RV traveling is not an easy thing to do by anyone. You have to travel long miles and experience different things. Some of them give you Goosebumps; however, the other ones usually give you some tough experiences. Whatever would be the case, it’s worth it to experience everything that comes and goes around.
Among those few things, one continuous thing that you have to experience is the weight stations. It’s the station that is usually made on the highways for heavy vehicles. Why? Because not all of the highway terrains have the same weight capacity capabilities.
So for safety concerns, these weight stations are created to stop heavy vehicles. As you are Traveling on RV, it has many things inside that also make it a heavy vehicle.But wait, you might be wondering whether you will stop at the RV station or not? For this purpose.
we have created an article where you will get all the information in detail. So without wasting further time, let’s dive into the main topic of this article.
What Are the Purpose of Weight Stations?
In general, the weight stations are made for fuel tax. Hence, it charges the fees from all of the heavy commercial vehicles that travel on it. Why? Because they put lots of things that are meant to be sell. Hence, the roads they are using are made up of government money, and it’s the right to charge for it.
Apart from that, the fees are charged for maintaining the road if issues like cracks or holes show on it. Therefore, all of the money you pay is better for your safety than never having an accident due to poor-quality roads.
Besides that, Weight stations are also made for several other reasons. Like, they usually check the DOT Safety standards of the heavy vehicles. It means that the representative ensures that a heavy vehicle driver takes all of the precautions to safely drive on roads and never makes any hurdles for other non-commercial vehicles.
On top of that, drivers’ log time is also checked to ensure that driver is not driving the vehicle more than the government set time. Besides that, the check and balance of cargo is also analyze so that the vehicles are not transporting anything illegal as per the government rules.
Should Rvs Have to Stop and Weight Stations?
If you talk with some experienced RV travelers, they would tell you about not stopping in their entire life on the weight stations and never have an idea about it. On the other hand, some travelers usually say that they have to stop every time at the Weight stations. It makes you feel confused at some stages, which is hesitating.
In general, you have to stop at the weigh station depends upon the GCWR, which is the Gross combined weight rating of a vehicle. Here, you need to know that GCWR is the whole weight of the vehicle, including the amount you have put inside it. Hence, everything counts into it; even a small bunch of containers filled with water are also considered in the weight.
The interesting thing here is that if you are traveling with a combined weight of more than 10,000lbs, most of the states would never stop you at the weight stations for any reason. They even don’t care about you stopping. However, there are many states where you will stop right away if you carry more than 25,000lbs.
When driving an RV, make sure to keep the weight as minimal as possible to never stop at the weigh stations. Otherwise, the weight station representatives will have to put over everything to balance the weight and then allow you to proceed further. In that case, you would have to leave a lot of the things behind.
Now, you can easily understand those people traveling for a long time on their RVs and have never stopped at the weigh stations. In general, those travelers carry less than the said weight to travel on the RV and remain unstoppable at every weight station.
How Can You Avoid Stopping at the Weigh Stations?
As an RV Traveler, your major concern shouldn’t be to stop at the weigh stations. You have the options to follow different ways and easily avoid the weight stations.
First of all, travel at the desired time when no representative is available on the weight stations to stop you. Yes, there are some timings where you can easily pass by the weight station, even having more than the required load. Therefore, you can utilize that time only to travel on the highways and remain unstoppable.
After that, you can use google maps as it can tell you easily where on the routes you will get the Weight stations. Then, simply use the other route where the Weight stations are not available so you can easily pass on with the heavyweight vehicle.
What Are the Weight Station Protocols for Rvs?
You are traveling on RV; therefore, you need to know that there are some protocols set for it that you must follow.
- IF you are traveling on a vehicle containing more than 10,000 pounds of weight, you need to at least stop over 20 states of the United States for checking and other purposes on weight stations.
- In Pennsylvania, recreational vehicles with heavy loads have to stop at the weigh station for inspection purposes. Usually, the RV’s also has to stop there.
- Florida and North Dakota are where recreational vehicles are stopped on the weight stations for checking purposes.
- Any RV vehicle with more than 10,000lbs of weight must stop at Pennsylvania, Nevada, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Georgia, and Arkansas.
Ideas to Reduce the Weight of the Vehicle to Avoid Weighing Station:
You are fed up with experiencing the long procedures at the weight stations. Now, you need some ideas to reduce the weight because you don’t know which thing to skip from the RV or not. For that purpose, follow the below tips.
First of all, you need to understand that liquids are the most common products that usually increase the vehicle’s weight. Therefore, you shouldn’t carry them in a considerable amount. Always try to skip all of the unnecessary liquids away from the vehicle.
You need to fill up the water tanks half and empty the other half tank when it’s required, fill up the tank half again to any other station. But, never try to fill it up as a whole. In this way, you would have to carry a lot of the weight into the RV that will cause many issues for you.
Apart from that, you have to understand that jars, Glass bottles, Canned Goods, and a huge amount of beer and soda can increase the weight of the RV. When you are on an RV trip, it’s quite easier to find many groceries shop in your way.
Hence, you don’t have to keep things together in the RV truck and increase its weight. Only keep the minimal amount of these Groceries that is quite helpful for a day or two. Then, rest, buy them again from the nearest shop so the weight wouldn’t increase.
Besides that, never try to carry the recreational items along with you that are heavy or large. It would also increase the vehicle’s weight, and you will have to stop at the weigh stations.
FAQs:
Do Rv’s Have to Stop at Weigh Stations?
If you are carrying more than 10,000lbs of weight on the RV, you must stop at the Weight stations of different states of the USA. Every state has specific laws for the RVs, which you need to follow; otherwise, you have to stop.
Can I Weigh My Rv at a Weigh Station?
Wheel position weighing technology is quite helpful for you to weigh the RV easily. Unfortunately, it’s the technology that is only available on the weight Stations. All you need is to set every RV wheel on the Scale mentioned on the weight station to identify the weight.
Are Rvs Considered Commercial Vehicles?
In general, the majority of the states of the USA don’t require an RV driver to carry a commercial driving license. Therefore, it can easily clear many things that RV is not considered a commercial vehicle. However, you have only to use the RV vehicle for recreational purposes. Therefore, if you are traveling on it by carrying the things that are meant to be commercial, you will have to face many issues.