Licensing And NC

I have seen a lot of 5th wheel pickups (f350, 2500& 3500) and trailers in the past little bit an was wondering about the licensing. Do I have to have a commercial class license to operate like this as a personal business? As the class C (non commercial license) allows for 26,001#s or less. Anyone from NC with experience of this? Thanks

My brother owns a 6 truck hot shot operation. He runs all Dodge 1 tons, has 15 trailers, and requires all of his drivers to have a class A. The reason is insurance. Insurance will chew you up and spit you out if you have anything less than a class A. It's just cost prohibitive.

He's based out of Texas, but I don't think that cost is going to be state specific since he hauls interstate.

I guess if you hauled intrastate you could get by with a class B maybe? However then you are limiting your freight options.

By the way, DPS makes a living pulling over hot shot companies, so be prepared for that. He nets 1200-1600/month off of each truck, but he doesn't drive so you could add in your wages and put 1400 on top to figure profit.

He says there are much easier ways to make 55k-65k a year than running a solo hot shot business. You have to have multiple trailers to make it work. Your customers are going to want to have a trailer in their yard to pre load.

Of course, you can run off of load boards for 1.05/mile, but that's not very much fun. He uses the boards for back hauls, hoping to cover fuel and wages.

Margins are very thin. Repeat, margins after expenses are very thin. Did I mention that margins are thin?

It's also a dirty business, so be prepared to grease the logistics manager for the privilege of hauling his companies freight.

I've rambled. I apologize.

I have seen a lot of 5th wheel pickups (f350, 2500& 3500) and trailers in the past little bit an was wondering about the licensing. Do I have to have a commercial class license to operate like this as a personal business?

We have a member in here who we haven't heard from in a while who got a big ticket for this very thing. He owns a dragster which is powered by a jet engine, and he goes to drag races and puts on demonstration runs as a promotional event. This was his personal one-ton pickup, pulling his race car in an enclosed trailer. The problem he ran into by doing this is defined in the CDL manual.

This is a quote from the CDL manual and it is pretty clear: "Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle or vehicles towed exceeds 10,000 pounds."

It is going to be very doubtful that you could stay within those parameters and avoid needing a class A license. If your trailer has a GVWR of over 10,000 pounds you will be required to have a class A license, and or if your truck has a GVWR over 10,000 pounds. FYI, a one ton pick-up usually carries a GVWR of 10,001 - 14,000 pounds.

Now, that may raise some questions. Like for example I had a one ton pick-up and we would haul a 35' goose neck trailer loaded with hay that we produced in a cattle operation I was involved in. I didn't need the class A because there was an exemption for agriculture purposes. But if you are trying to run a hot shot operation, there are going to be times that you will have to pull into a weigh station. Trust me those folks sitting in there behind that desk know what that rule book says. Short answer is yes, you need a Class A license to do this.

Pretty much - if you are hauling things that don't belong to you for PAY - then you are operating a COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE (even if it's not in "interstate commerce").

A "hot shot" operation sounds like this. So you WILL REQUIRE a CDL.

The CLASS of CDL , depends on the CLASS of vehicles you are operating.

As OS illustrates - if the truck & trailer falls into the GCWR (and that is GROSS combination weight RATING - that is, what it's RATED FOR, not what you have onboard at any particular time), then you will need the appropriate class of license to operate.

Being that it is being used for COMMERCIAL PURPOSES - you'll have to roll through weigh stations, and depending on how far from home base you are running - you will have to LOG and conform to HOS regulations (well, you ALWAYS have to obey HOS, there are just instances where logging isn't required).

As OS also notes - operating without the proper licenses, insurance, etc., can get you some REALLY HEAVY FINES if caught. Operating a CMV without a CDL is considered a SERIOUS violation under FMCSA - and may even disqualify you from getting a CDL in the future.

Now - this is not to say that people don't run outlaw, or just take their chances. I know a few that do (hauling motorcycles).

The laws around commercial vehicle operations are FEDERAL, they don't tend to vary much from state to state.

Rick

Yes you absolutely must have a CDL-A. In fact, my nephew who drove for Steven for a couple of years just incorporated and bought some hotshot setups. You'll have to keep logs and follow all regulations. He said the paperwork and permits to get his company started was a nightmare.

In this economic climate, I'm really concerned for him to be honest, despite that he has a 3 year contract for a specific supplier.