I was talking with a cop and he said anyhting towing a trailer over 10000 pounds needs a CDL. I was reading the CDL book and it says that with the exception of recreational vehicles. Anyone want to confirm that a boat is recreational and does not need a CDL.

This is how i take it. looking for opinions

From the illinois cdl book.
A cdl must be obtained by the driver of any of the following vehicles:
Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight of 26,001 or more, providing the weight being towed is in excess of 10,000
Any vehicle with a weight of 26,001 or more, and not towing more than 10,000.

So, basically you need a cdl if your truck has a gross weight of more than 26,001.
If you have a cdl truck and tow less then 10,000. You only need a class B
If you have a cdl truck and tow more than 10,000. You need a class A
If you have a truck with air brakes then you need an air brake endorsment.
Like you said earlier those operating a motor home are not required to have a cdl.

I personally have taken A test. I also have an air brake, and tanker endorsment. So I am fimiliar with most of the tests.

Just registered my new toy in Pa., my trailer is just under10000 pounds, the lady at the notery said if it was over 10000 pounds i would need a CDL....I Live in Lancaster, and there always doing DOT checks on RT30, I have seen the DOT COPS have reg. pickup trucks and trailer on the portable scales.....Last year I got pulled over by the state police, I was towing a car trailer with my 2500 hd silverado, the car trailer was 10000 lbs, the cop said, I would of had to have a cdl if i was over 10k....

Keystone coppers

I wonder what they would say to the exception list that says recreation vehicles, witch i would think is a boat. Anyone seen the exceptions. It is like the 3rd page of the CDL book.

I'm new here, and I haven't bought a boat yet, but I can give some input on the subject.
You do not need to have a CDL to tow a recreational or personally owned vehicle provided you receive no income. If you show cars, horses, or race your boat for money you may need a CDL. If your trailer is over 10k gvw, and your gcw is over 26,000 you need a class A non CDL.
I came across the info 11 years ago when I got my class A CDL. There was a man and his wife taking a class B non CDL road test to drive their 31,000 lb RV with air brakes.
In reality getting the CDL is not a big deal. The requirements you have to keep is the killer. If you want to be legal, go for the class A non CDL. As far as I know you don't need the drug testing, semi annual physical, and paperwork that a CDL holder does. The drivers license center in Norristown, PA was aware of the non CDL class a and b but many others were not. I only paid attention so my wife could legally drive our RV, she however refuses to drive it or even consider the license.

I have heard of other states offering non CDL licenses for single or combination, but PA is the only one I know first hand.

CDL is a commercial driver’s license I pulled a 38' fountain behind a 40' motor home all over about 15,000 miles east to west and north to south never got stop. If I wasn't pulling the boat I was pulling a 28' car hauler went through PA about dozen times up 81 and across 84 saw state troopers never got stopped. They won't stop you for privately owned vehicles. Don't have commercial plates on your truck you should be ok.

From the PA DMV
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/driverLic..._classes.shtml
Keep in mind they say rated, not actual. So if your f450 is rated at 17,000 lbs, a 9,000 lb RATED trailer is all you can tow on a class C.

I didn't know PA was that strict that is a good thing. There are a lot of people that has problems just driving forget about pulling anything. When I bought my motor home I was told all you need is a regular driver’s license because it is not register as a commercial vehicle but I do have a CDL.

One more link may be of help.
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-state-rv-license.shtml
Mudslide, in TN you are legal with a recreational vehicle towing like you do, provided your tags are in order. I haven't looked into tag requirements but with all the questions I see and bad info I see given out, I think I'm going to compile a site with facts from the various motor vehicles departments. There is so much grey area with private vehicles now hitting the 26k and higher mark.
I haven't yet had to deal with a non commercial truck with a combination tag. But I have had several apportioned trucks from 33,000 to 80,000. My current truck being 33,000 GVWR 64,000 GCWR.