Towing laws and enforcement in the southeast

[newbury]

I know this has come up several times but the search function is broke and things change over time.
Situation/background -
I've an enclosed trailer, 7x16, rated at 10,100 lb GVWR and licensed in Mississippi, bought in 2019. Been using my F350 dually (rated to pull 12,000 lbs) w/ a 14K rated WD as a tow vehicle. Never had it loaded near 10K, usually 5 to 6 K at the max. So far all very legal.
The F350 is getting "long in the tooth" and I'd like to save it for when I need to haul that much weight and buy an F150 V8 for the rest of the time.
Have found several F150's with rated tow capacity of 9,300 lbs.
When I registered the trailer the clerk would not register it for LESS than 10,000 lbs. HAD to go by what the mfg rated it at.
I tried discussing it with the clerk, no way would they derate it. So I gave up.

Back when I was paying attention to the discussion of trailer laws here I read of one guy that got "busted" for pulling a trailer that was loaded well UNDER his trucks GVWR but the Virginia State Police required him to drop the trailer and get another truck to haul it away. The rule they told him was that the truck had to be rated for the trailer, even if the trailer was empty.

Has anybody else read or heard of this?

I can understand don't go over the GVWR or the tow rating for the truck. But if I'm pulling a 7K load in a 10K rated trailer with a 9.3K rated truck it should be legal.

I've tried calling and writing the DMV's - no results, just a "I'll get back to you" and they never do.
/edit - changed F150 truck rating

 

[nisaacs]

Back when I was paying attention to the discussion of trailer laws here I read of one guy that got "busted" for pulling a trailer that was loaded well UNDER his trucks GVWR but the Virginia State Police required him to drop the trailer and get another truck to haul it away. The rule they told him was that the truck had to be rated for the trailer, even if the trailer was empty.

Has anybody else read or heard of this?

I can understand don't go over the GVWR or the tow rating for the truck. But if I'm pulling a 7K load in a 10K rated trailer with a 9.8K rated truck it should be legal.

I've tried calling and writing the DMV's - no results, just a "I'll get back to you" and they never do.

In Arizona, anytime you go over 10,000 on the trailer, that registration gets paid on the truck. Registration to go over 10,000 on the trailer is registered as 10,001. An over the highway truck is registered at 80,000, the trailer is 10,001.

If I want to gross 26k on my pickup. I have to register my trailers for 10,001 and the pickup 26k. Even tho it is rated 10k. The manufactures tow rating don't mean much when you register for towing.

The DMV will not answer DOT questions. They tell you to go to a Port of entry and ask the DOT guys.

In your truck example above, 7k trailer plus 9.8k truck you need to register the truck for 16.8k. Because your trailer is "rated' for 10,100. If your trailer was 10k, then you could register your truck for 9.8k and be legal.

PS:

I just bought an old stock trailer that I am refurbishing. It is rated 12k, I will register it for 10k, Arizona DMV don't care. However, if I am ever stopped by DOT, they will care. The chances of that are slim to none, so I boot leg

PS2:

DOT laws require a degree to understand. I don't have one nor do I claim to understand them. Just a little, lol.

If I register the stock trailer for 10,001 and my pickup for 10k, I can only gross 10k, truck and trailer, so even empty I will be over. "all" the weight registration has to go on the truck if you have 10,001 on the trailer. So to haul 20k, I have to register the pickup at 20k. Then it don't matter where the weight is at. I can have 12k on my 10k rated pickup and 8k on the trailer and still be legal.

 

[newbury]

In Arizona, anytime you go over 10,000 on the trailer, that registration gets paid on the truck. Registration to go over 10,000 on the trailer is registered as 10,001. An over the highway truck is registered at 80,000, the trailer is 10,001.

If I want to gross 26k on my pickup. I have to register my trailers for 10,001 and the pickup 26k. Even tho it is rated 10k. The manufactures tow rating don't mean much when you register for towing.

The DMV will not answer DOT questions. They tell you to go to a Port of entry and ask the DOT guys.

In your truck example above, 7k trailer plus 9.8k truck you need to register the truck for 16.8k. Because your trailer is "rated' for 10,100. If your trailer was 10k, then you could register your truck for 9.8k and be legal.

PS:

I just bought an old stock trailer that I am refurbishing. It is rated 12k, I will register it for 10k, Arizona DMV don't care. However, if I am ever stopped by DOT, they will care. The chances of that are slim to none, so I boot leg

PS2:

DOT laws require a degree to understand. I don't have one nor do I claim to understand them. Just a little, lol.

If I register the stock trailer for 10,001 and my pickup for 10k, I can only gross 10k, truck and trailer, so even empty I will be over. "all" the weight registration has to go on the truck if you have 10,001 on the trailer. So to haul 20k, I have to register the pickup at 20k. Then it don't matter where the weight is at. I can have 12k on my 10k rated pickup and 8k on the trailer and still be legal.

Thanks, but I'm pretty sure that is not the way it's done in Virginia and Mississippi.

Once again, to pull the olives out of the word salad:
F350 weighs ~ 6.5K, mfr tow rating 12K (registered as 6.5K)
F150 weighs ~5.7K, mfr tow rating 9.8k (registered as 5.7K)
Trailer weighs ~2K, mfr rated to carry 8.1K TOTAL weight mfr rated 10.1k carrying NOTHING.

Was reported on this forum that if you use the F150 to pull the trailer you would be in violation of the law, with the trailer unladen.
/edit typo - I put "F150 weighs ~5.7K, mfr tow rating 9.8k"
That should be "F150 weighs ~5.7K, mfr tow rating 9.3k"

 

[Tinhack]

I'm within 3.5miles of a major north-south corridor (I-35) and travel it when I go to the big city. The DOT and Border Patrol run a couple of check points further south for trucks coming out of Mexico. I see tractor-trailers and trucks with trailers pulled over all the time by the highway patrol. But they all seem to be business type vehicles. Occasionally, I see some nitwit with what looks like trash on a trailer pulled over. I suspect it's due to an unsecured load. It used to be worse in years past when undocumented travelers were a problem. Now, we all carry guns and don't care.

 

[D&D]

I know this has come up several times but the search function is broke and things change over time.
Situation/background -
I've an enclosed trailer, 7x16, rated at 10,100 lb GVWR and licensed in Mississippi, bought in 2019. Been using my F350 dually (rated to pull 12,000 lbs) w/ a 14K rated WD as a tow vehicle. Never had it loaded near 10K, usually 5 to 6 K at the max. So far all very legal.
The F350 is getting "long in the tooth" and I'd like to save it for when I need to haul that much weight and buy an F150 V8 for the rest of the time.
Have found several F150's with rated tow capacity of 9,800 lbs.
When I registered the trailer the clerk would not register it for LESS than 10,000 lbs. HAD to go by what the mfg rated it at.
I tried discussing it with the clerk, no way would they derate it. So I gave up.

Back when I was paying attention to the discussion of trailer laws here I read of one guy that got "busted" for pulling a trailer that was loaded well UNDER his trucks GVWR but the Virginia State Police required him to drop the trailer and get another truck to haul it away. The rule they told him was that the truck had to be rated for the trailer, even if the trailer was empty.

Has anybody else read or heard of this?

I can understand don't go over the GVWR or the tow rating for the truck. But if I'm pulling a 7K load in a 10K rated trailer with a 9.8K rated truck it should be legal.

I've tried calling and writing the DMV's - no results, just a "I'll get back to you" and they never do.

Lots of BS stories out there. Truck registered in ? And trailer registered in Mississippi? Do you have a cdl? Is this for personal or business use?
Follow your registered state rules, be happy, don’t worry about others nonsense.

 

[newbury]

Lots of BS stories out there. Truck registered in ? And trailer registered in Mississippi? Do you have a cdl? Is this for personal or business use?
Follow your registered state rules, be happy, don’t worry about others nonsense.

Registered state rules are not clear. Occurrence of the guy getting told he was illegal for having a mfr tow rating on his truck < the rating on the EMPTY trailer was all in Va.
I've called the State Police and they just kept on passing me to numbers that would never respond.

 

[Fixastuff]

The derateingw you asked for at dmv wouldn’t have helped even if they had done it. That is for tax purposes. If you want something derated in the eyes of dot it has to be done by manufacturer.

 

[KennyG]

Are you looking at new or used F-150s? My 2017 is rated over 11K and I believe all the current ones are rated over 10K except the non-turbo V6 and the "hot rod" high horsepower versions.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

When I bought my 7K trailer many years ago, DMV suggested I register it for less. I had no idea at the time the implications. I probably tow more weight than it's registered for.

 

[D&D]

Registered state rules are not clear. Occurrence of the guy getting told he was illegal for having a mfr tow rating on his truck < the rating on the EMPTY trailer was all in Va.
I've called the State Police and they just kept on passing me to numbers that would never respond.

DMV Law Enforcement may be contacted by phone at (804) 367-1678 and (804) 367-1997, by email at enforcement@dmv.virginia.gov, or by submitting a completed DMV Law Enforcement Investigation Request (LE-22). The fastest and easiest way to have your request reviewed is by submitting it online..