Quote:
Originally Posted by TPMcGinty
In Minnesota if she is under 3000# then she doesn't have to use them even if they are installed on the trailer. Since MN registered her trailer AT 3000#, she is required by law to have AND use trailer brakes. If the police pull her over and look at her registration, she will get a ticket.
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2012 Minnesota Statutes
169.67 BRAKES. doesn't appear to say anything about registered maximum gross
weight, only the "gross weight". That is defined in
129.011 DEFINITIONS. as:
Quote:
Subd. 32.Gross vehicle weight. "Gross vehicle weight" means the greater of:
(1) the unloaded weight of a vehicle or the unloaded weight of a truck-tractor and semitrailer combination, plus the weight of the load; or
(2) the value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum gross weight or gross vehicle weight rating.
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It looks to me like Cricket can have this trailer
registered for several thousand pounds, but as long as it doesn't weigh 3000 pounds or more
as it is operated on the road, there is no legal brake requirement by Minnesota for this trailer.
I believe that this is common (but not universal) - the brake rules apply to the weight of the trailer (Gross Vehicle Weight or GVW), not legal maximum permitted weight on the
registration.
It would probably be simpler to avoid raising a concern by avoiding a registered maximum weight of 3000 lb or more, but at the same time registering a weight which is too low risks being illegal by operating a trailer heavier than its permitted weight.