Key here is you would be a "hired" driver.
Finally Got That CDL (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter rocketman
- Start date
Key here is you would be a "hired" driver.
bing
Nitro Member
Hi Milt, Can you send an email to [email protected] and I will send you some info about myself and the whole process.
Thank you so much for this.
Darren
Huge
Nitro Member
My buddy has a 42' coach and I think he has a class B license. So maybe you don't need a CDL, maybe you just need a class B with air brakes. I really havn't paid that much attention to the rules about motor coaches because I usually drive the hauler and I already have a CDL. But I'm kind of curious so I think I will ask them when I pick the coach up.
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Crew Chief Pro
Nitro Member
The most important thing to remember when you tow a trailer is this:
If you have sponsor stickers, branding, or any lettering on the trailer then it will LOOK like you are running a business from it ( i.e. Commercial use of trailer ). Then the police will stop you to see if you have a commercial license ( CDL ). From your webpage your trailer screams Commercial, hence you get more attention. Glad you got a CDL to drive a pickup truck, but it sounds like a bunch of crap for no good reason to me.
So boys and girls, take the stickers off your trailer if you really want to fly under the radar. I am 80 feet long and 45,000 lbs and have no special license plates or license and the police don't notice me. They even helped me change a flat tire commenting that "that thing is really long". When I get to a race then I pull out the banners, but nothing goes on the trailer while driving to or from a race.
Guess I am lucky, I only drove 35,000 miles last year racing at 35 race tracks and drove through almost every state in the union except Alaska and Hawaii.
If you have sponsor stickers, branding, or any lettering on the trailer then it will LOOK like you are running a business from it ( i.e. Commercial use of trailer ). Then the police will stop you to see if you have a commercial license ( CDL ). From your webpage your trailer screams Commercial, hence you get more attention. Glad you got a CDL to drive a pickup truck, but it sounds like a bunch of crap for no good reason to me.
So boys and girls, take the stickers off your trailer if you really want to fly under the radar. I am 80 feet long and 45,000 lbs and have no special license plates or license and the police don't notice me. They even helped me change a flat tire commenting that "that thing is really long". When I get to a race then I pull out the banners, but nothing goes on the trailer while driving to or from a race.
Guess I am lucky, I only drove 35,000 miles last year racing at 35 race tracks and drove through almost every state in the union except Alaska and Hawaii.
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rocketman
Nitro Member
I disagree with that. The cop noticed I did not have truck plates on my truck as he passed me. He then noticed I was towing a heavy trailer with perm. plates on trailer making it an illegal combination. In Oregon if you are towing a heavy trailer 8,000 lbs or more you must have truck plates.
A cop can't just pull you over to see if you have a CDL they must have probable cause. I even asked the cop about the advertising on the trailer and he said it made no difference.
So in Oregon anyway if you don't have a CDL at least get the truck plates so they don't have a reason to pull you over.
A cop can't just pull you over to see if you have a CDL they must have probable cause. I even asked the cop about the advertising on the trailer and he said it made no difference.
So in Oregon anyway if you don't have a CDL at least get the truck plates so they don't have a reason to pull you over.
Crew Chief Pro
Nitro Member
Define "truck" plates. In Illinois we have car, truck, and heavy truck plates. Do you mean you need heavy truck plates?
So many of these rules vary widely by state, but on a federally funded highway in any state if you are legal in your home state you are legal in their state (by law, it is one of the conditions the state agrees to for their federal funding).
The one area where Rich is consistently confusing is he replaces the concept of the CDL (which means the driver is generally a hired gun) with a Class A license .... Which means the driver can driver a combination (truck/trailer) of any weight.
I carry a class A exempt license, so I legally drive a 63,000 lb rig I own with air brakes etc. for personal use. And as Rich correctly points out is allows me to register my 48 ft Renegade/Freightliner as an RV (exempt from any weight catagories, and as Rich correctly points out, not allowed to be a commercial vehicle). No medical, no hours log, but pretty much all the other rules apply.
I would say that my Class A license will get me through 80% of all problems (that said, shear luck and common sense driving bats way over .500!).
I've thought about getting a CDL just to have it .... but hey I thought about getting my pilots license too, but somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico a couple of years ago I decided that I'd waited too long!
So as soon as work slows down a little, I may have to follow in Rich's footsteps on this one! The pre-trip inspection looks tough ... a walk around on an airplane is much easier (possibly because I never lost my fear for that thing killing me).
The one area where Rich is consistently confusing is he replaces the concept of the CDL (which means the driver is generally a hired gun) with a Class A license .... Which means the driver can driver a combination (truck/trailer) of any weight.
I carry a class A exempt license, so I legally drive a 63,000 lb rig I own with air brakes etc. for personal use. And as Rich correctly points out is allows me to register my 48 ft Renegade/Freightliner as an RV (exempt from any weight catagories, and as Rich correctly points out, not allowed to be a commercial vehicle). No medical, no hours log, but pretty much all the other rules apply.
I would say that my Class A license will get me through 80% of all problems (that said, shear luck and common sense driving bats way over .500!).
I've thought about getting a CDL just to have it .... but hey I thought about getting my pilots license too, but somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico a couple of years ago I decided that I'd waited too long!
So as soon as work slows down a little, I may have to follow in Rich's footsteps on this one! The pre-trip inspection looks tough ... a walk around on an airplane is much easier (possibly because I never lost my fear for that thing killing me).
rocketman
Nitro Member
In our state (Oregon) if you are towing a heavy trailer (other than a travel trailer) you must get truck plates that are renewed quarterly. the cost of them is determined by the combined weight of the truck and the trailer.
In oregon you must have a class a cdl if you are driving a truck and trailer Combination that weighs over 26000 lbs or is rated to weigh more than 26000 lbs. the only exemption is if it's a motorhome and then you can use regular passenger car plates.
That's as simple as I can explain it.
In oregon you must have a class a cdl if you are driving a truck and trailer Combination that weighs over 26000 lbs or is rated to weigh more than 26000 lbs. the only exemption is if it's a motorhome and then you can use regular passenger car plates.
That's as simple as I can explain it.
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Quite a few of the cheap trucking outfits will get you a cdl in exchange for you signing up to drive their junk for a year at less than generous pay. don't let them suck you in. Just get a us drivers license in the state in which you chose to live, then study and get your CDL, it's not hard, just time consuming.
good luck,
pat
Oregon andUtah seem to march to the beat of their own drum. those are two states I do not like to travel through if possible. they will bust your b#lls over the most minor infraction.In both states their weigh stations are considered profit centers.
pat
Just recently talked with a friend who owns a DOT advisory company, and she said it's going to get worse for the racers. The powers that be have figured out that many of the rigs carry flamable materials, are overweight and they are considering them commercial. Nevada is really getting bad, so don't be surprised when you get stopped. They are especially looking for the big motorhome/stacker trailer rigs, and those with lots of lettering/sponsor names on them. So, be forewarned it's only going to get worse from now on. She said that if you've not been stopped yet, you've just been lucky!
rocketman
Nitro Member
I agree Pat. I had a conversation the other day with a racer who owns a sign business and he said that Washington State is tough on everyone since if you are over 16,000 lbs you have to go though the scales and if you don't stop it can be a 5,000 fine if they decide to chase you. He stopped doing business there as a result.
I'm not sure what the regs on fuel is but I would carry as little as possible. I did talk to the head guy at motor carrier in Oregon and he said this "we are not singling out racers, they just got swept up in the rules like everyone else"
I'm not sure what the regs on fuel is but I would carry as little as possible. I did talk to the head guy at motor carrier in Oregon and he said this "we are not singling out racers, they just got swept up in the rules like everyone else"
