Been readin on some other site about the horror stories here recently with our trucks pulling trailers. It's gettin ugly. I gathered a list of questions and called the Illinios State state DOT office to see how much validity there is to some of this. Found out it's mostly true. The federal boys, including the highway administartion and the IRS have put the screws to the stae level to tighten down on us.

I have been tryin to read through as many of the applicable rules as I can to put together a down and dirty version of what's comin but it's one step from impossible.

In the end they are making regs applicable to us by considering us Commercial haulers, regardless of if we are being paid or not. If your hauling a car, tractor, cow, horse or hay they are considering you a for profit entity. You can fight this but in the end the odds are against you winning. I'm also sure that there will be some arguments about this right here if I try to go into to much detail.

The following regulatory commisions are now going to be dictating your pulling habits, like it or not. The fines run in excess of $5000 and impoundment of truck and trailer until you geta legit commercial hauler to come and get you out.

FMCSA
CVSA
Federal DOT
Applicable State DOT

All of this means that if you drive a 1 ton rated Dually you and anybody that drives your truck needs a Class A CDL. If you pull a trailer in excess of 10,000 pounds trailer and load combined with any of these single or Dual Wheel trucks, you need a CDL. You will also need a state DOT number to operate within your state lines or a USDOT number to cross state lines. If you cross state lines over 26,000 combined weight of loaded trailer and truck you also need an apportioned plate and an IFTA tag.

With each of these things comes a whole list of things that go with them such as medical certificates, safety inspections and insurance requirements.

Here is the federal guidlines for who needs a CDL.

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 GVWR 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.


Every state has additional requirements. They can add to the Federal guidlines but they can't take away from them.

This is in response to the number of fly by night, under the table haulers making side money hauling. Uncle Sam wants his cut and he's feelin cheated. -

Uncle Bubba's Sig:

99 Quad Cab, 4wd, Drag Comp W/Pump Wire & Boost Elbow installed, K&N Air Canon, MBRP exhaust, Belt Drive Lift Pump and bottom Bulkhead feed from the tank, Isspro EV Pyrometer, Boost Gauge, Fuel Pressure Gauge, DT Pro Fab Trac Bar, South Bend 13-1.25 Con O Clutch, Ranch Hand Bumper, Borgeson Steering Shaft, Black Silicone Boots, 2" Lift Soft Ride Front Coils, Solenoid High Idle Kit, Bilstein 5100 HD Shocks, Rickson 19.5 Wheels w/Hancoock Rubber, HD Maxx Link Sway Bar Links, Superlift dual front stabilizer, EGR Brakes Front and Back, RV275 Injector's, Blue Chip VP44, Prodigy brake controller, B&W Gooseneck hitch and more I can't remember right now. Not to mention more to come I'm sure.
374.2/846.7 at 30psi

Thanks for that info, looks like I need to get a CDL now I hope that I do not also have to get DOT numbers also, I only pull my buddies pulling truck and tractors, only for show, never for hire, maybe I can get away with a "not for hire" magnet -

06 DIESEL's Sig:

My rig - 06 Dodge Ram 2500 Crew Long 4x4 SLT CTD 6 speed

A little here, a little there, now it smokes

If he wins a Trophy, that has value and makes it a for profit. You can argue this of course but if you lose the price is high.

The recomendations I was given when I asked about my particular circumstances was that if I'm hauling a car, have the registration for that car, registered tome or a family member with me while hauling. If I'm moving hay, have a copy of my previous year tax returns with me to show no agricultral business deductions taken. If I'm moving horses it just has to be in a trailer that weighs less then 10,000 pounds loaded.

Even with these things it is still all contingent on the officer your talking to as to their discretion. Thier on the hunt for us and that's a fact.

If you look up DOT Regulation 390.3(f)(3) it is a little bit of a saving grace but still at the discretion of the officer your talking to.
(f)(3) The occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise; -

Lookin over my notes I forgot to add a few more tidbits.

The USDOT directives are that all 10,000 pound and up trucks are to be considered as Commercial vehicles unless proven otherwise. This is your 1 ton trucks.

Duallies with what in Illinois is called a B rated plate, nationally known as an 8000 pound rating plate will be issued a citation. These trucks weight just a hair shy of 8000 pounds empty and any options you add or anything in the bed put's you over the limit.

Again penalties are steep. -

just another way for our wonderful over paid politicians to suck more money out of the little man so they can retire very well off....screw them bastards!!!!! -

scarecrow's Sig:

2001 ram 2500 QC, LB, 4x4, auto, 3 inch susp lift, 315/75/16 pro comp A/T`s , 4.10 gears, 4in exhaust off the turbo into dual 5in stacks , edge EZ stacked with the blue chip FMS box, hot rod VP44 injection pump, holley black Fuel pump, AFE stage 1, turnbuckle on wastegate, triple pillar isspro gauges boost,egt,FP, goerend triple disc converter and valve body..soon to have twin turbo , 14mm head studs and billet input shaft

Ok, so I guess that I need to look into this now since I am towing him to KY for the TS OUTLAW event, I can guarantee that it is not for profit, in my opinion if they want to go that route then he might as well start a company and just show a loss for the end of the year, if Uncle Sam wants to play hard ball I'll play, just remember I am good at doing taxes legally and finding loopholes -

whats that you say your gonna do my taxes for me next year....geez your alright... -

That is not what I said, I do my own taxes (no one elses) and I always manage to come out ok -

Glad I sold my trailer then with all this coming! -

ndurbin's Sig:

1994 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD, DTT auto, #100 plate, 370s, alil bit of timing, BD Super B Special, 4" exhaust to 5" Aussie stacks, and an AFE PG7 intake.

"Just gotta keep plugging away"

if you can show a loss for 5 years the goverment sees it as a hobby, not a "job"......hmmm 40K pulling truck and you win 2K a year.....yep thats a loss, how do you think people get away with it on racecars and farming............ -

LOGANSTANFORTH's Sig:

THEY SAY CRIME DOSENT PAY, BUT NEITHER DOES FARMING THESE DAYS

There is another solution to this....just get legal...


We have had to do this with 1 tons and trailers for years now, and we even have to have US DOT numbers to run into the US, even as Canadian citizens. Our next move is to have recreational vehicles fall under commercial rules as early as this year...

No more Dakotas pullin 35' tag trailers...YAY!!

Sorry guys, I support this 100%, I have seen far too many wrecks on the roads with guys pulling trailers that arent up to spec, or just plain inexperience. I know it will be a huge pain in the butt for some that only pull a trailer occasionally.... -

Longhorn's Sig:

Brad

2008 MegaCab 3500 Laramie Auto, Airaid CAI, FLO-PRO DPF Delete 5" TBE, 35x12.5x17 Toyo M/T, Customized Carli Starter Kit, Carli Long Travel Airbags, Remote 2.0 shocks, and Thuren Drop Links NEXT: (Thanks to my suspension guru Kevin at High Rollerz Trucks and HRT Offroad), EDGE HOT Juice/Attitude, Raider Canopy, Mopar BedRug, Bushwacker Pocket Flares (NEVER AGAIN)!

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and cost us THOUSANDS to get our state numbers, pay taxes and all that......and remember, you have to have a sticker for every state you plan to enter too.......what we will have is 3 or 4 million hotshot drivers.......just another way for the government to line their pockets........if they do keep this up im going to find a way to write the expenses, the trailer, and the truck off......... -

So were going to need a CDL just to drive a 1ton truck with a trailer or not, correct? -

OneBadBia's Sig:

02 ctd x-cab, 5speed, southbend, fass, hot rod vp, pyro,fp, boost gauges, front ranch hand, quad ADR, 100hp inj, air horns
99 CTD 5speed,he341, quadzilla xzillaraider,4" DP, 6"single stack, silencer ring MIA,DIY intake, valair clutch, isspro FP,boost and pyro, stage 5 jammers, walbro fuel pump, big line kit.
97 PSD 42" military tires and a a whole lotta sexy
79 Trans am

Doesn't matter if you show a loss on this or not, it's still for the intent of gain and that mkes you a business enterprise.

The Apportioned plate and the IFTA sticker take care of all of this. They are you passport to the U.S, Mexico and Canada under the NAFTA Agreement

Technically speaking , yes. Because the USDOT are now mandating that all your one ton capacity trucks be plated with 10,000 pound weight class plates and by default that makes you a commercial entity until proven otherwise and under the Federal CDL Laws you are required a CDL to operate this class of plates. This law has been there for years now just not enforced before. -

Now let me make some of you very happy, and some of you mad as hell. None of this applies to you RV operators yet. If your pulling an RV down the road that is 40 feet long behind your truck, as of this date none of this applies to you. They still recognize you as strictly for pleasure even though you may be on the job, under the table just as much as the rest of us. -