Who has ever been stopped by the Weight Police?

[LittleBill]

I've seen in different threads and forums, comments about how the weight police could ticket you if you are overloaded on your payload. My curiosity is getting the better of me and I have to ask a couple of questions.

My questions are

1. Have you ever been pulled over or had to enter a weigh station to go across scales to determine if you are overweight with an RV? Yes or No
2. If so what kind of TV/Motorhome where you driving and pulling what (Toad, TT or 5th)
3. What was the result of your having to do so?

To be fair, back around Oct 2014, driving my Avalanche pulling my TT on I-80 east of Lincoln, NE there was an electronic sign on the side of the road about a mile or so before the entrance to the weigh station. As I was passing it, it illuminated saying PICKUP w/Trailer must enter. So I did so, but I was routed immediately to the non-scale side which was the pass through lane with no stopping at the station. My DW looked up and was confused as to why I was going through the weigh station. Told her was instructed to do so. Only thing that resulted was driving through the pass through lane.

I have traveled past that weigh station several times before this encounter with the same setup and several times since with my new 2500 HD and 5th wheel since, but have never been asked to enter other than this one time. I think they thought maybe I was commercial hauling trailers.

So, if you don't mind, have you ever had to weigh while traveling in your RV, what were you driving/towing and what was the result?

This is only to be taken lightly (no bashing), just how many of us have had a LEO stop us and weigh our RV's?

Take care and be safe.

[norty1]

Never has happened to me in many years of towing rv's.

Once as I was leaving Florida on a state road there was a sign indicating all vehicles towing a trailer were to exit to a scale. When I stopped the attendant asked if I had any commercial fruit in my rig. I said no and he waved me thru without question or weight.

I have several friends who have pulled in to commercial scales and were waved out and told they were for commercial loads.

Unless directed, I bypass weigh stations.

[DocBrown]

Not me. But I don't think this generally comes into play unless you are in an accident. Or you get pulled over for something like unsafe driving and the LEO decides they want to be a snot.

[Midnightmoon]

No, never pulled in my personal truck and RV or asked to enter a scale. We've been RVing in one form or another for ~20 years.

[Quantum]

No I haven't.

In Ontario, on long weekends they will setup an impromptu inspection station at large rest areas along the highway. They definitely are looking for unsafe vehicles, but I don't think that they're looking at 1/2 ton or 3/4 tons being slightly over payload, they're more interested in the guy pulling scrap metal on an open trailer to the scrap yard with tie-downs from the dollar store.

[Grumpy]

Never in 43 years, all lower 48 and 10 Canadian provinces... During that time I was involved with two International Camping Clubs (Canadian Members) and no one ever mentioned it either.

Never saw any rigs in a weigh station or on the side of the road with portable scales either.

[Woodworker]

Never with the Jayco but I did go by one in a tractor once. Figured flat bed I was dragging was empty so no need to stop an weigh an empty trailer. Apparently DOT didn't agree with my thought process an without even asking me why "kindly" let me know over the CB that I won't be doing that again. I will say they do have a nice radio set up cause it sounded like he was sitting right next to me with his face in mine.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by LittleBill

My questions are
1) Have you ever been pulled over or had to enter a weigh station to go across scales to determine if you are overweight with an RV? Yes or No
2) If so what kind of TV/Motorhome where you driving and pulling what (Toad, TT or 5th)
3) What was the result of your having to do so?

To be fair, back around Oct 2014, driving my Avalanche pulling my TT on I-80 east of Lincoln, NE there was an electronic sign on the side of the road about a mile or so before the entrance to the weigh station. As I was passing it, it illuminated saying PICKUP w/Trailer must enter. So I did so,......:

Similar situation... a couple of years ago in our Seneca with our trailer in tow. It might have been the same scalehouse, but I am not certain.

We were right at our max GCWR of 33k (we weighed at the beginning of our trip on a CAT scale) and passed over the "in-lane-scale" not thinking about ever going into a weigh station. As you describe, suddenly right before the entrance of the scale a sign flashed to enter the scale offramp. I was not sure what it was at the time, it took a few seconds to process the message. At first I thought it was a late message intended for the truck in front of us (who bypassed the scale ) and we did not go into the scale either... we just kept driving.

We never heard anything of it afterwards... but I did watch my mirrors for the next few miles down the road

[bansai]

Has never happened to me either.

Never heard of anyone outside of commercial license holder ever being legally compelled to hit the scales. A few rumors here and there, but nobody I've ever met has had to do it themselves. If you cause a 20 car pileup on the interstate, there may be some inquiries.

[CAG]

Nope and they have more trucks that are in violation to worry about that picking on RVs.

[ALJO]

And still if you see some RV combo's going down the road - they should be pulled over!

[spoon059]

Disclaimer, I'm a police officer, rather familiar with traffic laws in my state...

Weight inspection stations... doesn't happen. The truck stops and inspections are only for commercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles are subject to inspection without requiring a reason. Any non-commercial vehicle cannot be stopped and inspected without a reasonable belief that a traffic violation is occurring. So, to answer part of the argument, unless you are driving commercially (ie, delivering a RV)or there is an OBVIOUS traffic violation, you are not required to, nor can you be forced to submit to, a weight station inspection.

More important, your payload sticker isn't enforcement by law. That is a suggestion by the manufacturer. As long as you have paid for a high enough weight on your registration, you can drive as heavy as you want, up to the Federal bridge weight limits, which I believe is 10,000 lbs per axle. You can register a Toyota Tacoma for 12,500 lbs and drive down the road at that weight. As long as your vehicle isn't obviously unsafe (items hanging off the truck, tires cracking, bumper dragging, etc) then the police can't do anything to you. I had a 2010 Toyota Tundra with a 7200 lbs GVWR. My state had a 7000 lbs registration weight (which would strip 200 lbs off my payload rating) or 10,000 lbs registration weight (which would add 2800 lbs to my payload rating). I paid to register at 10,000 lbs and would have been PERFECTLY LEGAL to drive down the road pulling a big heavy 5th wheel with a 3000 lbs pin weight. It wouldn't have been smart, it wouldn't have gone far... but it would have been legal. I also had E rated tires that had enough carrying capacity to hold 10,000 lbs.

I'm not saying its smart or safe to do, but it is PERFECTLY LEGAL to do so. Now, talking about civil lawsuits if you get in a wreck is another issue. The OP didn't ask, so I'm not going down that road right now.

But, being over the weight on your door sticker does not mean anything to a police officer. That is a warranty sticker between you and the manufacturer and a general guideline telling you the compromise made between the engineers, the lawyers and the marketing directors of the manufacturer.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by spoon059

I'm not saying its smart or safe to do, but it is PERFECTLY LEGAL to do so. Now, talking about civil lawsuits if you get in a wreck is another issue. The OP didn't ask, so I'm not going down that road right now.

And 9 out of 10 times, if a suit comes into play, that is battled out between insurance companies. They may drop you after it's settled, but they will still defend the suit.

My cousin is a retired adjuster and he said, they don't look at it either. As you said the sticker is a guide not a legal weight.

[Duke4857]

My two cents: My DW worked for a insurance agency. She said that a insurance company might not pay you in a your fault accident if you are over weight for the vehicle. She also said that scenario would not ever happen, but the insurance co would be within their legal rights to not pay.

[Lake Huron]

In Michigan, I dont know of any weigh stations that were integrated into the highway system that are still in use. Like other posted, most of the time they are sometimes set up at rest stops along the highway. Years ago I was up north snowmobiling and on my way home with my inline sled trailer in tow. Commercial truck speed limit was 60, normal traffic speed limit was 70. I was running 70. State police had a weight/inspection station set up at a rest area and signs posted for all trucks to enter. I drive right past it. About 2 miles later MSP was all over my backside. I pulled over, hands on the wheel, and the officer was REALLY PISSED! Asked my why I didnt pull over, and my first words were letting him know I have a CPL and have one in the center console under my right elbow. Having a fit about that and asking again as why I didnt pull into the inspection area. I told him I didnt think I needed to. He said ALL COMMERCIAL VEHICLES must pull in. I insisted I was not a commercial vehicle. He wanted to argue that I was and also asked why I didnt have DOT numbers on the side of my truck and where my annual truck inspection sticker was. Again, I'm not a commercial vehicle. He said because my trailer has an Arctic Cat sponsor sticker along with some other sponsor stickers on the side, I'm using my machine in competition and getting paid which makes it a commercial vehicle. He said I was in violation of speeding, no DOT stickers, no annual inspection sticker, bypassing a state inspection station, no CDL because the the CGVWR, and some other bunch of nonsense. It took me quite a bit of convincing that the truck was my own personal truck, the trailer is mine, the sleds are mine and are registered and insured as such and all I do is ride. The stickers on the trailer are my own and most were given as part of a product purchase from that company. At the end of the day I got let go, cost me an hour on the side of the road and he left a little less pissy than when he started the whole ordeal.
Absolute jerk.
After all that, do I pull into them?? Nope.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Lake Huron

He said because my trailer has an Arctic Cat sponsor sticker along with some other sponsor stickers on the side, I'm using my machine in competition and getting paid which makes it a commercial vehicle.

Does that mean that every license plate holder or decal that the car dealers slap on trucks and cars are commercial. Or how about the decals that many after market companies give you that you slap on the window.

They are for advertising aren't they?

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by Duke4857

My two cents: My DW worked for a insurance agency. She said that a insurance company might not pay you in a your fault accident if you are over weight for the vehicle. She also said that scenario would not ever happen, but the insurance co would be within their legal rights to not pay.

Nonsense. Insurance companies pay for DUI wrecks all the time, which is a criminal act.

[Lake Huron]

Exactly. And I think that was the angle he was trying toward the end, I was advertising for them, and getting some kind of kickback, whether it be monetary or some other form of personal gain.
My argument would have been, like you said, manufacturers put their name on their own vehicles, trailers and everything, car dealers are getting free advertising with their license plate holders and the small dealership stickers they slap on your vehicles, tire manufacturers have their name, OWL, on their products. A little hard to read rolling down the road. Lol!
So, where do you draw the line??
The way I understand it, the law, is if you are getting ANY kind of compensation, that makes it a commercial vehicle.
The only kind of compensation I got was the smile on my face, the great memories and stories of the good times that were had.
If that's considered compensation, then sue me for it. Lol!

[Vista]

Originally Posted by Lake Huron

In Michigan, I dont know of any weigh stations that were integrated into the highway system that are still in use. Like other posted, most of the time they are sometimes set up at rest stops along the highway. Years ago I was up north snowmobiling and on my way home with my inline sled trailer in tow. Commercial truck speed limit was 60, normal traffic speed limit was 70. I was running 70. State police had a weight/inspection station set up at a rest area and signs posted for all trucks to enter. I drive right past it. About 2 miles later MSP was all over my backside. I pulled over, hands on the wheel, and the officer was REALLY PISSED! Asked my why I didnt pull over, and my first words were letting him know I have a CPL and have one in the center console under my right elbow. Having a fit about that and asking again as why I didnt pull into the inspection area. I told him I didnt think I needed to. He said ALL COMMERCIAL VEHICLES must pull in. I insisted I was not a commercial vehicle. He wanted to argue that I was and also asked why I didnt have DOT numbers on the side of my truck and where my annual truck inspection sticker was. Again, I'm not a commercial vehicle. He said because my trailer has an Arctic Cat sponsor sticker along with some other sponsor stickers on the side, I'm using my machine in competition and getting paid which makes it a commercial vehicle. He said I was in violation of speeding, no DOT stickers, no annual inspection sticker, bypassing a state inspection station, no CDL because the the CGVWR, and some other bunch of nonsense. It took me quite a bit of convincing that the truck was my own personal truck, the trailer is mine, the sleds are mine and are registered and insured as such and all I do is ride. The stickers on the trailer are my own and most were given as part of a product purchase from that company. At the end of the day I got let go, cost me an hour on the side of the road and he left a little less pissy than when he started the whole ordeal.
Absolute jerk.
After all that, do I pull into them?? Nope.

If your story is accurate, that LEO was wrong, and frankly a jerk. There are all kinds in all lines of work. Sounds like our Spoon059 is one of the good and knowledgeable ones.

[morleyz]

I was pulled over and cited on being overweight on my door sticker, not towing...Just driving down the road in my F250. Registered for 8k but had a 10k GVWR (actual scale weight was 7300). Officer wouldn't even discuss. Ended up going to court, wasting a day off of work, only to have DA nolle prosequi the case.

Closest to weight police I have ever come.