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ognend's avatar
ognend
Explorer
Jun 12, 2021

Virginia GCWR rules / commercial / travel trailer

Hello.

Anyone in Virginia who can opine on this?

I am getting ready to buy a 1ton cab and chassis dually and put a flatbed on it. I also have a 14,000 lbs horse trailer I want to pull and travel with.

How is this treated in the eyes of DMV/state police? I see here (https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/drivers/#whatiscdl.asp) that a commercial vehicle is defined as "A combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 pounds or more if the vehicle(s) being towed has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds".

The dually has a GVWR of 14,000lbs and the trailer's GVWR is also 14,000 lbs (combined 28,000 lbs). Does this mean that this now puts me in the "commercial" category? If so, what implications does this have? Do I need a CDL to drive this "rig"? How do I register my truck? We do not make money with the truck, it is just for personal purposes - driving around and hauling our horses to trails (but not shows or any activity where money can be earned).

Thanks!