Trucks that haul stuff...

I agree with ducnut on the mileage thing. I have an 06 Cummins 5.9 and empty I get 18.5mpg, towing it drops to 10-12mpg. Newer trucks are about the same. The improved mileage shouldn't be your only reason for changing trucks. Effortless stress free towing on the other hand just makes a trip nicer. How do you like your truck to feel? Rapped out at 4000rpm pulling grades with a gas V8, or lazily pulling along like a freight train at 2000rpm in a diesel?

 

What about renting a truck for your work.

 

Get a dodge with 6.7 cummins

Move on.

 

These are dyno numbers on completely stock trucks, if anyone is in the market for new. This cuts through the bullshit of guys running their mouths about diesel performance.

 

Spot on, my old deleted 2016 GMC got 13mpg pulling my 8.5x20, and my new 2021 emissions intact GMC gets 10mpg

 

Not here in California. I drive a roll back flat bed tow truck. It is probably 25-30 ft long and I have a normal license.

I bought a used F350 4 door diesel to add a heavy duty trailer, so I could run two tow rigs for pickups and deliveries of forklifts. Shortly after I heard from another forklift company who suggested I add this to my fleet, that they started ticketing them for not having a special license to haul a trailer with more than 10k lbs.

So I never bought the trailer.

 

Federal DOT regs are:

Over 10k lbs single or combination unit requires DOT placarding, inspections, DOT medical card, and log books (if driving more than 100 air miles from your registered address).

Over 26k lbs single unit requires Class B license, plus all of above.

Over 26k lbs combination unit requires Class A license, plus all of above.

If your rollback isn't rated over 26k lbs, a class C/D license is all you'd need to operate it, but you still need the DOT numbers, inspections, log books and medical card.

California having some horseshit regulations on trailers over 10k GVWR wouldn't surprise me, but that's not a federal thing.

 

When I said dually, I was talking about it towing a 14K trailer. Straight trucks under 26K GVW don't require a CDL.

 

the 55mph speed limit while towing a trailer law just shows you how out of touch they are. Especially on the 2 lane sections of the 5.

 

Eh, I'm used to seeing shit like that, Californiastan is hardly alone in their retarded traffic mismanagement policies regarding mandated speed disparities.

 

Just under 30K lbs combined when loaded up for our trip out west last year......no special license required. The truck is a 2016 F350 Dually 6.7 with a GVWR of 14,000 lbs. The trailer is a Momentum triple axle Toy Hauler with a GVWR of 20,000 lbs. RVs in TN are not considered to be commercial, no matter what they weigh....unless you are using it commecially, and I'm NOT. It will depend on which state you live in and the requirements for that particular state. TN does NOT require it, as well as other states do not. If you are legal in your home state (think residence state), you are good in every state in the U.S. I can't speak for Canada travel, as we've never towed to Canada

 

And again, it is totally dependent on what state your residence is in and if you are legal in that state....if you are, like I am in TN without having anything other than a class D license, that license is good everywhere in the US.......as long as what you are towing isn't commercial....and in TN, an RV is NOT commercial....no matter the size.

I will add this....no matter what state you are licensed in and what state you are in, you are still required to abide by that state's "Rules of the Road" laws. Speed limits, overall length limits, double towing or not, winter driving equipment on board in a state like Colorado, etc. There is a difference between licensing requirements and Rules of the Road requirements.

 

Guys, the difference is if the vehicle is a CMV or not.

Once you're doing it as a business, the 26K# rule for combination definitely applies. Just ask some hot shot haulers that got caught out couple years ago. That's when the law changed, IIRC.

 

It's actually a little deeper than that. Some states require a variation of a CDL for heavier RVs.....Texas comes to mind as an example. TN doesn't, so I only have a class D endorsement on my D.L.

 

I was referring to the federal regulations which are guided by the FMCSA. Which is where that 26K limit comes from.

You can register a tractor trailer as a RV and send it on a regular license for all they care. Which I think is pretty crazy but there you go.

 

In some states, you cannot. That is the point that I was trying to make....it varies from state to state on when you need something other than a regular driver's license for an RV

 

My Sequoia gets around 7mpg pulling my toy hauler. My buddy’s deleted 2016 F250 diesel gets 9.5mpg pulling the same trailer. Not the huge jump I expected, but the towing experience is effortless. Just set the cruise and go.

I keep thinking a Super Duty with the 7.3 gas motor and 10 speed might be the sweet spot.

 

the pricing on the godzilla F250s with 4x4, 8' bed & extended cab were reasonable before any A or X plan discounts.
The options of a crew cab and package farkels added a min of 12k+.

 

Thanks for the info. I agree Cal could have extra laws, but the law I heard about must be federal because I see some forklift trailers that are rated for 9999 or 10k can’t remember even though they are clearly built strong enough to haul more.?

My roll back is 26k and under so we can drive it normally. I wanted to get one a bit bigger, but didn’t because of driving regulations. However what @BC said has me thinking I could get a more heavy duty one, and just tag it as 26k and less

 

I hate (OK, really dislike) the stupid state regulations. I bought a heavy duty 3/4 ton Chevy back in '95. I had the dealer tag it with a "1" tag instead of the "4" tag he wanted to use. It costs me 56$ a year to register instead of 650$!!! I tried the same trick with my '13 F350 but the dealer nixxed the trick...50$ a month just to drive that truck on our crappy PA roads! Of course, if I ever got stopped pulling my 19,000 lb TH I probably would be sorry.