Vehicle Weight Class

The eight-step scale that sorts vehicles by GVWR, from Class 1 under 6,000 pounds to Class 8 above 33,000 pounds. It is the common shorthand for vehicle size across the industry.

The Federal Highway Administration classification, as published by the Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, runs:

Class 1 under 6,000 lb · Class 2 6,001 to 10,000 lb
Class 3 10,001 to 14,000 lb · Class 4 14,001 to 16,000 lb · Class 5 16,001 to 19,500 lb · Class 6 19,501 to 26,000 lb
Class 7 26,001 to 33,000 lb · Class 8 above 33,000 lb

A typical public works fleet spans nearly the whole scale in a single garage: staff sedans and half-ton pickups in Classes 1 and 2, larger pickups and service bodies in Class 3, medium duty dumps and utility bodies through Classes 4 to 6, and refuse packers, fire apparatus and tandem plows in Classes 7 and 8.

Class 2 is the one to watch, because it is split in regulatory practice at 8,500 pounds into 2a and 2b. See Light Duty, Medium Duty and Heavy Duty for why that split causes more confusion than any other line on this chart.