We have a 2005 G3500 box van with a 14' box. We were under the impression that it was under 10000 gvwr but we recently got a ticket for not displaying CA numbers (motor carrier permit for California) required on vehicles with gvwr of 10001 lbs and over. There is nothing from Chevy on the door. The box was done by Royal Truck Body and there is a sticker on the door pillar from royal but there is no information on it. The registration lists it as a commercial vehicle but only gives an unladen weight. Royal can't give me the gvwr and neither can Chevy even if I give them the VIN. My question is how can I figure out the gvwr of the truck? Is there a way I can declare it as less than 10000 with dmv? I have seen these trucks for sale with a gvwr anywhere from 9600 to 14000.

Thank you for any input.

Justin

 

When I bought a new 2500HD pickup the dealer erroneously started to register it as a commercial vehicle. The clerical person who handles the paperwork in their office had told the salesperson that the cut-off point was 7,000 lbs. vehicle weight. I checked the CA DMV online and found the following:

The DMV requires commercial plates and fees for vehicles that have a GVW loaded that is 10,0001 and higher. Pickups with an unladen weight less than 8,001 pounds and a GVWR of 11,499 and under are excluded from needing commercial vehicle registration.

Finding that saved me $332 the first year alone. I already subsidize the big rigs though the high CA fuel tax so don't need to contribute anything more if I can help it.