Cdl? Or no

I believe....??
Anything over 26,001 lbs requires a CDL.
But your not doing this for any business or commercial reasons. This is a good question, probably best directed to the FL DOT/DMV...
Laws are weird on this and vary from state to state...

Owning a Truck Tractor only and driving it w/o a trailer does not require a CDL....My buddy used to let his wife drive when he was bob tailing and although they tended to get looked at (cops and what not), he kept proof showing that this tractor could be driven (alone) on a standard driver's license.

My KW weights 17,930 itself.....so no CDL needed to run just the truck. My insurance company might have an issue though....

 

I believe in FL if you register it as an RV, and you are not using it for any thing that will earn you money. Then no CDL is required. How ever, if your using it to pull a race car, and the racing you do has cash prizes, then a CDL is required.

Best bet is to check with FDOT and DMV though.

 

If it is a commercial motor vehicle, you need a CDL to operate it. Even while bobtailing around, your tractor is a CMV. It has apportioned plates, has the carrier's name & USDOT numbers on the side, and is subject to roadside safety inspections.

Even if it WASN'T licensed as a commercial vehicle, you'd still need the air brake endorsement in order to drive a vehicle with air brakes. The only possible exception to that would be if you had it registered as a recreational vehicle AND lived in a state which did not require RV operators to have the air brake endorsement before driving an RV with air brakes.

Also, some states have different driver's license requirements for vehicles. In Illinois, a class D license is what the general public would have to drive their cars...but it is only good for single vehicles up to 16,000 pounds. For a single vehicle weighing 16,001 through 26,000 you'd need a class C license here.

The other thing to remember is that the license classifications are based off of the vehicles GVWR....the weight RATING....not the actual weight. In other words, that semi tractor (even without the trailer) exceeds 26,001 pounds on it's GVWR, so you would need a class B license to bobtail around.

 

Close, but a Class D can exceed 16,000 lbs when towing or a rental truck up to 26,000 for their own belongings.

Class C would be the minimum with maybe air brakes.

Most likely a Class B non CDL with air brakes would be needed. It is what the minimum is for our volunteers at the fire department.

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/drivers/drivers_license/il_license_class.html

 

Over 26,000lbs requires a CDL regardless of its use or ownership

 

Class B is a CDL

 

Yep, and He'd need the air brakes endorsement also.

 

There are a lot of differences between states and what you can drive on what license. I invite those who don't believe this to look at three different states. The only thing that is the same is Class A, B and C CDL because of federal mandates.

IIRC, in Missouri a standard Operator's License is F, in Florida it is E and in Illinois it is D. In Missouri you must have a Class E to operate a service box truck. In Illinois you can do that with a standard Class D. Some states require even RV operators to have special endorsements.

The only way the OP can get accurate information is to contact his state DMV or from someone in his state with first-hand information.

 

In Florida, under 26k, no airbrake endorsement is needed. I drove a 26k box truck with air brakes for 2 years before getting my CDL. Pulled into scales many times, had my license checked, no endorsement no problems.
Every state is different, his best bet is to check with FDOT and Florida DMV.