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Old 07-29-2019, 09:57 AM   #1
drsmart
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Tow vehicle registration

Has anyone registered their tow vehicle plate with a combined truck and trailer weight?
 
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Old 07-29-2019, 10:48 AM   #2
richfaa
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Why would one do that????
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Old 07-29-2019, 10:50 AM   #3
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I have not. What would be the advantage of doing them together?
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Old 07-29-2019, 11:53 AM   #4
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In Nevada, they only require a combined declared weight for commercial applications. For recreation/personal use, they just use the GVWR. May be similar in other states.

I know NHP were ticketing guys with a pickup with company logos or decals on the side and dump trailer for not having the GCWR as their declared weight on the tow vehicle.
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Old 07-29-2019, 05:25 PM   #5
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Why would one do that????

Local DOT don't separate commercial and personal use towing when it comes to vehicle registration. They're telling me that the combined weight is what should be reported for registration. Because of the truck GVW alone, I have to sign a declaration of personal use to avoid CVOR rules.

I can increase my registered weight for those months that I'm towing (about 23,000lbs) and revert back to just the truck GVW (11,500lbs) when not towing. This is all to follow the letter of the highway traffic act in Ontario Canada.

All that being said, I don't know anyone who does this and have never seen a RV pulled over to be weighed. I have heard of it happening but don't know the outcome.
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Old 07-29-2019, 05:26 PM   #6
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I have not. What would be the advantage of doing them together?

No advantage. Would cost me a lot more for registration.
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Old 07-29-2019, 06:23 PM   #7
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RV's in the USA are not commercial vehicles and not subject to the laws for commercial vehicles. Our F-350 is registered as a pick up truck Non commercial and the 3402 Montana is registered as a RV. State is Ohio.
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Old 07-29-2019, 06:55 PM   #8
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In Virginia we have 2 ways to register like you suggest. We are better off registering separate. It really doesn’t matter nobody ever gets checked. If you wish to pull a 40 foot fiver with a VW beetle have at it.
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Old 07-30-2019, 04:22 AM   #9
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In PA, mine is expensive enough with just the weight of the truck...and declared non-commercial operations. Higher weight rating=lots more money to register here and gets you nothing.
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Old 07-30-2019, 01:32 PM   #10
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Why would one do that????
Because some states tax by total vehicle weight and have an active state DOT patrol with individual wheel scales. Here in SC, the first time I registered my dually they told me I had to register it with its GCWR and told me it was 22,000#. I showed them the truck had 4.10 gearing and they raised it to 23,500# and that figure is on the trucks registration form.

When declaring GCWR during the vehicle registration process a special tag is issued. When towing an RV without that tag you'll be very lucky if you're not pulled before you get out of SC.
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Old 07-31-2019, 08:04 AM   #11
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Yes, I have had 2 trucks that were registered with GCWR. I did it because of using Maine tags on a few trailers. In Maryland when using Maine tags on a trailer DOT will put all the weight of the trailer on the truck which will result in an overweight ticket if you don't have sufficient GCWR registration. Maryland DOT targets trucks with Maryland tags pulling trailers with out of state trailer tags. If you have Maryland tags on truck & trailer the weights of truck & trailer are separated by DOT and are not targeted. My 250 was registered for 23,000 GCWR and cost $384 every 12 months for tags.
Due to purchasing a new heaver 5th wheel, I took the Maine tags off the dump trailer paid for Maryland inspection and put Maryland tags on. Changed the now 350 DRW to 14,000 GVWR tags. I went from $384 every 12 months for tags for the truck with a 23,000 GCWR to $140 every 2 years for the 14,000 GVWR.
To up the GCWR of the 350 DRW to accommodate the 16,000 5th wheel, truck tags would have cost just shy of $500 per year. When you get into a trailer over 12,000 in Maryland, Maine tags just don’t make sense and the target for being pulled over by DOT is removed. I still have 2 small trailer with Maine tags but will not exceed the GVWR of the 350 DRW if DOT puts the weight of the trailer on the truck. The advantage of Maine tags, no state inspection of trailer, no state tax on trailer and tags are much cheaper for the trailer.
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Old 07-31-2019, 11:29 AM   #12
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This stuff gives me a headache. I just went through a bunch of malarkey with this GVWR/GCVW/GAWR stuff and am more confused than I was before. Funny thing is....the CDL test administrator I was talking to told me to go home, don't concern myself with it because it's NOT a commercial vehicle. I've been towing since 1985 and so have never had a problem. I know someday, somewhere I might run into an over zealous cop or DOT person who might make an issue of something. But I buy the best equipment for the job and keep it in tip top shape. I follow the recommended ratings provided by the manufacturer. And I drive very defensively. That's about all I can do.
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Old 08-01-2019, 07:44 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by CalandLinda View Post
Because some states tax by total vehicle weight and have an active state DOT patrol with individual wheel scales. Here in SC, the first time I registered my dually they told me I had to register it with its GCWR and told me it was 22,000#. I showed them the truck had 4.10 gearing and they raised it to 23,500# and that figure is on the trucks registration form.

When declaring GCWR during the vehicle registration process a special tag is issued. When towing an RV without that tag you'll be very lucky if you're not pulled before you get out of SC.
Not sure what you are describing here. We have been living in SC since the 70's and pulling RVs since 2006 and, outside of having a sticker on our license tag that indicates expiration date we have never received a special tag. We had to pay more at registration because our 250 weighed more than our 150 but that's all. Think it cost about $10.00 more. Our RV is registered separately and has its own tag.
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Old 08-01-2019, 10:45 AM   #14
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I’m with Slufoot733 this stuff make my head hurt also.
I am an AZ resident and my 350 has its own tag cost about $550 this year.
The Montana has it’s own tag, this year about $635.

I just don’t play the game of tagging the truck in one state and the RV in another.
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Old 08-01-2019, 12:52 PM   #15
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I’m in Virginia. We have a permanent tag for the High Country. It was less than a hundred dollars 6 years ago. No cost since then but we still pay personal property tax.
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Old 08-01-2019, 01:50 PM   #16
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Yes part of our AZ tags is personal tax, a big part.
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Old 08-01-2019, 04:13 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by drsmart View Post
Local DOT don't separate commercial and personal use towing when it comes to vehicle registration. They're telling me that the combined weight is what should be reported for registration. Because of the truck GVW alone, I have to sign a declaration of personal use to avoid CVOR rules.

I can increase my registered weight for those months that I'm towing (about 23,000lbs) and revert back to just the truck GVW (11,500lbs) when not towing. This is all to follow the letter of the highway traffic act in Ontario Canada.

All that being said, I don't know anyone who does this and have never seen a RV pulled over to be weighed. I have heard of it happening but don't know the outcome.

I live in Saskatchewan Canada and when you go to license your truck, the license issuers always ask: Will the weight of the vehicle exceed 5,000kg (11,023lbs) with or without a trailer(s) and load? I answer yes as my F350 loaded up for towing is 4,450kg (9,810lb), so I'll easily be over 5,000kg when towing. I then have to pay around $100-$150 more to register the truck for a GCVW.

I have asked what happens if I don't register for a higher weight class? Their reply is that tickets start at $800 and can go up from there.


Will I get stopped and checked? Every now and then the police and highway traffic board will have a safety blitz and pull everyone over. If someone runs into me, the police want the vehicle registrations. If not registered for high enough weight, ticket time for me plus I don't know if insurance would cover me then. I'd rather pay the extra and be covered plus when not towing during the winter season, I Just go to the license issuer and get the extra weight removed and get a refund for the unused portion of the year.


This is all for personal use as another question they ask is: Is this vehicle
being used in a commercial enterprise or undertaking at any time? I answer no.
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Old 08-01-2019, 06:08 PM   #18
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Me Pachu. If Canada is like the US, and I suspect it is your insurance company cannot deny coverage because you are overweight. They can’t deny coverage because you are speeding, driving DUI, run a red light.
I ask my agent and they called Allstate and they said they couldn’t deny coverage. If they could pick and choose when to cover you they never would cover anything.
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Old 08-01-2019, 07:48 PM   #19
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In Saskatchewan, we register our vehicles through SGI (Saskatchewan Government Insurance). We also get basic insurance through SGI when we register our vehicles. You then have an option to buy what they call a package policy through SGI or a few different insurance companies which will then get you a lower deductible and higher insurance coverage. In Sk. if your caught driving under the influence, you have no insurance. I know a person who's daughter took his car and was involved in a single vehicle rollover while she was DUI, the car was totaled and he was left with a car worth nothing except for what a scrap dealer would pay for the weight in metal.


Before I retired I was an OTR driver and had came across and accident scene where a truck and trailer were blocking the highway. Inexperienced driver of too small of a tow vehicle (an older F150 supercrew) towing too large of a trailer (36ft). Trailer was on its side blocking the highway. The driver got off lucky and the police had told two other OTR drivers and myself that if any one of us had been driving that truck towing that trailer, we would have been in very big trouble as we are professional drivers and would have known better. The police seem to hold us OTR drivers up to a higher standard.
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Old 08-04-2019, 01:27 PM   #20
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In California I hear they've been cracking down on toy haulers, for gdwr being over 26000 lb combined weight, without having a commercial or special RV license.
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