Does a trailer over 10,000 lbs require a CDL

This message is a reply to an archived post by John in La on July 08, 2012 at 16:19:49.
The original subject was "Re: Does a trailer over 10,000 lbs require a CDL".

2 more cents. I am an active enforcement officer in Canada. If your trailer with load has a scaled weight of 4600 kgs (10,000 lbs) when unattached from the pull vehicle. You will require a A or Class 1 Commercial Drivers License no matter what your home state/provinces laws are or whether you are getting paid or not. So be aware if you come to Canada.

'A' north neighbor,, if i come back up to canada to visit, it will be in a car...

Unless things have changed a whole bunch lately,here in Alberta you only needed a class 1 if your trailer has air brakes.Class 3 for a tandem body job.So what your saying is if somebody that has A rv trailer that weighs over 10,000lbs needs a class 1????? Never heard of that....

I'm not meaning to sound disrespectful, but just because you hold a badge does not mean you fully understand the law. Case in point, my best friend drives a tow truck for a large well known company in Des Moines. He was towing a Suburban in to the dealership where I work. As he turned on to the frontage road to get to the shop, a DOT stopped him, stated he needed straps on the wheel lift, wrote a $280 ticket, and slapped an out of service tag on his truck. Since there was no shoulder and posted no parking, he said he could not drop the Suburban and had to continue to the shop. Once there he dropped the Suburban, and peeled off the out of service sticker. The DOT officer got very upset and refused to listen when he pointed out the violation cited was not present without a towed vehicle, and pulled out a copy of 49 CFR and the federal certification from Vulcan Industries that straps were not required. It ended up in court and the ticket was thrown out based on several points. First was the officer could not state when his last training on tow trucks had been received, the language in 49 CFR, and the federal certification on the equipment.
It may be different in Canada, but here in the States 10K is not an automatic requirement for a CDL. 49 CFR clearly states for occasional transport of personal private property that you aren"t engaged in any sort of business activity, you don"t need a CDL or DOT number at 10K.
Like I said, Canada could be different, but I would recommend you make sure you clearly understand the definitions of "private" and "commercial" so you don't unintentionally make a mistake and wrongly cite someone.

The business that I used to own and operate hauled a cot of hazmat. When the state got federal grant money in the late eighties to put enforcement officers on there was a lot of confusion. My trucks were getting ticketed regularly for nothing. A corporal on the force was a friend, so I would call him up, explain, he would tell me to send the ticket to him and he would take care of it. Most of the problems were in the paperwork.

I see now I'll never be going to canada again.....

In Alberta, over 4500 kg's, you need to register the truck and trailer together and have the GVW marked on the truck. If you use the trailer for commercial purposes outside a specific area, you need to register it for the whole province at a greatly increased cost. If you use it for personal use, you don't need to do anything special for registration other than register them together and you don't need any special license. This is based on single axle tow vehicles and utility trailers, not semi trailers. I hauled about 20,000 lbs behind a 4 ton Hino without anything special. The Hino had hydraulic brakes and the tandem dual trailer had electric brakes. If you drive an RV you don't even need an air brake endorsement and I've seen dozens of people pulling huge 5th wheel trailers well over 4500kg's and they don't have the GVW listed on their truck. The really sad thing is that a lot people with money shouldn't be driving RV's or pulling trailers. they're some of the worst drivers anywhere.

Unfortunately some people in law enforcement have a big ego/power trip despite fully understanding the laws.

The way this guy marched in here with what and the way it was written tells you something ! plus what he calls himself if you think about it!

I think in Manitoba if the trailer grvw is over 4500kg you need a class 3 for travel trailers and any other type trailer behind a pickup Basically 14.000lb capacity trailer you need a 3 minimum, what ever you do with it even empty.
Regards Robert

I just noticed that I should have put not fully understanding the laws. I think in Alberta, anyway, non air brakes you're good to go with a single axle tow vehicle. There may be a length restriction though.

I have to admit I was thinking the same. While I haven"t found any official Canadian on line info, there is a lot of reciprocity stated in U.S. federal motor carrier web sites stating legal in the U.S., legal in Canada.