weigh stations while driving 16ft Penske moving truck (Uhaul, renting a truck, trucks)

[WVfatboy]

I'm getting ready to move from Virginia to Louisiana. I rented a 16ft Penske truck and car puller. I noticed that they require you to stop at weigh stations. I found a thread on here that says you don't really have to if you are hauling PERSONAL items. I also noticed that they we all pretty talking about different weights and truck sizes. most of the trucks they were talking about were the larger moving trucks. So, with a 16ft truck going from VA to LA will I need to stop in the weigh stations?

[ranger17]

id suggest checking with your rental location. I drove a 26' uhaul down here from WI and passed several open stops. Didn't have one trooper chase me down. And I believe from my route driving days that if you didn't need a cdl you didn't need to stop.
But i'd confirm with those who rented it to you; they ( hopefully ) are familiar with the truck and what is required.

[DreamWeavin]

no, not with personal items. No stopping required

Originally Posted by WVfatboy

I'm getting ready to move from Virginia to Louisiana. I rented a 16ft Penske truck and car puller. I noticed that they require you to stop at weigh stations. I found a thread on here that says you don't really have to if you are hauling PERSONAL items. I also noticed that they we all pretty talking about different weights and truck sizes. most of the trucks they were talking about were the larger moving trucks. So, with a 16ft truck going from VA to LA will I need to stop in the weigh stations?

[BlueyedCat]

No; I moved from Louisiana to California back in the 90's and I never stopped at them. I had the biggest moving truck they make and was pulling a car and dolly. And the truck and car was loaded to the max! You won't have any problem.

[jkwing]

Law requires you to stop at all weigh stations, I have over 30 years in the moving business. While some peole don't stop, they are taking a chance of getting a ticket. The weigh station don't know what you are hauling or that it is just personal items,They can and some times WILL pull you over.

[DreamWeavin]

you can claim to be anything here...............but you are wrong about the weigh stations.

OP-you do NOT have to stop at weigh stations.

Originally Posted by jkwing

Law requires you to stop at all weigh stations, I have over 30 years in the moving business. While some peole don't stop, they are taking a chance of getting a ticket. The weigh station don't know what you are hauling or that it is just personal items,They can and some times WILL pull you over.

[jkwing]

This is just the Florida Law, most states have similar programs, this

Florida weigh stations are modern wonders. They have a sophisticated weigh-in-motion system that let’s you fly through them (unless, of course, you are overweight or one of the lucky few to be chosen for a random inspection). They use PrePass. If you don’t have PrePass or if you get the red light, you are likely to get the arrow for the bypass lane where the speed limit is usually 35 mph or even 45 mph. If you are directed to the static scale (where you have to stop to be weighed), their computers inform the officers inside what your exact weights- gross and axle- are.

Florida truck scales also generally have driver facilities including bathroom facilities and pay phones- Florida DOT says some of these facilities have showers available. They call them "comfort stations," though we don't know any drivers who are truly comfortable when parked in a weigh station.

According to Florida DOT, drivers who park in the weigh stations will NOT be hassled in any way. A driver can park without having to worry that a DOT officer is going to ask for his logbook or perform a vehicle inspection on his truck when he gets up. If, however, an officer notices an obvious violation- such as a flat tire or cracked rim, the driver will be notified after he gets up and will need to have repairs made.

All commercial vehicles are required to cross the weigh stations.no matter how small the vehicle is. Anyone renting a truck for personal use is not required to cross the scales, but the weigh masters suggest that rental trucks go ahead and exit at the weigh stations. The scale masters can't tell whether a rental truck is being used commercially or not, so they may chase down a rental truck that passes by the scale without stopping. Generally, a rental truck that obeys the weigh station speed limit will be directed into the bypass lanes and return to the freeway.

[jkwing]

if in doubt, just go through, like I said they don't know who is and is not a commercial mover and they can and will stop you if they want to, So just avoid the hassle, take the 5 mins it takes and go through the scale

[M3 Mitch]

I think this is a question of state law so it probably has about 50 right answers. I do remember stopping in several western states and my impression is that at the time I was legally required to stop, but since the truck weight was way below any sort of regulatory concern they would wave me on as soon as I stopped.

[cynwldkat]

We drove clear across the US and we never stopped at any weigh stations and our truck was 27 ft. Maybe we were suppose to but no one ever gave us a chase or stopped us!
Maybe we were just lucky!