3 car hauler questions...

Make sure any driver coming to FL has a Class A CDL. Your trailer wt will be well over 10k and they are nailing car haulers left and right down here.

Wanted to haul cars myself, only reason I upgraded to an A. Changed my mind and decided I rather haul freight instead.

 

Do not bring this set up to NJ or NY ether. You need a class A license and you will still get an over weight ticket.

Without the class A, you get the unit impounded and the driver gets arrested.

 

I just thought of another thing. Some states consider a truck with a bed as a straight truck not a tractor. Maximum trailer length behind a straight truck is shorter then it is behind a tractor.

I talked to a couple guys that are running 1 tons with the bed removed and just fenders over and mudflaps behind the rear wheels because of this rule.

My understanding is the definition/difference between a straight truck and tractor is the ability to haul a load on the truck. therefore I don't think a flat bed will work either to avoid this issue. someone correct me if I am wrong.

Not sure if I read it here or on a diff forum, some guy was pulling a 51' wedge in I believe it was Cali. DOT pulled him over, standard bed on the truck. over length ticket because of trailer. something like $3000.

Just something to think about. Most of the guys I have talked to about hotshotting cars have said "if they could do it again, they would not have bought a 1 ton class 3. too much wear and tear on the truck. they would have started with a 5500 or 6500 class 5 or 6. better braking, more room, and a sleeper option."

 

1. You should of checked to see what insurance would cost you before you jumped into this. You'll also need DOT authority and everything else others have posted.

2. You could of bought 4 single axle tractors for 1/3 the cost of those new duallys and the tractors would last 4 times as long, plus you'd have sleepers on them. It's illegal to sleep in a dually and log it as doing so.

Good luck.

 

CDL is not necessarily required. Depends on your setup. Has to have a GVWR of over 26,000 lbs. combined. That is the weight rating, not the actual weight.
Some trailer manufacturers will de-rate their trailer below normal to meet this requirement. Then you plate your apportioned tag to whatever wieght you actually will be and you're good to go. The 10,000 lb. rule only applies if you are towing 10,000 AND over 26,000 GVWR.
I'm not sure on length laws in FL. I know for my semi and car hauler I pay $20.00 a year for over-dimensional permit. I have heard they are harder on 3-car setups, but mine never makes it down there so I dunno.

 

In NJ the driver gets arrested if the trailer is more then 10,000 lbs, they are charged with operating a motor vehicle without a license (if the driver doesn't possess a CDL A). This is why you no longer see 3 car trailers on a pick-up truck in the north no longer. They still run 3 cars trailers here, but there hooked to a Freightliner FL 70 or an International 4900.

 

With a dually in FL you can only be 65ft long. (I was 63ft with my 48ft trailer and Dodge Extended cab, now with the same trailer but a 265 inch wb Pete on the front, they could care less.)

 

Wrong.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/cdl/cdl.htm

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.

 

Ya they're funny down there. I've been given different answers every time it's come up. Been running down there for a couple years now, been stopped twice for being over. Finally bought the 80 ft. permit and no one's messed with me since. I do still get pulled in back at every scale because im overdimensional, but they always green light me when i get back there.