truck and trailer.
This is one of the reasons why Ford offers to de-rate their F350 to a 10k GVWR since there are a lot more laws fleets have to abide by once you get past 10k. Instead of offering customers a derated 3500 options, Ram just offers a 2500 with specs just a hair lower than the 3500 for customers who want close the same capability, but do not want have to deal with the added CDL requirement and tax/registration fees.
For example, the only difference between my 2500 diesel and a 3500 diesel is my rear suspension which is only 500 lbs less in its axle load rating. Everything else on the truck is identical. However, due to truck class limits and the laws stated above, the 2500 is capped out at 10k while the class the 3500 has more wiggle room maxing out at 14k which allows Ram to give the SRW 3500 an additional 2k GVWR even though there is only 500 lbs that separate the axle ratings.
Ironically my rear axle rating is only 200 lbs less than my brother's old 2012 F350 while my front axle rating was 500 lbs more yet he had an 11.5k GVWR since it is a class 3 truck. Not to mention he stated that his current 2500 CTD tows his RV better than his old F350 did with more stability and a lot less sway. Yet the weight police would chastise him for not being safe while towing with his 2500, but not F350 without even looking at the specs all because it has a 2 on the name and not a 3.
The same goes for my Father-in-law's old F350 which had a GVWR of 10k like almost all SRW 350/3500 trucks did 15 years ago. He never once got called out by the weight police since he had a 3 on his door even though his GVWR was 10k just like mine, yet I did when I towed his trailer simply because I had a 2 on my door. I even had higher front/rear axle ratings than he did, larger brakes, an exhaust brake, a rear sway bar, a stronger frame, electronic trailer stability control, and so on.