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Commercial truck classification in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 is done based on the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
Gross vehicle weight rating

A gross vehicle weight rating is the maximum allowable total weight of a road vehicle or trailer when loaded - i.e including the weight of the vehicle itself plus fuel, passengers, cargo, and trailer tongue weight....
. The classes range from 1-8. It also done more broadly under the US DOT FHWA
Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program....
 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) standards, which groups Class 1 and 2 as "Light Duty", 3-5 as "Medium Duty", and 6-8 as "Heavy Duty".

Class 1 truck GVWR ranges from 0-6000 lbs. Examples of trucks in this class include the Toyota Tacoma
Toyota Tacoma

The Toyota Tacoma is a compact pickup truck manufactured by the Toyota Motor Company since 1995. It is essentially the Toyota Hilux modified and rebadged for North America....
 and GMC Sonoma.

Class 2 truck GVWR ranges from 6,001-10,000 lbs.






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Commercial truck classification in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 is done based on the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
Gross vehicle weight rating

A gross vehicle weight rating is the maximum allowable total weight of a road vehicle or trailer when loaded - i.e including the weight of the vehicle itself plus fuel, passengers, cargo, and trailer tongue weight....
. The classes range from 1-8. It also done more broadly under the US DOT FHWA
Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program....
 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) standards, which groups Class 1 and 2 as "Light Duty", 3-5 as "Medium Duty", and 6-8 as "Heavy Duty".

Classes


Class 1

The Class 1 truck GVWR ranges from 0-6000 lbs. Examples of trucks in this class include the Toyota Tacoma
Toyota Tacoma

The Toyota Tacoma is a compact pickup truck manufactured by the Toyota Motor Company since 1995. It is essentially the Toyota Hilux modified and rebadged for North America....
 and GMC Sonoma.

Class 2

The Class 2 truck GVWR ranges from 6,001-10,000 lbs. Examples of vehicles in this class include the Nissan Titan
Nissan Titan

The Nissan Titan introduced in 2004, is a full-size pickup truck produced for the North American market by Nissan Motors. The truck shares the stretched Nissan F-Alpha platform with the Nissan Armada and Infiniti QX56 SUVs, and is manufactured in Canton, Mississippi, United States....
 and the Ford E-250.

Class 3

The Class 3 truck GVWR ranges from 10,001-14,000 lbs. Examples of vehicles in this class include the Ford F-350 and the GMC Sierra 3500.

Class 4

The Class 4 truck GVWR ranges from 14,001-16,000 lbs. Examples of vehicles in this class include the Ford F-450 and the GMC W4500.

Class 5

The Class 5 truck GVWR ranges from 16,001-19,500 lbs. Examples of trucks in this class include the International MXT and GMC Topkick.

Class 6

The Class 6 truck GVWR ranges from 19,501-26,000 lbs. Examples of trucks in this class include the International Durastar
International Durastar

The International 4000 Series, also known as the International DuraStar line, is a medium duty truck.It is available in three variants, which are built on the same chassis....
  and GMC Topkick C5500.

Class 7

Triaxle Dump Truck 2005 10 06
Vehicles in class 7 and above require a commercial driver's license
Commercial driver's license

A Commercial Driver's License is required in the United States to operate any type of vehicle with a gross weight of 26,001 lb or over including tow trucks, tractor trailers and buses....
 to operate in the United States. Their GVWR ranges from 26,001-33,000 lbs. Examples of trucks in this class include the International TranStar
International Transtar

The International 8000 Series, also known as the International TranStar line, is a regional-haul Tractor unit. It is available in two variants....
 8500.

Class 8

The Class 8 truck GVWR is anything above 33,000 lbs.

Ton rating

When light-duty trucks were first produced, they were rated by their payload capacity in tons (e.g., 1/2-, 3/4- and 1-ton). The Ford F-150, Chevy/GMC 1500, and Dodge 1500 are a 1/2-ton. The Ford F-250, Chevy/GMC 2500, and Dodge 2500 are a 3/4-ton. The Ford F-350, Chevy/GMC 3500, and Dodge 3500 are a 1-ton. But throughout the years, the payload capacities have increased while the ton title has stayed the same. The current ton rating is nothing more than just a truck name.

See also

  • Car classification
    Car classification

    Car classification is subjectivity since many vehicles fall into multiple categories or do not fit well into any. Not all car types are common in all countries and names for the same vehicle can differ by region....