You are a hard working handyman or handywoman, contractor, construction worker, or a landscaper, and you are always on the go. You live in the suburbs, and you put on a ton of miles on your trusty heavy duty pickup. Simply, you cannot put bread on the table without your vehicle.
On the other hand, you may be an avid outdoors enthusiast and you own a heavy duty truck to tow your boat and/or your big camping trailer. Maybe you fall into both categories? Whatever the case is, you are a proud owner of a big vehicle with a Cummins, Powerstroke, or Duramax badge on it.
So, it’s time to upgrade your workhorse to the latest state of the art diesel machine. Naturally, you need a spacious 4 door crew model with a stout 8 foot bed and a 4 wheel drive system. Thankfully, you have a good choice between the “Big Three”. While you are pouring through reams of specs sheets, tow rating, and other information – please take note of the unloaded Curb Weight of your next truck. This is not only important for efficiency and performance reasons, but you also need to be aware whether your brand new HD pickup is welcome back into your neighborhood.
Have you ever noticed this sign at the entrance to your neighborhood?
For a casual observer this sign is ignorable, but an owner of an HD pickup may take notice. A 7,000 empty weight limit? What? Your common Bentley Mulsanne or a Range Rover tip the scales past 5,700lbs! What about my dually? According to this Pickuptrucks.com report a diesel crewcab can weigh anywhere from 7,420 lbs to pavement crushing 8,540 lbs in unladen form. Is this a cause for concern? What is this sign about? Since rules and regulations differ from one town to the next – please contact your city authorities and/or HOA to learn more.
I noticed several of these signs around my neighborhood and contacted my city authorities for an explanation. I got a prompt response and they explained that these particular signs are meant to discourage commercial traffic through the neighborhood and protect the piece and safety of the residents.
However, these signs are now out of date according to the latest city code, and the residential empty weight limit has been raised from 7,000 to 10,000. They also informed me that these signs will be removed. So, no need to panic! All is well again in the ‘hood. At least until the next redesign of the HD pickups, which (who knows) may require the owners to get a Commercial Driving License and another amendment to the city code.
Andre Smirnov is a Software Engineer by trade and a life-long automotive enthusiast. On the weekends – you may find him at a car show, an auction, watching a race, or tinkering in the garage. When not working or spending time with the family – he often scours the internet and other media for various automotive, mechanical, and computer related information.
Follow on twitter @TFLcar or watch latest car
review videos on YouTube.
