Is a dually needed?

[Diamondpilot]

Never any need to hog parking spaces, that behavior says something about the owners who do it, NOTHING about the vehicles that they own.
Pick almost any brand of "car" and you can find one parked deliberately diagonally so nobody will park beside them.
I gave up on parking WAY over THERE, I swear "door swingers" go WAY over there LOOKING for me (-:

Anyway, a couple more points.
If you are looking at 15,000 GVW behind you a 9,900 SRW will keep you under 26,000 - a 12,000 DRW won't.
That may or may not matter to you according to your license class.
DRW takes about a ton more payload - i.e. "pin weight".
They are only WIDE if you get the (ridiculous looking) bulbous flared fenders.
If you want narrow get a Chev/GM (narrowest track of the big 3) chassis/cab and put a flat-bed on it.
That is the best/easiest way to handle/avoid the issues with top rail height and trailer interference.
You also get a clear full width platform, not 4 ft or so between wheel wells - it is closer to standard loading dock height too.
Allison trans is another good reason, but that wasn't what you asked about.

IGNORE anything you may have read or heard that "Campers" are exempt from the 26K CDL requirement.
Having a toilet on board won't get you out of that, though in some states that, a bed and sink might help your vehicle taxation a bit.

Campers and Recreational Vehicles are exempt. Not sure about your state but around here and everywhere I have been they are. Just the the 10k doesn't hold true everywhere.

Chris

 

[daugen]

IGNORE anything you may have read or heard that "Campers" are exempt from the 26K CDL requirement.

my motorhome is 22K gvw; do I need a special driving permit??? I didn't think I did but if I need correcting,
please do.

And if I am pulling a farm tractor behind a truck do I add the truck gvw and the trailer gvw for some total number?
Would appreciate an education here. Thanks

 

[Soundguy]

definitely old too, if it's nice...they bumped up/boosted the hp a few years back, not sure how far back I can go without
giving up a lot of the latest grunt. Probably no more than five years back.

if only 5 back.. then I'd bee looking at a dodge / cummons.

 

[3930dave]

IGNORE anything you may have read or heard that "Campers" are exempt from the 26K CDL requirement.

my motorhome is 22K gvw; do I need a special driving permit??? I didn't think I did but if I need correcting,
please do.

And if I am pulling a farm tractor behind a truck do I add the truck gvw and the trailer gvw for some total number?
Would appreciate an education here. Thanks

Daugen - for a real answer, check with your State DMV. I suspect "So-and-So on TBN told me that officer" won't fly any better with LEOs down your way, than it does up here :laughing:.

That said, our class G(eneral) license here is (similar to many USA states):

Max combined weight 11,000kg, with 4600kg Max towed. Call it 24,000# total, with 10,000# Max Towed.

Up here, it is additive, so if you are a G driver towing 10,000#, your tow vehicle couldn't gross more than 14,000#.

I would hope that any responsible RV dealer would have advised you if you needed something other than a basic DL (well, at least after you signed the contract ) , but check with your DMV to be sure. Up here, the weight restrictions are printed on the back of an Ontario DL.

Again, here, where the problem sets in is when you get into many diesel pusher RVs. A buddy just picked up a used one, which is over 11,000kg, so he needs to upgrade from our G to a D (what commercial guys need here to drive most dump trucks). Then there's air brakes, which is a separate endorsement on your license here (Z). So to be legal on his new pusher, he'll need a DZ license.

'Nuff rambling on my part...... if you don't have air brakes on the MH, just check with your DMV what weight your class of license limits you to.

I have enough challenges makes sense of our MTO regs, so I'm not going to pretend to understand yours ...... but, at a glance, the implied limit on your Class C may be 26,000#.

PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services - Classes of Licenses

Rgds, D.

 

[nc redneck]

large trailers in any form, Bumper, Goose neck, 5th wheel are much safer with large truck. 2 wheel drives have problems all the time due to wet grass or mud.
3500 diesel 4 wheel drives seem to me to give the best bang for my buck. I would never consider smaller. Bigger truck has a much better safety factor. Thing about 10 to 12 hour pull coming back from Florida, tired and may not react as fast as you did in your 30s - 40s- 50s- or 60s.
I have pulled a lot of stuff with my 2001 diesel 4+4 3500 including a large 40 foot Toy Hauler with golf cart in back bumping 16,500 limits of truck. This last year bought 2013 Chevy 3500 4+4 diesel, power was down compared to 2001 but brakes and ability to handle weight was worth the trade off.
Comparing 2001 with custom 250 HP tune to stock 2013

 

[timswi]

I camp with a ton of different people pulling many different rigs. The guys in the granite equipped massive luxury class A's don't have and don't need CDL's...Even the 5th wheels. My dad got caught up in a State Police roadside check once pulling a 32' TT with a 1/2 ton shortbed reg cab Chevy 4x4 (most likely way over limit) and they never said a word. All safety stuff was up to snuff. All they cared about.

Your results may vary.

 

[newbury]

And if I am pulling a farm tractor behind a truck do I add the truck gvw and the trailer gvw for some total number?
Would appreciate an education here. Thanks

YES - If it's being used in commerce.

As I understand it you've got two things to be concerned with - The total number of pounds moving down the road and in some states the total pounds of the rating. And 26K is the magic number. GENERALLY as I've read here, the law for total pound of rating differs between states. Also some states crack down on all trailers rated above 10K.

In Virginia getting the information is harder than heck. And I've read a lot of cases where LEO's interpret it differently in the same state. But it seems that generally if you LOOK CLEAN and well organized (chains etc) they rarely stop you. On the other hand if you look like me or Willie Nelson and your rolling down the road with the cab obscured by sweet white smoke you might be in trouble.

Check out some of the LONG CDL threads here.

 

[nc redneck]

Probably just registered Republicans would be targeted.

 

[Soundguy]

Probably just registered Republicans would be targeted.

if the irs had anything to do with it...

 

[daugen]

this is the wrong place to discuss politics
thanks

http://changingears.com/rv-sec-state-rv-license.shtml

found this which seems to be a good reference