Driver's license for BIG trucks

[Felipe]

Hello Larry,
Yes I bought it direct from Teleflow. I heard Teleflow was bought by Michelin.
Regards
Felipe

 

[billiebob]

Hello,
Wife and I are starting to plan a trip from La Paz in Baja Sur to Tuktoyaktuk. We want to travel summer 2019.
Our rig is BIG, it's registered in Mexico and we are Mexican citizens. We have Mexican driver's license that allows us to legally drive our truck in Mexico.

After doing some research, we have many doubts of what kind of driving license we need to drive our truck in the USA and Canada. . Our rig is 18 ton gross weight (40,000 pounds) Actual weight loaded is only 14 ton (30,000 pounds) but it clearly exceeds the 26,000 pound limit for RV’s.
I have read in different forums that for Mexican truck drivers (commercial trucks) to be allowed to drive in the US and Canada, they need a “Mexican Federal Driver’s Licence” but information is not clear and most times confusing and contradicting. Our truck is not a commercial truck, it's an RV, but is BIG.

Following some advise that was given in other thread, we have tried to contact AAA, CAA, AAMVA (American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators) and DOT (Department of Transportation) by e-mail several times to find out, but we have got no answer.

My concern on the driver’s licence is that I don’t want to have any trouble with authorities in case I get stoped for any reason with Mexican License Plates on the truck or in case I have an accident. I need to be sure Im all “legal”

Can someone point us in the right direction on where/how we can find out ?
How European travelers with similar trucks deal with this ?
Picture of my truck attached for reference
Thanks a lot in advance
Regards
Felipe

View attachment 499808

I didn't find anything on Driver Licenses but I did find maximum axle weights for CA and I think these are pretty universal in the USA and Canada.

Weight: 80,000 lbs GVW with no more than 12,500 on a steer axle, 20,000 pounds maximum weight on any single axle, 34,000 pounds maximum on tandem axles. ..... Altho I think most tandem axle maximums are 40,000. CA tends to be conservative.

So the maximum weight your rig can be is 32,500, with no more than 20,000 on the rear axle. And no more than 12,500 on the steering axle. Looks like you might need to check that balance.

Wish I could find the Driver License Regulations.

 

[dfroman]

I didn't find anything on Driver Licenses but I did find maximum axle weights for CA and I think these are pretty universal in the USA and Canada.

Weight: 80,000 lbs GVW with no more than 12,500 on a steer axle, 20,000 pounds maximum weight on any single axle, 34,000 pounds maximum on tandem axles. ..... Altho I think most tandem axle maximums are 40,000. CA tends to be conservative.

So the maximum weight your rig can be is 32,500, with no more than 20,000 on the rear axle. And no more than 12,500 on the steering axle. Looks like you might need to check that balance.

Wish I could find the Driver License Regulations.

unfortunetly you are receiving bad information from alomst everyone. your above info is for commercial tractor trailer. 12,000lbs steer axle, 34,000lbs drive axles 34000lbs trailer tandems total not to exceed 80,000lbs without permits and some states do not issue over weight permits if the load is divisible. Many Toll roads are the 80,000lbs exception and they go up to 90,000. they also allow triple trailers which are not permitted on most state highways.
the 26,001 is also for commercial use . the earlier reference about horse trailers is again for commercial use. the air brake comments are for a cdl “commercial drivers license“ in the united states anyone with a valid class c drivers license can use these technically commercial vehicles for recreational use. what uninformed officers will try to explain to you is the commercial law. it does not apply to you.
There are recent laws in place to keep people from operating for profit under the guise of personal use (the horse trailers is a huge one). ever see a 1 ton truck pulling a light camper with DOT numbers on the side? It is for commerical use and falls under the 26001lbs laws

Hope this helps

 

[billiebob]

Many Toll roads are the 80,000lbs

yes, very true, being a Canadian I forgot US Interstates built after the Great Depression during The New Deal were all built based on an 80K gross weight. And that is why those weights still rule. Bridges and overpasses were engineered for 80K#.
In Canada our maximum without a permit is 8 axles, 145.5K.

Heres me at the AB/BC border.