# Tow Vehicle Registration Gvw?



## forceten (Nov 14, 2008)

So went to DMV to register my new tow vehicle in NJ.

When listing GVW they asked how much - I said 5k as the title stated. But when they heard I was gonna pull a 5th wheel they said the GVW listed on the reg had to be the total combined 18,000. Was gonna bring my cost for plates up to $250 a year if they did that.

I asked if they were sure about that since the hauler had its own registration and plates. They said they weren't sure - asked a manager and HE wasn't sure. HOW does DMV not know their own rules. They told me to call the state police to find out - sigh.

I asked can I change the weight later if I find out - they said no problem. So reged for 5k

Whats the rules and regulations on this?


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Which state are you in?


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Y-Guy said:


> Which state are you in?


Steve....first sentence....."_So went to DMV to register my new tow vehicle in NJ."_


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

The east coast states seem to be confusing on this. Michigan is pretty straight forward, pay what they tell you: $210 for the F350. Oh the trailer plates are weight based and was either $250 or $350







(They are a lifetime plate, but that hasn't gotten us more than 2 years use lately...







)

The super duty title does have a bunch of legalese about GVWR and such, but it basically says keep it below what it is licensed for and that is the GVWR of the truck.

If I had to guess, I'd assume you have to pay for the truck's GVW, not the GCWR. Either way, I doubt you'll get by for 5k lbs (my truck weight way more than that!)


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## forceten (Nov 14, 2008)

But what weight did you register your truck at? What shows on your registration card? The total truck and trailer weight? Or just the truck itself?

No lifetime plates here - truck is every year trailer every other year. Money money money!


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Steve....first sentence....."_So went to DMV to register my new tow vehicle in NJ."_


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Just for grins I looked at Oregon's DMV data for this.

For motor vehicles and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 26,000 pounds and trailers with a loaded weight over 8,000 pounds. This does _*not*_ apply to other vehicle types such as:​
Motor homes,
Special use trailers, and
Travel trailers.
If you need a Heavy Vehicle Title - $90

For a 2 year registration sticker...8,000lbs or less = $27 (Man!! this use to be $8







)


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

forceten said:


> But what weight did you register your truck at? What shows on your registration card? The total truck and trailer weight? Or just the truck itself?
> 
> No lifetime plates here - truck is every year trailer every other year. Money money money!


I don't believe we get a choice for GVWR unless we license it as a commercial vehicle. It states that if a GVWR is specified then you must stay below it. I don't have one specified, so I guess I'm ok.









Seriously though, this does vary greatly by state (as is evidenced from OC's comments.)


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

You guys are just killing me with the registration costs. Last year for just my truck in the Peoples Republic of California I paid $472 and next year thanks to our wonderful non-representative form of government I get to pay over $650 to drive on worn out overused roads. The weight part of the fee is just over $200. At these registration and sales tax levels they are just going to kill new vehicle purchases of any kind.

BTW, In CA they only look at the vehicle Gross Weight Rating for truck and not the combined. I wouldn't be surprised if they try and use the higher weight to try and get more money.

Last year the Outback cost $130 to register for the year and next year it will be about $180. Add in my other two vehicles and I estimate my registration costs for 3 cars/trucks and the trailer to be about $1,400.


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## forceten (Nov 14, 2008)

Nathan said:


> I don't believe we get a choice for GVWR unless we license it as a commercial vehicle. It states that if a GVWR is specified then you must stay below it. I don't have one specified, so I guess I'm ok.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ahh see in NJ you have to specify the gvw. The actual title for the truck said 5k so thats what i went with. Would be nice to just leave it blank but doesn't matter commercial or not it had to be listed. I have the GVW listed for the outback on its reg and then the pickup is its own. IF I get pulled over ever and hassled for it I will just let them know DMV didn't know and then change it after that. Hopefully because its a travel trailer the same rules don't apply and its not cargo the actual TV is carrying.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

forceten said:


> Ahh see in NJ you have to specify the gvw. The actual title for the truck said 5k so thats what i went with. Would be nice to just leave it blank but doesn't matter commercial or not it had to be listed. I have the GVW listed for the outback on its reg and then the pickup is its own. IF I get pulled over ever and hassled for it I will just let them know DMV didn't know and then change it after that. Hopefully because its a travel trailer the same rules don't apply and its not cargo the actual TV is carrying.


I'm still struggling on what truck weighs 5000 lbs. Even empty, mine weighs ~8k.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

MJRey said:


> You guys are just killing me with the registration costs. Last year for just my truck in the Peoples Republic of California I paid $472 and next year thanks to our wonderful non-representative form of government I get to pay over $650 to drive on worn out overused roads. The weight part of the fee is just over $200. At these registration and sales tax levels they are just going to kill new vehicle purchases of any kind.
> 
> BTW, In CA they only look at the vehicle Gross Weight Rating for truck and not the combined. I wouldn't be surprised if they try and use the higher weight to try and get more money.
> 
> Last year the Outback cost $130 to register for the year and next year it will be about $180. Add in my other two vehicles and I estimate my registration costs for 3 cars/trucks and the trailer to be about $1,400.


So I guess my comment about being mad that my fee went from $8 to $27 for two years isn't creating any sympathy from you?


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

It pays to do your homework. This story is for NC, but your state could be similar.

When I bought my truck, I did not yet have the camper but knew I was going to buy one in the next month as that was the reason for buying the truck. Truck dealer insisted that I had to license the truck for the combined weight, so I paid around $300 for the truck registration/license plate to cover the truck and a 10,000 lb 5'er (was pretty sure what size camper I would buy).

A year later, when renewing the truck registration, I called the DMV to inquire and was told that recreational vehicles are exempt from this requirement and I only had to license the truck for it's own weight. I was able to register the truck for $68.

Best part of story: I emailed the truck dealer and related the story to him and he refunded the difference to me for the error!! Never hurts to ask nicely.

You may have to call the "home office" of the DMV in your state to get the correct info for your state.

Good Luck.


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## forceten (Nov 14, 2008)

Nathan said:


> Ahh see in NJ you have to specify the gvw. The actual title for the truck said 5k so thats what i went with. Would be nice to just leave it blank but doesn't matter commercial or not it had to be listed. I have the GVW listed for the outback on its reg and then the pickup is its own. IF I get pulled over ever and hassled for it I will just let them know DMV didn't know and then change it after that. Hopefully because its a travel trailer the same rules don't apply and its not cargo the actual TV is carrying.


I'm still struggling on what truck weighs 5000 lbs. Even empty, mine weighs ~8k.








[/quote]

Oh boy, I was curious after you posted this. I have a local scale/scrap yard that I deal with. So drove the truck on the scale. !!! over 8k pounds (I guess with my cap!).

I was just going with what the title had listed of 5k. Guess I need to up that a bit.

But still not gonna list it along with my outback. State isn't gonna get $250 every year from me on top of the trailer reg!


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Oregon_Camper said:


> You guys are just killing me with the registration costs. Last year for just my truck in the Peoples Republic of California I paid $472 and next year thanks to our wonderful non-representative form of government I get to pay over $650 to drive on worn out overused roads. The weight part of the fee is just over $200. At these registration and sales tax levels they are just going to kill new vehicle purchases of any kind.
> 
> BTW, In CA they only look at the vehicle Gross Weight Rating for truck and not the combined. I wouldn't be surprised if they try and use the higher weight to try and get more money.
> 
> Last year the Outback cost $130 to register for the year and next year it will be about $180. Add in my other two vehicles and I estimate my registration costs for 3 cars/trucks and the trailer to be about $1,400.


So I guess my comment about being mad that my fee went from $8 to $27 for two years isn't creating any sympathy from you?








[/quote]

Argh







, you really know how to turn the knife. I need to just go camping and have a beer (or lots) by the campfire


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

forceten said:


> ...
> Oh boy, I was curious after you posted this. I have a local scale/scrap yard that I deal with. So drove the truck on the scale. !!! over 8k pounds (I guess with my cap!).
> ...


Now that sounds more like it!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Opps..


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## 'Ohana (May 20, 2007)

forceten said:


> I don't believe we get a choice for GVWR unless we license it as a commercial vehicle. It states that if a GVWR is specified then you must stay below it. I don't have one specified, so I guess I'm ok.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ahh see in NJ you have to specify the gvw. The actual title for the truck said 5k so thats what i went with. Would be nice to just leave it blank but doesn't matter commercial or not it had to be listed. I have the GVW listed for the outback on its reg and then the pickup is its own. IF I get pulled over ever and hassled for it I will just let them know DMV didn't know and then change it after that. Hopefully because its a travel trailer the same rules don't apply and its not cargo the actual TV is carrying.
[/quote]








Across the river here in Pa my truck is registered for the full GVWR of the truck (11,400) which runs around $200.00 for the year. At the time of registering I inquired about getting it placed into a lower class, as I have heard of some who have done just that.

With that I was told that in the event of an accident in which I was hauling cargo and given that cargo was within the actual ratings of what the truck could carry. If the total GVW of the vehicle was in excess of what it was registered for, I could be held liable for everything for as by law the vehicle would be considered overloaded.

With that thought in mind I felt as though the added cost really didn't compare to the consequences to be had by saving a few dollars







. On top of all of that, it would always be another one of the juggling games in having to watch the weights every time something needed to be hauled.

Ed


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## TurkeyBranch (Mar 12, 2009)

It is my understanding that the truck GVWR is on it's own. So if the truck weighs 5,000 lbs and carries another 3,000 lbs, (5000 + 3000 = 8000 lbs) that is what it is registered for. The weight they are talking about is the CGVWR (combined gross vehicle weight registered) Since you do not pull the trailer every time the truck goes out, that is not needed. If it is a personal vehicle, then you register it as such. As long as you are not in excess of what the truck can handle (tow capacity of say for example, 8000 lbs you are fine) 5000 lbs (truck) + 3000 lbs (Cargo) + 8000 lbs (trailer) = 16000 lbs *C*GVWR.

This is the trucks total capacity. Truck, cargo, towed vehicle

Did I make since? Or is it like my wife says "only in my own mind"?


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

The one thing I do love about the NJ DMV is I registered my dually for 10,000 lbs which means I do not go thru inspection every year. They told me all duallys have to be. True or not , thats what I was told. I am subject to a spot inspection similar to a big rig but truthfully so is anyone else driving down the road to a point.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

tdvffjohn said:


> The one thing I do love about the NJ DMV is I registered my dually for 10,000 lbs which means I do not go thru inspection every year. They told me all duallys have to be. True or not , thats what I was told. I am subject to a spot inspection similar to a big rig but truthfully so is anyone else driving down the road to a point.


Ohh, this probably explains the 10,000 lb GVWR option on F250's.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I pay 1100 for a 26,000 GVW plate for my dually so I can commercially haul campers.. Colorado is terrible high on commercial vehicle licensing.. About all I can say is the truck makes more than a 100k a year, so oh well..

First year on a normal brand new pick up plate is around 800 bucks for a 3/4 ton, then slowly goes down after..

My 1/2 dodge was 600 for the 1st year, 550 2nd year, etc.

Colorado rips us on License plates..

When my mom and dad bought there motorhome back a few years ago, the plate was 1600. Needless to say, they plated it in Florida for like 100 bucks..

I wish I could say Colorado has cheap plates, but I bet we are about the highest in the nation. Sucks!

Carey


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> I pay 1100 for a 26,000 GVW plate for my dually so I can commercially haul campers.. Colorado is terrible high on commercial vehicle licensing.. About all I can say is the truck makes more than a 100k a year, so oh well..
> 
> First year on a normal brand new pick up plate is around 800 bucks for a 3/4 ton, then slowly goes down after..
> 
> ...


Kansas is like that. When I lived there, I had a new Ford Ranger I paid 11k for. Plates cost me about $450 the first year for that inexpensive little truck. I lived in Kansas and worked in Missouri. I paid Kansas State taxes, Missouri State taxes and KC, MO city taxes. Felt like I was taxed at every corner. I moved.









-CC


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

collinsfam_tx said:


> I pay 1100 for a 26,000 GVW plate for my dually so I can commercially haul campers.. Colorado is terrible high on commercial vehicle licensing.. About all I can say is the truck makes more than a 100k a year, so oh well..
> 
> First year on a normal brand new pick up plate is around 800 bucks for a 3/4 ton, then slowly goes down after..
> 
> ...


Kansas is like that. When I lived there, I had a new Ford Ranger I paid 11k for. Plates cost me about $450 the first year for that inexpensive little truck. I lived in Kansas and worked in Missouri. I paid Kansas State taxes, Missouri State taxes and KC, MO city taxes. Felt like I was taxed at every corner. I moved.









-CC
[/quote]

lol dont blame ya!

450 would be about what a 11k Ranger would cost here too.. I say STUPID! They are ripping us!

I wont even ask what a 30+k Super Duty costs in Texas. Prolly make me sick, cause I know Texas is cheap on plate costs..

Carey


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## forceten (Nov 14, 2008)

Wow I'm kinda happy with jersey then. We have three fuel tanker trucks for my company. They are 33,000 lbs gvw each. Plates are only $600 a year!

I guess we get away cheap!

Regular open trailers are ever other year registration too.


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