Copenhagenjunkie

After talking with several DOT officers and supervisors and getting different answers I called the FMCSA regional office in Cheyenne. As part of state government agency we are exempt from all hours of service rules and we are not required to keep a log book, which we will keep copies of articles for reference. With all the bus accidents over the last year or so I thought the rules might have been different.

Bonshawman

In Florida, the amount of insurance required varies depending upon declared weights.

I tagged my Freightliner below its GVW (tagging above GVW would be stupid), but high enough to allow me to haul what I want on my combination.

So in some respects, the TAGGING aspect is variable, as is the cost for same.
At a check, the enforcement officer will look at your tagged/declared GVW (what you paid tax on), and of course if you are weighed he may also look at the distribution of weight and your ratings. That is why I made sure to have ample "cushion" in jy tagged/declared/taxed weight, and also to have a vehicle and trailer in combination that would legally carry it (by GVW rating).

The GVW of the truck, however, is fixed. That is why guys flip from one ton trucks to medium duty trucks - the trucks allow more wight capacity. So yes, hook a one ton truck with a rating of, say 10-12K to a trailer with a rating of 20K (most equipment haulers) and a Class A CDL is required no matter what you put on the trailer, (IE: to even drive it empty), and no matter what your use or purpose is.

Licensure, however, as we've stated before, is not dependent upon actual weight, but upon the RATING of the truck and trailer in combination (the law assumes you'll haul up to the maximum rated GVW). It is also, as we've stated, not dependent upon USE (commercial or not commercial), even though it is called a "COMMERCIAL" driver's license.

It does take a lot of searching, reading, printing/copying, etc of your home state regulations - some of which hide in the insurance statutes, some in the rules-of-road statutes, some in the vehicle licensure statutes - that is the due diligence that each of us needs to do - the research - to make an honest attempt (and I suggest a DOCUMENTED attempt) to be compliant.
Understand any applicable exemption, or any state-specific nuance - and then sit back and be prepared to keep up with regulatory changes, which can be done ADMINISTRATIVELY as well as LEGISLATIVELY - in other words, many states find it easier to change administrative code than statutes, and both can apply.

Rue the day when required equipment, in addition to a fire extinguisher, flares, etc., is an attorney-in-a-box. You get stopped, the DOT starts in, and you say, "wait a minute, let me pull out my attorney-in-a-box". You open the container, and out he springs, dark suit - thick glasses - and he starts in quoting case law, chapter and verse, and you just go get a coffee while he does his thing. The DOT officer runs away, you stuff him back in the container (still talking....) and drive off. Kind of like the "trunk monkey" video that was all over the place.

Ofo course, you'll have to pay him.......