I am a Deputy employed by the Harris County Sheriff's Office and assigned as a certified CMV inspector with the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit of the Vehicular Crimes Division. Today I stopped this trailer in combination with a Dodge Ram 3500 (gvwr 14k). The trailer was a model DE162 with gooseneck dump trailer a pair of 10k axles along with suspension, tires, and wheels consistent with a 10k pound rating. The GVWR on the decal showed 12000 lbs. The decal also showed the trailer was manufactured with the 2 10k axles. A computer search of the year, make, and model showed the GVWR should be 22000 lbs requiring the driver to have a Class A CDL license. I contacted PJ and verified they manufactured the trailer with the 12000 gvwr. In my opinion the only reason to do this is to circumvent CDL laws and it constitutes a hazard to the public by willfully allowing drivers to operate large vehicles requiring extensive training without any training at all. They are clearly prioritizing profit over safety.
- NHTSA ID
- 11570476
- Incident
- Feb 7, 2024