Do Penske trucks have to stop at weigh stations?

zenmomma · Joined: 01 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

What are the regulations about driving a rental truck through different states? Are you required to stop at weigh stations?

If a truck has a capacity for 8500 lbs, and the lbs are close to or over it, is it a problem?

How do you estimate weight on a self move?

Thx.

cnoblit · Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Long Island, NY

zenmomma · Joined: 01 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

Federal and state DOT weigh stations are present to make certain that trucks do not exceed their maximum allowage gross weight (or allowed axel weights) and don't worry: they have special cars with red lights on top that let you know when you have to stop.[/quote]

I'm not an idiot. Your answer is mean-spirited and sarcastic, and not helpful.

Is there anyone else who can give me insight into the questions that I asked? Especially, how do you gauge weight when loading a truck on a household move?
And I have heard conflicting reports about weigh stations. What I want to know is; What is the law regarding rental trucks? Are weigh stations only for commercial trucks? I have never seen a rental in one as I passed by.

Thanks.

Rick · Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 3270

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zenmomma · Joined: 01 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

Thank you, that helps me understand.

Do you have any insight on the average household weight of a load?

r.tennison · Joined: 18 May 2008 Posts: 145 Location: Reno, Nevada

Not trying to be mean spirited here or trying to confuse you, but there is one other issue that is not brought up here when discussing a weight station. A while back I loaded a shipment in California. The shipper also rented a Penske or some rental such as this. He loaded the truck before he called a mover, went through a scale and was shut down because he was overweight and his vehicle had equipment issues. The truck was pulled in for inspection. How his goods got back to his house is beyond me, and I didnt ask. But, the moral is, do a inspection of your rental vehicle, lights etc, and you won't have issues. But also, these states are broke and they are looking for every ounce of revenue and they will ticket for things they have not before. I am not sure how this affects a rental truck with the equipment issues, but since you are the one who loads the truck, you are the one liable for any overweight tickets.

You can solve that problem by getting a weight at a local truck stop and see what your axles weigh. I am not sure what is legal on a two axle bobtail, but I am sure that by calling the state highway patrol, you can find out, and solve any issues with weight before you leave. Most of the time, unless you know how to load like a mover, or you hire one you won't get near the maximum weights on these trucks, unless you just have a lot of books or other super heavy furniture. But ten dollars spent will prevent more issues than you need.

Rick · Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 3270

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BigLeeCalif

I'm in southern california, and here the highway patrol weigh stations require all trucks, including delivery and rental trucks, to pull into the scales.
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4WeHelp · Joined: 10 Nov 2009 Posts: 45 Location: Moving Company

Florida is especially bad for pulling over rental trucks. I have been headed south on I-75 and there is a "inspection" station just into Florida if coming from Georgia. It is the norm to see 3 or 4 trucks and cargo trailers of all sorts on the side of the road unloading everything into the grass because they didn't stop when they were supposed to. When I say all kinds I have seen everything from church buses to minivans with UHaul trailers.

NYCMover · Joined: 09 Mar 2009 Posts: 454 Location: New York, NY

Dear Zenmomma,

Assuming that you are moving normal household goods:

1) If you buy standardized moving boxes they should be marked as to how many cubic feet (small box - 1.5 c/f; med. box - 3.0 c/f; large box - 4.5 c/f; extra large box - 6.0 or 7.5 c/f; dishpack - 5.2 c/f, etc.) the box occupies when squared up. Add up the total of the cubic feet for all of the boxes and hold that subtotal aside.

2) Measure your furniture (in inches only) and multiply width x depth x height. Divide the result of the multiplications by 1,728. The result will be the number of cubic feet each piece is. Do this for all furniture and non-boxed items, then sum up your total of non-box items.

3) Add the subtotals from the boxes and the furniture/non-box items together and you will have a total cubic footage for the load. Again, if this is a standard, household goods shipment, multiply the total cubic footage x 7 lbs. per cubic foot - and you will have an estimated weight for your shipment.

4) Because you are probably not experienced with packing a truck for moving - add 25% to the total number of cubic feet you calculated and then rent a truck that can handle that many cubic feet and the weight that you calculated for the shipment.

5) Rick is correct that you should estimate your weight higher if your load is book-heavy or if you have extremely heavy furniture and/or other possessions, like shop tools, auto parts, etc. Also, get a truck with more capacity if you have a lot of items that cannot practically be stacked to save space in the truck.

Good luck with your move! Smile

Ruges · Joined: 01 Aug 2005 Posts: 437

Also before you go on your trip. you can weigh the truck on a public scale to make sure you are not over any axle, gross, or tire weight limit. Public scales are located all over the place. And if there is a place to get a rental truck, there will usauly be a place nearby (withen a dozen or two miles) that will have a public scale. You could probly even ask on these forums, and many members would have knowledge of one near you.
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HutchinsonMoving&Stor · Joined: 09 Mar 2011 Posts: 4 Location: United States

I'm unsure if you have to go through a weight scale or not... I've flown by them and I've went through them in a penske truck... To get the weight of your truck and belongings simply go to the truck stop and look for the scales. This will let you know how much you weigh

Twixt · Joined: 24 Jun 2011 Posts: 43

Jumping in here:

This is an illuminating thread--I've never driven a rental truck interstate, and it never occurred to me that I might need to stop at a scale.

I am still deciding between rental, and full-service, but cost may drive me to rental truck. I had been thinking 16-footer, but now I'm wondering:

Is it better to go up a truck-size (or two), if I think I might be on the cusp, weight-wise? In other words, the larger trucks are able to handle more load-weight, legally speaking, right? And should go thru the scales okay?

For example, a 17' Uhaul has a Max load: 5,930 lbs, but a 24' has a Max load: 6,500 lbs.

This is of concern, because once I get on the road, there is no option but to move forward, so this will be vital information.

Movinghelper

If you are on the edge of size I would go with the bigger truck.

The last thing you want to do is either rent another one for the overload or leave stuff behind.

Worse yet is get the smaller one find out you need a bigger one and have to unload and load all over.

I have recommended this to people my line of business and they always seem to go smaller and it ends up costing them more getting another truck and driver along with fuel.
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Twixt · Joined: 24 Jun 2011 Posts: 43

Thank you!

A follow-up on stopping at scales:

I've never driven a rental truck interstate before. And if I thought about truck scales at all, I would have thought they were just for commercial rigs. So bear with me while I wrap my head around this.

So how often might I encounter having to stop at scales on my trip? I would be departing from the west Kansas City area, going west on I-70, jogging north around Denver on CO state highway, to pick up I-80 all the way to CA.