Dk45_Jeff
Silver Member
There seems to be a lot of confusion as to legal weight limits for pickup-trailer combinations that may be driven without a CDL. Each state sets its own rules and most state DOT provide confusing descriptions of the limits. I’m curious what the limits for non-commercial drivers are across the country.
In Virginia rigs under 26,001 pounds GVWR, provided the tow vehicle’s GVWR is less then 16,001 pounds are legal (VA rules). Since production ¾ and full ton pickup have GVWR between 9 and 12 thousand pounds, the effective legal trailer GVWR limit ranges from 7 to 8.5 tons. VA seems to use the federal definition of a commercial vehicle.
A few times a year I pull trailers through New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland so I’ve checked into their rules. NY has recently changed the limits (NY limits) on the normal driver license to match the federal limits and eliminated a non-CDL license class that was formerly required from trailers over 5 tons. Prior to that, and maybe still is, out of state drivers were limited to combined GVWR limits set by the state issuing their license. MD limits its residents to 5-ton trailers, but like NY lets out of state drivers haul up to their home state’s limit (MD rules first bullet on page 6). PA rules are the same limits as VA (PA reference)
What are the rules for other states? Please post links to official state web sites with the information if possible to forestall debate. An interesting side note; the way the GVWR limit is written encourages drivers to use lighter tow vehicles to haul the heavier trailer. For example in VA its legal for most ½ pickups to pull 10 ton trailers, while most one ton pickups would be limited to 7 ton trailers. Insurance companies could deny a claim if a driver doing this caused an accident, but a cop couldn’t order the driver off the road to prevent the accident in the first place.
In Virginia rigs under 26,001 pounds GVWR, provided the tow vehicle’s GVWR is less then 16,001 pounds are legal (VA rules). Since production ¾ and full ton pickup have GVWR between 9 and 12 thousand pounds, the effective legal trailer GVWR limit ranges from 7 to 8.5 tons. VA seems to use the federal definition of a commercial vehicle.
A few times a year I pull trailers through New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland so I’ve checked into their rules. NY has recently changed the limits (NY limits) on the normal driver license to match the federal limits and eliminated a non-CDL license class that was formerly required from trailers over 5 tons. Prior to that, and maybe still is, out of state drivers were limited to combined GVWR limits set by the state issuing their license. MD limits its residents to 5-ton trailers, but like NY lets out of state drivers haul up to their home state’s limit (MD rules first bullet on page 6). PA rules are the same limits as VA (PA reference)
What are the rules for other states? Please post links to official state web sites with the information if possible to forestall debate. An interesting side note; the way the GVWR limit is written encourages drivers to use lighter tow vehicles to haul the heavier trailer. For example in VA its legal for most ½ pickups to pull 10 ton trailers, while most one ton pickups would be limited to 7 ton trailers. Insurance companies could deny a claim if a driver doing this caused an accident, but a cop couldn’t order the driver off the road to prevent the accident in the first place.