*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: Fishing is like SEX, once you make a withdrawl you lose interest
I've got a couple of questions on this topic that I'm hoping some of you may have answers for.
1. The class A liscense, is that for towing a load over 10k pounds or is that if you're combined vechile/trailer weight is over 10,000?
2. What's the cost of getting weighted plates?
3. As with the first question, the weight you get for the weighted plates, is that for the trailer wieght you're towing or the combination of the trailer and tow vechile weight?
Back in july or june they had a major crack down on trucks and trailers starting at 4 in the morning all the way till 2 in the afternoon. state troopers stop every boat going over the beaufort- morehead high rise bridge and told them to pull in the park parking lot on radio island and gave tickets out a lot of construction companies got nailed expecially with diesal tanks in the bed.
With a class A or b License there is a zero tolerance policy........if you blow .0000001 you can lose the license. another question to ask is that with commercial license a or b drivers have to keep a health card to show they keep up with all there records....... i Bought a 15k weighted tag on wed 10-24 for me pulling my lawn equipment and my dump trailer plus the boat........ it cost me 200 a year with customized tag.
I read most of the first page but not the rest. so I may have missed something But here is how it was explained to me by the Troop C Lt. (a friend of mine) Anything pulled for "Recreational Purposes" is exempt ( Boats, Campers, Horsetrailers, Etc. ) from the weight restrictions (Class A) Licence Now when the seat belt law was introduced and commercial tags were exempt; if you had your business posted on the side of your truck and were pulling a recreational piece they could ticket you for not having your seat belt on because you were'nt on "official business" I've been in the landscape business for over 20 years in NC and it has become increasingly worse on weighted tags (mine are over $2600.00 a year) It's a revenue machine for the state Don't like it they are targeting hard working people and the drunks and druggies are driving by us while we are seating on the side of the road getting weighed Oh by the way just a FYI if you are pulling a trailer that is rated (GVWR ) for more than 10,001 lbs you have to have Class A licence Now make sure you understand this so it doesn't bite anyone If you go to say Musgrave Equipment and buy a trailer from Anthony that the GVWR is 14.000lbs or 12,000lbs or 10,500 lbs etc. anything over 10,000lbs You've got to have a CLASS A licence to pull it EVEN IF THE TRAILER IS EMPTY!!!! It's all about the weight on the sticker on the trailer Now you can buy a trailer that has 2 - 7000 lbs axle under it (14,000 lb trailer) and the sticker has 10,000 lbs YOU ARE OKay!!! This I Know cause I've done my home work on this I'm Playing Golf with the Lt. tomorrow if it doesn't rain and I'll ask him if anything has changed in the last month or so
The crap about having to have a class A to pull this load is complete BS, and is an uninformed officer trying to throw around muscle. This only applys IF all of the following are true about your rig:
The Gross Combination Weight Rating of the TRUCK is over 26,000 lbs.
The weight RATING of the trailer is 10,000 lbs or more.
The vehicle is a Commercial Motor Vehicle. Having stickers on the door for a company does not necessarily make it commercial. Unless you are required to run an IFTA sticker and federal DOT #'s, you are not commercial.
what is really screwed up about the whole thing is that two identical vehicles can be regulated differiently by this same law, depending on what their actual registration status is.
one trick that has been used for years by folks here in sc is to get a weighted tag & tag it for 10k lbs. The tag looks exactly the same as one rated much heavier. A standard SC plate maxes out at 10k, having a big load on a vehicle with a regular plate usually raises a lot of looks from the DOT & hwy patrol, the weighted tag, regardless of it's actual rating, ususally takes care of this.
I read most of the first page but not the rest. so I may have missed something But here is how it was explained to me by the Troop C Lt. (a friend of mine) Anything pulled for "Recreational Purposes" is exempt ( Boats, Campers, Horsetrailers, Etc. ) from the weight restrictions (Class A) Licence
Cuzz,
Please refer to earlier posts in this thread----what you were told is apparently not the case. I was recreational. 100%. For years what you said was the case eventhough it was not the law. The law has always been that you need all the extra permits, etc. In the past it was let go if you were recreational, however not anymore.
OK guys,
I have presented this matter to Rube McMullan with the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. He completely agrees with us and is doing some research on it. He sent me an e-mail this morning and wanted me to pass on to everyone that he is "deep into "back office diplomatic channels". Rube says that it has the attention of the right people and will hopefully be resolved soon.
OK guys,
I have presented this matter to Rube McMullan with the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. He completely agrees with us and is doing some research on it. He sent me an e-mail this morning and wanted me to pass on to everyone that he is "deep into "back office diplomatic channels". Rube says that it has the attention of the right people and will hopefully be resolved soon.
Thanks I am sure Rube will get some answers....Mark
All this stuff is f*cking confusing!!!! I called 3 dmv offices and got different answers from all of them..........according to one every freaking 1/2 ton pickup should have weighted tags. Then you got the recreational exempt thing, jeeez!!! im only towing 3 freeking miles a couple times a month.
somebody please get to the bottom of this!!!
A Little clarification and some answers to some previous questions...
In NC the tow vehicle bears all of the tag costs for trailers, based on weight. Trailer tags are $19 bucks, whether a single PWC trailer or a 53 foot dry box. The max that you can get with "regular" tags is 6000 pounds, anything more needs to bear the "weighted" tag. If your tags are legal in another state you can tow through NC without any weighted tag worries.
Common misconception about CDL and trailers, the 10,000 pound question! The combination GVWR has to be greater than 26,001 pounds AND the trailer GVWR has to be greater than 10,000 pounds before you need a CDL. These weights have NOTHING to do with the "weighted tags", these numbers come from the vehicle spec plates.
A real example;
I have a 1975 Ford Grain Truck. The door jam plate says the GVWR is 23,500 pounds. The dual axle trailer I use to haul my tractor around is rated at 10,000 pounds. I have 33,000 pound tags on the truck (~$550 annually) and the $19 tag on the trailer. I can fully load the truck and trailer and be legal, hence the 33k tag. No CDL is required.
If you look on pages 19-20 in the handbook posted in an earlier link, you will see that time and holiday towing restrictions only apply to combined loads exceeding 112,000 pounds. Congratulations on your new boat!!
I found out today that "Horse trailers" or "Cattle Trailers" are exempt Know a guy in the nursery business that hauls trees and plants on a Gooseneck cow trailer from NC to Texas hasn't been stopped yet and his boys were getting stopped and ticketed for being over weight If its a lie; he told it!!
OK guys I needed the Class A for my other towing needs irregardless of the boat so I went to the DMV today and took the truck test and road test to get mine. The test covers section 1 which is parts 1-3 and the air brake section which is part 5 of the CDL booklet. It was not too bad and I just read over these sections before taking the test....50 questions...can miss 10 and pass. Next I had to take a road test with any trailer with a GVW tag over 10000#. So I hooked up a gooseneck equipment trailer and went back...standard road test along with explaining what I needed to check for pre-inspecyion on the truck and trailer before getting under way....but be prepared to PARALLEL park your trailer.....I tow a lot of big stuff so it went well...but practice because they may throw that at you!!
As a side note...they couldn't tell me definitively whether it was needed for the boat. All they said was you need class B if you are pulling trailers under 10,000 and you need class A if you are towing over 10,000#...and get this...whether it is loaded to that weight or not. The class C is apparently not good for much towing at all of anywhere near the weight I generally tow. As to the requirment stated to me...if you tow over 10,000 with less than a GCVW of 26000 class A.....if you tow less than 10000 and a GCVW of less than 26000 you need class B. As to horse and cow trailers...they are only exempt from having to have a CDL...you still have to have the A or B depending on your GVW plaque on the trailer you are pulling. They have stopped several horse and hay trailers in my area so look out. The A and B is just a toned down CDL for those not pulling for hire and farm use only exempts you from needing the full blown CDL even though you are towing as a farm business...at least that's what was told to me when I listed everything I tow to find out what license I needed.
I'm more confused than ever! But i think the issue of Holiday and non-daylight towing has been answered per the manual.
Not needed unless GCVW > #112,000, which would exempt just about every recreational boat trailer i can think of. Thanks glacierbaze.
__________________ Proud member of Professor Eyeball, Esq., MD, MBA's ignore list since 2008.
You're welcome, BUT, apparently it does you no good if you have a wide load.
Continuous travel –
(24 hours/seven days) is authorized if:
• the permitted gross weight does not exceed
112,000 pounds, and
• no overdimension of width, length or
height is part of the permitted movement.
20
I suspect that the original reason for this law was to keep weekend travelers from having to dodge mobile homes on the highways. As one who has gone thru the blinding glare of an oncoming trucks headlights to find the corner of a doublewide 15 feet in front of my head, I can see a need for the night time restriction on wide loads on undivided highways.
Do you think if I get a letter from Fletcher(Col. Clay) he's the head man in NC over the Highway Patrol and Motor Carrier officers that we can put this thing to rest If I can get up with him the first of the week and get a letter; I'll post it word for word!!!! That way it will come from the horses mouth Are we able to scan in letters and print? If so, all we have to do is print it and keep it with us if he says we are okay!! Do ya'll think this will help? and anybody thats in Morehead City NC find Leonard Crumpler he's with the Motor Carrier division He versed me 20 years ago on this stuff; I know things change But he ought to know He's where the boats are!! And if this thing comes back that the law has indeed changed then I'll say something to Wes Seegars He's head of the Wildlife Commision in NC We'll see what he can do Wes and Mike Easley are tight Room mates in College I'll keep ya'll informed (Posted on the other forum by accident)
Let us know what you find out. I will happily host any letters you need on my website and post links so others can view or download on the matter.
I have a 2003 Ford Excursion, and boat load is around 6500 lbs. I know my total load is around 15k not including extra passengers and gear. I do not have weighted tags and I am very interested in this subject as I tow to the coast and don't need a surprise ticket.
__________________ Cobia 244 ~ Twin F115's
Volunteer Boat Committee Chairman for:
Throughout history there are few that have offered to die for you, almighty Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul and the other for YOUR freedoms.
Support both!
Do you think if I get a letter from Fletcher(Col. Clay) he's the head man in NC over the Highway Patrol and Motor Carrier officers that we can put this thing to rest If I can get up with him the first of the week and get a letter; I'll post it word for word!!!! That way it will come from the horses mouth Are we able to scan in letters and print? If so, all we have to do is print it and keep it with us if he says we are okay!! Do ya'll think this will help? and anybody thats in Morehead City NC find Leonard Crumpler he's with the Motor Carrier division He versed me 20 years ago on this stuff; I know things change But he ought to know He's where the boats are!! And if this thing comes back that the law has indeed changed then I'll say something to Wes Seegars He's head of the Wildlife Commision in NC We'll see what he can do Wes and Mike Easley are tight Room mates in College I'll keep ya'll informed (Posted on the other forum by accident)
If you get a letter from NCDOT, please post it here. Use Scott's website or post it word-for-word. I'm afraid neither the head of the NCDOT or NCDENR would be able to do anything about this if its written into the law, and not even the governor can get the law changed without it going through the state legislature.
__________________ Proud member of Professor Eyeball, Esq., MD, MBA's ignore list since 2008.
That's where (like him or not) Marc Basnight comes into the picture I don't agree with with some of his politics sometimes But when it comes to "politics in NC" I would rather be Basnight than Easley any day of the week He's just that strong Why? If someone knows please tell me!!!! I don't think it's going to come to that though
Just to make sure I am talking to the right people they are the NCHP and the NCDMV(motor carrier) right? Do I need to talk to NCDOT or NCDENR about anything? or was that a typo?
I'll try and reach someone tomorrow;if I don't, it will be later in the week. I'm planning on taking Daddy fishin' Tuesday
Man ya'll need to flip over to the "Boating Forum" There's a couple of 'em going at it Almost sounds like a family fued!! It's kinda funny, but they have forgot what we were discussing Oh well See ya