do you have to go thru weigh station when bobtailing?

Any vehicle with a DOT number on it, including but not limited to pickup trucks, has to enter an open scale and to be on the TTR safe side I'll state the obvious that you can bypass an open scale if you have prepass and a green light.

 

LOL! Yes, even Optimus, but not Bee (Bumble Bee that is. )

 

In some states the sign says all vehicles over 5 ton must enter scale. I take it you don't know what your tractor weighs? I'm going to bet well over 5 ton.

 

Every time I come home I drop my trailer at the yard and bobtail home. I cross a scale
coming and returning. I enter every time. North Carolina isn't a Prepass State. They have their own system. They do have a bypass lane and I've gotten that lane every time. Never sent to the scale lane. Better safe than sorry....

 

Most states signs say commercial vehicles over 26,000 pounds GVW and your tractor alone has a GVW above that.

 

Are you sure you are not getting GVWR and GVW mixed up? My tractor does not weight more than 26k even with full tanks. Full of fuel with an empty reefer trailer (also full of fuel) I weigh out at just under 34k.

 

One trip bobtailing from DFW to OKC, after dropping a steel stage trailer, I had fun with an OK scalemaster. I drove right up to the scale and then made a sharp turn to the left around the scale.

He almost came through the window yelling at me. Got a red light and told to park.

He came out and asked me what I thought I was doing. I told him I was from California and we don't drive over scales, we go to the empty lane.

I don't think he knew what to make of me. Asked to search the truck, I said sure. The tractor sleeper was empty except for my airplane carry on bag.

After 10 minutes of searching he said that I needed to understand that Oklahoma was not California in the future.

Yes it is a true story. I was bored

 

Yeah I did

 

All commercial vehicles of a specified weight IAW the laws of each state... some states, it's over 26K GVWR... others, it might be 8k, 10k, etc.
If you operate any commercial vehicle with a GVW of 10,001 lbs. or more, you're subject to roadside checks, etc.

Not to mention they're talking about the GVW, not the tare weight of the vehicle.

GVW and GVWR... can be considered one in the same, but if you want to split hairs, the latter is the one which matters. But I think you're confusing GVW/GVWR with tare weight... when they post a sign which says "trucks over XXX", they're talking about GVWR, unless the sign specifically says "empty weight" or something to that effect.
A tandem axle bobtail still has a GVWR of 52 - 54k (the variance comes when they start measuring wheelbase... for an OTR driver running at statutory weight, you're not going to have to deal with this so much... it's more OS/OD loads, local ag haulers, etc. who have to pay closer attention to this).

 

Don't most of them say 'all commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds must enter...'?
That would include any bobtail.

If you don't want to, get a PrePass.