Questions about long hauling???

Maybe I can help some - I'll be glad to give it a shot. I looked into car hauling and "hot shot" trucking (below cdl requirements) awhile back.

A CDL A or B license is required for any commercial (for profit) trucking over 26,000 pounds GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating), even in your own state (called intrastate). It's also required regardless of vehicle weight if the vehicle has air brakes (not to be confused with hydraulic or air over hydraulic).

The Gross Combined Weight Rating is for the entire vehicle (truck, fuel, contents, driver, freight, trailer, etc). If you have no trailer (not in this case) then you are limited to the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of the vehicle.

If you have a trailer, you are going to need a CDL A license. If you don't have a trailer, but still operate over 26,000 pounds, then you will need a CDL B license.

The easiest way to get licensed is to go down to your DMV or DDS office and pickup a free copy of the Commercial Drivers License Manual. Study the material in the book, and then take the written tests (the general knowledge, combination vehicle, and it really wouldn't hurt to take the air brake endorsement test just to have it). Once you have passed them, they will issue you a CDL permit. This permit allows you to operate the size and type of vehicle with a licensed driver present in the vehicle.

At some point you'll also need to learn and study log books, how to keep them and what's required to keep them legal. Any truck without a sleeper will require you to show a motel receipt for every rest period after 11 driving hours or 14 hours on duty. These are within the DOT Hours of Service regulations, and you can search for a better explanation of these on this forum or on the internet.

Once you have the permit, check around your area for doctors offices that do DOT physicals, and get your medical card. This physical is not a big deal - answer questions on a form, pee-cup, look at your eyes, look in your ears, check your vision, check your hearing, listen to your heart and your chest, take your blood pressure, and a quick feel-up for us guys that should at least get us a free dinner and drinks *grin*. You might want to "study up" for the test by not having sugar or coffee for 12 hours before, and make sure your system is clear of anything "else" that would be a problem.

Then you could either get your truck and trailer (an empty trailer wouldn't be hauling freight for profit - and it shouldn't put you over the 26,000 pound limit so you could buy em and practice on a standard license for awhile), or find someone who's already got em (like a farmer with a gooseneck utility trailer and a 1 ton or bigger truck) and hire or borrow their help (always good to buy food and fuel at the very least - or trade labor). I'd also like to point out that until you get your truck ready to haul freight (you'll need DOT numbers, etc) you can probably get by with "NOT FOR HIRE" stickers on each side of your truck cab to keep the DOT off of you.

As far as the truck is concerned, you'll definitely want a 1Ton or bigger. A 1Ton truck will have dual rear wheels, and you definitely want that for weight carrying. There are maximum weight ratings branded on the sidewall of every tire made - you can't exceed these - or else (ticket at the least, ka-blam and accident at the worst). A dual rear wheel truck is going to have twice the weight carrying capacity of a single rear wheel truck (four rear wheels versus two). Four wheel drive won't be necessary for street and highway hauling, it adds insurance cost, maintenance cost, additional fuel cost, and weighs more which will take away from what you can haul.

Personally I wouldn't give up the space of at least an extended cab for any weight saved. An extended or crew cab will give you more space to carry your gear, luggage, cooler for food and drinks, and give you a dry place to take a nap if you need to. Trust me when I say that a standard cab on a truck is not the place to save some weight if you're driving long distances - been there - done that - got the T-shirt.

You might want to look at larger than 1 Ton trucks. Up to a 1 Ton truck they are usually called "Light Trucks", above 1 Ton is called "Medium Duty", and larger than that is too much for the job you're looking at. I can think of a guy I used to do business with that drove an F-550 crew cab with no bed on it, just a toolbox and a fifth wheel, pulling a car hauler for years. They'll have bigger engines, transmissions, brakes, tires and wheels, payloads, and stand up better to the work. You'll also be up higher off the road and be able to see farther for safety. There are more choices than just Dodge, Ford, Chevy or GMC - there's also International, and a mess of imports. For what you're doing, I would probably stay away from any cabover (flatnose) trucks because they'll beat the daylights out of you with a rough ride on the highway. Personally I would look at Internationals first, I've driven a few and like em alot.

If you want the best mpg and durability out of it, I'd say you're better off with a diesel over a gas motor any day. A diesel truck motor has more torque to pull a heavy load, and is built to do it reliably. Gas motors just haven't been able to withstand the work over time, and they get worse mileage the more weight you pull. You could go to a truck dealers website and compare a gas powered 1 Ton trucks EPA sticker with a 1 Ton diesel's sticker - the diesel will show better miles per gallon. Just don't do your math on these actual stated numbers, they're more accurate now than they used to be - but those are for the truck only without a load.

*phew* think I wore out my fingers typing all this mess and I can barely see the screen through all the white-out *heheh*. Hope this helps some, and if I'm wrong anywhere please throw in yours and we'll both know better. Stay safe and good luck!

 

You're wrong on several points . A vehicle with air brakes with a GVWR of 26,000 lbs. or less does not require a CDL . Best example is the International pickup .
CDL requirements are determined by GVWR of the truck and trailer , not actual weight .
You can't say having a trailer will require a CDL . Many hotshotters stay under 26,000 lbs. GCWR and don't have CDL's . Many RV transporters don't have CDL's .
A truck with DRW does NOT have twice the load capacity of a SRW .
Motel receipts are NOT required . Nowhere in the regulations does it state sleep is required while off duty . It has been stated you can park your truck in a casino parling lot , go gamble for 10 hours while logged off duty , and then come out and legally start driving .

 

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

 

What does this say ? A GVWR over 26,000 lbs. Under 26,000 you can pull a trailer without a CDL . Duallies with a GVWR of 11,000 lbs. can and do pull trailers with a GWR up to 15,000 lbs. without a CDL .

 

No... that says you must have a CDL-A if you are pulling a trailer with a GVWR of over 10,000#.

 

Look at what Class B is "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 "
When a vehicle 26,001 lbs or more pulls a trailer over 10,000 lbs. then it requires a Class A . Vehicles under 26,001 lbs. don't require a CDL and can pull trailers over 10,000 lbs. without a CDL unless the GCWR exceeds 26,000 lbs. making it require a CDL . Thousands of hotshotters have had thousands of inspections pulling goosenecks without CDL's and went on their way - no CDL required .

 

Sadly road dogg, yes most states are a little different, but still comply with the Federal regulations. Be careful out there, and good luck.