What towing capacity is best for a hotshotting truck?

i'd get one of those chevy kodiaks. u need a cdl but for the money you'll have twice the truck as a one ton dually.

 

you will need a class a cdl if the truck and trailer have a gvw over 26000 lbs. there is lots of options out there the f550 or f650.

 

We had some hotshot guys bring some material to my job. Here's some crappy cell phone pics of their truck:

 

Honestly I see a lot of hotshotters with obviously overloaded trucks, obviously it works for them.

I've seen f-350s pullin 8 car trailers


if its more than 26000 lb you need a lot more than a cdl. you'll need a logboook.....

 

I do not believe you saw a one ton pulling an 8 car trailer. 8 car high mount trailers are pushing the 20,000 pound mark completely empty. There are two companies out there marketing a 5 car trailer for one tons & even at that, they are beyond overload. One thing to get something moving, completely different to stop it with electric type brakes those trailers have.

A majority of one ton with either flat or wedge trailer set ups are plated for 36,000 lbs. The drive axle is overloaded most times, the biggest scare is brakes & yes you will need everything the big trucks need to be legal i.e. IRP, IFTA, CDL, log book, Commercial Insurance, Med card etc.

 

Kodiak and/or F650 will blow you right over the 26K limit you were talking about.

Generally speaking F550's are made to haul. F450's are made to tow.

Personally I wouldn't touch a Ford with a 6.0 or 6.4 with a 10' stick right now. It pains me to say that as I am 100% a Ford fan, but right now I'd have to buy a Dodge.

What do you "think" you're gaining by staying under 26K. You still have to have a CDL, a physical card, and you're still going to run a log book.

If you're truly going to do this full time I would be looking at least in the F450 or 4500 range. You get bigger brakes, heavier suspension, and a tougher frame. The down size, you'll end up with 4.30 or 4.88 gears, which I do not like, but those can be changed. And, as long as your doing all that, you gotta sleep somewhere so ya might as well just go all-in and get a big truck with a sleeper...

 

CDL is not required until the 26,000 lbs is met. However, medical card and log book are required at 10,001 lbs.

 

For what we are discussing the key is what the trailers will be rated at over 10001. He needs a CDL.

If the trailer is rated 10001+ you need a CDL period.

I guess if he's gonna haul a two car trailer with a single 10K axle or two 5K axles, with an F250 he wont need a CDL. Any more than that, and you fall into CDL territory. Same trailer but with a dually pickup, and your gonna cross that weight barrier.

Being realistic. My guess is he's looking at 3 car wedges, which fall into CDL territory, ain't no ifs, and, or buts about it. 3 7K axles or two 10K tandem duals puts you over 10001. You need a CDL.