Towing issues / updates

[Lew Silverman]

How would you go about changing the weight of your truck? Unless you live in a state where you're not required to have a title, the weight has already been established when you first titled/registered it. Aren't most states' registration/plate fees based on the weight of each part of the combination, truck and trailer separately?

Lew

[George Mirza]

Originally Posted by Lew Silverman

How would you go about changing the weight of your truck? Unless you live in a state where you're not required to have a title, the weight has already been established when you first titled/registered it. Aren't most states' registration/plate fees based on the weight of each part of the combination, truck and trailer separately?

Lew

I have to agree with Lou on this, you can only register the truck to the max weight it's built to carry. The same thing with the trailer. The logical thing is to use the combined gvw's of both. The truck isn't carrying the trailer it's pulling it and that's designed to carry x amount of pounds. I would bet a tag and a fifth wheel have different rules governing the gvw of the truck towing them.
The rules should be simple, if it weighs more than x amount of pounds combined you need a cdl or a form of one to drive it.
How some of these rules are interpreted by some is crazy scary!

[Bob Emery]

As an interesting side note to this, I had to certify my WA state class "A" cdl as either inter- or intra- state. When I told the clerk that I didn't carry anything on my rig that was made outside of the state of Washington she countered that if I carried cable made outside of the state I required interstate certification. When I told her that driving a digger/auger truck I never carried cable she asked if I knew where the utility poles I placed came from because if anything I carried crossed a state line it was interstate commerce. Being me, I asked her that since I was probably wearing coveralls or jeans that were made offshore did I need to certify for international commerce.

After a rather "crappy" look, I got re-certified.......

[Rob Petrie E395]

Originally Posted by Bob Emery

As an interesting side note to this, I had to certify my WA state class "A" cdl as either inter- or intra- state. When I told the clerk that I didn't carry anything on my rig that was made outside of the state of Washington she countered that if I carried cable made outside of the state I required interstate certification. When I told her that driving a digger/auger truck I never carried cable she asked if I knew where the utility poles I placed came from. Being me, I asked her that since I was probably wearing coveralls or jeans that were made offshore did I need to certify for international commerce.

After a rather "crappy" look, I got re-certified.......

We had to start doing that here in IL last year. Basically if you wanted to cross a state line in a CDL vehicle they had to see a Current medical card in order to get it. Otherwise they would only let you get the in state license. They are linking our Medical cards to our cdls now so they can suspend our license the day after our medical card expires.

[Lew Silverman]

Virginia, and I'm guessing most states, has gone to a tiered system for the issuance of a CDL - Excepted intra-state and interstate and NON-excepted intra-state and interstate. The non-excepted licenses are somewhat like the old CDL's and require a current Medical Certificate. The "excepted" CDL's require no medical certification, but there are only a few types of vehicles that meet the criteria of an "excepted" license. For our purposes, one of the vehicle's is listed thus -

"Drivers who occasionally transport personal property not for compensation, nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise, who engage in interstate commerce".

It would seem, at least on the surface, if you are transporting your own property (your race car), not for commercial purposes (it's your hobby), driving between states, you would qualify for this license.

Your experience may vary, of course, but that's what's listed in the FEDERAL Motor Vehicle CFR.

[Tom Goldman]

A big problem keeping many of us from obtaining a non commercial class A CDL is the insistence of the State run testing agencies that require the test be taken in a conventional semi -trailer combination
Instead of allowing the test to be taken with a motorhome-trailer combination and adding a restriction for only that combination on your license , they help create the licensing problem, since most of us don't have access to a vehicle to test in that they they will accept.

[427_ED]

Earlier this week, while licensing a vehicle, the county clerk told me my trailer must have a plate (KY).

I contacted Frankfort, this is the reply:



KRS 186.675 (2) states that personal use trailers are not required to be registered within the state of Kentucky.

If a resident leaves the state with the trailer, the Cabinet highly advises that the trailer be plated due to other states laws regarding the plating of trailers.

A trailer must have a license plate within Kentucky if that trailer is used for personal/public business that creates any sort of a profit.

[1891 S/G]

South Carolina seems to get it. The DMV only cares about total weight and issues Non-commercial CDL for anything over 26,000lbs. I was able to take the test with my motorhome and a 6ft yard trailer since it's over 26k. It's wasn't too bad even though I had to take it twice for the dam yankee rule.