I agree to a point but as has been said before, Going to the trouble/Time/Expense (~4k) to get a CDL just to drive a Pickup and Gooseneck over 26K is ridiculous. There needs to be some less costly and reasonable classification for them.
I’m sure I’ll get a 2024 with the 6.7 HO and it will have a 25k bumper pull rating. I’ll never pull that much but it’s sure nice to use things well under their rated capacity. Instead of getting and aluminum 14k trailer to haul my 11600lb excavator I’d like to get an 18k to pull it. Still be under the ignorant 26k mark weight wise but de-rating puts you over the trailers rating. Just dumb.
And that’s fine to disagree, but there should be no government interference in what an individual feels they can do. It’s up to them to be safe. And if something happens it’s between them and the others involved. We get sooo wrapped up in putting out legislation to fix this and that, annd it eventually constrains the living p@@@ out of us without making a difference except to make the legislation machine much bigger. It’s like feeding a monster, eventually it will be too big and eat you up.
I feel what some folks say or think they can safely do and what they actually do or what happens are usually different in my experiences.
Me personally, I think everyone is crazy. But it’s none of my business what they do unless it affects me. Then we have a problem. I don’t make up problems that “might” need fixed. If they hurt or kill someone it’s their responsibility. But laws rarely change that cause those people are going to do it regardless of laws. Just like guns. Laws only affect the ones who follow them, not the ones that don’t and commit the crimes.
Lots of people can afford to buy a compact car or sedan and shouldn't be driving them either
Much excellence in post quality. Around the jobsites we do are usually new houses in new subdivisions, and as they get filled sometimes we get to know the homeowners. Cops seem to congregate together. We had a few state dot’s move in and got to know them. They said they never pull us over for checks cause we were the “working men”, but would have to under serious circumstances, understandably.(could be BS) But the laws are displaced and dated. They are just laws thought up by legislators. There is no reason, as a plumber, i should have to buy an aluminum trailer when a cheaper steel one rated to higher capacity would work just fine just to match gvwr stickers so i can pull equipment.Lots of people can afford to buy a compact car or sedan and shouldn't be driving them either
But the point was.....from the bottom end of the scale....a 1/2 ton pickup and little single axle trailer.....up to a dually and gooseneck, there really is little difference. Certainly not a difference enough to warrant 4-6 weeks of training and $4000 to hold a license equivalent to what someone operating a tractor trailer needs to have, along with the continued medical exams, logs, and stricter rules/penalties even while operating a personal car. You are under stricter rules and punishments for the sole reason of having a CDL.
Someone with a 2005 chevy dually (11.2k gvw) and 14k trailer is 100% legal all day long with no CDL to tow a skid loader or mini-ex all day long. But the same guy with the same trailer and equipment but has a 2005 dodge dually (12.2kgvwr) now all the sudden needs has to go through the hoops of getting a CDL-A? Tell me in what world that makes sense? OR a guy wanting a 16k trailer but debating between a 3/4ton truck or a SRW 1-ton. One combo requires a CDL, the other doesn't.
And now, a modern DRW 1-ton is a 14k GVWR.....so that rules out 14k trailers. So someone wanting to tow a 10k skid loader is dropping to 12k trailer. By which most manufactures is the EXACT SAME trailer....simply with lighter axles. So again, in what world does this make sense?
There are thousands of contractors all over this country running dually trucks and 14k equipment trailers for their business. Either pulling trenchers, or skidloaders, or mini-ex's.....small landscape type companies. But within the last two decades and truck manufactures pushing the GVWR's of their trucks beyond 12k.....or the trailer manufactures pushing the ratings of trailers to 15k for a pair of 7k axles (or even if a contractor wants to upgrade to 8k axles to get the better 17.5 wheel/tire combo).....now all of the sudden they are supposed to spend 4-6 weeks and $4000 to get a CDL-A???
Fortunatally, in most states they turn a blind eye. Because the laws on the books are unrealistic.
To be clear, I am not talking about the hotshot guys that make a living driving. Those running interstate with 3-car wedges, or 40' trailers. Im talking about the small business that rarely go beyond 30 miles from home and just trying to work the small equipment they have. They aren't making a living driving.....driving is just a necessity of getting to/from their jobs. I happen to be one of those type....just a one man show with a pickup, mini-ex, and tractor and want to use it to make a buck. Fortunately, I dont live in a nanny state.
The best tool i have bought for hauling is a tongue scale. No guessing.
