cummins_flatbed_wesOPDerrickhandBeeville, TX19 posts, joined Sep 2025
#1
3500 Cummins flatbed, single rear wheel, 11,700 GVWR. looking at a 40 ft 14k gooseneck to hotshot pipe, skids and the occasional welding machine between Beeville and the pads down by Cotulla. i keep getting two answers. one guy says under 26,001 combined, no CDL. the other says a 3500 plus a 14k trailer is already over. separate from the CDL, do i need my own DOT number if i run under somebody else's authority, and what about the medical card. who here actually does this and does it legal?
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mod_ramon_gModeratorFloresville, TX41 posts, joined Sep 2025
#2
combined GVWR is the number, not what you weigh on the day. your 11,700 plus a 14,000 trailer is 25,700, under 26,001, so no class A required. the day you buy a 15k trailer you are over and you need the class A. that is why 14k trailers exist. medical card yes, you are over 10,001 hauling for hire and texas intrastate wants it too. DOT number, if you run under somebody's authority you use theirs, but the truck still gets marked and you still keep a log or an ELD once you go past the 150 air mile short haul. do not take my word for any of it, it is all on fmcsa.dot.gov and the texas rules mostly copy it.
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dually_on_the_leaseFloorhandCarrizo Springs, TX12 posts, joined Sep 2025
#3
the trap is the sticker on the trailer. some 14k trailers are a 15,400 trailer wearing a 14k sticker so the buyer stays under. the DOT guy at the scale on 83 reads the sticker, so you are fine there, but if you actually load it to 15k and he rolls you across the scale that is a different ticket. buy a real 14k with two 7k axles and load it like a 14k.
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midland_water_haulerFloorhandMidland, TX9 posts, joined Oct 2025
#4
get the class A anyway. i got mine before the water hauling job because the company said they would train me on the vac truck if i showed up with the license. three weeks at a school in Odessa, about 3,500. with a class A you can take the 25k trailer job when it comes, and it always comes. the 14k gooseneck guys get the leftover loads.
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cummins_flatbed_wesOPDerrickhandBeeville, TX19 posts, joined Sep 2025
#5
went and looked at the trailer. real 14k, two 7k dexters, 40 ft with the 5 ft dovetail, 12,900 cash. medical card appointment is thursday. ramon, i will run under a buddy's authority out of Three Rivers for the first year and see if the loads are there before i chase my own number. midland, you are probably right about the class A, i will look at the school in Corpus this winter when it slows down.
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george_west_roughneckDerrickhandGeorge West, TX16 posts, joined Sep 2025
#6
one thing nobody said. a 3500 with a 40 ft gooseneck behind it is 60 something feet, and the pads off the FM roads have gates built for pickups. walk the gate before you pull in. i watched a hotshot guy spend an hour backing a 40 footer out of a lease road because the cattle guard was too narrow for the wheel track. bring a spotter or a lot of patience.
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