Does registered weight have any bearing on CDL / commercial status

First of all. You are fixed on GVWR of each.

Since you are now a COMBINATION VEHICLE, The GVWR does not matter much. You are now dealing with GCVWR. (Gross combination vehicle etc) And probably will be over 26001 pounds.

Now the second part.

If you haul as a motor carrier for revenue, you are in intrastate commerce never leaving your state. You will need a Tier One CDL for this. You will probably need it anyway because it is a combination vehicle therefore Class A.

The minute you load your truck and cross a state line, you are now engaged in interstate commerce. You need a CDL and so on so forth etc.

You can register or apportion a vehicle whatever you like. Just do NOT overpay to the state for say 80000 pounds. It's wasteful of your money. Make sure that you pay attention to the heaviest real world weight you will ever have on that thing and just BUY enough tag to be just a little over that legally.

The only possible scenario I can think of in which you are not a CDL or engaged in either interstate or intrastate is a vehicle stipulation under which it is NOT. FOR. HIRE.

 

Ok, I'll back it down a tad on my postion.

I offer you something else. If you live in a American State, that state should have what is called a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.

CALL THEM and they will be MORE than PLEASED to help answer and settle this strong any time. They want to help you rather than catch you on the road and ticket.

If you register a vehicle at 25500 or something total then it should be fine is it not? We agree that 26001 is a magic number.

I also say that perhaps there i sno point trying to get under 10001. Agreed?

Now... I offer one last thought for many here.

There is apparently a beginning of what I call Barbarians at the Gates. Meaning everyone and their brother and sisters are buying basic vans like they used to do in the 60's so that they can go out and ... eh... be a trucker with it and be unregulated. Making money.

There is going to be a awful lot of these vans running about, Say a 8000 gross weight like my Tahoe. (It's registered at 8500 pounds but capable of taking up to 14000 total with a trailer on my hitch, and I really don't want to it's already a little bit of older worn out vehicle at 270000 miles.)

That is the theory I have on what is going on right now. People are doing whatever they can to have either a nice big van, a nice strong pickup truck maybe and just haul a pallet or two for a thousand dollars a day here there and yon. So that the shipper cannot be botherd to find a 18 wheeler to show up and get two pallets in the nose with all the regulations and overhead and costs that go with it.

 

OH then that's different.

If you own a truck and everything loaded into it that is all you'rn and no money to be made hauling it then it's just a truck with stuff on it. Like... for example I carried a new stove on my pickup going home 20 miles. It's not a hire or revenue job. Its strictly private.

 

For hire is irrelevant. The criteria is "commercial". If it's used in business, it's commercial.

My understanding is that it's all about vehicle weight RATINGS, not registration. I would call the local commercial enforcement folks at your friendly state police or port of entry. They are usually pretty sharp.