CDL Question

There is a Chevy C65 for sale on Fleabay, GVW 27500. The seller states a CDL is not required if it is plated under 26,000. I always thought a CDL was required (or not required) based on the manufacturers stated rating on the vehicle. Am I correct?

Thanks,

Bill,

I have a Kansas CDL and the rating is 26,001+ needs a CDL, 26,000 and under does NOT.
However, grab a CDL drivers hand book from your state and verify it for yourself.

Here in pa. it is the manufacturers data plate and NOT what it is registered at

All states are the same because it is federal law.
So here is the rules. You can find them listed under § 383.91 Commercial motor vehicle groups. Read threw it and see if you find any mention of plated. No it says GVWR.

(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.

Some states allow a CDL Exemption if it is strictly for farm use. My state allows an exemption up to 80,000# within 150 miles of the farm.

I believe Iowa has an exemption if you are hauling for yourself.

In Texas, based on what vehicle is capable of, not what it's plated for.

That said, in TX for Farm use you would not need a CDL, but you _would_ need a Class A D.L.

I went over the whole thing with CVE over a truck I bought that was similar; C70, 27,500 with air.

The guy is wrong he is just trying to sell an old truck. Not the plates but what is on the manf. plate.

'Here' it goes by what you plate the truck for, not what it can be plated for. The only catch is that IF it has air brakes, you need an air endorsement. Here, the air endorsement is separate from the Class 3/CDL.
At that GVW I don't expect it has air brakes, so... should be good to go... at least based on our rules.

Rod

Went through this whole CDL, or no CDL, myself ordeal awhile back myself and learned alot. Like another post stated, the requirements for a CDL is Federal, NOT state mandated. Take a look at John in LA's post for the requirements. Too, know that also under the federal mandate is the fact that anyone driving a vehicle with a GVW of over 10,001 lbs, and having a commercial tag, is also supposed to have a medical card. There are, of course, exemptions but in general that is the rule.

You will need a CDL to operate that vehicle. The DOT Cops stop me on a regular basis for "inspection". They always look at the GVWR data inside the door post.

In Pa it is not what the plate on the vehicle says but what you register the truck at with the state. So if the plate says 32,000 but you choose to register it at 25,999 then you do not need a CDL. Provided it does not have airbrakes, which is a totally different story. I know this for a fact from experience. Some people really should not post when they have no idea what they are talking about.

One more thing, don't forget that if you should happen to register it at 25,999 you can no longer haul the 32,000, only up to what you registered it for.

John, I believe what the DOT man told me. The GVWR word "rating" , means the the weight tag reading. It states the rated weight.

Lets see how do I say this discreetly and without ostentation.
That's hard but here we go...............

I agree with your statement hadley.
"Some people really should not post when they have no idea what they are talking about."
But since you are the expert and know the facts from experience can you please help me out.

I will give you a link to a fact sheet put out by your great state of Pa. Can you show me where it says or what wording backs up your statement "it is not what the plate on the vehicle says but what you register the truck at with the state"

Or does it say in black and white....
"vehicles with a gross vehicle <font color=red>weight rating</font>"

Thanks for your help.
Pa CDL fact sheet

"Some people really should not post when they have no idea what they are talking about."

In light of your above captioned statement, you probably should use the edit function found with the "Modern View" and delete your off the wall post.

I have a CDL and know the requirements in my state. If you want accurate information, go the the nearest weigh station and ask them. They will be glad to help and then you"ll be sure.

Here is my 2 cents. We bought cab and chassis at work and had dump bodies, snow plows, spreaders. etc. added. The cab and chassis were overbuilt, but the company that added the extras, generated their own gvwr door stickers, in this case they did change the manufactures gvwr.

Thanks for all of the input. I'm going to check to be sure but am under the belief that it is the manufacturers weight rating of the vehicle, not plates. As somebody else said the guy is trying to sell an old truck. He also said it needed a brake job and did not even take time to wipe the dirt off the dash before taking pictures.
These cheap trucks can turn out to be money pits and you still have an old truck.
Thanks again,
Bill.

(quoted from post at 07:12:45 03/30/13) In Pa it is not what the plate on the vehicle says but what you register the truck at with the state. So if the plate says 32,000 but you choose to register it at 25,999 then you do not need a CDL. Provided it does not have airbrakes, which is a totally different story. I know this for a fact from experience. Some people really should not post when they have no idea what they are talking about.

Click to expand...

Well, it doesn't work that way anywhere else. GVWR is the key. As I used to tell people, you can register a KW straight body for 5K lbs, but that doesn't make it a Toyota.