RollTideRam
Veteran Member
They got voted out, and went to Georgia
Alphabet Soup
- Thread starter Glowplug
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Glowplug
Veteran Member
Bob_Skurka said:
Well, just when I thought I was getting this figured out I get all confused again. I thought "Rating" meant the maximum and "weight" meant actual. For example, suppose a vehicle has a curb weight of 6000#. That's exactly what it weighs empty. Now suppose its got a GVWR of 7500#. I thought that meant you could "safely" load it to 7500# total if you wanted. But if you loaded it and the actual weight was 7100# that would be the GVW. Me kunfoozed.
Bob_Skurka
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2003
- Messages
- 7,503
Chuck, I buy fleet vehicles (cars, light trucks and large trucks), and while I may not be correct I think I am. When I talk with dealers, they interchangably use GVW and GVWR, which is why I wrote that GVWR is also called GVW. If I am spec'ing out a mid-duty delivery truck (25,995#) and tell them I want a 25,995# GVW truck, they show me trucks that have a 25,995 GVWR.
Now I can also tell you that there are roads that have a GVW limit posted and the police officers enforce the load limits NOT by what the truck weighs at the time it is on the road, but by the GVWR that the truck is measured at when fully loaded. So if a road is posted at a 15,000# limit and a GMC Top-Kick with a 26,000# GVWR only weighs 14,000# empty and the empty truck is driving down the road, it will get a ticket for being a 26,000# truck on a 15,000# road (and one of my truck drivers just got fined $1000 for doing just that!) (more accurately it is by the licensed GVW that the officers enforce the law, not by the manufacturer's GVW/GVWR).
The ratings given are the MAXIMUM ratings. So to say you have a truck loaded up to 7100# when it has a GVWR of 7500# is to say you have a truck that is not loaded to capacity, but it does not mean that the GVW is 7100#. The 7100#, in the freight industry would = the working loaded weight, or the current loaded weight, but it is not the gross vehicle weight. We deal with declining load weights or static load weights. A declining load weight example would be typical of a UPS delivery truck, the truck starts out full and over the course of the day is unloaded at each stop. A static load weight would be a long haul or Point to Point load where a given load is put on at one location and the entire load is carried over a given distance and then the entire load is taken off at the destination.
When it comes to towing our little tractors around behind our trucks, the thing you want to consider is how much safety margin you have. A "rating" is based on a well maintained piece of equipment. If the brakes are worn, the springs are shot, etc then your truck cannot haul or tow the full rating safely.
Generally I think most people would be well off to stay at 85% of the rating or lower, their vehicles will last longer and their hauling will be accomplished with a safety margin.
Now I can also tell you that there are roads that have a GVW limit posted and the police officers enforce the load limits NOT by what the truck weighs at the time it is on the road, but by the GVWR that the truck is measured at when fully loaded. So if a road is posted at a 15,000# limit and a GMC Top-Kick with a 26,000# GVWR only weighs 14,000# empty and the empty truck is driving down the road, it will get a ticket for being a 26,000# truck on a 15,000# road (and one of my truck drivers just got fined $1000 for doing just that!) (more accurately it is by the licensed GVW that the officers enforce the law, not by the manufacturer's GVW/GVWR).
The ratings given are the MAXIMUM ratings. So to say you have a truck loaded up to 7100# when it has a GVWR of 7500# is to say you have a truck that is not loaded to capacity, but it does not mean that the GVW is 7100#. The 7100#, in the freight industry would = the working loaded weight, or the current loaded weight, but it is not the gross vehicle weight. We deal with declining load weights or static load weights. A declining load weight example would be typical of a UPS delivery truck, the truck starts out full and over the course of the day is unloaded at each stop. A static load weight would be a long haul or Point to Point load where a given load is put on at one location and the entire load is carried over a given distance and then the entire load is taken off at the destination.
When it comes to towing our little tractors around behind our trucks, the thing you want to consider is how much safety margin you have. A "rating" is based on a well maintained piece of equipment. If the brakes are worn, the springs are shot, etc then your truck cannot haul or tow the full rating safely.
Generally I think most people would be well off to stay at 85% of the rating or lower, their vehicles will last longer and their hauling will be accomplished with a safety margin.
OP
Glowplug
Veteran Member
Bob-That all makes sense now. It was just a little confusing to me in the earlier post. Thanks!!