Can I Rent And Drive A Semi Truck And Trailer For Personal (non-commercial) Use. Yes, I Have A CDL
Topic 28600 | Page 1
I would contact OOIDA or NASTC. Either of these organizations could answer these questions best.
Why would anyone want a bobtail tractor as a daily driver?
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
OOIDA:
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Who They Are
OOIDA is an international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.
Their Mission
The mission of OOIDA is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.
My dad works for Ryder he said to call your local location and ask them about insurance requirements.
Check with your local DMV i have seen them plated as RVs.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Hi rtfirefly,
I asked my insurance agent some of these questions and i'll try to answer what i can. First, obviously you'd need the proper license to drive the vehicle.
But Yes, you can buy a semi tractor and use it as a personal vehicle. The insurance, i'm assuming, wouldn't be too bad if you owned it and just had to get auto liability. But if don't own it and making payments i'm sure with full coverage like collision and physical damage it would be much more expensive. People don't do it, because it's much more comfortable getting an RV made to be lived in, while semi's are made to haul freight, but yes you can do it.
As far as renting a semi and hauling things personally, the places that do that like penske is set up like a business where your leasing from them on a contract, which they require you to have years and years of experience before they would rent to you. You couldn't just walk off the street after getting a cdl and renting something.
I don't know of any place where you could rent a semi for a few days, the liability is just too high to do that, but i could be wrong.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Basically, I was wondering if I could rent a tractor and trailer to haul my parent's belongings to a different state. I would presume I'd have to get some kind of insurance, but would I need the same coverage that an owner op needs? Would the size of the trailer matter (40ft vs 53ft)?
What if I just want to just buy a tractor (no trailer) and use that as my own personal vehicle - buy groceries, go to church, drop the kids off at school, drive to work, etc.? Although this sounds extremely impractical considering a lot of places ban semi parking, but I'm still curious :)
I'm a CA resident btw.
Thanks
The answer to both questions is yes. But why one would want to is beyond me. You could much easier and cheaper rent a U-Haul to move your parents belongings.
You could use the tractor as your daily driver if you were so inclined but again, why would you want to? You couldn't use a drive through, parking garage or use many parking lots as you still need 3-4 times more space to maneuver and park a bobtail tractor. Not to mention Walmarts and other lots with height restrictions as well as low bridges etc.
Very much impractical on both counts but yes, technically you could.
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
I agree with Mikey B. Rent a 26 foot U-Haul truck and add a 6x12 cargo trailer and you should have plenty of room.
And a 26 foot U-Haul can hold "up to", a 4 bedroom house.....IF You load it right and don't waste any space lol.
Depending on where you are located there are lots of places where they can be rented by the week or month or season. I am talking tractor and the dry van is no problem to find. In ag country they are rented or short term leased all the time to replace one that is broke down in the shop during harvest.
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.New Reply:
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Basically, I was wondering if I could rent a tractor and trailer to haul my parent's belongings to a different state. I would presume I'd have to get some kind of insurance, but would I need the same coverage that an owner op needs? Would the size of the trailer matter (40ft vs 53ft)?
What if I just want to just buy a tractor (no trailer) and use that as my own personal vehicle - buy groceries, go to church, drop the kids off at school, drive to work, etc.? Although this sounds extremely impractical considering a lot of places ban semi parking, but I'm still curious :)
I'm a CA resident btw.
Thanks