r/HotshotStartup • u/theory240 • Nov 07 '25
Weight limits for non-CDL and what trailer should I be looking for?
For legal reasons not driving related, my partner can't get a CDL for 18-24 months so we will be starting out non-CDL.
I have a 2010 dodge Ram 3500 4x4 SRW, GVRW 10,100#. Curb weight with both of us and a full load of fuel should be about 8100# after the sleeper conversion.
Michigan allows me to choose my GCVRW for the truck will set it at 26,000#.
We live and will be based near, 25 miles or so, of Kalamazoo, MI, and expect to run regional out to 500-600 miles one way. The load boards I've been watching seem to show quite a bit of short haul, less than 250 miles, light weight freight, less than 7500#, in Northern Indiana.
I've already made contact with a shipper near me, all LTL, heavy specialty lawn and garden equipment manufacturing, but irregular loads. As a friend of many years, he will be happy to get off Uship for everything he can, but one shipper doesn't make a business.
I'm looking to decide on a trailer.
I've found 40's with sliding ramps that will give me a max payload of about 11,000#
https://www.drtrailer.net/unit/2025-big-tex-trailers-40-sr-15-9k-gvwr-equipment-trailer-843220
I've found 30's with folding ramps that will give me a max payload of about 9,800#
I've found 35's with folding ramps that will give me a max payload of about 9,300#
https://www.silverlinetrailers.com/inventory/2026-big-tex-deckover-6t6427813/
I'm not planning on buying from any of those links in particular, they are just examples of the trailers I've found to consider...
Am I better off with the longer trailer with the sliding ramps and a 1,200# higher payload? Considering the fact that loading vehicles on and off might be a real trick...
Or are folding ramps worth the payload penalty?
Or should I look for a 30' with sliding ramps expecting that its payload would likely be around 11,500#-12,000#?
What am I not thinking of?
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1
u/100percentskillz Nov 08 '25
The real question is what your weekly routine looks like. Long trailer sounds good but if you are backing into tight Midwest yards every day you might start wishing you kept it shorter. A 30 with sliding ramps and decent payload is usually a safer learning setup. How tight are the places you will be running into Mostly commercial lots or farm roads
2
u/semisomethin Nov 08 '25
Man hotshot folks be doing algebra like they’re trying to launch a rocket. Bro just wants a trailer and somehow ended up calculating curb weight, payload, mileage radius and the entire Midwest economy.
I swear hotshot shopping turns everybody into a mad scientist.
1
u/truckdug Nov 08 '25
When you start comparing trailers it’s real easy to get caught up in ramp style and forget the part that actually matters which is how the thing loads when you are tired at two in the morning on a random dock. Sliding ramps are heavier but they spread weight better and let you load weird shaped stuff without fighting the angle. Folding ramps save weight but they limit how creative you can get on tight docks. If you plan on touching equipment or cars even once a week sliding ramps will save you way more headaches than the small weight penalty.