72 GMC 6500 tilt bed on Seattle Craigslist

[Livrat]

DROOL.... good thing it has air brakes (need a CDL to drive it) this prevents me from thinking about acquiring another truck

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/4613289471.html

[special-K]

I'd like to have this one...more than the ramp truck. That thing is sa-weet! It has me considering getting a CDL.

And Happy late Birthday. For some reason it passed through my mind yesterday that yours isn't from mine. Sorry no official birthday thread...or cake & ice cream

[68panelman]

That would be hard to pass up if I lived in Washington. Sharp looking truck with all the chrome trim.

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Beautiful truck.

A Single Axle would suit me fine, but that would sure look nice in my driveway.

Bill

[jumpsoffrock]

What a great price for the truck, but the CDL is enough to keep me at bay.

[Sillyoldman]

I know somebody nearby with an Air brake endorsement. Oh it's me I'll pretend I didn't see that.

[Livrat]

Originally Posted by Sillyoldman

I know somebody nearby with an Air brake endorsement. Oh it's me I'll pretend I didn't see that.

Can you get just an "air brake endorsement" without getting a CDL?

[Sillyoldman]

Originally Posted by Livrat

Can you get just an "air brake endorsement" without getting a CDL?

No you need a CDL and add an A/B endorsement to it. Like you would add Tanker, combos, haz-mat etc..

[Livrat]

Is it difficult to get a CDL? that truck has me intrigued

[Sillyoldman]

It's kind of tough now, you have to take a truck driving class which lasts up to four months from my understanding (crazy imo). Back when I got mine I had a state qualified instructor ride with me for less than an hour and after that is was just a matter of passing a few tests.

[Livrat]

Oh well, I guess I will pass on that, maybe I should buy the truck and talk you into driving it when needed?

[Sillyoldman]

Originally Posted by Livrat

Oh well, I guess I will pass on that, maybe I should buy the truck and talk you into driving it when needed?

It's an expensive venture. Every four years I have to renew my license & CDL, retest for my endorsements and drive to one of two state certified locations for TSA finger printing. I also need an annual physical for my health card which when renewed has to be taken down to the WSDL for self certification. It's a big hassle.

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Different states have different requirements for a CDL, the way I understand it.

Also, it seems to be different for Air Brakes. I had heard that in Virginia your can drive a truck with Air Brakes as long as the truck is under CDL, although some people have dis-agreed with me on this.

One day a few years back I decided to call to check on it and the lady on the phone said to me "I don't care what kind of Brakes your truck has, as long as it is under 26,001, you don't need a CDL".

I then "still" had some out there dis-agree with me on this and I then decided to E-mail the Virginia DMV to get it in writing. I got back a lot of legal talk, but the bottom line was "No, you do not need a CDL for Air Brakes if your truck is under 26,001".

Now I was talking to a friend of mine a short while back who "has" a truck with Air Brakes that is under CDL. He went on to tell me that he got stopped twice in the same day and one law man said it was OK and the other said it wasn't. So the law out there evidently is also confused.

So much for the CDL making things simple. I like the days where you only needed a Chauffeurs License to drive one and no one ever even mentioned "Brakes".

Bill

[mrolds88]

Very neat truck. The only thing that has me iffy on this is the axle placement for that long of a bed. I could see a very unsteady driving situation if it got tail loaded too far.

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

The only thing that has me iffy on this is the axle placement for that long of a bed. I could see a very unsteady driving situation if it got tail loaded too far.

Yeah, if I had it, I would chop off about 4 or 5 Ft and make it into a Rollback. Whoever buys it, best be careful about driving it as well. I have mentioned "Tail Swing" a few times through the years and that truck would have a pretty bad case of it. Taking a hard left or a hard right turn when being somewhat close to something will spell trouble for sure. I always hated driving anything with any kind of Tail Swing.

Actually, in my opinion, and if I were in charge of regulation, I would say that would be "over the limit". It would be different if you were temporarily hauling something that long, but not a permanent fixture like that. Also remember, the turning point is in the middle of the Tandems in this case.

Bill

[84rzv500r]

the CDL requirement now has a Physical component just like a FAA medical cert.

I decided not to get a CDL and go with a truck under 26,000 GVW and have juice brakes... all my buddies have CDL's and run the Big Iron historical trucks (Brockway's Mostly) I got a baby truck compared to them but I have Napco power pack and still run 11R22.5's and my 8v71 more power than the 6-71's and 220/250 Cummins and baby Cats...

then there are the guys turning up 12V-71's and 8v-92's and big cam Cummins, and the 600 cats...

[special-K]

I had a heavier license back before you needed a CDL. It was no big deal back then. Just hop in and drive like you're in something bigger than a pickup

[C10 - C90 Bill]

I had a Chauffeur's which was good for any size truck, till the CDL kicked in back in '92. As mentioned about different states having different requirements, Virginia required that you either were currently driving for a company or you owned your own truck, if not you had to start from scratch. I had sold my truck a couple of years earlier and was not driving for anyone, therefore I was "out to lunch", lol.

[special-K]

All this red tape to drive a heavy truck doesn't seem to have any effect on the millions of clueless car drivers who don't hesitate to squeeze into that spot in front of that truck then jam on their brakes so they don't hit that car in front of them. Every time I hear a jack-knifed tractor trailer mentioned on a traffic report I always picture that little car zipping away with no clue of the incident they just caused for hundreds to thousands of people behind them. The same people who hit their brakes,then put the turn signal on..."Oh ok.So,'that' is why you jammed on your brakes. Thanks for the warning"

[richard2717]

MD is pretty much the same as VA. I have a truck that is under 26k lbs with air brakes but does not require endorsement because it is considered non CDL. It is all a money game for the DOT and the endorsement proves it. I can kill someone just as easily with my 26k lb truck as I can with my 26001 lb truck if I do not know how to properly adjust the brakes. The cop had no reply to this and just shrugged his shoulders.
I have purposely gotten rid of all my CDL trucks because of the endless paperwork and requirements (fees) to be able to use them. I may even give up my CDL license this time around because now in the great state of MD they have decided that instead of showing my current DOT Physical card only when I renew my license I now have to send them a copy within 30 days of getting my 2 yr checkup or they automatically revoke my license. Its not one thing that makes it bad, its all the little things they come up with that make you throw your hands up and say Sc*** it.

Richard

[Sillyoldman]

Originally Posted by richard2717

MD is pretty much the same as VA. I have a truck that is under 26k lbs with air brakes but does not require endorsement because it is considered non CDL. It is all a money game for the DOT and the endorsement proves it. I can kill someone just as easily with my 26k lb truck as I can with my 26001 lb truck if I do not know how to properly adjust the brakes. The cop had no reply to this and just shrugged his shoulders.
I have purposely gotten rid of all my CDL trucks because of the endless paperwork and requirements (fees) to be able to use them. I may even give up my CDL license this time around because now in the great state of MD they have decided that instead of showing my current DOT Physical card only when I renew my license I now have to send them a copy within 30 days of getting my 2 yr checkup or they automatically revoke my license. Its not one thing that makes it bad, its all the little things they come up with that make you throw your hands up and say Sc*** it.

Richard

Last year I rec'd a letter from the WSDL stating that my license would be suspended in two days for not self-certifying my new med card. The postmark was three days prior to getting it. That was a hassle. I also have to self cert annually whether I am driving Interstate or Intrastate. All of my driving is within state borders but I have to file otherwise since the product I'm hauling may have crossed state lines on another truck. Red tape? Yep.

[alsriv2]

Originally Posted by richard2717

MD is pretty much the same as VA. I have a truck that is under 26k lbs with air brakes but does not require endorsement because it is considered non CDL. It is all a money game for the DOT and the endorsement proves it. I can kill someone just as easily with my 26k lb truck as I can with my 26001 lb truck if I do not know how to properly adjust the brakes. The cop had no reply to this and just shrugged his shoulders.
I have purposely gotten rid of all my CDL trucks because of the endless paperwork and requirements (fees) to be able to use them. I may even give up my CDL license this time around because now in the great state of MD they have decided that instead of showing my current DOT Physical card only when I renew my license I now have to send them a copy within 30 days of getting my 2 yr checkup or they automatically revoke my license. Its not one thing that makes it bad, its all the little things they come up with that make you throw your hands up and say Sc*** it.

Richard

One of the many reasons I am glad I don't live in MD any longer. I worked for a Federal Agency based in VA back there where they required us to have a CDLA from our home state to drive the vehicles in our group. The Virginia residence drivers could self certify and not have to do the CDL medical as they were Federal LE drivers. In MD, they couldn't give a crap if you were Federal LE or not. This year I was near the end of my Med cert expiration date, went to the Dr for a physical, and low and behold there was a newly required blood test that needed to be performed. The Dr gave me a 30 day extension which I promply faxed AND emailed to DMV before the expiration date. The blood work came back fine, a new cert was issued and I promptly faxed and Emailed the new paperwork to DMV. Guess what....They ignored the extension...CANCELED my license and all while I was on the road moving to San Diego. Took 1.5 hours on the phone with some very grumpy people for them to pull my records (emails and faxes) and admit their mistake. I required them to send me an official email (which they did) so I can present that to CA DMV when I transfer my DL here and also to have in case my insurance company does something screwy to my rates.
I have had a spotless driving record for 29 years now and all it took was MD DMV incompetence to screw that up.

I do not have to drive big trucks any longer so I am going back to the regular drivers license....not worth the hassle or the expense!

[dfrank]

You don't need a cdl to drive a truck with air brakes. As long as it is under 26k gvw you are good. I am a truck driver for our steel fab shop.

[studda]

In Missouri, anything older than 25 years old qualifies for historic plates and you don't even have to get them inspected or have any special licenses. The only catch is that you can only drive it 1000 miles per year, which is not a problem with my '53 ton and a half that only goes about 50 mph. It would take a long time to drive that far going that slow. Not that I would need a CDL to drive it anyway, it's just nice to not worry about inspections.

[richard2717]

I guess I should clarify that in MD under 26K lbs does not mean you have a 33K lb truck that you registered the weight at 26K. DOT here goes by the heavier of the two, stamped door plate weight or registered weight.