Jim, Thanks. I am lucky that my 1968 F-350 is a GVWR of 10,000 so I do not need to worry (as much).

Bottom line with me is that it is almost impossible if you do some serious (amateur) towing or hauling to not trigger some obscure state law violation even though they are all pressured to follow Federal DOT guidelines & "standards".

I really have to wonder if there is an easy solution to your problem -- do you really have to go the full CDL route? (One thought: What is your nameplate factory GVWR? Can you re-register to 10,000 pounds? I know that you could in CA so long as you never got caught going over the declared GVW.)

On edit: I think this declared GVW applies to Highmark88's situation as well. It will vary from state to state, but if your home state will let you re-declare the registered maximum gross weight, then at least you would have one less potential problem. (I do not even have a weight on my MD papers so all they can go on is the factory plate.)