Needed CDL?

[ChrsDrn]

I have read many threads about truck and trailer options where people warn of going over 26k truck and 10K trailer would require getting a CDL license. But you only need a CDL if you use your truck for comercial reasons. if this was not true you would need to carry a DOT medical certificate every time your combined truck trailer weight was over 10K. All the private owner needs to do is not overload your truck/trailer and legally you should be fine. these are federal regs so they should not vary from state to state.
Chris

 

[john_bud]

I have read many threads about truck and trailer options where people warn of going over 26k truck and 10K trailer would require getting a CDL license. But you only need a CDL if you use your truck for comercial reasons. if this was not true you would need to carry a DOT medical certificate every time your combined truck trailer weight was over 10K. All the private owner needs to do is not overload your truck/trailer and legally you should be fine. these are federal regs so they should not vary from state to state.
Chris

You are giving bad advice.

Please research the topic before you post incorrect information that can get people in $$$ trouble $$$$ with the law.

jb

 

[LBrown59]

I have read many threads about truck and trailer options where people warn of going over 26k truck and 10K trailer would require getting a CDL license.
1*But you only need a CDL if you use your truck for comercial reasons.
if this was not true you would need to carry a DOT medical certificate every time your combined truck trailer weight was over 10K. All the private owner needs to do is not overload your truck/trailer and legally you should be fine.
2*these are federal regs so they should not vary from state to state.
Chris

1*And just what is comercial and personal ?
2*A state can make rules that are more stringent than the fed laws so your statement is not correct.

 

[deereguy]

I take Chris's OP as a question, not as a fact. He is asking do you need a CDL if you are using the truck/trailer for a personal use not for commerce.

An example I am thinking of... Horse farmer has a under CDL 16' dump truck (ie Ford F650) and a 10K (25' Deckover) and purchases his hay (50 miles away) for his horse boarding facility... does he need a CDL?
He uses the truck for hauling manure to a local farm, gravel, etc and is registered as a farm truck. Now what does he need for license?

 

[JB4310]

Not sure but if he's farming for profit sounds like commercial, typically personal use does not come under all the scrutiny.

Look at all the RVers going down the road heavier than some construction company truck/trailer combo's.

This topic could have it's own forum, for all the confusion out there.
I've got a top DMV's official in my Rolodex, his primary function is this subject, I call him on occasion with questions and after I get off the phone with him I'm still not sure what he just explained to me, or how it relates to my situation

 

[Secret Squirrel]

But you only need a CDL if you use your truck for comercial reasons.

Not true.

All the private owner needs to do is not overload your truck/trailer and legally you should be fine.

Not true.

Rusty

 

[ChrsDrn]

My post was more of a ? than a statement... I talked with a NH-DOT inspector once he said CDL is for comercial only... see lots of peoples trucks with stickers "not for hire"... if individual state can make their laws more strindgent how do actual truck drivers stay legal.
Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

I take Chris's OP as a question, not as a fact. He is asking do you need a CDL if you are using the truck/trailer for a personal use not for commerce.

An example I am thinking of... Horse farmer has a under CDL 16' dump truck (ie Ford F650) and a 10K (25' Deckover) and purchases his hay (50 miles away) for his horse boarding facility... does he need a CDL?
He uses the truck for hauling manure to a local farm, gravel, etc and is registered as a farm truck. Now what does he need for license?

He does not need a CDL because there is a exemption for farmers. He can travel within 100 miles of the farm without a CDL.

Recreational Vehicles, RV's, Boats, and other personal property if not for hire do not fall under the rules. Now if you are taking a tractor to a friends house to do him a favor then that is considered for hire because the assumption is you will be getting a favor back in return at some time.

The statement you made about not overloading is the key phrase. Most trucks fall at 24K GCWR unless you step up to a F-450 sized truck so you will always be under the 26K rule if loaded legally. For example my F-350 has a 24,000# GCWR and weighs 7,600# so I can legally tow 16,400#. Obviously that is over 10,000# but under 26,000# but either way I am not for hire.

Chris

 

[MarkV]

For example my F-350 has a 24,000# GCWR and weighs 7,600# so I can legally tow 16,400#. Obviously that is over 10,000# but under 26,000# but either way I am not for hire.

Chris

Chris are you sure? I understood it to be that if the trailer were over 10K, or the truck/trailer combination over 26k, or the truck by itself loaded over 26k, you needed a CDL. Is that wrong?

MarkV

 

[Skyco]

The over 10k trailer varies by state, I live in SC and do not need any special license to haul a trailer over 10k as long as my total is under 26k. I have property in NC that if I lived there I would need a special license (I think it is a class A "cdl") to haul a trailer over 10k, even if just for personal use, which it is.