CDL for 33K# Cabover?

[newbury]

<snip>
Personally I would just get the CDL. It's not very expensive compared to a stickler cop that wants to hit you with a huge fine should the law be 'interpreted wrong'.

Easy to write.
CDL cost $$ to get MAY increase your insurance and makes you abide by a whole new set of rules.

I just drove from Mississippi to Virginia and it took me about 16 hours. I don't think that's OK with a CDL.

 

[4Papa]

If you could get a residential exemption, you would definitely have to have a 'not for hire' located somewhere on the truck.

Personally I would just get the CDL. It's not very expensive compared to a stickler cop that wants to hit you with a huge fine should the law be 'interpreted wrong'.

You might have a point. An interesting can of worms I opened. I will drill down on the RMV regs. Thanks again guys.

 

[DK35vince]

Easy to write.
CDL cost $$ to get MAY increase your insurance and makes you abide by a whole new set of rules.

CDL's also include needing driver phisicals, and then there are the random drug test and alcohol breathalizer tests that come with it.

 

[madmax12]

Well, if ryder and uhaul can register their vehicles for a lesser GVW... Maybe the OP can too?

I agree that if the only reason the OP got a CDL is to drive a truck for personal use, that would be bringing with it a lot of baggage.

 

[WM75Guy]

In Texas any vehicle 26001 GVWR and up requires a Class B. There is a Class B CDL and a Class B Non-CDL operators for the 6 exempt vehicles listed, such as farm use with the 150 mile radius, firefighting, RV, etc. The written and the driving test are the same, you do not need the medical or get any endorsements such as airbrakes with the Non-CDL. You must take the driving test in a vehicle 26001 GVWR or higher. Someone with the proper license must drive the vehicle to the testing station and yes they do check that.

 

[Rock knocker]

CDL's also include needing driver phisicals, and then there are the random drug test and alcohol breathalizer tests that come with it.

Which are enforced at the employer level, thereby if you are not a professional driver either employed by a company or self-employed, this would not be a requirement.

 

[Rock knocker]

When u r moving yourself or friends, u can rent a class b truck with no truck experience at all. Ryder, u haul... Perhaps u could ask them a few questions and compare your new truck ratings with the ones they rent out to college kids.

They get away with this by registering the trucks for a max of 25999 lbs, even though mechanically they can carry more.

Actually, probably not. This used to be a common dodge, but the rules have been tightened in many if not all states, and trucks must now be licensed for at least as much as their name-tag GVW.

If and how rental companies rent >26K lbs trucks, I do not know. From past experience, I know that the rental fleets have large amounts of voluminous box trucks rated at 25,999 lbs.

But getting back to the initial premise, here are the Federal regulations:
Definitions. - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
which clearly define a commercial vehicle as one based on the manufacturers GVW and one working in commerce. There used to be a huge variation in chauffeur license requirements throughout the states, but the US Federal Motor Carrier Administration and the DOT, using interstate commerce as their leve, have made these much more uniform. This effort started during the Reagan administration.

 

[Texan4Life]

I would first see about registering it at 25,999 lbs. If you can, do it and avoid the hassles that come with a CDL. I don't know if it is because im young, but I get the book thrown at me with no leeway if i get pulled over in my personal vehicle compared to when i didn't have a CDL. Also the judges gave me no leeway aswell even with legal representation. So I'm at 2 strikes already. And they were honest mistakes. I get made fun of all the time cuz I drive the speed limit everywhere.

I have yet to be pulled over in a truck tho. And yeah any tickets in your personal vehicle count against the CDL, 3 violations and it gets suspended. I think the count resets after 3yrs.
If you do get a CDL (or others that have them) I highly recommend getting a membership with Drivers Legal.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I don't think Uhaul etc are registering lower than rated - they can't. Only way is if they DE-RATE the vehicle.

Uhaul shoes a Gross vehicle weight: 20,000 lbs. max. as their MAX size truck.
Penske is under unless you go commercial truck rental.
Enterprise shows 9,000 to 11,000 lbs. payload on their 26 footer. So the GVW would be under also.

I don't believe they are registering class B trucks under their DVW - what would be the upside. They don't want the general population to haul heavy loads any way.

 

[madmax12]

I would first see about registering it at 25,999 lbs. If you can, do it and avoid the hassles that come with a CDL. I don't know if it is because im young, but I get the book thrown at me with no leeway if i get pulled over in my personal vehicle compared to when i didn't have a CDL. Also the judges gave me no leeway aswell even with legal representation. So I'm at 2 strikes already. And they were honest mistakes. I get made fun of all the time cuz I drive the speed limit everywhere.

I have yet to be pulled over in a truck tho. And yeah any tickets in your personal vehicle count against the CDL, 3 violations and it gets suspended. I think the count resets after 3yrs.
If you do get a CDL (or others that have them) I highly recommend getting a membership with Drivers Legal.

Excellent points. The rules keep changing. In the last decade, the log book / hours of service / sleep rules have changed a few times. The whole TWIC program is another challenge if u r transporting via ports.

And the CDL applying to personal vehicle use is another thing most don't realize. Potentially, that was the best point on the thread for the OP. Having a CDL forces him under a much stricter standard / penalty... Even if he is on his motorcycle.

Excellent post, Texan4Life.