Truck Conversion & Toterhome Community - View Single Post - Crossing the line: When do you need a CDL?

03-10-2003, 05:48 PM

HI all,

I ran into iRV2 a few days ago and have made my way to here due to the unusual needs I have for travel. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to put this together and contribute.

I posted on iRV2 that I needed to sleep 7, haul a my van and have a 8x8 shop area. (10,000# trailer) Full time for a while. I did get some blank stares, but eventually found this group. A class 8 seems to answer a lot of my problems wonderfully. I'm absolutely jazzed on the whole concept. In fact, I called a friend that runs a trucking company today and he has a '99 VN 610 that he is getting ready to trade-in. This is getting dangerous!

The details: I'm taking my business on the road and I'm tired of being without my family. 5 kids(4-13yrs). 1 wife (undisclosed)
The idea is popular with them and I'm trying to work the logistics. Since I have only been used to short term trips, this is going to be a learning experience to say the least.

I know from reading Larry (onezman) that these rigs can be run without a CDL. It may get a bit tricky with me as I will be using the shop for prototyping/fabrication and intend to write the whole setup off as business use (employ the kids and all). My initial impression is that I would have to go ahead and get the CDL. Two problems with that are that I would have to convince the wife to get one also, and I would then be subject to the liscensing and taxes that go with it. Am I missing something? For the duration of the adventure, this will be my primary residence if that makes any difference.
I also have no idea of a budget needed to feed and care for a rig such as this. Expected service? Set aside for repairs? Cost per mile to run with everything included? Mileage isn't hard to guess, but what about the other things that I may not be thinking about. My friend mentioned things like separators, pumps, leaks, and such as the reason for swapping out before 500k. Also mentioned that they like to be out of them before the warantee expires. How much risk am I taking putting such a truck into this service? Any feedback would be appreciated.
I'm hoping for a July time frame, so I would have to start without the rig until it could be built.
Warpath: you did a wonderful service by putting these sites together.

Thanks all
Bo

03-10-2003, 05:48 PM	#1
Guest Posts: n/a	HI all, I ran into iRV2 a few days ago and have made my way to here due to the unusual needs I have for travel. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to put this together and contribute. I posted on iRV2 that I needed to sleep 7, haul a my van and have a 8x8 shop area. (10,000# trailer) Full time for a while. I did get some blank stares, but eventually found this group. A class 8 seems to answer a lot of my problems wonderfully. I'm absolutely jazzed on the whole concept. In fact, I called a friend that runs a trucking company today and he has a '99 VN 610 that he is getting ready to trade-in. This is getting dangerous! The details: I'm taking my business on the road and I'm tired of being without my family. 5 kids(4-13yrs). 1 wife (undisclosed) The idea is popular with them and I'm trying to work the logistics. Since I have only been used to short term trips, this is going to be a learning experience to say the least. I know from reading Larry (onezman) that these rigs can be run without a CDL. It may get a bit tricky with me as I will be using the shop for prototyping/fabrication and intend to write the whole setup off as business use (employ the kids and all). My initial impression is that I would have to go ahead and get the CDL. Two problems with that are that I would have to convince the wife to get one also, and I would then be subject to the liscensing and taxes that go with it. Am I missing something? For the duration of the adventure, this will be my primary residence if that makes any difference. I also have no idea of a budget needed to feed and care for a rig such as this. Expected service? Set aside for repairs? Cost per mile to run with everything included? Mileage isn't hard to guess, but what about the other things that I may not be thinking about. My friend mentioned things like separators, pumps, leaks, and such as the reason for swapping out before 500k. Also mentioned that they like to be out of them before the warantee expires. How much risk am I taking putting such a truck into this service? Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm hoping for a July time frame, so I would have to start without the rig until it could be built. Warpath: you did a wonderful service by putting these sites together. Thanks all Bo