Load'em Up

[Cudwieser]

I was doing a bit of reading of the Earthmover Encyclopedia (yes I am a man child ) and came across an interesting statement.

 

The gist of it was the Unit Rig M-85 has a recommended weight of 85 tons, but would regularly operate at up to 100 tons.

 

From various experience and casual research I've realised a lot of vehicles have a design weight/load in excess of recommended or operational weight/load for good reason. I am also aware load figures must be plated on the vehicle for reference.

 

What I have become curious to know however are the various legal issues, not just with off-road vehicles like mine, site and quarry vehicles, but lighter road vehicles (I'll explain why I'm skirting round HGV/Class 8 vehicles in a minute) that will often carry a load, be it a car or jeep hauling trash to a tip or a box van or a ten tonner hauling sand to a development.

 

I am curious to know:

 

1. Are the weights on the plate the max load the vehicle can carry without damage or are they recommended weights

2. What are the legalities of not sticking to recommended load, especially for a vehicle that can safely carry a larger load.

 

 

As I stated earlier I was reluctant to include class 8/HGV vehicles due to the fact they operate on more than one limit due to tight road and transport restrictions. By asking about lighter vehicles I hope to avoid hitting maximum permitted national weight restrictions as opposed to occassional local weight restrictions. In saying that I am still happy to hear about HGV's and Class 8's in regards to the above questions

[Lurch]

Most weight will have a gross weight that's slightly lower than rated weight of its drivetrain components and tires. There's probably a little bit of a safety net there, but the closer you get to it, the more strain it's going to put on it. Suspension needs to be up to the task. Not sure how much fatique the chassis itself would see because of it. But it all adds up to a rating that probably shouldn't be exceeded without risk of damaging something on it.

 

Very rarely are non-commercial vehicles cited for going over weight (though it can happen). But for bigger trucks, a lot of it has to do with what license you have. A lot of people in the US will derate a medium or heavy duty truck to 26k GVWR to be able to drive it with a normal license. If you're over that weight, you could get fined, even if the truck is capable of safely carrying a lot more weight.