CA registered F-350 GVW question

[Apples]

You're already at a GVW of 12k, without anything in the bed!? There's no way. Your GVW os probably around 8200lbs with occupants and a few items.

Any time we capitalize the letters G, V W and/or R it is commonly expected that we are talking about GVWR, meaning, the maximum weight our truck can weigh when fully loaded (which includes for the sake of the truck's measured axle weights, any trailer tongue weight).

When you write, "You're already at a GVW of 12K w/o...?" we understand you to be commenting on his truck's "unladen", or, it's curb weight.

Specifically regarding the OP, we did the math offline and these are the results:

With it's 12,000 lb GVWR, it's driver door jamb has a second sticker applied to it titled Tire and Loading Information. There, it states, "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1680kg or 3704 lbs."

When the remaining weight capability of the "occupants and cargo"/3704 lbs is subracted from the truck's 12,000 lbs GVWR we get 8296 lbs, so, ultimately, you were very close.

8296 lbs was what his truck weighed on "the showroom floor" (including a calculated weight of a full tank of fuel). Nothing else. No persons, no luggage, no tools... not even a flashlight.



(Everything we add going forward (larger wheels/tires, skidplates, tools, recovery gear, compressor, camping equipment, whatever) subtracts from his available "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed number", and that, again, includes any trailer tongue weight.)

suspect he meant his GVWR, not GVW. But that is a good distinction. If he is weight stickered at 15k, he could nearly haul a trailer that weighed 7k.

Exactly.

But! Something that the OP and I did not talk about (I had too much on my mind at the time w/ painters prepping our house) is:

To err on the side of litigious caution* if ever involved in any injury accident, he "15" sticker issued by the DMV, here, should be considered a 15,000 lbs GCVWR weight. His truck can/should never by itself on it's two axles weigh more than it's GVWR of 12,000 lbs. Remember the "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 3704 lbs".

I say Gross Combined/Combination Vehicle Weight Rating because I sincerely doubt any state or local agency can alter what Ford built and certified (or however that goes). I mean, we're not talking about "standard capacity" firearm magazines, here, for cryin' out loud.

/no politics


*Litigious caution involves exercising extreme care to avoid, minimize, or manage legal liability and unnecessary lawsuits, often by using defensive documentation and following strict, compliant procedures. It is a proactive, risk-averse approach aimed at mitigating the high costs, stress, and reputational damage associated with formal litigation.

 

[DavesTractor]

Good points. GVW (actual weight of the vehicle) and GVWR (maximum weight rating of the vehicle) and GCWR (pulling vehicle and any trailer/load combined) all have specific meanings. These come to play in different ways if you haul commercially as states differ regarding who must enter and who can bypass truck inspection/scale stations. Some require that you pull in based on your ratings, not actual weight. Some only care if you are over 26k combined, etc.