rumor has it that David wrote: > I dunno, personally I think the dump trailers in Washington state that > have 12 foot long tongues are pretty weird! I assume the weight limits > there must be based on length?
Kinda. It's probably because of what called "bridge law" and because it's practical - and it's not just it WA. Bridge law: (CAUTION: This is a super simplified version!!) The maximum allowed gross vehicle weight in reduced if the distance between axles is not enough. Thus a 5-axle truck/trailer is normally limited to 80,000 lbs GVW., but if it's a really short trailer it will be overweight if the GVW is 80,000 lbs. Practical reason. The truck can dump _without_ unhitching from the trailer. Philip, always happy to drive past a weight scale.