Originally Posted by HabanaJoe

Some people will have the usual "a cop told me..." or "when I was stopped they would have ticketed me for..."

But the law is the law regardless of what anyone thinks or has heard and this is the law:

(a) Vehicle group descriptions. Each driver applicant must possess and be tested on his/her knowledge and skills, described in subpart G of this part, for the commercial motor vehicle group(s) for which he/she desires a CDL. The commercial motor vehicle groups are as follows:

(1) Combination vehicle (Group A)—Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more) provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds).

(2) Heavy Straight Vehicle (Group B)—Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more), or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) GVWR.

(3) Small Vehicle (Group C)—Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that meets neither the definition of Group A nor that of Group B as contained in this section, but that either is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver, or is used in the transportation of materials found to be hazardous for the purposes of the hazardous materials as defined in § 383.5.

Originally Posted by pat@osp

That is good info in section 1 and contradicts what I was told by the RI DOT state trooper...........not that I'm too surprised by that. That was the point I had been trying to make and the answer didnt make logical sense to me when I had the discussion with him..........shouldn't it be over 26k GVW combined AND over 10k GVW towed vs OR 10k towed? I'd swear he showed me something in writing reflecting what he said but it was a long time ago now.

Originally Posted by JayFan

I live in CT and tow my boat (29' Formula) with my "commercially registered" 2013 F 350 diesel, dually dump. When hooked up I am just over the magic "26K pound weight limit". I don't do any commercial boat towing, or towing outside of CT. Seems I need a "class A" CDL license.....to be legal.

Can someone tell me what is involved in this......who has gone through this. I've been told different things from different CT DMV offices......some say I need a "road test".....some say I don't!

Originally Posted by sbracing

In PA if you tow over 10,000 pounds (commercial or not) you need a combination weight on your registration.

Originally Posted by HabanaJoe

was that on page 11, I'm not seeing what you are refernecing?

Originally Posted by Scagburner

I did some research (a lot of research) on this a year ago just completely confused myself… I even called the local State Police barracks and talked to the DOT officer. He mentioned the non-commercial Class A but then told me it wasn’t necessary less than 26,000lbs…

My truck (08 2500HD Duramax) originally had weight class 3 (7001 lb – 9000 lb) I don’t know how I got out of the dealership with that since the truck’s door sticker is 9,800 lbs.
My trailer has 12,000 lb rating which means the truck registration & weight class now need to be in combination. I re-registered truck to a Class 8 (21,001 lb – 26,000 lb). Actually, my title states 22,000 lbs since that’s the maximum according to the owner’s manual and that’s fine since the combo equals 21,800 lb.

According to the statement above, you are saying I now need a CDL, since the trailer is over 10,000 lbs?

Originally Posted by pat@osp

Yes, as far as I know that is the case. When I got my first DOT safety inspection at my shop the RI state police DOT officer brought this up to me specifically to make sure I was clear the requirement in the event I had anybody working for me. So truck and trailer with combined GVW 26,001 or more requires a A license. Truck and trailer combined 26,000 GVW or less but with trailer 10,001 GVW or more still requires an A license. So basically towing any trailer that has a GVW of 10,001 GVW or more with anything requires an A license is my understanding. I asked the question........" So I'm towing a twin axle open flatbed car trailer that has two 6k axles (12k GVW) with and F150 and the trailer is empty.........I need a class A license?" The answer I got was yes. I think the reality is if the truck has a pickup bed, truck and trailer dont have any lettering, and both are registered personally probably not going to get hassled. If the truck looks commercial, either have lettering, or either are registered in the name of a business you're likely to get hassled sooner or later.

Originally Posted by TW720HVY

Here is an article that I believe does a great job discussing this very topic, hope it helps.

http://gohorseshow.com/article.cfm?articleID=34603

Originally Posted by HabanaJoe

That is a great article, thank you for finding that!