Hypothetical Towing Question

[Renze]

What if you have a car with a tow rating of 1,000 pounds and you get a trailer with a GVWR of 1,500 pounds that weighs 500 pounds and you haul 500 pounds or less. Would it be the same?

Where i live, you're not allowed to even tow an empty trailer with an allowed weight over the tow rating of the tow vehicle. They arent actively on the lookout for such misdemeanors, unless you really make it too crazy, e.g. towing a 3 axle wagon with a shopping trolley.

If the heavier trailer does have brakes, and the 1000 pound rated trailer not, it would not be the same. I love trailer brakes, too many idiots pulling in front of you these days

Lots of folks derate their caravan (the GVW on the trailer license papers) to make it legally towable with their family car. It can be rated back to manufacturers specs at any time, at a DOT station.

I run a 2.5 ton rated tandem with 1300kg axles behind my 1600kg tow rated car. My father ran 2 ton rated horse trailers behind cars with tow ratings from 1400 to 1800kg for 30 years without ever getting a ticket, even though its illegal to tow a trailer rated higher than the car.

When in an accident, all they can do is fine me for being overweight, but it wouldnt change a thing in the liability. (unless the ACTUAL trailer weight exceeds the tow rating by more than 20% or so)

 

[Diamondpilot]

What if you have a car with a tow rating of 1,000 pounds and you get a trailer with a GVWR of 1,500 pounds that weighs 500 pounds and you haul 500 pounds or less. Would it be the same?

Yes, it would be the same. I have asked this question to all 3 of my cop buddies. All three said its illegal here. All three also said they do not pull you over unless something else is amiss. If it looks dangerous, no lights, poor tie down job, POS truck pulling it, ect. Basically they let you slide if you are taking provisions to be safe. That is not how the courts, lawyers, and the insurance companies would look at it if a accident happened but thats a different subject.

They also told me the biggest one they see is stuff with no lights or plates. The main culprits are cement mixers, log splitters, and pig roasters. What brought this up was I made a customer a pig roaster. We put a 2" coupler on it and safety chains but no lights or plates. He said he does not pull folks over during daylight hours as long as everything else looks safe and he can clearly see the tail/brake/turn lights of the vehicle towing it.

Chris

 

[CompactTractorFan]

What about a Chevy Suburban 2500 which has a tow rating of 9,600 pounds? (that's only 400 pounds difference):confused3:

 

[newbury]

There have been MANY discussions on this - As Diamond and Keith tried to explain -
It DEPENDS on
THE LAW
THE LAW Enforcement
and probably your relationship with the law enforcement

and they all depend on your location.

 

[buck12]

There have been MANY discussions on this - As Diamond and Keith tried to explain -
It DEPENDS on
THE LAW
THE LAW Enforcement
and probably your relationship with the law enforcement

and they all depend on your location.

Well said. Come to MS and as long as you buy a tag and have working lights anything seems to go. Kind of scary some of the setups I see going down the road.

 

[KeithInSpace]

...of the setups I see going down the road.

I see the odd picture of a 1/2 ton truck towing a 28' travel trailer which is, itself, towing a 18' boat. It is my limited understanding that you can do that as long as the total length is under 65' or something like that.

We quip about chains vs. straps and towing a 10k# trailer with a truck rated for 9k#...I'd much rather that situation than having one of these mexican land trains rolling up on my on the interstate at 72 MPH...

 

[radioman]

why derate a trailer if you are less then the cdl requirement? usually its around 26001 lbs or more total combined weight. derating a trailer can be done at the local DMV. I just don't see the point though. What if you didnt forsee something in the future and you need to tow total 7k with trailer/cargo and got a truck that can tow 7k ? what do you do now since you "derated" hypothoeritcally for the 5k truck? I think your answers will rest in your local DMV office and DOT office, not from TBN'er across the country.

RANT: I have no clue why each state have thier own tweaks in the DOT rules, it should be more generalized to make easier for folks. I understand that texas flat areas is different then NYS with hills and mountains. But the weight, rating of trailers towing, etc really should be exactly the same at the all state DMV's, not what DOT says in general.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

OK, thanks for all the replies. (sorry if I got on anyone's nerves):ashamed:

I just posted this because I got confused after reading other threads about towing trailers with a GVWR over the tow rating of the vehicle.

 

[Soundguy]

there was a thread on selective enforcement of the myriad of hauling laws a while back.

shame on the fed and state govt's for making a quagmire out of it.

would be easier to just offer reciprocity so that what's legal in your state is legal in another while you are on your trip... at least that would cut down some of the BS.

soundguy

I believe in my state, you can be pulling an empty 10,000 lb rated tractor with your 7,000 lb rated truck and get a ticket. You can have the "faceplate" replaced with one from the manufacturer for a lower rating. Some places you can get away with just registering it for a lower weight. Some places you can get away with doing nothing.

The random enforcement of these regulations is extremely frustrating.

Ken

 

[Duffster]

A 10k or less GVWR trailer will never require a CDL, unless hauling hazmat.