Do you need a commercial drivers license to operate a truck rated for 33000 lbs?

Answer 1

In most cases, yes, although you fall under exemptions if the following exemptions and criteria are met:

• Farm vehicles, plated as farm (not commercial) vehicles, operated by the farmer, immediate family members of the farmer, or direct (W2) employees of the farmer, and operated within a 150 road mile/100 air mile radius of the farm the vehicle belongs to, and used exclusively for the purposes of that farm, and not hired out on a third party basis.
• Military vehicles, in active military service, and operated by military personnel in the course of their duties. A soldier driving a 5 ton doesn't need a CDL - a civilian contractor or GSA civilian does. Also, that has to be a vehicle still in active service - a demilitarized military vehicle sold on the civil market no longer falls under this exemption.
• Recreational vehicles, plated as such and used for private usage. A person driving a 33k RV for leisure does not need a CDL; a person driving one on a for-hire basis does.
• Emergency vehicles, when operated by authorized personnel in the course of providing an emergency service. A firefighter driving a fire engine over 26k GVWR does not need a CDL (although many departments do make it a requirement), but a mechanic road testing it does. A municipal dump truck performing snow removal operations (which is considered an emergency service) doesn't when used for that purpose, but does when used for any non-emergency service.