Huge tow vehicle needed

Ok, so we are in process of being relocated. Since the office I am moving to may be moving, we haven't gotten to the settling point.

In looking for a place, and the thought of building a house semi-soon we have a trailer coming. This trailer is a large toy hauler that can fit my car in it.

Soooooo, any recommendations on what to look for in a truck that can tow a 20000# fifth wheel?

Not without needing a CDL....

Ranger50 wrote: Not without needing a CDL....

Private use may get a pass? edit: one of those huge International pickups?

Depends on your state, but most likely no. The rule is over 26k combined, you HAVE to have a CDL.

Private coach? Farm use?

In Indana you dont need a cdl for presonal use. i have a f700 with air breaks. i called the state police and dot to confrm.

To further muddy the waters, the basic rule to determine needing a CDL:

And to even further muddy the waters, it is up to the officer to determine if you are commercial or not. So, if they think you are and you really aren't, they can stop you anyway and keep you there on the side of the road for HOURS...

I used to have an RV and spend a lot of time on RV forums. I think the general consensus is that anything much above 12-14 thousand pounds is a park model and not really something you travel with. In other words, have it delivered by semi and leave it where it sits until you hire another semi.

Are you sure that it is really 20,000lbs? You may want to weigh the actual thing loaded the way you intend to travel with it and see. Maybe 20k is just the maximum load it can theoretically hold.

SEADave wrote: I used to have an RV and spend a lot of time on RV forums. I think the general consensus is that anything much above 12-14 thousand pounds is a park model and not really something you travel with. In other words, have it delivered by semi and leave it where it sits until you hire another semi. Are you sure that it is really 20,000lbs? You may want to weigh the actual thing loaded the way you intend to travel with it and see. Maybe 20k is just the maximum load it can theoretically hold.

Sounded to me as if, it was pack up the house/apartment into it with a car in back too, drive to new location, unload stuff not needed into storage, and then camp out in it until a house is found/built. So, it could very well be 20k loaded.

Ford Powerstroke Diesel dually

Dodge/Cummins dually

eh, I can get my CDL, not a big deal. I have had it previously and so did the wife.

The trailer is supposed to be 14950 or so. So with the car, 3200#, and just general stuff its gonna be close.

This will not be mistaken for a non-private I would hope. Not ours, but same model...

I would not mess with a pickup unless its a one time thing. I pull 15000 pounds regularly with a dual rear wheel 6.7 cummins. Its comfortable, but I am on the very edge of what I would consider acceptable for that weight. I have pulled 20000 a few times, but VERY carefully and I would never consider a long trip where I might loose concentration from time to time. Thats the thing right there. You have to be on your game all the time. Its very tiring and not that safe really, even if the pickup is rated for it. You really need a business class like a Freightliner FL60 or similar. Then suddenly the pressure is off and you have more than enough truck instead of being on the ragged edge.

stan_d wrote: In Indana you dont need a cdl for presonal use. i have a f700 with air breaks. i called the state police and dot to confrm.

State law applies only as long as you are "intrastate." get that truck on an interstate highway, even, and your state regs probably no longer apply, since the 1986 federal motor carrier act specifies 26k as the magic number. states have a limited ability to exempt

Most states have simply codified the federal regs.... some, seems like mostly big square boring ones, have agricultural exemptions. a few have personal exemptions. burden will rest on you to prove its personal.

Generally speaking, state police are not legislative experts. they don't know the law on E36 M3 they DO enforce. they don't enforce DOT regs so they probably don't know much about them. Even the DOT, it would be fair to say, its not their job to tell you the law, just their job to enforce it. so you have to be careful. its usually best just to google and find your state statute. Indiana's are pretty berkeleyed up and hard to read, but I just did. Bottom line is you are correct, personal and agricultural exceptions in indiana, unless you have more than 16 passengers, only so long as its intra state and non commercial.
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title8/ar2.1/ch24.html

With respect to Mattb's missus and Alfadriver

bearmtnmartin wrote: I would not mess with a pickup unless its a one time thing. I pull 15000 pounds regularly with a dual rear wheel 6.7 cummins. Its comfortable, but I am on the very edge of what I would consider acceptable for that weight. I have pulled 20000 a few times, but VERY carefully and I would never consider a long trip where I might loose concentration from time to time. Thats the thing right there. You have to be on your game all the time. Its very tiring and not that safe really, even if the pickup is rated for it. You really need a business class like a Freightliner FL60 or similar. Then suddenly the pressure is off and you have more than enough truck instead of being on the ragged edge.

I have lots of friends that have pulled close to 20k on srw and drw 3/4 and 1 ton pick ups... mostly scrap loads. some construction equipment. In fact, I routinely see guys with cdl's with 1 ton trucks running hotshots that are over 20k Just becaus people do it doesn't make it a great idea, and it is a lot of weight, but its doable. The concern with a trailer with that much crosssection and that high of a cog would be the weight of the tow vehicle. As said, for a one time deal it would probably be ok...

I have idea's, I have pulled big loads. I figured if nothing else I may get some good and interesting thoughts to this from here.

The trailer will be set for a few months so we have time to look and search.

Class 4,5 or 6 Medium Duty cab should be the answer.
Think Chevy Kodiak

so an S10 with air bags isn't the answer here?

In reply to novaderrik:

Nah, it'd need a tree-fiddy swap to pull that load.

novaderrik wrote: so an S10 with air bags isn't the answer here?

It would need at least a V8 swap.

Federal laws say if it and RV / Camper Plate no CDL needed. Thank you RV/caper Lobbiest!! Keep the economy growing

Now the truck thats pulling it will need Com Plates in most states due to over 10,000GVW but no CDL is needed com plate with privete pass insurance.

But to be on the safe side i carry a copy of the book and page in my center console of my truck.

I was going to post link to the book but could not find the link but did find one stating some states require a NON- COM speacail lic for large RV's heres that link but it would depend on your issueing lic state.

http://changingears.com/rv-sec-state-rv-license.shtml

Most Heavy-duty pickups (Ford F-350, Chevy Silverado 3500, etc.) will fit the bill. Are renting the truck or buying it? If your driving through the mountains I'd look for a Jake brake. Many of the class 6 trucks are rated at a GVWR of 25,999lbs. to get around the CDL law but actually have a much higher GVW capacity. Make sure you invest in mirrors, lots of them. Buy four adjustable blind spot mirrors from harbor freight, angle one on each side to see behind the truck and one on each side to see beside the truck. You also wan't a truck without a governor. Often times, a truck governed at say 65mph will (try to) overtake a truck doing 64 and take a solid 5 minutes passing him. Just don't be that d* bag in the middle lane (or God forbid the passing lane) doing 10mph bellow the limit.

We use a mini-freightliner at work to haul our enclosed trailer.

It's called a "sport chassis" and is one step below a full-on semi truck.

It has hydraulic brakes and is small enough that no CDL or airbrake ticket is needed.

The older models were on the FL80 chassis.

Fantastic way to tow, no effort whatsoever.

Shawn

Ranger50 wrote: Depends on your state, but most likely no. The rule is over 26k combined, you HAVE to have a CDL.

Not quite true.... Class C is single vehicle under 26k and a trailer up to its tow capacity. Class B is single vehicle over 26k and trailer under 10k. Class A is single over 26k and trailer over 10k. For instance, I have a Class B CDL. I have frequently towed a 24' enclosed trailer behind a 45' Motorcoach.

Those are interstate DOT rules. Some states have additional restrictions, but that is the basic setup. No state requires a CDL for private use. Some states require a Class B non-commercial license but only a few. Some states also require an endorsement for air brakes if you don't have a CDL (air brake is almost always included with CDL).

Towing 20k will require at least an F550 or similar; Top Kick, FL70, F650, etc would also do well, but you're looking beyond the realm of normal pickups.