QuestionI have a Chevy Kodiac 4500, with a utility trailer rated for 12,000#. With this trailer we tow a Skid Steer and some attachments with a total weight of 11,000#. The problem is that I got stopped at the scales and received a ticket for being over weight and not having a class A license. My question is there any way to haul this equipment without having to get the commercial license. I see people with there 1 ton trucks towing all the time. Do they all have CDL? Any help would be great. Also i live in CA.
AnswerWell the towing of trailers with vehicles does create issues due to size and combination weights of both vehicles and cargo..
In a nut shell, the Chev 4500 is a heavy vehicle designed and used for commercial applications. Second is that you have a gross vehicle weight rating of approximately 16,000 pounds. Then you say you have a trailer rated at 12,000 pounds. That combination totals 28,000 pounds which exceeds the 26,001 rating set D.O.T. as definition of a commercial vehicle. This us under the F.M.C.S.R. (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations) (GREEN BOOK) section 382.107 definitions.
Second issue is that a skid steer and equipment tends to prove commercial use of the vehicle (does it have signs on it also ?).
Also do you have a US DOT Number or a California DOT number on the vehicle ?
All of those tend to show commercial use, which also regulates the class of vehicle and needed drivers license for operation of the vehicle.
Said to say, but you are hung with the ticket, best thing to do is for you and maybe a few other co workers to go get the CDL licenses.
