Which truck

[RustyJC]

Ummm, right. The key here in Texas is that, unless you are engaged in commercial activity not otherwise exempted by Texas statutes, a CDL is NOT REQUIRED based solely on tow or towed vehicle weights. As your post states, the Federal standards kick in when "...they operate in interstate, intrastate, or foreign commerce if they drive a vehicle that meets any of the classifications of a CMV described below." That's why they're called COMMERCIAL Driver Licenses. Unless they are engaged in commercial activity, RVs do not meet this requirement, and no CDL is required in Texas.

As I stated previously, check out and conform to your home state's driver license requirements for your particular vehicle, and you'll be fine.

Rusty

[DannyB1954]

Thank you for the correction. Here in California unless you have a camper shell, you are required to register your pick up truck as a commercial vehicle. Since this topic was on trucks, I was not thinking about Class "A" rigs which are not registered as commercial vehicles.

I will be moving from Ca to MI. I was looking at buying a used Class 6 box truck to move and stay under CDL requirements. So now theoretically I should be able to buy a used 18 wheeler to move my personal possessions with a standard licence. Anybody have experience with this?

[RustyJC]

You're most welcome.

California vehicle licensing (a separate issue from driver license requirements) is somewhat of a special case. Many years ago when we lived in Ohio, they were the same way. If you had a truck (pickup included), you had to buy commercial truck plates for it - there was no such designation as a non-commercial truck. Despite that, we still weren't required to carry a commercial driver license if we weren't using the truck for commercial purposes.

Rusty

[buster frogg]

I have access to a one ton SRW and a DRW. If we are carrying the slide in camper I always use the DRW. The ride and handling differences are remarkable.

[buster frogg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlocanPaul The 350 will "do it" no doubt but there is a definite difference from being able to "do it" and "doing it within the trucks specs". My 3/4 ton is 400hp and 1018 ft/lb torque, it will tow whatever you could put behind it, but it is only rated for 12,000lb towing and that's the maximum "legally" I can tow. I stick to the manufacturers specs because DW is in the insurance biz and if you should be unfortunate enough to have an accident and you are not within the limits of the truck, your insurance will most likely be void. The insurance companies are just looking for anything they can to deny a claim, don't let this happen to you. Check the specs and the total combined weights you will have on the truck if a 450 will do it go for that, if you need more then go for more truck or scale things back to fit your limits. That's my 2 bits worth anyway.

Consult with your insurance agent for "valid" information on insurance coverage. The information in these postings can be very misleading.

[Grodyman]

Personally, I would carry an 11' camper and pull a 21' boat with a one ton dually, but that is me. I carried a heavy Arctic Fox slide in and pulled a light 21' bowrider with a 2006 Dodge 2500. There is not a lot of weight difference between an Arctic Fox 990 and an Arctic Fox 1150.

Gman