The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Hauling Big Bolts

I'll toss in my local two cents for the discussion. While getting my drivers license address changed over I picked up the CDL pamphlet thingy they had there. Anyway, it clearly states that a regular license is fine under 26,000lbs gross truck weight rating unless towing, in which case you need a class a if the trailer is over 10,000lbs gwr. But, if the total combination gwr is under 26,000lbs you don't need one if the trailer is over 10,000lbs.

So, by this definition you have to have a class A license to pull a dual tandem 20K rated trailer unless your truck is rated 6K. On the other hand, something like a 14K trailer + a 10K truck is good to go. This agrees with the legal stuff I've read on the subject; they go by rated weight, not actual. To avoid potential BS you might want to consider selling/trading your tandem dual trailer for something like a 14K single wheel version if you don't really need the extra capacity.

Also, for the sake of reducing arguments, can we acknowledge the existence of non-commercial truck licenses? That always seems to be an area of confusion in these discussions. At least some states (like mine) have them, and in that case you don't need a commercial license just because of weight ratings. BUT, you still can't drive a heavy truck with a standard "car" license.