Will chains clear with 295/70/18’s? And what kind chains, steel chain links or the nylon ones?
I’ll call the local tire shop.

 

Chains properly put on will be no problem.

This link give options. I've always liked the V style and cams tighten the chains up.

https://tirechain.com/load-range-e-m...iced-per-pair/

I've used them on my 2wd drive trucks when I was in the east and boy would they get the truck through DEEP snow.

 

I had to pull my toy hauler off the mountain a few years ago due to an unexpected snow storm. Ladder style chains on all four tires of the truck and cable chains on the trailer. The chains worked fine on the truck, but I'm running the OEM size 18" tires.

 

He falls under commercial motor vehicle regs when over 10,000 but still is under his state’s licensing and registration rules for CDL. He is pulling long distances over state lines.

 

remember if that applies, for hire over 10k you need DOT numbers and a fuel decal (ifta sticker with quarterly tax).

 

I never see those on trucks with Texas plates.


He does need to do hour logging etc. You even need to do that in an empty f350 if traveling for business 150 miles away-outside your home office. This is where people need to pay attention and keep all that incase of an accident/lawsuit. Its why I try to run an f250 10,000.


Real world experience.

 

wrong, you do not need to log ****, if your under approx 150 mile radius.
You can drive your f350 1,000 plus miles solo outside of 150 miles and not run a log. Just simply remove your DOT numbers (if your run them), and your good to go.

 

The RV lobby has fought tooth and nail to keep licensing restrictions out of the way that would deter people from buying their products.

 

FMCSA short-haul exemption from the logbook rules if you stay within a 150 air mile radius of base and under 12 hours worked in a shift.

The 12 hour thing I suppose is to keep a driver from being on the clock longer than 70 hours in a 6 day work week.

 

Those single axle units only weigh about 3500-4000 lbs, so probably, but no such thing as too much tow vehicle if a nice relaxing drive is what you're after.

 

I find the DOT laws that supposedly apply to me completely ridiculous. I was in direct contact with a DOT enforcement officer in my state of Wisconsin. I was told by her that for business I need to keep track of my in service hours, this was after we went over all the required licensing, registrations, inspections, drug testing and a few other things that I already had in place at my company. Now I own a small construction business, The way she explained it to me is that I had to note when I left for work in the morning and when I return from work in the evening and the entire day counted as my inservice hours. So when I run my CC450 to work in the morning, empty or loaded, it was based on the GVW and operating for business, hauling my business’s property, my inservice hours started when I leave at 6am and would not end til I return, which is sometimes after 8pm. Even though actual time behind the wheel wouldnt exceed 1-2 hours the entire day, sometimes even less, rarely more. I told her that made absolutely no sense and posed a different situation that a friend of mine does, in which he goes to his teaching job 35-45 minutes one way at 6am on a friday in his 450 pickup, leaves the school to go home at 5pm hooks up to his ready to go 21k 5th wheel toy hauler and drives an additional 7 hours to his cabin for the long weekdend. Not that he is not capable but how is he anymore safe than I, he is perfectly legal, yet I’m not cause I’m commercial. It doesn’t seem its for safety reasons; it seems as more of government over reach in an attempt to get more money out of a tax payer under the illusion of “for your safety.” I have a USDOT number and a class A CDL. With the exception of doing it because I’m told I legally have to, I find absolutely no reason I should need either for how I operate my vehicles/business. The largest vehicle in my fleet is CC450 and our trips for business typically are less than 1.5 hours one way at the most, and are only to get me to our job sites to actually go to work. I find the DOT and CDL laws very confusing and somewhat convoluted for my application. This is all mainly based off the direct conversations (plural) I had with one of my state’s DOT enforcement officers over the course of a month back in October of ‘21. It might be worth noting that I typically pull a ~9,500lb loaded enclosed trailer 80% of the time, and occasionally 5% or less haul a gooseneck with either a skiddy at 17k with trailer not including truck, or articulating boom lift at 22k with trailer not including truck. The remaining 15% of the time the truck is empty with an empty aluminum flat bed for a truck total wight of ~8,900lbs operating empty. The conversation with DOT officer was also centered around the fact that I occasionally cross the border into IL for work; not anything to do with IL state laws but entirely from the standpoint of the US DOT regarding the matter. Makes a person want to change their classification from inter to intra and risk it.

On edit: If I run a 60 miles radius from our base, you’d be lucky, yet according DOT officer, because I cross state lines occasionally I still needed to keep track of inservice hours, not a log book per say. I’m also the owner and the only one that remotely drives in CDL territory for the company; employees run around in half-tons, still commercially though, they also aren’t required to be “working” as long as I am, so the inservice records for them aren’t really an issue.

 

Actually the capacity of your truck as to GVWR, and GAWR is set on the safety certification label as installed by Ford, or if it was sold as a incomplete vehicle by the finished vehicle manufature. This is a legal document and is binding in all 50 states. This is also required on all vehicles sold in the last 30 years or so.

Adding air bags, higher load range tires, higher capacity rims, a dually rear axle etc does absolutly nothing to change this legal document, unless the vehicle is recerified by Ford, or a finished vehicle manufacture. This is 50 state law. A unlicensed individual CANNOT change these numbers.

Newer trucks also have a maximum tow weight listed on this document as well, changing from a recommended max tow ot a legaly binding number. My old 2008 only has a suggested maximum tow weight - but when it gets replaced and as a licenced commerical user, I will be limited to what is on the Safety certificate document, and subject to inspection so I better choose properly. None of us because we made the wrong truck choice have the right to endanger others on a public road.

My 2008 F250 word truck is licenced at 26k, it has a GVWR of 10k, (not to exceed front and rear GAWR, can't carry all 10k on one axle for example) by licensing it at 26k it does not mean I CAN load more in the truck than a total weight of 10k. That is the legal GVWR in all 50 states, but it does allow me to tow a 16k trailer (or more IF the loaded truck is at less than its maximum GVWR) as my state has no trailer weight based fees, so it all has to be on the tow vehicle.

Several years ago my state finally cracked down on the so callled hot shot rigs, glad they did it to get the overloaded dangerous junk off the road. It was a learing experience for those that flew under the commercial radar so to speak, but statisticly it has paid off, less damage, less injuries and deaths can be directly attributed to this crackdown.

 

I said over 150 miles.

And if you are on business over 10,000 gvwr and over 150 miles you are supposed to.

Never had DOT numbers and have no desire to get them since I stay under 26,000 registered.

 

Definition of commercial use is in commerce.

If you are receiving anything in compensation for the use of your vehicle, be it a moped delivering pizza, it, by law has to have a US DOT number if based in the US.

There is nothing to do with with weight as to defining commercial use, Do not confuse commercial service with a CDL license requirement which starts at 26,001 up solo truck, 10,001 and up on a trailer, IF in Interstate service. Intrastate laws such as where I live allow a combination vehicle up to 26,000 without a CDL, if not crossing state lines - or Intrastate.

This is why my state did a crackdown on hot shot rigs, drivers simply did not care to educate themselves on definitions and the applicable rules and seemed confused that commercial use has absolutely nothing to do with a drivers CDL requirement on certain weight based regulations. The uneducated were causing unneeded collisions and damage, as well as injuries and at least three deaths in the last few years before the crackdown

 

Not saying it is not true, but I am very curious as to what statistics you are referring to regarding less damage, less injuries and deaths that can be directly attributed to the crackdown.