Go big ... or go the fawk home ...

[KOWBOY]

Does that include a Class 6 truck with air brakes??

[nuclearlemon]

Originally Posted by DSLTOY

Finally got through to a Sergeant in the Nashville office of Public Safety, the official word for TN is that if it is for recreational use you can use a class 6 truck to haul whatever trailer you want, including a 3 car wedge with a regular drivers licence, no CDL required.

same for colorado and utah. the raffle rig spent much of it's travel time last year behind a volvo wia. note the magic words on the side. i do believe daryl had to add a portable toilet to meet the motorhome classification.
btw, kowboy that disc hit the mail today.

[BikerTrash]

Damn that is one fine truck! And you get 3 more MPG than my one ton dually

[nuclearlemon]

Originally Posted by BikerTrash

Damn that is one fine truck! And you get 3 more MPG than my one ton dually

lol....i got 10 mpg once...i think that was in my 40 down a pass in neutral with a tailwind. my powerchoke got about 10 when we brought uglibus home for the last time

people don't realize how close the big trucks are to a standard diesel. you pay an easy 40k for a diesel pickup, but you could buy a class 5-7 rig used for that, have a heck of a lot more powerful rig. unless you daily drive your diesel (at $4/gln, i sure as sh^% ain't gonna be doing that), a real tow rig might be a better option.

than, look at trailers. a one car trailer is an easy $1200-2k used. for around 2k and up, you can buy a decent flatbed to haul behind a real tow rig.

biggest issue is space. you can store it somewhere, or be creative. the wia i showed earlier has a garage built onto the side of the house. the house is on a slope with the garage on the downside, so you don't even notice that it's considerably larger than a normal garage. the flatbed is stored where they board their horses, but if they didn't have horses, it would easily fit where their huge a55 horsetrailer is, along the fence in the backyard. you'd never even know.

[BikerTrash]

Originally Posted by nuclearlemon

lol....i got 10 mpg once...i think that was in my 40 down a pass in neutral with a tailwind. my powerchoke got about 10 when we brought uglibus home for the last time

people don't realize how close the big trucks are to a standard diesel. you pay an easy 40k for a diesel pickup, but you could buy a class 5-7 rig used for that, have a heck of a lot more powerful rig. unless you daily drive your diesel (at $4/gln, i sure as sh^% ain't gonna be doing that), a real tow rig might be a better option.

than, look at trailers. a one car trailer is an easy $1200-2k used. for around 2k and up, you can buy a decent flatbed to haul behind a real tow rig.

biggest issue is space. you can store it somewhere, or be creative. the wia i showed earlier has a garage built onto the side of the house. the house is on a slope with the garage on the downside, so you don't even notice that it's considerably larger than a normal garage. the flatbed is stored where they board their horses, but if they didn't have horses, it would easily fit where their huge a55 horsetrailer is, along the fence in the backyard. you'd never even know.

I am going to try to pretend I never read this... the gears are already turning in my head... O God please make it stop >.<

[KOWBOY]

Originally Posted by BikerTrash

I am going to try to pretend I never read this... the gears are already turning in my head... O God please make it stop >.<

Ige done nailed it down just right.

I paid $35k for my Lil' Pete.

[nuclearlemon]

Originally Posted by BikerTrash

I am going to try to pretend I never read this... the gears are already turning in my head... O God please make it stop >.<

hehehehehehe...my evil plan is working. get everyone to buy trucks, then they need parts, thus keeping people stupid enough to get into this business busy. (insert evil laugh here)

[DSLTOY]

Originally Posted by KOWBOY

Does that include a Class 6 truck with air brakes??

Yes Sir, but it sounds like TX has their own set of rules and requirements for a non commerical truck licence that other states don't have. No guarantee you will not get hassled if you get stopped as 2 of the three state troopers I asked the question though you needed one, one even though you needed a log book. Your rig would most likely not get stopped but the truck I am working on with a three car trailer might get stopped and checked to insure I am not commerical.
Ige is correct, if you look at the price of a dually and a class 6 truck new the class 6 is 20K higher but at about 4 years old they are about the same price and the class 6 is a lot more truck.

[KOWBOY]

Thanks Roger.

I'll check the TX laws when I'm home next ... gotta get tags on 'er anyhow.

[bigcountry]

Checked at the drivers license office and they said that if it is pulling a trailer that has a gvwr over 10,000lbs that a person would have to have a class A cdl if the vehicle has airbrakes and that if the vehicle didn't have air brakes that even with my 1ton would have to have a class A license without air brake endorcement. I'm fixen to get my cdl's anyway but I was just making sure what licence to get. It doesn't matter how you tag your truck or what stickers you put on it, you must have the correct license. A buddy of mine just got busted and it cost him $730 because he didn't have the correct license.

[nuclearlemon]

Originally Posted by bigcountry

. I'm fixen to get my cdl's anyway but I was just making sure what licence to get. .

why? do you tow with big trucks? don't know about there, but in colorado...cdl holders get nailed harder on traffic offenses.

[KOWBOY]

Originally Posted by bigcountry

It doesn't matter how you tag your truck or what stickers you put on it, you must have the correct license.

RV's do not require a CDL.

Originally Posted by bigcountry

A buddy of mine just got busted and it cost him $730 because he didn't have the correct license.

What was he driving? What was he towing? Where was he at? Who pulled him over? Why did he get pulled over? Was the $730 fine just for the CDL infraction or include other violations ... which is probably why he got pulled over in the first place. I have been told that the CDL infraction alone is a $180 fine.

Pulling your 90' trailer at 80 mph is just asking to be pulled over. You should definitely get a CDL.

BTW, technically speaking, the TX law states that any commercial towing requires a CDL. A professional landscaping company with a Ford Ranger pulling a riding lawn mower on a 6' trailer would require a CDL for example.

[D'Animal]

Kowboy,

You really need to call the Texas Highway Patrol in you area and ask them to stop by and look at you setup and ask them about the correct license you need as well as the placards you may need. If they say none, great! Get them to put it in writing and throw that peice of papaer in the glovebox.


As I mentioned early in this post I have been busted by the Highway Patrol. I was driving a F450 w a 32' goosneck trailer.

The DMV will told me and put in writing that I did not need a CDL. When the highway patrol was done writing tickets my fine was going to be $7,800.
Driving out of class
No log book
Driving by a weight station, etc. It added up. I went to court and fought the ticket, when i showed them my documentation from the DMV it was reduced to a fix it ticket.

The highway patrol are the ones who will bust you so you might as well go straight to them.

[KOWBOY]

Originally Posted by D'Animal

The highway patrol are the ones who will bust you so you might as well go straight to them.

I couldn't agree more sir.

And the funny part is that most of them ain't gotta clue what the actual laws are that concern this topic ... except the one general consensus is that RV's do not need a CDL.

Therefore, the challenge for me next week is to get the DMV to tag 'er as an RV ... otherwise it's off to truck drivin' school I go.

[DavidW]

Originally Posted by KOWBOY

... otherwise it's off to truck drivin' school I go.

Make sure to put an onboard camera in before you start!

[65swb45]

Originally Posted by DavidW

Make sure to put an onboard camera in before you start!

Candid camera is more like it!

YouTube will never be the same!

[66fj40x2]

I'd contact one of the motor carrier inspector troopers as opposed to a regular DPS Trooper. They deal with it every day..... You'll most likely meet some sooner or later

[chattfj40]

yup...probably gonna meet one right after passing the weigh station...

I'm thinking that Roger and I might face the same thing on the way to Alaska, especially if we get a 3-car wedge and add a third rig.

I'm thinking that they're gonna pull us, just to check us out...

We'll see....

[DSLTOY]

Originally Posted by 66fj40x2

I'd contact one of the motor carrier inspector troopers as opposed to a regular DPS Trooper. They deal with it every day..... You'll most likely meet some sooner or later

That's where I started, asked the guys that work the scales on I-24.
I got answers from you don't need a CDL to you need a CDL, must keep a log and may need fuel stickers. The supervisors office in Nashville said the key word in the laws is commerical vehicles and that vehicles that are use for RV's are not mentioned so they are exempt.

I have to ask, the guy with the F-450 and 32 ' goose neck, what was he hauling? If it was jeeps did he show the officer the registrations to prove they were his?

Someone with lots of spare time needs to find the link to the federal laws and see what they actually say.

[valkyrie610]

I would also suggest PM'ing TEXASLAWMAN (LSLC member Todd Huey). He is a "trucker's cop" of some sort- very good with these types of rules....

[Texican]

Originally Posted by valkyrie610

I would also suggest PM'ing TEXASLAWMAN (LSLC member Todd Huey). He is a "trucker's cop" of some sort- very good with these types of rules....

We officially gave him to TTR the night he shot the flare off.......

[M-80]

Just a heads up on the CDL and traffic offenses--if you have a CDL license and you are pulled over for speeding in your personal vehicle such as one of the three listed below in my sig line, then you will NOT have the option of defensive driving. You either pay the ticket, or you fight it. Ask Chris and he can tell you. He was ticketed for six miles over the speed limit twice in six months!

Good luck on getting all of this figured out.

[D'Animal]

Originally Posted by DSLTOY

I have to ask, the guy with the F-450 and 32 ' goose neck, what was he hauling?

It is a show trailer similar to what you would see at a Nascar event. The entire side opens up, etc. Nothing but chains saws on display as well as other gasoline powered hand held power equipment.