The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Weight, Licensing and Insurance

When I transferred title I didn't license it because I didn't know what the GVW was plus I wanted to keep it under CDL requirements if needed.

So when I got a copy of the registration it had this truck curb weight @ 9440 and 24000 GVW

The curb weight is probably close but, I looked at the tag in the cab and it states 16000 GVW for this truck.

So what do I license the truck at?

The larger number so I can overload the truck?

What about insurance implications and BTW - what do you guys do for insurance on a rig this size that is non-CDL license required?

Thanks

Check with your state DMV to see if you can raise your GVW if you would like it to be higher than 16,000. Some states allow you to go higher, but it also usually cost more to do so. Other states out there won't let you raise it at all, unless you put a tag axle, for example, on it. In my opinion if your factory GVW is at 16,000, the truck should not be carrying anything near 24,000. If your state allows it, I personally would not go any higher than 18,000, for safety reasons. Once you establish your allowed GVW, you can then get a quote from your insurance company.

Bill

What are you going to do with the truck? Will it be licensed with regualr or historic tags? Will you be using it in a buisness? You need to answer these questions before you make the trip to your local MVA.

All of my trucks are registered as Historic and the GVW rating is listed as "N/A". I can't legally carry anything.

Hope this helps,

Mike B

Hi Mike,

I guess I should have mentioned why I bought the truck...only to haul materials to work on my property - no commercial or business use, but I do want to legally be able to haul something in it.

Thanks

Good advice Bill,

I don't mind working this old truck some, but pushing one to it's limits is dangerous no matter how old it is.

I got the truck because the last time I had 10 yards of 5/8 minus delivered (12 miles round trip for the hauler) the fee was 110.00 !

With the amount of work I want to do to this place, I'll be able to pay for the C50 for what I would have paid in delivery fees + I get to keep the truck!

I always had my 2 trailer pulling trucks tagged for 16 tons, however this year when I registered them the licensing people told me to change it to 13 tons because if I drove it out of state with a tag over 16 tons I could get ticked for not paying fuel tax to the other state or for not having an IFTA (interstate fuel tax agreement). They told me that 13 tons exempted me from those requirements.

I'm sure HevyHauler can give some more clarification on this since he's already done this stuff, I'm still workin mine out so this is a topic I'm lookin into as well.

To save some bones, you can register it at 16K, and buy tonnage on short term basis for when you're actualy going to be on public roads with it.

The trucks came out of the factory with lighter duty axles and springs, thus the 16K GVW on the door, I have the same deal. However, if you look up a few things you'll find that when the chassis was sent to the finishing company they would swap out the axles and spring for heavier weight capacity parts, esp. on dump trucks. The factory data I have found on my '56 says I should be able to take it to 21K, but I need to verify my rear axle as I believe it's a 24K unit.
Once you have all that down, then it's up to your tire capacity, I need to find the formula and pressure to weight charts for my tires so I dont get popped (maybe literaly!). Should be fine tho as todays tires are a darn sight better than back wehn our rigs were built.

As for insurance, I had to insure it as a comercial vehicle, nobody would touch it otherwise (BTW, Farmers was the cheapest I found that could cover everything I needed to insure). Now that I'm starting to use it for a business tho, kinda worked out.

A lot of what you can legally haul depends on your tires. It is federal law that you cannot exceed the carrying capacity of your tires. It will be stamped on the side of the tire. The carrier did not charge you an outrageous charge. I charge dumps at $90 per hour. I'm afraid you will be astounded when you get an insurance quote on liability insurance if it is classified as a "dump truck."
You will probably only be able to haul 3 or 4 yards legally. A C50 was not a very heavy truck. If the gvw is 16000 it is probably a 10000 rear and 6000 front and that's all they were built for.

Sorry if I implied their rates where outrageous - I know they got bills to pay too. And with the cost of diesel - those rates will most likely have to go up - if they have not already.

Maybe, with the cost of the truck, insurance and maintenance I'll lose money hauling the materials myself, but I'll still own the dump truck when its over to use on another property

I live by myself and having the ability to pickup smaller amounts of materials actually works better so I don't have so much to deal with at one time.

My 64 is licensed at 32,000 GVW but I pull a 3 axle equipment trailer and my 14,000 pound excavator with it I load the truck without the trailer to 23,500 to 24,000 the truck weighs 9380 that gives me a good strong 7 ton payload and the truck drives and stops well at that and more but I have found that at just over 8 ton it will not dump. If you push the GVW up to this witch is the high max you must ensure that the brakes are in tip top shape and with constant use I find it necessary to check brake adjustment once a month if I stretch it out to 2 I notice it starts to get a low pedal and dose not stop as well.
As far as insurance I have found that Progressive is the best for a dump truck as they have dump truck specific insurance but I am insured commercial it runs about $1400 a year or $700 every 6 months. If you find you have to insure it commercial I would make sure all your friends know and you chase side jobs to make it pay for it’s self $65 to $70 an hour is more than fair for a five yard truck in this area and should go up accordingly as fuel goes up.