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Old 04-09-2013, 07:46 PM   #41
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Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TPMcGinty View Post
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.
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.
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.
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Old 04-10-2013, 05:36 AM   #42
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Name: Tim
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Minnesota
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
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:


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.

.
My point is if a policeman pulls her over he is going to look at the registration. If it says that the trailer is registered for 3000# he is going to believe the registration. He may or may not believe her that it weighs less than 3000# and he is definitely not going to waste his time actually weighing the camper in order to prove the registration is wrong. If I was her I would cover my butt and either get a brake controller installed on the tow vehicle and use the brakes or get the registration changed. It's not about common sense. It's about the paperwork.
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Old 04-10-2013, 12:39 PM   #43
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Name: Cricket
Trailer: 2005 Scamp 13'
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Registration paperwork has been changed. However, the plan is to get the brake controller installed anyway. Thanks for your help and opinions everyone!
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Old 04-10-2013, 01:46 PM   #44
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It's a shame you had to go through this drill. Happy it worked out.

Here is what the State of Virginia states:

GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is assigned by the manufacture, it is the total weight of the vehicle, passengers, optional components, and cargo that the vehicle is designed to carry.
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Old 04-10-2013, 09:07 PM   #45
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Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
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My point is if a policeman pulls her over he is going to look at the registration. If it says that the trailer is registered for 3000# he is going to believe the registration. He may or may not believe her that it weighs less than 3000# and he is definitely not going to waste his time actually weighing the camper in order to prove the registration is wrong..
The registration isn't (now wasn't) wrong - it doesn't say what the trailer weighs. He could write a ticket assuming that the trailer weighs exactly 3000 pounds (one pound less and the brakes are not required, one pound more and he should write an over-allowed-weight ticket), but I don't think he's going to waste his time doing that, either.
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