CDL needed?

[Black Snow Slide]

My wife and I are looking at a 28' 5th wheel toy hauler with a GVWR of 12 thousand pounds. My 09 F250 with 6.4 diesel is the tow vehicle. My truck is rated with no issues there but what about my driver license. There will be times where we will be very close to the 12 k. Will I need a CDL A license? If so, how should I go about getting one?

 

[beardeddone]

Re: CDL needed?

My wife and I are looking at a 28' 5th wheel toy hauler with a GVWR of 12 thousand pounds. My 09 F250 with 6.4 diesel is the tow vehicle. My truck is rated with no issues there but what about my driver license. There will be times where we will be very close to the 12 k. Will I need a CDL A license? If so, how should I go about getting one?

Classes of License:

The Federal standard requires States to issue a CDL to drivers according to the following license classifications:

Class A -- Any combination of vehicles with a GCWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Class B -- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.

Class C -- Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is transporting material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and is required to be placarded under subpart F of 49 CFR Part 172 or is transporting any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 CFR Part 73.

 

[beardeddone]

Re: CDL needed?

The way I read this is if your not for hire and your towed vehicle is less then 10,000lbs you would not need one and i doubt that your 09 F250 weighs more then 26,001 or more pounds. or even both truck and trailer, you could always go to a truck stop and have your combo weighed on there scales if they will let you, but probably will charge you.

 

[Bondo]

Re: CDL needed?

My wife and I are looking at a 28' 5th wheel toy hauler with a GVWR of 12 thousand pounds. My 09 F250 with 6.4 diesel is the tow vehicle. My truck is rated with no issues there but what about my driver license. There will be times where we will be very close to the 12 k. Will I need a CDL A license? If so, how should I go about getting one?

Ayuh,.... Yer less than 1/2 way to needin' a CDL....

 

[H20Rat]

Re: CDL needed?

yeah no cdl for 12k! My class C motorhome is probably a little over that by itself when its fully fueled/watered going down the road.

 

[Black Snow Slide]

Re: CDL needed?

My part of confusion is towed vehicle over 10k pounds. When it is loaded I will be around 12k.

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: CDL needed?

My part of confusion is towed vehicle over 10k pounds. When it is loaded I will be around 12k.

Leave the beer behind?

 

[beardeddone]

Re: CDL needed?

My part of confusion is towed vehicle over 10k pounds. When it is loaded I will be around 12k.

A CDL are not easily gotten, it takes studying and passing the written tests and there are different fazes of the CDL written test, I took mine on the DOT's computer, and took I believe 3 hours to do then there is the driving test which means you'll need to provide something to take a CDL driving test with preferably a bigrig, unless you goto a school to learn how to drive a bigrig, and that will cost around $5000, then you can take the test with the schools bigrig, you can get a CDL for sure if you can pass all the requirements, plus now for a CDL you need a background check and if you go for a CDL you might as well get the Hazmat endorsement..

Just don't put a sign on your trailer stating it weighs 12,000 lbs, just drive carefully and don't attract any attention.

Or take a couple thousand pounds off of the trailer if you can, if not just pay the ticket if you should get one..I doubt anyone is going to weigh your trailer on the road unless is just to big and that noticeable...

 

[Bondo]

Re: CDL needed?

My part of confusion is towed vehicle over 10k pounds. When it is loaded I will be around 12k.

Ayuh,.... But yer missin' the preface,....

with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds,

'n yer not a Commercial vehicle....

 

[tinkerguy70]

Re: CDL needed?

My part of confusion is towed vehicle over 10k pounds. When it is loaded I will be around 12k.

Where you are confused is: Commercial Vehicles with a gross weight of 10,000 lbs fall under D.O.T. rules. (Must use scales, D.O.T. spot checks, use logs/inspection reports, etc.)
A Commercial Driver's License is not required for vehicles with a gross weight 26,000 pounds or less.
26,001 lbs or more requires a CDL.

The operative word here is COMMERCIAL. If you are not using this rig for hire, or for your business, then none of the above applies to you.

So to answer the OP's original question, NO, you do not need a CDL of any class to drive your rig.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: CDL needed?

Not to mention rules of driving with a CDL, hours of driving followed by rest.

No you do not need a CDL, and you should be thankful, its not easy being a Commercial Driver.

 

[Black Snow Slide]

Re: CDL needed?

Thanks everyone. New toy hauler being ordered today.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: CDL needed?

Many states have exemptions for rv's but the determination is add the RATED capacity of your truck to the RATED capacity of your trailer... If that exceeds 26,001 then you may need a cdl. The 10,000 lb stuff only determines if class b or class a.

All that said... I work with hundreds of people who live in and travel with big rv'r year round and have never heard of anyone getting hassled about a cdl while pulling a camper that is titled and registered to them.

I DO have a cdl but my fifth wheel weighs about 14,000 lbs with a gvw of 15,000 lbs. I tow it with a Dually that weighs right at 10,000 lbs with a 4,000 lb jeep on a towbar behind the rv putting my actual weight very near to 30,000 lbs with 16 tires on the road.... I am about 10' - 25' over max length for triple towing depending on what state I am in and I tow fast... so far, knock on wood, I have not even been pulled over in around 8000 miles of towing that rig.

You should be below 26,001 no matter how you add it up and even if you were over the chances of getting in any trouble are slim....

 

[T_Herrod]

Re: CDL needed?

Another thing to remember about having a CDL. Your BAC limit is reduced from .08 to .04 and the fines are much steeper if you get caught drinking and driving.

 

[J JACKSON]

Re: CDL needed?

another thing is you need is a dot medical card for anything over 10000 pounds (at least around here NC)

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: CDL needed?

CDL is not needed. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .04 applies is if you are driving a Commercial Motor Vehicle. If less than a .04 you will be taken "out of service" unless impairment can be shown. Remember a person can be arrested for a DUI or DWI, whatever the state, if impairment "can be shown" no matter what the BAC or other chemical impairment (hazardous chemical, schedule narcotic, etc).

 

[BlueLightSpecial]

Re: CDL needed?

CDL is not needed. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .04 applies is if you are driving a Commercial Motor Vehicle. If less than a .04 you will be taken "out of service" unless impairment can be shown. Remember a person can be arrested for a DUI or DWI, whatever the state, if impairment "can be shown" no matter what the BAC or other chemical impairment (hazardous chemical, schedule narcotic, etc).

The key is if you get stopped, and they ask you if you are being compensated, reply NO. Even if you are being compensated by, say a friend who wants to buy you dinner, even though its not cash money, you still are being compensated so you are considered to be driving commercial. .04 BAC is the limit if you have a CDL, no matter if you are in a commercial vehicle, or your personal vehicle. With a CDL, you are held to a higher standard, because you are considered a professional driver.

 

[BlueLightSpecial]

Re: CDL needed?

another thing is you need is a dot medical card for anything over 10000 pounds (at least around here NC)

Nationwide, I believe you need a medical card for anything over 17000lb GVW.

 

[BlueLightSpecial]

Re: CDL needed?

No CDL is needed, as long as there is no compensation. Although, I personally feel, if you have the equipment, you should have the liscense. My parents live along the Pa Turnpike, and over the years, we have seen crashes from drivers pulling HUGE TT, who may be excellent drivers, but dont have the experience, or proper training to handle towing a trailer that weighs 2 or 3 times the weight of the tow vehicle. I have my class A, and I feel it is beneficial when towing my TT. Just MHO.

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: CDL needed?

In MN if you have a CDL and you are arrested for DWI the .04 ONLY applies if you are operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle.

For example lets say you are driving a 1/2 Chevy truck and are stopped for a moving or equipment violation. You have been drinking alcoholic beverages of some type; we will forget about other chemical impairment at this point. You have a Class B license with endorsements of tanker and air brakes. You go through the field sobriety tests and fail. You are placed under arrest at that point. You chose a chemical test after the implied consent is read. The test results, depending upon the type of test can take a couple of months, are for example .14. Well, you are above the .08 and are considered legally drunk. You will lose your drivers license and have to appear in court, etc. etc. 20 years ago you would have only lost the Class C license and kept the CDL, but things have changed and now you loose them all.

Lets say you went through the roadside tests and passed. Unless you were found to be impaired you would not be placed under arrest because you are not in a Commercial Motor Vehicle.

Now, if you have a drivers license with a restriction of "any alcohol or drugs" (B Card) you can't have either regardless if you are driving or not. If found with one, the other or both you will lose it no matter if you are impaired or not.