Highway weigh stations

[QRTRHRS]

You may get some info hereLet's get one thing straight here. Laws vary state to state but there are a couple of constants. Commercial or not, your plates need to cover the weight of your vehicle. Federally funded highways are one thing but once you hit the state and locally funded roads, that particular state's laws may/may not be different from yours and can be inforced.

 

[Willl]

your plates need to cover the weight of your vehicle.

Huh ?, what plates ?, license plates ?, I might be mistaken but washington plates don't change because of weight 'classes'.
Is this a Kentucky state thing ?

 

[Duffster]

Huh ?, what plates ?, license plates ?, I might be mistaken but washington plates don't change because of weight 'classes'.
Is this a Kentucky state thing ?

It is not just a Kentucky thing

There are several different plate weights for trucks and trailers here

 

[QRTRHRS]

Huh ?, what plates ?, license plates ?, I might be mistaken but washington plates don't change because of weight 'classes'.
Is this a Kentucky state thing ?

1/2 ton, 3/4, one ton, trailer, etc. What kind of fees do you pay?

For example, you may pay $200 bucks a year to register a dually at ~10,500 and $25 bucks for a trailer at 10,000. Commercial or not, you cannot legally exceed those grosses.

 

[Willl]

here

Where is "here" ?

 

[Duffster]

Where is "here" ?

God's country

Wisconsin

 

[Willl]

1/2 ton, 3/4, one ton, trailer, etc. What kind of fees do you pay ?

Oh no doubt my licensing fee changes with the weight classes, but as far as I know the 'plate' stays the same.

 

[Highbeam]

Oh no doubt my licensing fee changes with the weight classes, but as far as I know the 'plate' stays the same.

You're right Will. We can buy tonnage that appears only on our registration for about 20$ per year per ton. The actual license plate on the pickup looks exactly the same.

Keep an eye on this as some well meaning clerks will sell you a cheaper registration that doesn't allow you to load your truck to its GVWR. Always buy enough registered GVWR to allow you to exceed your GVWR by a good 1000 lbs to allow for slight overloading. They will sell you as much tonnage as you want.

The copper that pulls you over can write you a ticket for insufficient registered weight and/or a ticket for overloaded(unsafe) vehicle. It is much easier for that copper to prove that your weight exceeds the registered weight.

 

[JIGBUILDER]

I've had about 11 years behind the wheel of several different 3500 DRW trucks hauling with combined plates commercially in a eight state area around Oklahoma.

In Oklahoma trucks 3500 trucks and smaller may choose to buy more GVWR up to 15k max for combined commercial purposes only. Non commercial trucks is whatever the trucks GVWR is on the door post/truck title.

GVWR isn't what the truck carries as thats the function of axle/tire capacities. The higher GVWR just allows a commercial hauler to buy higher combined plates but weight on the truck is still limited to its axle ratings/tire capacities.

I usually bought 28k to 32k combined plates depending on the trailer and the loads carried.

Oklahoma's weigh stations are 40 years old and are run by Oklahome Tax Commission employees 5 days a week/8 hrs a day. Their a joke. ODOT is not involved in their dailey functions but are available for consultation.

Quite frankly you can blow a scale house here in a LTL as the Tax Commission employees are looking for 20k axle size infractions. DOT or a state trooper may chase you down and for a paper check. If you look overloaded he may direct you back to the scale or use his portables. In the 11 years I ran through the scale house in OK with a one ton and smaller truck I was waved across the scales without weighing to the paper work checkers.

TX/CO/NM/MO scale houses would most of the time weigh my truck/trailer combined along with the usual paper checks.

 

[ultrarunner]

All this talk about weigh stations has me thinking...

Only 1 of the 4 trailers I own and use has a weight label... 2 of the others were built in the 1950's and one in 1964...

Maybe this is not correct... I was told a long time ago with older equipment the Highway Patrol checks the weight against the weight rating of the tires?

Sometimes I use my Flat-Bed Stake 1930 Model A Dually to move real heavy loads... like a safe or lumber... no weight rating on it either. Trucks 1936 and older have car plates in my State

Maybe the solution is to only operate older equipment... just a thought?