[#90-GTSC]

Mr. Blizzard: Do you pull a trailer? If you do, would you be legal?

I shared all this stuff with a good friend who is a long time racer. He has a Topkick toter home and Pace stacker trailer. He said almost all the racers pulling an closed trailer with just about any race car (expect for probably a Formula V or Formula Ford without much in tools) are most likely "illegal". The rules are somewhat complicated, they are convoluted, but apparently once you go over the threshold the requirements are significant.

He told me back in the 1980's or the very early 1990's the Wisconsin DOT was sitting outside the Shawano (WI) Fairgrounds race track on a Satuday and pulled ALL the racers everyone over. They had a portable scale, weighed everyone, checked for CDL's, etc. They were pulling guys with CDL out of the grandstands to drive the haulers into the pits; very few had CDLs. Haulers sat overnight until the racers found a CDL to take the things home. He said, "You don't want to hear about the guys who were hauling fuel in their trailers!"

Your idea about non-commercial registration is a good idea. But where do you start? The airplane guys have the EAA. I suspect that the horse people have the same problems as racers and other hobbyists. What about the RV industry? How much does a big 5th wheel RV trailer weigh? More than 10,000#? Pull it with a crew cab, one ton dually and aren't you required to have a CDL?

Where does a "hobby" end and a "commercial enterprise" start? I am an amateur road racer. Club racing and track days. I've never raced for any prize money (OK ... 10 tickets to the NASCAR race in Milwaukee one year, which all the drivers got) and all we get is a trophy. But almost all the oval guys are racing for some kind of a pursue.

We can expect that in crafting something for "us", the difficulty will be in NOT creating loopholes of unintended consequences for the true commercial guys. Once that hurdle is overcome with proposed rules, then there might be a chance.

Big question. Is this really about the money? Or is this really about safety on the roads?

Another question. Its my understanding that I do NOT need a CDL or a bus license to drive my 45' Prevost motorhome that has airbrake and is probably hauling a significant amount of propane. Is that correct? I think it is. Does that make sense?

But ... it appears I need a CDL to drive my Suburban and 24' enclosed trailer with my race car.

This whole licensing issue probably could use its own dedicated thread!