CDL question on trucks

FIRST LETS NOT BE RUDE TO OTHER POSTERS!!! I have seen lots of trucks with a label on them "not for hire" or exempt and private use only. Quite a while back I was told it was more for insurance than any legal help with the mechanics of the truck. So that is what my question is based on. Does the truck have to follow the same rules as other cdl trucks? Same rules for inspection, paperwork etc? A few examples would be an antique truck (b61 Mack) that goes to truck shows. Bubba who bought a Ford f800 to move his family and household to another state. And Ernald who bought a Dodge 900 dump truck to haul gravel and stone to fix up his property vrs hiring a contractor.

Vehicles with RV status must meet certain requirements in order to qualify. Just putting the letters "RV "on the side will not necessarily mean it is one. You do not need a CDL to operate an RV regardless of size. Some try to use that loophole to avoid the CDL requirements. May or may not work depending on vehicle. "Not for hire " is another attempt to avoid the "DOT " aggravation. Still required to meet the safety standards of that size vehicle. Shouldn't have to carry a log book in a private, noncommercial vehicle. Again: much depends on where you are and how they want to enforce and interpret the rules.

(quoted from post at 09:49:17 09/11/16) FIRST LETS NOT BE RUDE TO OTHER POSTERS!!! I have seen lots of trucks with a label on them "not for hire" or exempt and private use only. Quite a while back I was told it was more for insurance than any legal help with the mechanics of the truck. So that is what my question is based on. Does the truck have to follow the same rules as other cdl trucks? Same rules for inspection, paperwork etc? A few examples would be an antique truck (b61 Mack) that goes to truck shows. Bubba who bought a Ford f800 to move his family and household to another state. And Ernald who bought a Dodge 900 dump truck to haul gravel and stone to fix up his property vrs hiring a contractor.

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If the gross weight of the vehicle, or gross combined weight of the truck AND trailer exceeds 26,001 pounds, a CDL is required. Whether the vehicle is for private use, or commercial use makes absolutely NO difference.

Who Does Not Need A South Dakota Commercial Driver License?
? Operators serving in the United States military, operating commercial vehicles in pursuit of military purposes.
? Operators of emergency firefighting equipment necessary to the preservation of life, property, or the execution
of emergency governmental functions performed under emergency conditions that aren?t subject to normal
traffic regulation.
? Operators of rental transporting equipment used as personal family use vehicles.
? Operators of recreation vehicles used as personal family recreational use vehicles.
? Operators involved in farm to market transportation movements, at least 16 years of age holding a valid
operator?s license, limited to those operators of a farm vehicle:
(a) Controlled and operated by a farmer,
(b) Used to transport either agricultural products, farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm, and
(c) Not used in the operations of a common or contract motor carrier,
(d) Used within 150 miles of a person?s farm.
W

Seasonal Farm-Services CDL
Drivers who are seasonal employees of a farm-related service industry, such as custom harvesters, farm retail
outlet suppliers, agri-chemical business, and livestock feeders are eligible for a ?Seasonal/Restricted
Commercial License?. The applicant for the ?Seasonal CDL? must have a good driving record for the two most
recent years and must have held a valid operator license for one year (this doesn?t include instruction permits or
restricted licenses). Upon meeting these requirements all knowledge and skill testing will be waived to obtain this
seasonal CDL.
A ?Seasonal CDL? allows the operator to operate only Class B and C Commercial vehicles within 150 miles from
the place of business or the farm currently being served, and the operator may not drive vehicles carrying any
placarded quantities of hazardous materials, except for the following:
(1) Diesel fuel in quantities of 1,000 gallons or less,
(2) Liquid fertilizers, such as plant nutrients, in vehicles or implements of husbandry with total capacities
of 3,000 gallons or less, and,
(3) Solid fertilizers, such as solid plant nutrients, that aren?t transported with any organic substance.
A ?Seasonal CDL? is valid for one 180-day period or two 90-day periods within the calendar year.

Any truck over 4500kg (10,000pounds) must have a cvor and a yellow safety sticker. So Bubba and Ernald would need to comply. If you have Historical tags you can only use it to go to truck shows, you can't haul your brothers back hoe around on week ends to help him out. I have attached a checklist from the OFA . This is Canadian but I am sure it applies for most States also


Trailer Towing Checklist (2015)
Towing with your truck? Consider the following before hitching up and heading out!
The Highway Traffic Act (HTA) treats trailers and towed farm implements differently. The HTA defines a trailer as, ?a vehicle that is at any time drawn upon a highway by a motor vehicle, except an implement of husbandry...? Implements are not trailers!
The HTA defines a commercial motor vehicle as, ?a motor vehicle having permanently attached thereto a truck or delivery body...? Farm trucks are commercial motor vehicles.
Trucks may legally tow more than one (1) trailer; subject to maximum length, width, height and weight rules.
Oversize/Overweight (O/O) Permits:
Truck or truck/trailer combinations exceeding any of the following require an O/O permit;
o?? width: 2.6 metres (8'6"),
o?? length: 23 metres (75'6"),
o?? height: 4.15 metres (13'6"), or
o?? weight: determined by vehicle registration and the HTA
Farm equipment carried on a truck or trailer is a load. If any dimensions exceed the above limits, an O/O permit is required.
Towing Implements:
You may tow farm implements behind a licensed truck. The combination must operate at 40 km/h [25 MPH] or less, with aSMV signon the rearmost implement. Safety chain and lighting requirements apply too.
Vehicle Registration:
A truck?s registered gross weight (RGW) determines the registration or plate fee. RGW is the total of the truck?s weight plus passengers, fuel, load, plus trailer and its load.
The gross weight of a light trailer, [less than 2,800 kg (6,173 lbs)] need not be added to the truck?s gross weight for registration purposes. However, once a trailer?s gross weight exceeds 2,800 kg, all of its weight must be added to the truck?s weight for registration.
Driver?s Licences:
A Class ?A? license is required for any combination of truck and towed trailer(s) or towed vehicle(s) (including farm implements and wagons) where the trailer transmits more than 4,600 kg (10,141 lbs) to the road.?
A Class ?A with condition R? or ?Restricted A? is only for a truck and single trailer combination, where the trailer exceeds 4,600 kg; the trailer cannot have air brakes.
Refer to HTA regulation 340/94 [Driver?s Licenses] for all other license classes.
Licence Plates:
"FARM" plates are reduced fee commercial plates for farm trucks with a RGW over 3,000 kg (6,613 lbs), used for personal use or to haul farm products, equipment or supplies. Hauling farm products, equipment or supplies for others must be free of charge, except during September, October or November.
Annual Truck/Trailer Safety Inspections:
Annual safety inspections are required for;
o?? any truck not towing a trailer, if the truck?s actual weight, registered gross weight or gross vehicle weight rating exceeds 4,500 kg (9,920 lbs.), or
o?? both?The truck and the trailer if;
1)??? the weight of the trailer exceeds 4,500 kg, or
2) ? ?the weight of the truck plus the weight of the trailer exceeds 4,500 kg.
Driver Trip Inspections (Pre-trip Inspections):
Trucks weighting over 4,500 kg (9,920 lbs) must carry a signed daily inspection report. Inspection reports are only valid for 24 hours from their time of completion. A 2 or 3 axle farm truck, not towing a trailer, carrying or used to carry primary farm products produced by the driver or operator is exempt from having a written report. You are not exempt from inspecting the vehicle before heading out!
Hours of Work:
Drivers of trucks over 4,500 kg are limited in their length of time ?behind the wheel?. The driver of a 2 or 3-axle farm truck or a 2-axle farm truck towing a single-axle trailer, used to carry primary farm products produced by the driver or operator, is exempt.
Commercial Vehicle Operator?s Registration (CVOR):
All trucks, including farm trucks, with an actual or registered gross weight over 4,500 kg (9,920 lbs) must have a CVOR. CVOR renewals cost $50; new CVORs $250.
Weigh Scales:
All commercial motor vehicles, including a farm trucks, ?dualie? pickups or trucks towing a business-type trailer must stop at an open weigh scale. Empty pickups need not stop.
For a printable version of the Trailer Towing Checklist fact sheet, click here.
For further information contact your local OFA Member Service Representative or the OFA Guelph office.
Revised February 2015
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It all goes back to your state. What is required currently in your state.

In my state if I think I might need cdl's there is a lot more that I will need to be in compliance

Like here in Georgia don't go ask for farm plates cause there ain't none.

(quoted from post at 12:02:36 09/11/16)................ This is Canadian but I am sure it applies for most States also........................

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Maybe!

(reply to post at 09:49:17 09/11/16)

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"Not for hire" on the side of the truck is for nothing more than to give DOT inspectors something to chuckle about, and make them friendlier to their next victim.

You need to ask your local DOT what you read here may not be enforced where you live as all states have different laws ect you can get info from your state just for asking a lot will depend on wt and what are you doing with yours.

Rusty, you may be right where you live, but in Indiana and Kentucky, you do not need a CDL to transport farm products no matter what the truck weighs. I live on the state line and I have numerous farm neighbors who have been stopped by DOT cops and have no CDL and were told with their own truck and hauling their own goods, no CDL is needed. My uncle was stopped in Indiana and was cited for no fuel permit with his tri axle truck. The truck is licensed in Kentucky. I have known several farmers who have never had a CDL stopped for various reasons and the CDL was never brought up. I have a neighbor with 3 semi's who has never had a CDL. Hauls his own grain and has been DOT checked. He has not been cited.

Very good! A lot of people don't realize that their empty Dualie , which has a rgvw of over 4500 kg falls into the daily inspection/logbook/cvor requirements. Ben

Here in NY volunteer firefighters must have a CDL to drive the larger trucks, such as ladder trucks

A lot of people don't realize that if you operate a commercial vehicle over 10,000 pounds you require a CVOR whether you operate in the USA, Canada or Mexico.. So some body who has a big Rambo dually with a gooseneck trailer has to have a CVOR, this includes a safety sticker for the truck and trailer. You will probably never have a problem if you don't leave your rural area, but the moment you venture out on the highways , then you are fair game
I spend a lot of money every year to be in compliance with my trucks.
Martin

(quoted from post at 16:55:11 09/11/16) Here in NY volunteer firefighters must have a CDL to drive the larger trucks, such as ladder trucks

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Last I knew here in NH you don't need a CDL to drive a fire truck to meet state requirements, but almost all municipalities do require them at the insistence of their insurance carriers.

Here are Indiana's rules which separates private carrier from commercial carrier. If you are under 26k and it's your truck, You don't advertise a business on truck or trailer, you stay in the state, you are not for hire, you are caring your property, you are private carrier, no need for DOT or CDL.

Private Carrier with Gross Weight / Combined Gross Weights up to 26,000-lbs: If you are a Private Carrier hauling your own products inside the state of Indiana without crossing state lines in a van, truck, truck and trailer or semi-tractor and trailer and the loaded weight of either the vehicle or vehicle and trailer combination is 26,000-lbs or under, you are not required to register for a Indiana DOT Number (Indiana DOT, DOT Indiana, and Indiana State DOT) or USDOT number. As a Private Carrier, you will also not be required to register for Indiana Intra-State Motor Carrier Authority at these weights, but compliance with financial responsibility is required (you are required to carry Personal Injury

Good chance each state have different rules and exemptions.

Google your state.

The Not for hire signs is a carry over from back in the days before commercial carriers were deregulated in the US. A company that hauled their own products, did not need an MC number. Things have changed and the creation of USDOT numbers and such has replaced the operating authority regulations. At one time motor carrier regulation was based on fiscal responsibility, now it is more focused on "safety".

Mike you are correct,as long as you are hauling farm goods for sale. That means hauling a load of grain to elevator is fine but haul a load of stone home then you need a CDL. Another fact is that in Indiana if you have farm plates, hauling farm product for sale you can plate your rig for its empty weight.

Let me try and make this clear- LICENSING of the operator is a STATE issue. Each state issues licenses for their residents. There is a 50 state compact wherein each state has agreed to recognize the others licenses. The general rules on licensing are very similar between the states, but there are exemptions that vary widely. STATE "DOT" rules and regs are not the same as Federal FMCSR rules and regs. The difference is intrastate and interstate COMMERCE. A Commercial Motor Vehicle has to meet certain criteria to fall under the FMCSR. It's not just the 10,0001 lbs or more and in commerce. In theory a guy on a Vespa scooter can be a CMV if he's hauling a placardable amount of HazMat, and there are items that require only a a few ounces of material to require a placard IIRC. It's not as simple as, "They let us do that in Ky or Vt or ND." State law and Federal law are 2 different things. Once you cross a state line in a CMV what you did in your home state goes out the window. It's that simple. Of course that only applies to CMVs. You might be driving a vehicle that has a gvwr of 12K and towing a trailer with a GVWR of 20K and you can still not be a CMV. Yes, you are probably going to have to be licensed in the same class as a guy driving a CMV, (a restricted Class A perhaps), but that doesn't necessarily mean you are a CMV under the Federal law.

State Licensing laws, State weight laws, State "DOT" laws- that one thing.

Federal DOT laws for a Commercial Motor Vehicle engaged in interstate commerce- something altogether different.

Not so focused on safety more focused on getting independent trucks off the road..the whole Dot system is one big joke

Why should crossing a state line be like entering a foreign country? We need uniform laws that the average
person can understand..

(quoted from post at 09:47:18 09/12/16) Why should crossing a state line be like entering a foreign country? We need uniform laws that the average
person can understand..

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100,000s of thouands of trucks are criss-crossing our country every day. Most are running perfectly legal. Very few are driven by rocket scientists. Like many other things, once you learn it, it is no big deal.

I didn't know about the empty weight thing. I register mine for 80,000. I have hauled stone and lime, but never been stopped. The people I mentioned being stopped were hauling their own grain.

(quoted from post at 13:47:18 09/12/16) Why should crossing a state line be like entering a foreign country? We need uniform laws that the average
person can understand..

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It's not. But the Constitution, Bill of Rights and other law assign authority over interstate commerce to the Federal Gov't So they have a set of rules that apply nationwide, just as you said there should be. It's up to your state to handle intrastate CMV law. When it gets to interstate, then it's just like you wanted- a uniform set of rules and regs for CMVs. Of course your state could do like mine did, stupidly IMO, and adopt the FMCSR, the Federal DOT laws, en mass. Then the local laws are the same as Federal. But that brings it's own set of problems.