Can I legally tow a 20,000 lb. trailer with my F-450?
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Johnagain said:
You're confusing what your truck is "rated" for with what the goberment allows you to tow.
You can tow a 14K trailer, empty or full up to 14K, as long as you meet 2 criteria:
1. You don't operate a combination of vehicles (truck or truck & trailer) that exceed the 26,000 limit that your standard licence allows you to
and
2. You don't exceed the GCWR of your truck.
So let's say you have a pickup with a GCWR of 24,000 lbs. In that scenario, your truck could pull a 14K trailer provided that you have the proper hitch and your truck weighs less than 10,000lbs. That way your combination of truck & trailer is at/under 24K, meeting your truck manufacturer's 24K limit AND you're under the licence limit of 26K.
Clear as mud?
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civesnedfield
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Tractor trailers in some states for license description were caled articulated vehicles. When I first got my license in the state of NJ for tractor trailer it was labled "Articulated Vehicle License"Builder said:"Articulated vehicles?" An articulated vehicle is like a 4 wheel loader that scoops gravel in a quarry that pivots in the middle.
A class B CDL enables you to lawfully drive any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more or any such vehicle towing a vehicle having a GVWR of not more than 10,000lbs.
Since I have my class A CDL, it doesn't matter. I drive what I want.
civesnedfield
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This is from a gov't site just a clarification of the GVR's for the different classes of license
Classes of License:
The Federal standard requires States to issue a CDL to drivers according to the following license classifications:
Class A -- Any combination of vehicles with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
Class B -- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.
Class C -- Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is placarded for hazardous materials.
Endorsements and Restrictions:
Drivers who operate special types of CMVs also need to pass additional tests to obtain any of the following endorsements on their CDL:
T - Double/Triple Trailers (Knowledge test only)
P - Passenger (Knowledge and Skills Tests)
N - Tank Vehicle (Knowledge Test only)
H - Hazardous Materials (Knowledge Test only)
X - Combination of Tank Vehicle and Hazardous Materials
If a driver either fails the air brake component of the general knowledge test or performs the skills test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes, the driver is issued an air brake restriction, restricting the driver from operating a CMV equipped with air brakes.
I found the description here
Commercial Driver's License Program (CDL/CDLIS) - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Classes of License:
The Federal standard requires States to issue a CDL to drivers according to the following license classifications:
Class A -- Any combination of vehicles with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
Class B -- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.
Class C -- Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is placarded for hazardous materials.
Endorsements and Restrictions:
Drivers who operate special types of CMVs also need to pass additional tests to obtain any of the following endorsements on their CDL:
T - Double/Triple Trailers (Knowledge test only)
P - Passenger (Knowledge and Skills Tests)
N - Tank Vehicle (Knowledge Test only)
H - Hazardous Materials (Knowledge Test only)
X - Combination of Tank Vehicle and Hazardous Materials
If a driver either fails the air brake component of the general knowledge test or performs the skills test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes, the driver is issued an air brake restriction, restricting the driver from operating a CMV equipped with air brakes.
I found the description here
Commercial Driver's License Program (CDL/CDLIS) - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Not to change the subject but once the truck and trailer weight is subtracted I wonder how much (typically) is left for the load. It seems a trailer rated 7 tons would need to weight less than 2 ton to carry a 5 ton machine. When purchasing a machine, and having only a regular license, you best keep the thing 10k or less. If I was purchasing, say a full size backhoe loader, I might be looking for one with a 25+ mph road speed rather than spend a bunch of money on a large truck, trailer and license upgrade to go 50mph.
jmf
jmf
Johnagain
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Builder said:
This was my understanding all along but I got confused after reading some previous posts. Thanks for confirming what I already thought I knew.
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jmfox said:
Whatever is left over is legal up to 26K. If the truck weighs 8K empty and the trailer weighs 6K empty, the total empty weight is 14K. That leaves a legal cargo capacity of 12K. That total (26K) still falls within the 26K limit set forth by the law in most states.
Even if your truck only has a GCWR of 22K and a GVWR of 10K, you can still pull a 12K trailer since the total is at/under the manufacturer's 22K rating and well under the law's 26K rating.
That's just not true. You can operate any combination of vehicles up to 26,000lbs. So you can legally tow well over a 10K trailer without any special licence. The best thing to do is check your state laws, but in PA and in most other states, you can pull over a 10K trailer so long as the combination does not exceed 26K. It's that simple. You must also make sure your hitch is rated for the trailer weight you desire to pull and your truck has a manufacturer's GCWR for the combination of weight you wish to pull.
I "road" my backhoe a lot when the jobs are local. I have a dumptruck and just borrow a trailer when it needs to go a longer distance. However, this is not as easy as you think. Many states are cracking down on equipment driven over the road.
You can pull anything under 26k, but since weight is gross, the weight of the truck and trailer will take up much of it. If you have a 20 ton machine there is no way you can expect to move it without a special license, since the truck and trailer would need to weigh less than 6k. I would like to hear about some pickup truck and trailer combinations that produce a maximum trailer payload. That is, who has the lightest truck that can handle a gross combination weight of 26k and a trailer that can carry the greatest payload for its weight. Does anyone have a combination that can carry more than 16k? That would leave 10k for the truck and trailer. The subject of this thread: F-450, weighs about 9k so the trailer would need to weight 1k and carry 16k. Not likely, but you get the idea.
jmf
jmf
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john_bud said:
I guess it is a matter of integrity as well, some truck designs are just better than others. This is what I'm interested in, a truck that handles (legal) a surprising amount of weight for its size. For example, I was surprised that the Nissan Titan weighs about 5,000lbs and has a "maximum payload" of 9,400lbs, almost twice its weight.
BTW, If you want to feel wagging try driving an empty semi in the rockies.
jmf
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