Does your tow rig require a CDL?

After looking into getting a new truck this year for my small business, it seems that with the current towing wars going on in the truck market, many people are close to CDL territory with their tow rigs. In my case, just buying a new one ton truck and using our current two car enclosed trailer will put me over the limit, whereas our company's 7 year old one ton Dodge is ok because its not rated as high.

The math is tricky so I included a flow chart that makes sense of it. One problem is many people overlook 10,000lb rule for trailers.

That doesn't matter if you're hauling for recreation, but in talking with our state patrol, there seems to be a lot of gray area about what constitutes "commerce"...Racing for example might be interpreted as commercial if there is any financial incentive involved - sponsors, prize money, swag, etc. Or if you haul a friend's car to the track and he pays for fuel...

Do any of you guys have that problem?
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How much added complication is it to have the CDL? I was just told I'd need to go through weigh stations if I'm more than 100 miles from home, register with DOT, register with PUCO (ohio utilities commission) and register the truck for its weight class.

Sounds expensive and complicated. I'm also a little nervous about added scrutiny from the motor carrier enforcement boys along the freeway.

Do you have to keep a log, medical card, etc?

 

The 3/4 ton wouldn't safely haul the kind of weight I'm looking at. Even if it could, there's no advantage over our current truck.

 

I also just learned that anything over 10k gvwr requires a medical card, and if over 150 air miles from home, a log book and is subject to hours of service rules.

Ironically I've been driving trucks and car trailers since for various employers I was 17, all over 10k, and with never a CDL, med card, etc. I don't know anyone else who has that stuff either.

Technically I'm in violation every time I haul transport cars to shows for my FT employer. I guess I'll have to discuss that with him as well. Neither of us knew this until now.
But the guys that show up with stacker trailers and toterhomes mark their rigs "not for hire" and have no posted numbers at all. Guess they fall under the motorhome rules.

Well...long story short is I have a side business buying and selling vintage auto parts, project cars, industrial surplus, etc. Most of it comes from in-state sources - wholesale auctions, estate sales and the like, but every couple months I'm bringing stuff back from one or two states away.

I buy a lot of stuff. The last big load filled a borrowed 34' trailer. Fortunately it was only an hour from home. My goal is to be able to haul 1-2 cars plus extra parts, with at least some portion of the rig being weatherproof for the more sensitive stuff. Unfortunately, that's very close to CDL weight.

Up until now the company was just a sole proprietorship, but in a bid to go bigger and become "legit" I reorganized as an LLC and was close to pulling the trigger on a company truck.

But that's a whole new can of worms...

And yes the 3/4 ton is rated to tow the weight, but I can tell you from experience a 15k bumper pull on a single rear wheel 3500 is already pushing things. A 2500 with a downrated spring pack and axle would make me nervous. A lot of the guys towing 5th wheel RVs are finding that when they add up their axle capacities, passengers, cargo and the trailer weight, they're technically overloading their trucks even though they're within the truck manufacturer's advertised towing capacity. There's a lot of gimmickry in the ads.

Maybe I'm just aiming too high right now.

 

Thanks, I'll need it!