Do I need weighted tags for my Diesel Jeep Liberty?

RustyAutoholicGuy

RustyAutoholicGuy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Location
Reidsville, NC
Hey Guys,

The law is really confusing on this. I have a Diesel Jeep Liberty and a car trailer. On Friday I was pulling my Aunt's Grand Cherokee to my place to fix for her. At one point coming home I had a sheriff running behind me on 61 south fairly close to my trailer before he/she finally turned off.

They were sitting on the side of the road in a field, not on the road and when I passed them, they pulled out behind me and followed for about 7 miles. I do not have a weighted tag on my Liberty and I do have a permanent NC tag on my trailer.

I've been reading the law today about this because its something I'm concerned about, I really rather not get fines for pulling too much beyond my registered weight, however I was reading the law and it says a SUV does not have to have a weighted tag. Here is the what I found:

Chapter 20-4.01(31)(e) of the North Carolina General Statutes describes a boat trailer as a property hauling vehicle. Therefore, the following General Statutes would be applicable to boats being moved for recreational purposes.

License weight requirements: In regards to the weight of the vehicles, a boat and trailer which is being towed by a truck or another vehicle such as a commercial cargo van that is classified as a property hauling vehicle, must be included for gross weight purposes when determining the amount of weight that the truck or van can legally pull. The vehicle must be registered for the gross vehicle weight of the truck/van, trailer, and boat, along with any other items located within these vehicles. For example, if the truck weighs 4,000 pounds and the boat and trailer have a combined weight of 10,000 pounds, then adding the two weights together results in a total gross vehicle weight of 14,000 pounds. Therefore, the truck must be licensed for at least 14,000 pounds to ensure compliance with the license weight requirements under N.C.G.S. Chapter 20-88. Private passenger vehicles such as SUVs are not considered property hauling vehicles; therefore, they are not subject to the license weight requirements of N.C.G.S. Chapter 20-88.

What I don't like is this is for a boat, and I have a car trailer, so I'm unclear as to what I need to do. Any help would be highly appreciated!

Thanks
Grant
 
Nope. Best thing about an SUV. No weighted tags as of now in NC. I'm sure that loop hole will end eventually, but it's nice not having to put one on my 7.3 4x4 Excursion. As long as you stay under 26,001 you're good.
 
buddyantunez1 said:
Nope. Best thing about an SUV. No weighted tags as of now in NC. I'm sure that loop hole will end eventually, but it's nice not having to put one on my 7.3 4x4 Excursion. As long as you stay under 26,001 you're good.
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So as long as its under 26,001 pounds, theoretically I could get pulled with a weight violations but I could go to court and quote the law and I should get out of the ticket? That is really weird loop-hole for SUVs but I'm not complaining either :-D. Do I need to get a weighted tag for my trailer though?
 
Yes. You shouldn't even get a ticket in the first place for weight. As long as everything is registered, securely loaded and safe, you're good. And remember 26,000 limit is TOTAL combined weight of your tow rig, passengers, gear, trailer and whatever is on the trailer.

I haul an 18' deckover and a 5,500 lb Jeep behind my Excursion. Add gear and whatnot on a weekend trip to URE and my total weight is right at 15-16k. No weighted tag since it's a MP(multi passenger) vehicle.
 
buddyantunez1 said:
Yes. You shouldn't even get a ticket in the first place for weight. As long as everything is registered, securely loaded and safe, you're good. And remember 26,000 limit is TOTAL combined weight of your tow rig, passengers, gear, trailer and whatever is on the trailer.

I haul an 18' deckover and a 5,500 lb Jeep behind my Excursion. Add gear and whatnot on a weekend trip to URE and my total weight is right at 15-16k. No weighted tag since it's a MP(multi passenger) vehicle.
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Perfect that is what I needed to know. I've almost got my CJ5 running and I might be getting a TJ soon as well in a bizarre trade, and I want to tow the CJ or TJ to URE so I don't have to really worry about breaking anything. Also my trailer has a 16 foot bed with a 12,000lb Warn winch so I don't even have to worry about how to get my CJ/TJ back up onto the trailer. I figure at most I will pulling maybe 12,000lb total.
 
alh5.googleusercontent.com__y1LEjFPLuEQ_U9OclijCeuI_AAAAAAAANTc5f40ca01f25caba785eb4f9ac61aff4.jpg


Here is a picture of my trailer, its not big, but big enough to put a car or SUV on it.
 
RobMcBee said:
was probably calling it in and found out the same thing....
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I didn't even think about that, that actually makes sense. I had the Grand Cherokee strapped down with 4x 5,000lb straps, two on the rear axle and one on each tire and then the winch around the front axle. It wasn't moving at all. I was really surprised by how easy my diesel Liberty pulled it.
 
DSM Turbos said:
You are going to be pulling over the weight the liberty is rated for, hope you have a good hitch, brakes, etc.
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I checked, I'm rated to pull 5000lbs, though If I'm honest I was probably 300 ~ 400lbs over that with the above pull. I don't normal pull a Grand Cherokee. I'm usually pulling a much lighter CJ and I do have breaks on the trailer with a brake controller in my Liberty. Also I'm running really nice brake pads that I put on about a month ago.
 
Pretty cool looking. He was probably puzzled on how a Liberty is towing another Jeep. Don't see that everyday! I like the diesel models though. How do they fare when towing up grades with decent weight on a trailer?
 
buddyantunez1 said:
Pretty cool looking. He was probably puzzled on how a Liberty is towing another Jeep. Don't see that everyday! I like the diesel models though. How do they fare when towing up grades with decent weight on a trailer?
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Just fine, depending on how steep it was, I had to get the RPMs up to about 2,600 ~ 2,800 rpm, but almost the entire trip I keep the rpms at 1,800 ~ 2,000. I will say I went route 61 south to 70 east and I never went faster than 50mph because I just got the trailer fixed up and I was curious to see how it was going to pull. I thought I would feel the trailer and Grand Cherokee more, but I balanced it on the trailer so it was just barely putting weight on the tongue. The only time I really felt it was when I was breaking on a down hill for a stop light.

The best part of that pull was the idiot kid in a early 90s fart can Civic that had 400lb stereo equipment blasting at a stop light next to me who kept reviewing is motor. I don't remember where I was but the speed limit was only 35mph, and I beat him to 35mph when the light turned green . . . pulling a trailer and a Grand Cherokee :D

-Grant
 
our 2011 liberty (gas) is rated at 5k too. It came with factory tow package. Ive pulled a few things that I knew were over 5k and though it slowed down on the big hills, it pulled like a champ on the flat small hills. It's no tow pig but it gets it done.
 
RobMcBee said:
our 2011 liberty (gas) is rated at 5k too. It came with factory tow package. Ive pulled a few things that I knew were over 5k and though it slowed down on the big hills, it pulled like a champ on the flat small hills. It's no tow pig but it gets it done.
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Agreed, it pulled great, and I never felt like I was stressing the diesel motor or drivetrain to pull the Grand Cherokee on the trailer. I was really impressed with the Diesel.
 
If it was a deputy, I seriously doubt he even cared about your tag ratings. The only nc law enforcement that can enforce those laws are DMV and Motor Carrier. While other law enforcement may have the legal authority, they don't have the scales to enforce it. He probably was concerned about it being a safe load, but it usually has to pretty bad Even for that.
 
k5-1402 said:
If it was a deputy, I seriously doubt he even cared about your tag ratings. The only nc law enforcement that can enforce those laws are DMV and Motor Carrier. While other law enforcement may have the legal authority, they don't have the scales to enforce it. He probably was concerned about it being a safe load, but it usually has to pretty bad Even for that.
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That I can understand, I have seen driving down a highway before a 7 series bmw pulling a 3 series bmw . . . it was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen.

Kind of a related question, I had the Grand Cherokee strapped to the trailer with 4 straps that were rated for 5,000lb each, two on each end, that should be more than enough correct? I can tell you the Grand Cherokee didn't even budge once during the whole trip.

-Grant
 
Disjaukifa said:
That is why I was so confused, I was reading the law and I saw the statement about SUV but still didn't know if I should go to DMV and get weighted tags, if I don't have too I won't, I'd rather save the money honestly.
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Legal disclaimer: if you are overweight or in a wreck from being overweight, I'm an idiot and you shouldn't believe every thing you see on the internet....

I'm a trooper and although I don't deal with motor carrier stuff, I had the same questions in a situation i was dealing with and had to call a motor carrier trooper to verify and this is the info he gave me.
 
k5-1402 said:
The four straps should have been enough, though I usually use much heavier ones.
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What would you recommend using? Looks I might be hauling a 99 TJ on a semi regular basis. I don't mind investing in good equipment!

2010nctaco said:
I'm a trooper and although I don't deal with motor carrier stuff, I had the same questions in a situation i was dealing with and had to call a motor carrier trooper to verify and this is the info he gave me.
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Great information 2010nctaco! I rather confirm this now than get pulled over and fined, and if I do get pulled over be able to reference the law correctly.

-Grant
 
Disjaukifa said:
I checked, I'm rated to pull 5000lbs, though If I'm honest I was probably 300 ~ 400lbs over that with the above pull. I don't normal pull a Grand Cherokee. I'm usually pulling a much lighter CJ and I do have breaks on the trailer with a brake controller in my Liberty. Also I'm running really nice brake pads that I put on about a month ago.
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How much does your Grand weigh? How about the trailer? I would bet the combo is more than 300-400 over 5k. The last time I ran my Tacoma over the landfill scales it was close to 4400 with only a couple of bags of trash in the bed.
 
Also have to remember the liability issues of being over the gcvwr. If your overweight and get in a accident it could come back on you.
 
DSM Turbos said:
You are going to be pulling over the weight the liberty is rated for, hope you have a good hitch, brakes, etc.
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This. No weighted tag needed but you are probably overweight and could get a ticket for that if the cop felt like it.
 
There is no such thing as GCVWR.

Manufacturer towing capacity is a recommendation, nothing more.

So long as the vehicle and the trailer are not loaded in excess of the axle weight limits or the tire weight limits, you're fine.
 
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