Towing with passenger vehicle vs. truck

[MeanGreen]

So this has always made me mad. In Virginia, and other states, I can hook up to a trailer with my passenger car or even SUV, and it is completely legal so long as the trailer and vehicle does not exceed the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations. NOW, if I hook to a trailer with my F250 (registered as a truck) I can only tow a trailer if my truck is registered for the weight of the truck and trailer. I have never understood this! The trailer has to be registered for its weight, so why must the truck be registered for truck and trailer weight...it's not like the truck is carrying the whole weight of the trailer.
My biggest gripe with this, is 99.9% of the time I do not tow ANYTHING, but for that .1% of the time I would have to pay for 20,000# tags instead of 9800# tags. Right now I have 9800# truck tags since the truck is usually unloaded if I am hooked to a trailer, and right now the only trailer I am pulling is a little 2990#(GVWR) utility trailer.
I have even been told that the F150 guys (with passenger tags) can tow without being hassled, but with a Superduty, you'd better have truck tags for towing anything. Like I said, I have truck tags, but not weighted very heavy. I'm just trying to figure out what to do, as I am thinking about using my Father's 10,000# flatbed for hauling some lumber for a personal project of mine and I would be using it off an on for a few months.

Thanks guys,
Jerry

 

[Goofyexponent]

This is combined registered weight. My truck is registered for passenger use which I think is for 7000 pounds? I am not sure 100% on this though.

ANY vehicle that is registered (no matter WHAT the empty weight) or the combined registered weight of truck/car and any trailers (empty or not) over 3000 KGS is REQUIRED to stop at the scales. They don't hassle you unless you do something stupid, even if you bypass the scales.

What they are trying to stop, is the people that take a 3/4 ton truck, load up the E-Z dumper in the bed with topsoil, hook onto a tri-axle piltle trailer with a 305 Cat exavator on board without trailer braked and then go to town up the highway at excessive speeds.

The door tag or manual will tell you what you can tow under the GVWR truck and trailer. If you stay under this they shouldn't bother you. Make sure you have proper rated tires too!

How do they hassle you? Pull you over and check out the equipment and paperwork?

 

[MeanGreen]

Okay, let me define some stuff first. In Virginia we have:
EW: Empty weight
GW: The REGISTERED gross weight of the vehicle...we can set this to whatever we want.....sort of.
GVWR: Gross Vehicle weight rating as listed by the manufacturer
GCWR: Gross combined weight rating.

My truck is registered with a GW of 9800 pounds, which matches my GVWR.
If I wanted to have my truck loaded at full weight, plus pull a loaded 10,000# trailer, Virginia requires my GW (not my GCWR) to be listed as 19,800#. In fact, the GCWR is left completely blank for most all trucks in VA (not sure about stuff over 26000 pounds, but I know this for sure for 26000 and under.
The GW fee is based on the weight
Plus the trailer tag fee is also based on the weight.
So basically, if the truck weighs 9800 pounds loaded and has a 9800# tag,
and the trailer weighs 10,000 pounds and has a 10,000# tag, then the combination of these two vehicles is ILLEGAL, as the truck has to be registered for the weight of the truck and trailer. Basically registering for an extra 10,000 pounds in my opinion (truck 19,800 and trailer 10,000)
This just doesn't seem right, but then again most fees and taxes are based on some dipsh_t pencil pusher that can't even keep there SmartCar in their own lane. I feel it should be that the GW is equal to the GVWR and then have to list the GCWR as the maximum you intend to be at or the maximum your truck is designed for. The fee would be less.....maybe that's the issue with them......money!
Jerry