Do I really need a 10k gvw?

BarryinMN · Dec 28, 2006

DANOCHEESE said:
Not to beat this to death Ok I will.

I have a need to haul a tractor and a few attachments a few times a year. 10,002 Lbs on trailer, Live in Minnesota. Will I need a CDL. DO I get to take my little old f350 to take the test. Also I will be crossing state lines. This is for my own use. No money being made. Property to property.

OR do I just get an enclosed trailer and put a surf board on the roof and call it an RV. Or get a trailer and derate the stickers to 9,999 kind of like they used to do with the outboard motors 9.9 horse so you could use them on lakes with an under 10 horse limit.

He He He

I think you should nail an outhouse on that trailer & deduct the interest expense as a second home

GreatWhitehunter · Dec 28, 2006

Barry, I would only haul for myself I'm just an average tractor nut. I think I'll talk to a few local dealers and get there take. Larry you seem to have pulled the facts out of the rule book for me and I appreciate it. The matter for me is someday I may want a large tractor or I'll need to rent a something and I want to have a trailer with a saftey factor. I think the 10k would be fine but there really isn't much difference in price so I feel it makes more sense to get the 12k. I phoned the DMV yesterday to try to get a handle on this. It was a huge waste of time and I still got no clear answer.

Matt T.

BarryinMN · Dec 28, 2006

LarryRB said:
Here is just one small example of why CT DOT misreaeds overall combination under 26K..

Congratulations you've been re-gifted.

The MN State Patrol 2-3 years ago had similar bureaucratic gibberish posted on its web site. Lasted until a trooper pulled over somebody with the Governors home # on speed dial.

Was good business for the MD doing DOT medical certs. 2 years ago he was in a basement office in an older building. This year he is in a brand new building and takes an entire upper floor.

DavesTractor · Dec 28, 2006

For the California readers, if you are pulling a trailer rated at over 10000#, you need a CDL. There are some farm exceptions and RV exceptions that allow more weight. If your pickup, like my 2006 Dodge dually, is rated at over 11,500 GVWR, then you are not a "pickup" as defined by California and you are technically required to pull through the scales, even without a trailer, and even if you have the factory pickup bed on it still. In speaking with the commercial enforcement guys, they are nailing guys for no CDL, but they really seem to prefer that we stay out of the scales. Also, if you are doing this commercially and the "pickup" is over 11500 and your trailer is over 10000, you are subject to terminal inspections, drug testing, MCP, CA, etc. Log books, daily inspections, and all of that apply also.

Oddly, when we called around about this, we got a lot of vague responses. It seems most of the highway patrol guys concern themselves with more important things that this, but when you get to the guys that really know this stuff, the law is clear.

Yes, you can take your CDL driving test with your F250 with a 12K trailer. If you are required to have a CDL to drive it, then it works for the test. Your CDL will be restricted to no air brakes, etc., but it will be a CDL.

Clearly these rules are enforced differently in other states, so what holds true here doesn't apply across the board.

In our case, since we have to comply with the same rules with our "pickup" as would with a real truck, my next rig will be something along the lines of an FL60. Such fun...too much government regulation.

I think I'd suggest to most people to buy a pickup rated at 11,500 or less and a trailer built for 12,000 but rated at 9990. That gives a nice safety margin if it is loaded to the full 9990.

One last bit of trivia and I must get back to work. If I am not overweight on any tire or on any axle, there is nothing that requires that I stay uder Dodge's recommended gross combined weight rating. That is a Dodge thing, not a CHP thing. I can have 20k on the trailers axles, about 9500 (from memory) on my rear pickup duals and about 5000 (again from memory) on my front axle. If I do not exceed any of these, I am legal for weight. Not that it would be smart, but you can get to about 34,500 gross combined (if loaded properly) and not be "overloaded". Maybe that is why they want a CDL.