Rough first trip
#51
Yes, I tagged it for 33,000 gvw for the combination. 12k for the truck and 21k for the trailer. I never was hassled about axle weights, only gross. I used to come out of Tennessee at 36-37k regularly and had to pay Louisiana $90 every time for over gross.
If your tag is in front of your live axle, yes, when you put it down, it is going to take weight off the front axle. I wouldn't worry too much about it, Darin.
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1999 FL Classic, N14+ 525 hp, RTLO16-9-13A 1997 Van's Aircraft RV-6, IO-360
#52
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 342
Thanks Bandit, I have decided to just be careful when I try to haul 4 cars I suspect that I will not have a 4 car load most of the time . The way this thing is set up , it is pretty hard to get anything but 4 small cars anyway. The thing tha puzzles me is why in the world would they build a truck that is only 33000 gvwr and weighs 23000 empty knowing that it will possibly haul 4 cars that will weigh aprox 14000. BTW the gvwr sticker says mfg was chevron not Chevy . I would have thought that the gvwr rating was a factory deal even though Chevron builds rollback beds.
#54
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 342
Hamboner, Your right , I can't argue with you but it seems that some of the seasoned guy's here are suprised by the weight of this truck. Also
I did look at other setups just like this , that did not have the tag axle and was told by atleast two people quote" You will be over weight with a 4 car unless you have a pusher (tag) axle . By this statement I assumed I would be ok with this set up . I will stick with it but need to really be careful what loads I take on . I will probably be limited to 3 cars mostly.
#55
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 201
Maybe you should stop some of the other guys at the auctions that are running the same setup you are and talk with them to figure out how they distribute their weight. I wouldn't be afraid.......load it up several times with ur vehicles and ur friends and continue to scale it out and see what you come up with. The only way to figure it out is to keep with it and learn the setup. If you sit back and only haul one or two cars you will never figure it out.
#57
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,303
Yesterday I saw two trucks like yours Darin and both had 4 cars on. One up top, two on the bed, and dragging one behind, and I thought maybe your forgetting that some of the weight from the last car doesn't affect your gross because it has two wheels on the road as well.
Also one had a tag axle and it was down, and the other had no tag axle, just one single axle.
#58
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Join Date: Aug 2007
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Thanks RostyC, Glad you got to actually see one. Funny thing , I had 4 on it when I went thru the level one , and the dot man never even mentioned it , seems if it were an issue he would have probably have said something . But I gotta say this, I asked the KY DOT man over the phone about the theory of one being pulled behind and some of it's weight on the road, he said that it still counted as part of the gvw of the truck . This is why I have asked several drivers the weight rating of their tractor . Seems some are rated at 46 to 52 thousand but the trailer is also rated , so the combined is 80,000. Same thing here, truck gvr, towed car ( which had a gvwr sticker showing the weights on front and rear axle). Another thing is the 1 ton trucks towing the wedge trailers.
Their trucks have a gvwr of around 10,000 , but the truck, trailer and cars they haul are way over that .
#60
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 342
BTW, RostyC , I just realized you live in MD. How do you compare the Md Dot to other states? I have my experience and both seemed fair although I feel the chain incident wa a bit picky. To explain this further
I had a car on the back, 2005 Tahoe 4by 4. The front was strapped with one strap which had a rating of 2000 lb, and the winch cable, which was connected to a v chain that attached to two points on the front frame and I believe it is rated at atleast 8000 lb. On the back I had two chains, one on each corner, each rated at atleast 4000 lb. One was very tight the other was just a little slack , not even enough to un couple it but never the less it swagged about 1/2 inch or so . I understand NOW the procedure for securement better but I have seen tons and tons of rollbacks with only one chain on the back of the car they were towing . I guess the possible lateral movement was what he got me on. Not whining but never the less wonder how these guys get away with only one chain on the back. BTW sorry for the screwed up post must have hit the enter button on some sentances. |

