Work Pickups & Light-Duty Trucks
The company pickup is the most common work vehicle in construction and the trades. It doesn’t feel like a commercial truck, but motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of worker deaths, and a loaded pickup towing a trailer can cross into DOT commercial vehicle rules.
- Work vehicles
- Construction
- Trades
When your pickup becomes a CMV
In interstate commerce, a pickup becomes a commercial motor vehicle when its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), or the combined rating with a trailer (GCWR), is over 10,000 pounds. Many three-quarter and one-ton pickups pulling an equipment trailer qualify. Then you generally need a DOT number, a medical card, inspections and hours-of-service records. Over 26,000 pounds combined with a trailer over 10,000 pounds, you need a Class A CDL. See DOT Rules for Work Trucks.
Know your limits
- Payload: the most weight you can carry in the cab and bed, including people. It’s on the door-jamb sticker. Tools, materials, a slide-in tank and three workers can exceed it quickly.
- Towing capacity and GCWR: from the owner’s manual. The hitch, ball and receiver all have their own ratings. See Trailers & Towing.
- An overloaded truck brakes poorly, handles badly and wears out tires and suspension.
Securing the load
- Strap ladders to the rack at both ends with rated straps; check them at every stop.
- Keep loose tools in latched boxes. In a crash or hard stop, a loose toolbox or cylinder becomes a missile.
- Secure gas cylinders upright and ventilated, with caps on.
- Flag loads that stick out more than 4 feet past the tailgate with a red flag (and a light at night).
- Never let anyone ride in the bed.
Fuel and chemicals in the truck
Keep gas cans and propane cylinders out of the cab. Use approved containers, secure them in the bed, and never fill a gas can sitting in a truck bed with a plastic liner; set it on the ground to prevent static sparks.
Driving habits
- Everyone wears a seatbelt, every trip, including short moves around the site.
- Put the phone away. See Distracted Driving.
- Walk around before backing; back into parking spaces so you can pull out forward. See Backing & Spotters.
- Slow down on jobsites and gravel roads; watch for workers and equipment.
- Plan breaks on long drives to job sites, especially after a long shift. See Driver Fatigue.
Daily walk-around
- Tires inflated and tread good
- Lights, signals and mirrors working and clean
- Ladders, tools and materials secured
- Toolbox lids latched
- Trailer hitched correctly, with chains crossed and lights working
- Fire extinguisher and first aid kit in the truck
Standards & references
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