Show me. The regulation is very confusing.

 

It's not that confusing.

Why don't you show us where it says you need a CDL ofr a trailer over 10k. That would be easier then me showing that it doesn't say that.

 

Here is where I gather my info:

NCDOT: Commercial Drivers (CDL)

</dd></dl>

 

So using that reasoning you need a CDL class B for any trailer 10k or under.

See the error in that reasoning?

Either way it's based on GVWR, not what your trailer weights loaded.

 

Crap, you need at least a CDL class C to drive anything.

 

Hey guys...remember that this is NOT a commercial vehicle, it's a travel trailer attached to a privately owned vehicle!

 

You need to reread the OP.

 

OOPS!!! Dang - did it again! I see trailer and think RV! Sorry - AGAIN!

 

I am trying to figure what my max weight can be on my truck and trailer. Does the DOT rate you on your vehicles GCWR?

 

Truck GVWR plus Trailer GVWR equals GCWR this changes with each trailer

Do not go over axle ratings or tire ratings.

Depending on state, make sure registered weight is also not exceded.

 

So its like when you register for tags you plate the vehicle for your max weight depending upon you personally. So since my truck has a gvwr of 8800 lb and my trailer gvwr is 14000 lb so my DOT rating would be 22,800 lbs?

 

The state of Washington does it this way, as far as the tonnage fees go - regardless of Private or Commercial use. The state is definatly more strick on commercial than private, but they will pull obviously grossly overloaded (and unsafe) private trucks over and when checking the licensing, if it is discovered that the private owner has negleted to comply with the tonnage laws, then that is another ticket.

Note that the commercial enforcement police will not pull over a private truck unless it is really out of shape, but a regular state patrolman will, and then call in a "expert" at his or her discression to "assist".

So, that said, in Washington state, the easy way is to take the GVWR of the truck, add the GVWR of the trailer, and license the truck for that. Of course if you know that you will NOT fully load your truck/trailer, then you can buy a tonnage license for less that what the two add up to, IE a lot of the 8600/8800 GVWR trucks carry a 8000 license. Of course that negates the whole purpose of buying a heavier duty truck, the ability to use the full capacity available! And, as well those same trucks can / will pull a trailer which makes them illegal, as they have not paid tonnage fees on the trailer, but most of the time the private guys can skate by, unless the state is looking hard to make money, which happens at known times of the year when private trucks have a known track record of being illegal / overloaded / makes fiscal sense because they can pull a whole lot of trucks over in a short period of time - Firewood season!

IE if you have a 8k truck and a 10k trailer, then your truck, private or commercial MUST be licensed at 18k, if you fully load them! to GVWR's The state of Washington does not charge tonnage fees on trailer so the the way they collect the fees on the trailer weight is on the truck license.

Please note this is Washington state, your state may be different. Remember though, this has nothing to do with what your LEGAL and binding safety certificate lists for the trucks GAWR's and GVWR (and the trailers). You can license a two axle 1/2 ton truck for 34,000 lbs, the state is more than happy to take the extra fees, but go thru a scale overloaded (over the legal GAWR's and GVWR), or one of the portable scales they set up to catch the overloaded PRIVATE users hauling there firewood and you will be ticketed and forced to make the truck safe and legal before further travel is permitted.

As a side note, I used to follow the portable scales and pick up the firewood that the private persons had to unload / discard because they were overloaded. I heated my house for only some time and fuel costs for several years!!

As i have mentioned, the gray area is the RECOMMENDED GCWR of your truck. While not legaly binding and in this state and you cannot be ticketed directly for excedding this recommended number (only the GAWR's and GVWR's), if you have a accident and you have exceded the recommendations, and this had a part in the cause of the accident, then you can be ticketed. Your insurance also will have a problem if you are towing outside of either the legal limits or the recommended limits.

Washington state also goes in 2000lb increments, so in the case of that 8600/8800 GVWR truck, it is either a 8000lb or 10000lb license. Personaly for the slight more per year I would opt for the higher, more suitable to the actual truck capability, but some try to save a bit.

David

 

In the state of Washington, you would be correct. Since this state goes in 2000lb increments, you would have a 24k sticker on your truck to be fully legal from a registration / tonnage license at maximum GVWR's, although you would only be allowed 22.8k in total actual weight from a legal GVWR capacity.

You could of course drop down to a 20k licensed weight, and not use that last 800lbs, it would be your choice as to how much is saved and how close you are to maxumium GVWR's, and weithor or not that last 800lbs is the difference between a good profit on the haul and not so much.

David

 

It's Federal law that any vehicle over 26k be driven by a class A license. There are some exceptions like hazmat being a prime example, but that aside, any Joe Shmoe can legally, anywhere in America, drive a straight or combination vehicle (one trailer only) up to a GCVW of 25,999lbs without a commercial license. Thats why Ryder and other rental trucks are rated / plated (in Ca you up your registration, plate is the same) for 26k, and half the time it's driven like it's stolen by some idiot that is used to driving a miata... Even if you are "for hire" or "not for hire- profit" you will need at least MC numbers for your state, and like others said, DOT # for some other states. In Ca, I need MC, DOT, Comm Ins, tax ID, class A Lic (already have that) and I will register my truck weight at 35k, even though with my dually and car hauler the most I can legally haul is about 33k.

The whole issue about axle rating vs. wheel rating in regard to what's legal is a big damn debate. Some say you can't go over the vehicle rating BUT most DOT officers will go by the rule that front axle can't be over 12k, drives and trailers can't be over 34k. Of course we can support 34k on our axles, but I've read of guys doing fine with that "rule" in place. I'd like a DOT guy on here to please clarify that. Ford say my RAWR is 8250, but Dana says it's 11,000- and then my combined weight carrying capacity of the 4 tires are just over 12,300#. So which does the DOT see as the max you can use?? I've had 9500# on my rear for over 500 miles with no issues, but I did add a cheap set of helper springs. The most I've ever hauled is 32k- got the load through uship- but when I get back from Afghanistan it's gonna cost at least $2k to start legit. The pic below is my 32k gross load.

 

No it's not.

How do you come up with such BS?


Again, not true. CA requires a CDL for commercail trailers over 10k GVWR.

Everywhere else you can drive a straight truck up to 26k without a CDL and combinations up to 36k depending on the trailer size.

Not for hire doesn't need MC numbers. DOT numbers maybe.