how do the hotshot guys legally get through dot?

[therabbittree]

i can sort of see how a F550 can do it as their gvw and gcvw ratings are WAY higher then the cummins dodge even the chassis cabs... but the trucks i've seen withthe 50' 4 car wedge trailers heck the trailer. . weighs at least 7000lbs then 3-4 cars say 3000lbs eachthats 9000 -12000lbs load plus the trailer!. . and the trucks weight with fuel. . so how do they get by with legal axle weights?... i used to drive tractor trailers and have been debating getting into some hotshot work. . but the legal thing is bugging me. . i talked to a local used car dealer who trucks his own cars aon a 48foot wedge he said he runs overloaded. . and hes just lucky he guesses???... man i wouldn't want to guess when you have to pull into a weigh station ha. . i sweated enough driving for other people when my log was fudged ha. . i would liek to know how you hotshot guys do it. . and if you can do it with the weight of a 4x4 truck... i've seen a lotof 4x2's. . etc...

any ideas. . let me know sucks dodge doesn't have a truck with the f550 ratings. . and why don't they????. . heck maybe buy f550 and sell powerstroke and swap in cummins. . but thats lot of cash and not easy job. . sucks...

thanks

Deo

\x/ hillfolk!

 

[DennyDay]

Weight

As long as you are tagged for the GVW of your combined vehicle, the states don't care. However if you are weighed and the weight exceeds your tire rated capacity you will have a safety violation.



Denny

 

[therabbittree]

so say i had a new ho dodge 3500 with the 410 gear 21500 gcvw is what my total weight could be . . or do yu mean add up all my tires and there weight ratings,,ha,,6 on the truck and if you have 3 axles 6 on the rear... still seems low on the weight issue. . so then just over register your rig. . 25999lbs... . or what?...

thanks i did a search and read all the stuff but still have some ?'s

thanks

Deo

\x/ hillfolk!

 

[ckrajewski]

therabbittree, I thought the F550 comes with a Cummins?

 

[Lurch]

DOT doesn't use Dodge's #'s. GCWR is registered truck GVW + registered trailer GVW. As long as you don't exceed registered weights or tire capacity they'll never say a word. BUT, if you get over 26K you will need a CDL.



Lurch

 

[CUMINNTSTRKN]

i called dot and they said they go by tire sizes not ratings. for my 2500 with 265's each of my axles can have 5k on them.



jim

 

[hammersley]

I think that DC is going to leave Freightliner's Business Class handle those lower limits - FL 50.



http://www.freightlinertrucks.com/trucks/emergency_service_vehicles/business_class/fl50.asp

 

[Stranger]

Gettin' by.

Put a pickup bed on it, even if the truck is a F700 Louisville. Almost all weigh stations say "No Pickups". That's how the San Jose, CA police Dept gets by with their horse hauler.

Technically a 1/8 ton Toyota, Nissan, Datsun; you know the ones, from the local junkyard that are an import truck with a flatbed or stake bed, well, they are supposed to stop at scales as they don't have a pickup bed. I guess if one were driving one of these tiny guys and encountered an officer with a bug up his butte (gets by the censer) could be in trouble.

 

[DarrellB]

Never had any trouble yet

The only time I have ever had any problems with the local law inforcement is when I was pulling a load of square bales(285) and the guys that stacked them started at the back of the trailer and worked their way to the front. It put all the wait over the truck and the load would shift from side to side when cornering. Had a State trooper pull me over and asked were I was headed told him about another 8 miles down the raod and he gave me an escort the rest of the way(nice guy) Around here they really don't say much as long as you have your load strapped down and not doing 95mph in a 55 ooooops



Big D

 

[RDavidson]

Don't forget one other little thing. When you are pulling a trailer that's anything but a camper and your combined gross weight is over 10,000# you have to have a medical card, even though you may not meet CDL requirements. I just had this conversation with a member of the Alabama D. O. T. today and he gave me a pretty little piece of paper to take to the license dept. I now have the opportunity to trade in my personalized tag (IXCAV8) for a boring X1 on the truck and a TR on the trailer.

 

[rickhans]

RDavidson, I suspect that must be a local requirement. I researched the situation extensively, and have been following threads on this subject for about 9 months now. Under Federal DOT regulations, nothing is required other than a valid drivers license from the state you live in to tow under 26k pounds. No medical or commercial license is required. Texas follows the Federal standards. This is the first mention of a medical I have ever seen. I belive the Federal Regulations do require a medical if you are driving a commercial vehicle which means greater than 25999 pounds.



As to the tires, there is a difference of opinion and I don't know if there is a federal rule. Texas also looks only at the size, but it has nothing to do with safety so far as I know. Their table calculates the pounds per square inch on the ground for purpose of bridge and road weight limitations. Texas does not look at load rating. However, I purchased load range H tires which use inner tubes, filled to pressure of 110 pounds, on a heavy duty rim. This is for my 16k flat bed 2 axle, total of 4 tires. As I recall, they have a rating of 3500 pounds each which handles my load. My gross combined weight is 24,000 pounds with about 15k of it on the trailer tires.

 

[RDavidson]

B'Gate, I don't think the medical card requirement is something new. Also, Alabama adobted the federal regs years ago, but in typical form they are slow to apply them. Maybe a little more explaination would help. The GVW rating on my D250 is 8510#. With a PC (passenger car) tag it is restricted to 8000#. I had my bobcat trailer taged with a UT (utility trailer) tag with a GVW of 7000#. Here's the fun part, I can pull a trailer with my truck with a UT tag as long as the GCVW does not exceed what is on the truck registration, 8000#, and I'm totally legal. I can pull a UT trailer with my truck as long as I don't exceed 10,000# and I don't need a medical card but I will not be legal because I have exceeded the GVW on the truck regristration. So in order to pull my bobcat trailer I have to put an X1 tag on my truck. The tag is rated to 18,000# but the truck is still only rated at 8510#. Once you put an X1 on the truck you can no longer pull a trailer with a UT because it's in a different class, just as you can not pull a TR (commercial trailer) with a truck tagged with a PC tag. Sooooo I have to change my trailer tag to a TR from a UT just to move it down the road. Now that they have my money, higher tag prices don't you know, they are also more likely to stop and weigh me now because of the X1 on the truck. Alabama first looks at the GCVWR of the tag on the truck. If my gross weight is under 18,000# then they look at my axle weights. Good luck here, on the truck is posted, the only item ever printed, except that little tag everybody dreds loosing off their pillows and their mattresses, the V. I. N. tag on the door that clearly shows your truck axle weights. Next, they take the GVWR of the trailer and divide it by the number of axles. Pray you have your weight distribution on the trailer right because they don't care. If you don't get grounded by now you will probably be OK, especially if your trailer uses 16" or 16. 5" tires, but in my case my trailer uses 15" tires. When I bought the trailer new the tires were only rated to about 4500#. I just recently found a 15" tire that has a load range "E" rating, 2800# per tire. I feel much better now about my tires but axle weights are another story. I also now have to find out if I have to carry any additional safety equipment because of the X1 designation and now I have to stop at the scales. The bottom line is that they got, and will continue to get, MORE of my money. I have to give up my personalized tag. It doesn't make me one a bit safer on the highway and all those blue hairs can still plop down $80,000. 00 for a half ton Phord and a 35' camper, never pulled a single thing in their life let alone know how to back one up, and drive all over the road and nobody cares! I feel better now, your turn.

 

[rickhans]

It's like I guessed, those are Alabama requirements, not Federal. Texas does not have as many classifications and does not look at GCVW because it is not used in the Federal Regs. I have seen some postings from California that are different from yours and Texas.



Also, I can pull in any state regardless of their local regs because Federal law requires all states to honor the license and registration regulations of the home state of the vehicle, driver, and trailer. If you ever have the opportunity to move to Texas, don't pass it up.



And by the way, my tires are 15" made by Hancook but requires inner tubes.

 

[rob10858]

okay, here's my favorite subject. we have fords chevys and dodges, all duallys. the fords are 550's with the powerstroke [no the cummings is only available in the 650 and above, and anyone that says that the isb is available in a ford pickup, is very misinformed, its not, trust me] our dodges have a rating of 10100 lbs on the inside door panel our ford 550 are much higher, although the only real difference is in the rear end. the suspension and springs seem to be the same as our 450 and 350 fords. if im not mistaken, the 550 have a rating of 17500, the 450 has a rating of 14500, and the 350 is 12500 lbs. this all comes into play when you combine the gvwr of the truck with the gvwr of the trailer. if the combined weight is over 26001 lbs, and you haul for a living, and you go state to state, you are commercial. you need to log time, have fuel permits, have an apportioned tag, and everything else that a big rig driver has to do [that includes giving blood and urine samples upon request at weigh stations, and meeting all of the regs the motor carriers have to deal with] if i take my 3500 dodge with a trailer that has a gvwr of 15000 lbs interstate, im under 26001 lbs. if i have one of our 550 fords im at 32500 lbs! the so called super and heavy duty pickups will only get you in more trouble, as far as the combined trailer -truck wghts are concerned, and we all know that our 3500 dodges can easily handle the weight of our competitors trucks. the difference is in the advertising. "the highest tow rating in its class" after 15 years of pulling, in 10 states, let me give you this advice. if you have a combined combination weight between 10100 and 25999, med card and log. if you are above, every commercial law applies to you in every state. period. the usdot has been trying for years to make all regs be the same in every state conform to federal regs. pickups continue to be a thorn in the side of these regs. as far as the rating of the tires and etc with our trucks, like i stated before, if you are not comfortable with how you truck can handle the load that you are pulling, go up to another class of truck. its really very simple, its up to you, its your truck, trailer, and money thats at stake.

 

[RDavidson]

Packman, I agree. The federal regs have been adopted by just about everyone. Luckily for me I work within 100 air miles of my home, no logs or IFTA required, yet. The only real disagreement I have with powerwagon is that the state, I'll use Alabama for an example, can enact any law in addition to any federal law and the local or state law has precidence over the federal law. This gives the arresting or ticketing officer the ability to cite you for a violation of state, county, city or local ordinance ahead of a federal violation. The reasons for citing you under anything but federal law are two; the second reason is that it is much easier to pursue a case on a local level. The first reason is that the court where the case is heard receives a larger portion of the court costs. In a case where a ticket is written to a city court the city receives about $65. 00 of the court costs as opposed to about $10. 00 if it is sent straight to a county court. I also agree that the 3500's can pull the load as well as the rest but you have to have the higher GVW's to account for the higher axle weights to allow you to get down the road with bigger hot shot trailers.

 

[therabbittree]

that 100 mile rule isn't correct either although almost everone goes by it any how. . it says if you drive with in 100 air miles of your home base you don't need to have the log on your person or in the truck, but !!!!... ... you are supposed to keep a time record at the office. . and they can bust you for that... i had that explained twice already ,driving for work, haha... ... pains in the ***. . playing dumb helps a lot. . but if the same guy gets ya again thats no good. . later

Deo

\x/ hillfolk!

 

[R.E. Miller]

Fact

If you pull in Maryland, and you trailer GWR exceeds 10K enjoy getting your CDL. Only thing I know I'll be quiet now

 

[J DeMaio]

Guys:



I'm getting all confused with the different abbreviations for weights. Can you shed some light on it for me? All i'm wanting ot know is what abbreviation tells the total weight that the trailer/load can be? Which one tells you the combined rating of both the trailer truck buth loaded? I'm probably going to be hauling a John Deere 830 Diesel home for a man, if you've seen an 830, then you know the size



Thanks,

John

 

[rickhans]

I think I am repeating myself here, but from the responses I keep seeing, I am not sure if others understand this or think that everyone has to comply with Alabama's law.



From the research I have done, and previous postings from experts, including a judge, the way I understand it is that a state can only enforce against drivers with that state's drivers license IF the law is more restrictive than the federal law. If I pull my 16k load into Alabama, and stay under the 26k commercial limit, and I am not overweight on the trailer or the truck, they can not legally issue me a ticket for anything related to weight, license, or medical requirements, because I am legal in Texas, have a valid Texas drivers license to pull the load in Texas, and am complying with the federal weight and license requirements.



The same goes for California which has a different drivers license class for pulling non-commercial trailers but exceeding 10k pounds, I think is the weight limit. Since Texas has no such license to issue, nor medical exam for such, then it would be impossible for me to meet California or Alabama laws. What are they going to do? Tell me I can't drive in their state?

 

[Eric_77]

Originally posted by RDavidson

Don't forget one other little thing. When you are pulling a trailer that's anything but a camper and your combined gross weight is over 10,000# you have to have a medical card, even though you may not meet CDL requirements. I just had this conversation with a member of the Alabama D. O. T. today and he gave me a pretty little piece of paper to take to the license dept. I now have the opportunity to trade in my personalized tag (IXCAV8) for a boring X1 on the truck and a TR on the trailer.

Camper exemption does not exist period. If you have an RV and pull a trailer that has livelihood in it, say crafts or even in RV itself for that matter. Then you ARE commercial. The DOT laws have to do with ALL vehicles in furtherance of commerce over 10,000# The US-DOT regs go into effect for interstate travel you are not exempted by what state you came from. Texas and many argiculural states have raised limits for med card and log book to CDL limits (26,001#) for INTRASTATE commerce.



Weight abr

GAW Gross Axle Weight how much each axle can handle DOT looks at this

GVW Gross Vehicle Weight how much total capacity for that vehicle DOT doesn't care about this from my experiences

GCVW Gross Combined Vehicle Weight How much total weight of truck and trailer is DOT cares about this



Now to get confusing you can "over" register a truck 1 ton register for 25,000 the license trailers as "tokens" which have no weight register. If you have more trailers than trucks you do this to minimze expense.



DOT doesn't really care if your truck is overloaded in GCVW only that you paid taxes on for that amount of weight and axles are not overloaded.