Any downsides to getting a CDL?

[Jcoon]

The first stupid part....imo....is that it goes off of gvwr and not gvw.

here is what you are wrong about, it only goes off GVWR, it actually can go off GVW also.

 

[Jcoon]

Oh if only it were that simple.

Simple should be I have my truck and 25' trailer. No hitch, axle, or tire is overloaded. combined weight is 22k. I should be good to go.

But no.....its a 24k trailer ....and since its "rated" for far more (Making me alot safer than towing the load on a 12k trailer).....now all of the sudden one needs a CDL to tow commercially.

I dont understand how taking two tires off each axle....building the trailer to lighter duty standards, putting smaller brakes on it, and giving it a sticker with a different number makes it so much safer as to not require one to obtain a CDL to haul the EXACT SAME LOAD

here is the problem, we let you go by actual weight, now you can tow 26,000 pounds no matter what the ratings are of the units, now theres nothing say you cant put a 20,000 pound piece of equipment on a 1/2 ton pick up with a tandem axle car trailer, because there are no ratings to go by, you just cant go over 26,000 actual pounds.

the other issue that WILL arise, now you have a trailer that is rated for way more weight, now you want to haul that much because well... "the trailer sticker says I can!" oh but wait, now I cant because I do not have that stupid CDL class A, why is the number 26,000 pounds? im not a big tractor trailer?? why cant I weigh 30,000 actual pounds? all my ratings on my units say I can.

there has to be a cut off somewhere, and 26,001 GVWR or GVW and or 26,001 GCVWR or GCVW is the numbers they decided on.

I don't know what else to tell you lol

 

[ddbackhoe]

There痴 not very many roll backs capable of hauling the backhoe and I don稚 know of any towing company that has one. And they won稚 make a short distance haul for $4 a mile. All the towing company rollbacks around here are single axle. A few of the dealers have tandems.

maybe more than you think...An f-650 chassis has a GVW of 26000, a Cat 420 weighs 16,000. Quite a few towing companies also have trailers available. Some have tractors and roll back trailers. They make money by moving stuff from place to place. A more successful business relies on what may be done, rather than deciding what can't be done.

Wish I could find one of my pics. We had an old Oliver Cletrac track loader (12kish). Brought in a 50 ton wrecker to pick it up and load onto a single axle roll back on a Sunday afternoon. The rollback took it to NJ for prep to it's new home in British Columbia. Pick up and delivery from southern Md. to Trenton, NJ (200+) was $700.00.

 

[Jcoon]

If my truck GCVWR is rated at 14,000 lbs, the truck and it's payload without trailer weighs 7,000 lbs (including tongue weight of the trailer) can I tow an EMPTY trailer with a 14,000 lb GVWR that weighs 3,000 lbs?

Truck AND EMPTY trailer total actual weight 9,000 lbs
Truck GCVWR 14,000
Truck GVWR (7,000 lbs) and trailer GVWR (14,000lbs) equals 21,000 lbs. So the TOTAL RATINGS are far exceed the limits. Is that legal?

To get it down in smaller numbers I'm getting a Ford Transit Connect. It has a Weight-Carrying Max. Trailer capacity of 2,000 lbs. Can I legally tow my EMPTY Hudson HSE DELUXE 5 TON trailer which has a GVWR of 12,000 lbs? It's weight is 2,000 lbs.

if your truck can tow 2,000 pounds and your trailer weighs 2,000 pounds, then yes, I mean, are you trying to make a trick question or something?

as for as weights, you cannot exceed your ratings by actual weights, we do not put you over your ratings by other ratings, it has to be actual weights. but licensing goes by ratings or actual weights.

 

[LD1]

here is what you are wrong about, it only goes off GVWR, it actually can go off GVW also.

I NEVER said it "only" goes off GVWR.

Even though it kinda does as it pertains to this thread.

If your "actual weight" is over 26k....yep you need CDL. BUT, if you aren't over 26k "rating"...I think you have bigger problems with overloading your equipment.

As it pertains to THIS thread....the issue is wanting to tow a load UNDER 26k by several thousand pounds......yet STILL needing a CDL just for the simple fact that the equipment is built heavy duty and "rated" for more than 26k

 

[LD1]

here is the problem, we let you go by actual weight, now you can tow 26,000 pounds no matter what the ratings are of the units, now theres nothing say you cant put a 20,000 pound piece of equipment on a 1/2 ton pick up with a tandem axle car trailer, because there are no ratings to go by, you just cant go over 26,000 actual pounds.

the other issue that WILL arise, now you have a trailer that is rated for way more weight, now you want to haul that much because well... "the trailer sticker says I can!" oh but wait, now I cant because I do not have that stupid CDL class A, why is the number 26,000 pounds? im not a big tractor trailer?? why cant I weigh 30,000 actual pounds? all my ratings on my units say I can.

there has to be a cut off somewhere, and 26,001 GVWR or GVW and or 26,001 GCVWR or GCVW is the numbers they decided on.

I don't know what else to tell you lol

I'm not saying nor am I implying that either.

No matter what you tow, be it suv with a landscape trailer or a class 7 dump with a tag trailer. You can NEVER exceed axle/tire/hitch/trailer/truck ratings.

But being penalized for seeing the benefit of having a heavier duty trailer/axles/brakes is plain stupid IMO.

Answer me this....what's the difference between the following...
Single axle one ton + 14k rated trailer + 8000# tractor
Dually one ton + same trailer and tractor?

Or what's the difference between...
Dually one ton + 12k trailer + 7k tractor
Dually one ton + 14k trailer + same tractor

 

[Jcoon]

well then why not just use a full blown low boy to haul your 8,000 pound tractor? you just want to be safe right?

not saying you want to go that far, but if you worked in this field, you would find out that there are indeed people out there that think like this..

 

[Jcoon]

I NEVER said it "only" goes off GVWR.

Even though it kinda does as it pertains to this thread.

If your "actual weight" is over 26k....yep you need CDL. BUT, if you aren't over 26k "rating"...I think you have bigger problems with overloading your equipment.

As it pertains to THIS thread....the issue is wanting to tow a load UNDER 26k by several thousand pounds......yet STILL needing a CDL just for the simple fact that the equipment is built heavy duty and "rated" for more than 26k

unfortunately, its all about the "what if's"

like I said, the unit GVWR's limit people, if all we went by was actual weight, and it was 26,000 actual pounds, but unit 1 GVWR is 15,000 and unit 2 GVWR is 15,000, by the rules you want the driver would be fine with a class D, (in NY class D is regular non CDL license)

but now....

well my GCVWR is 30,000 pounds, I bought a new heavier tractor, now I weigh actual 29,000 pounds, my equipment is fine to haul it though???

so you want us to make him have a CDL class A on the day he weighs 29,000 pounds, but the day he weighs 26,000 pounds he's ok?

the problem is he has the capability to haul over 26,000 pounds, therefor they say he needs a cdl class A. we cant simply trust everyone to not exceed the 26,000 pound actual weight.

 

[Jcoon]

if want you to drive more weight down the road with a non CDL, buy a truck with a GVWR of 26,000 lbs and get a trailer with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds, there... you can weigh 36,000 pounds combined but still have a non cdl.

 

[4570Man]

I can’t get the trailer under 10k otherwise we wouldn’t be in this problem. And people pull 10 ton goosenecks all the time around here and don’t get tickets. That law either doesn’t exist or isn’t enforced here.