Max Load on a Big Tex 14GN 28+5

[RedNeckRacin]

I think he was illustrating that the load isn't bothering the trailer and not bragging about towing the load with the truck. Also, I believe the mill is only down the county road from PC but I could be wrong about that. Not that it makes it more legal, but he isn't running down the interstate with the load IIRC.

 

[Soundguy]

apparently it can in florida.. every time i go in and pay our tags for work they ask me if we want to increase ( more $$ ) or decrease ( reduce $$ ) our tagged weight.

Heck.. when i pay my own tags on my 350 and 450 they ask me the same thing... " would you like to change your declaired weight?' etc.

 

[George2615]

apparently it can in florida.. every time i go in and pay our tags for work they ask me if we want to increase ( more $$ ) or decrease ( reduce $$ ) our tagged weight.

Heck.. when i pay my own tags on my 350 and 450 they ask me the same thing... " would you like to change your declaired weight?' etc.

Soundguy,
I agree that you can change the declared weight of the vehicle. I did that here with a 1T dump truck. I could register my dump truck for 14,16,18K but that does not change the fact the truck is only factory rated to tow 16K. DMV here will let you register only the vehicle for max weight but that won't change the factory tow rating.
I can register a trailer for any amount up to its factory rated capacity.
My point is just because I could register my truck for 20K and hook up my registered 25K trailer to it does not give me the right to exceed the truck mfg. rated towing capacity of 16K or on the OP's truck of 14,800.

RedNeckRacin,
Not sure of the capacity of the OP's trailer. Looks to be a 25K trailer so it was probably over its limit a little. My point was about his trucks factory rated towing capacity. Doesn't matter if the mill was 20 miles or 20 feet down the road.

 

[Soundguy]

apparently here in florida.. if you pay and increase it.. dot won't cite you because they look at the weigth on the registration.. not the door sticker...

when we converted a flatbed to a water truck we just up tagged it for the extra weight up to the max of it's class before we got into HVUT ( heavy vehicle usage tax )... like our big dump and semi truck..

i realize all states do it a lil different.. so what's legal one place might not be in others.

for instance. i hear some states have a lifetime trailer tag / permanent tag. some have cheap trailer tags.. and some have no trailer tag requirement.

i also hear some states want cdl for trailers over 10k.. etc.

soooo many rules..

 

[wmonroe]

apparently here in florida.. if you pay and increase it.. dot won't cite you because they look at the weigth on the registration.. not the door sticker... when we converted a flatbed to a water truck we just up tagged it for the extra weight up to the max of it's class before we got into HVUT ( heavy vehicle usage tax )... like our big dump and semi truck.. i realize all states do it a lil different.. so what's legal one place might not be in others. for instance. i hear some states have a lifetime trailer tag / permanent tag. some have cheap trailer tags.. and some have no trailer tag requirement. i also hear some states want cdl for trailers over 10k.. etc. soooo many rules..

Pa is similar, I can pay more and increase the registration. If I get pulled over I am fine as long as I'm not over axel or tire ratings.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

George,

I never said it was legal. I'm pretty sure he could care less about legality due to posting the picture on a public forum. I only said that it was posted to illustrate that the trailers are built pretty stout. I do think that the Big 3 are getting a bit big for their britches though. Towing 30k behind a 1 ton truck (which you can do now with a dodge) is insane. I would hate to panic stop or take evasive maneuvers with that load behind a pickup.

 

[George2615]

George,

I never said it was legal. I'm pretty sure he could care less about legality due to posting the picture on a public forum. I only said that it was posted to illustrate that the trailers are built pretty stout. I do think that the Big 3 are getting a bit big for their britches though. Towing 30k behind a 1 ton truck (which you can do now with a dodge) is insane. I would hate to panic stop or take evasive maneuvers with that load behind a pickup.

I didn't imply you thought it was legal and agree the trailers are built tough. I'm just voicing my opinion its not advisable to exceed the trucks rated tow capacity. My opinion and $1.50 will buy a good cup of coffee.

 

[pclausen]

Didn't mean to upset anyone. I was just pointing out that these Big Tex trailers are build tough. Yes, the mill is about 9 miles from my house and no Interstates involved, although I do pass under one just prior to the entrance to the mill. I'm not doing this commercially or for a living. I have been clearing my mother's property as she wants all her mature Yellow Pines down.

As for the Allison slipping, it will do that with no trailer connected going up-hill at WOT as the Duramax is chipped. If I was doing this for a living or on a semi-regular basis, then yes, I would absolutely get a CDL and probably a truck rated to pull this load or at the very least switch to "truck" plates instead of running "passenger" plates.

I used to run a Better Built 7 ton GN (very similar to the OP's Big Tex). Used it for a year and traded it in on the Big Tex. It handled similar loads without breaking a sweat, but I didn't want to chance it breaking down. My main concern with the Better Built was the brakes. They would strain under a heavy load. The Big Tex has monster brakes by comparison. Btw, I'm running a MaxBrake controller which is tapped into the hydraulic brake system on the truck. Huge improvement to have your trailer brakes come on instantly with your truck breaks instead of after. I had the Prodigy before and there is no comparison.

A secondary concern with the 7 ton was making tight turns on a hard surface with a full load and bending an axle. This is not a concern with the 10k Dexter axles on my current trailer, although it is painful to watch the tires struggle and change camber angle with a full load around tight turns.

Also, with regards to GVWR, don't forget to also take into consideration how much weight is on the truck axle. This weight is not on the trailer axles, so you can carry more than the numbers may imply. With a GN, you can carry as much as 25-30% on the truck rear axle, thus increasing the trailer payload accordingly.

Some pics of the Better Built getting a workout and definitely putting 25% or better on the truck axle:

Prior to the Better Built, I had a Hudson 5 ton trailer. Here's a couple of pic I found from 12 years ago. Yep, same old Duramax has been with me since I purchased it new.

Moving to a GN made a huge difference in stability. "Back in the day" I pulled with a SRW truck and a bumper pull trailer and wow what a difference my current setup is compared to that.

 

[Soundguy]

Moving to a GN made a huge difference in stability. "Back in the day" I pulled with a SRW truck and a bumper pull trailer and wow what a difference my current setup is compared to that.

now that i've pulled a gn for a while.. i hope to not ever have to pull bumper pull again other than a 5-7k job or something..

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Glad to see we got things straightened out. PC thanks for sorting that out. I really need to upgrade to a dual tandem and an M like you have done!

I agree about the GN, other than a small skid steer trailer (for ease of loading) or a car trailer, I don't know that I would ever buy a BP for my main trailering needs. Its very impressive the maneuvering you can do with a GN esp with >90* turning capability.