Any downsides to getting a CDL?

[Doofy]

I was grandfathered in and just had to pass the written test. My employer paid the $100 license fee and away we went. I think in 20 years, I was pee tested twice.

 

[4570Man]

Do I still have to deal with worse penalties while driving my normal person vehicle? I’ve only had 1 ticket which isn’t on my record so probably not a big deal either way. Do I have to put commercial insurance on my normal person vehicle?

 

[bdog]

The penalty deal with a CDL is this - with a normal license when you get a ticket you can take defensive driving or do a deference where you pay a fee and don’t get a ticket for 60-90 days and in both instances the ticket gets dropped and does not go on your driving record. This is a big deal as tickets on your driving record greatly affect your insurance rates. With a CDL you can no longer erase tickets with defensive driving or a deferment even if the tickets were received in a personal car.

You don’t need any special insurance on your personal vehicles due to having a CDL. You do have to get the dot physical every two years and they are real sticklers about it. It is linked to your license and if you fail to get the physical they downgrade your CDL and you must completely retest to get it back.

The one thing you may be overlooking is the CDL is only half the battle. Getting it let’s you drive as an employee for someone who is a private or for hire carrier. That is someone who has a DOT number, commercial insurance, UCR, IFTA & IRP if interstate, driver qualification files, vehicle records, etc. If you are getting the CDL to drive your own commercial vehicle then you have to do all this stuff.

 

[4570Man]

I don’t plan on being a freight company and I could live without even driving in the interstate. Would I still have to do that?

 

[Katahdin]

I looked into it, thought it would be interesting and a backup source of income.

Cons:

The cost was high, the local school wanted $6K for Class A training.

If I did get the license and not go straight into a trucking job, then you might not get hired because you lacked experience.

I ended up not pursuing it and stick to vehicles just under 26K GVWR for my own personal hobby use.

 

[mikester]

I知 thinking of getting a CDL and buying a single axle semi because theyæ±*e cheap and way more capable than a ton truck. I can also see myself owning a real dump truck in the future. I値l probably have get a dot physical every year. Am I missing anything else?

Depending on your jurisdiction you may:

1. No longer be able to do things like repair your own vehicle brakes because you will have to go to a licensed truck repair
2. Need commercial insurance that can be expensive and cost prohibitive unless you have at least 5 years demonstrable insured experience driving that type of vehicle
3. You may have to get annual vehicle safety inspections done at licensed facilities
4. You may have to keep and maintain a lot of documentation to satisfy bureaucrats
5. Pay for annual licensing of vehicle and business, the bigger the vehicle, the more expensive it gets
6. You may be forced into limiting your working/driving/on-duty hours based on CDL restrictions which means your truck will be sitting more taking longer to pay off unless you hire an employee to drive the vehicle when you aren't
7. Smaller vehicles mean you have less earning potential because you carry less billable weight
8. Be subject to roadside vehicle and load inspections and fines to alter your behaviour

Basically expect to have a significant annual cash outlays and paperwork to do before you can even start your truck to earn any income. Around here bureaucrats, lawyers and insurance companies are doing everything they can to kill small business...a lot of that is due to too many "Bob and a truck" operators driving 20 hour days to try and make ends meet, talking on cell phones, skimping on inspections and maintenance, and ending up in nasty accidents killing drivers of small vehicles who don't understand to concept of vehicle weight vs stopping distances in highway traffic.

Your best advice is to get your CDL and work as an employee driver for at least 3 years before you buy that truck. Get paid to learn the ins and outs with a lot less hassle than being an OO.

 

[JJZ 109]

I知 going to go check out the local truck driving school. If it痴 not expensive or a large time frame I値l do that. Otherwise I値l wing it. BTW, I知 not interested in being a truck driver but it痴 required for the test.

There are a couple of CDL schools in my area. I think they both make accommodations for night and weekend classes if you can't go sit through a daily class for X period of time.
CDL drivers are getting to be in demand anymore with people dropping out due to ELD, physicals, drug tests, etc. I drive for a USPS contractor part time, because that's all I want. I interviewed and was offered a job with the local branch of a national company driving dump truck. But I said no to (5) 12 hour days per week and often an additional 8 on Saturday. I didn't retire from a 40 hour job to work 68 hours for someone else.

 

[JJZ 109]

I can think of a few draw backs, increased cost of the license, higher penalties for driving infractions, no classes for points reduction, cost of physical (must be DOT approved Dr.) If you keep your "Nose" clean it's mainly the cost. I've found no way to deduct it on taxes.

Yup, $180 to renew mine last year. $125 cash for the physical, not covered by my insurance. If you're on blood pressure medicine or any of a few other reasons you'll be taking the physical every year, not every 2.
But I make a pretty good buck as a part time guy for a mail hauler so it's worth it to me.

 

[bdog]

I don’t plan on being a freight company and I could live without even driving in the interstate. Would I still have to do that?

Being a freight company or not doesn't matter. About the only difference in hauling you own stuff around commercially and hauling for hire for others is the need for a MC number.

And by interstate I didn't mean on the interstate I meant crossing state lines. With commercial vehicles there are completely different rules once you cross state lines vs if you just stayed in your state.

If you are driving a vehicle that requires a CDL to operate you pretty much have to do all that stuff unless it is strictly personal like a huge RV, or something like that. If you are hauling your equipment to go do a job for someone that is a commercial venture and you need all the DOT stuff.

 

[4570Man]

To all the post talking about a trucking company or full time driver. That’s not what I’m wanting to do. I’m waiting to buy a semi truck that aren’t very expensive compared to a diesel 1 ton to pull my backhoe. If it’s as bad as some of these post say I’ll have to skip the idea and buy a light duty kodiak with hydraulic brakes.