Confused on GVW please help a rookie out!

Gross vehicle weight rating

 

I have a Cascadia grossing 140,000 lbs pulling super b-train trailers.
The 60k rating would be for a straight truck.

 

It means the frame and suspension can hold 60k.
But it really comes down to how you spec it out. Normal legal weight is 12k on steers, 34k drives, 34k on trailer tandems. On this setup, the tractor is only weighing in at 46k total.

 

It is the amount the truck weighs and any load you have on the truck. Total of 60,000 pounds.

so no more then 60k lbs sitting on the wheels?
60,000 minus the weight of the truck. Truck weighs, 20,000. Maximum weight you can carry on the truck would be 40,000.

 

That 60,000 does not include a trailer ...

If you get it spec'd too heavy, and only haul light or medium loads ... it will beat you to death ... in a standard class 8 five axle truck/trailer setup ... over 13,000 on the steer is overkill in my opinion ... I just got a '17 KW 680 with a 13,200 front, and 20,000 each drive (sometimes refered to as 40k rears) over 75k gross, it is not too bad, but still rough ... 50,000 gross is horrible! Not sure why boss spec'd it this way, as we rarely go over 50K gross ... ???

Most interstates will allow you up to 20,000 on your steer axle, IF the axle, AND tires are rated for it ... some states restrict steer axle to 12,000 on their state roads, but not the interstate ...

When you say you want to haul heavy ... does this mean over 80,000 pound gross (truck and trailer, plus load)? As this will usually mean you will need overweight permits in each state ... and possibly a special trailer ...