Well, this is a thing.

Why don't those powerboats guys just get a semi instead of a pseudo-truck shell on what I only imagine is a semi chassis?

probably due to taxes and regulations

When I was looking into getting into Hot Shotting, the C5500/6500 and the F-650 pop up for sale as purpose built Hot Shotting rigs.

I thought that they would be way more promising than a 1-Ton pickup, I believe they have to be treated like a Semi by the DOT when hauling commercially.

The thing I don't like about them, is they use the same Duramax and Powerstroke that the pickups use, so they probably get atrocious fuel mileage.

BrokenYugo wrote: At that size I'm confused why they don't just slap some bottom paint on it and keep it in a slip somewhere.

Because most of these guys run them at various poker runs and shootouts across the country, at a few planned weekends a year. They rarely sit at the same place, and much like a race car, they often get pulled apart or gone through and cleaned up between events.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: When I was looking into getting into Hot Shotting, the C5500/6500 and the F-650 pop up for sale as purpose built Hot Shotting rigs. I thought that they would be way more promising than a 1-Ton pickup, I believe they have to be treated like a Semi by the DOT when hauling commercially. The thing I don't like about them, is they use the same Duramax and Powerstroke that the pickups use, so they probably get atrocious fuel mileage.

Anything over 10,000 GVWR requires a DOT number, anything over 26,000 GVWR is a real truck and requires a CDL. Strap a trailer on a 3/4 ton pickup and you're over 10,000.

Driven5 wrote: I thought these were just the new gold-standard in the pickup world: Mid-size trucks are the new compact (not "real") trucks. Standard duty full-size trucks are the new mid-size (barely "real") trucks. Super/Heavy duty full-size trucks are the new standard duty full-size (properly "real") trucks. Thus, these trucks must be the new SD/HD full-size (realest of "real") trucks. Therefore, if you plan to tow as much a 5000 lbs once in a while, drive through occasional dustings of snow, and care at all about the safety and well being of your family with all of those other people on the road in their standard duty full-size trucks/SUV's...You too can win the arms race by making THIS your next daily driver!

Wonder where my El Camino fits into this new truck spectrum? It's the size and capability of a Ranger but with style, no off-road capability, and the gas mileage of a loaded-down "full-size" truck

Keith Tanner wrote: Anything over 10,000 GVWR requires a DOT number, anything over 26,000 GVWR is a real truck and requires a CDL. Strap a trailer on a 3/4 ton pickup and you're over 10,000.

IIRC, there are some exceptions to this. I'm pretty sure you don't need a DOT number if it's 100% for personal use and you're not charging other people to haul stuff. But as soon as you're doing more than hauling your own stuff that's not business related, then you need numbers. But DOT numbers are free anyway, so...

The comment I quoted was about commercial use, so I was referring to commercial use. The rules are different for personal use. Correct, you do not need a DOT number if it's your own stuff.
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/do-i-need-usdot-number

The rules also different if you're hauling private cargo for the business (ie, Flyin' Miata taking their own cars to the Mitty) or hauling freight for hire (ie, someone paying you to haul their car to the Mitty) or more than a certain number of people. The latter two makes you a Motor Carrier, which adds a bunch of complexity.

The numbers aren't quite free, especially when you take UCR into account. But they're still cheaper than the ticket you'll get in Kentucky if you get stopped on the way to the Mitty.