interstate hauling and regs

[rob10858]

this may apply to some of you [it certainly does me] if you use your truck in a business that has to cross state lines, beware. many states have enacted new laws that can leave you waiting for a cab at your friendly weigh station. we've been getting abused for years by the dot cops in different states for being considered "commercial" vehicles, even though we are a private not for hire company. it can be so complicated that even the dot officers arent sure what to do with us. go to the us regs for the national motor carriers safety admin. then decide how you should register your truck and trailor wghts. sorry for being so long winded, but this is my pet peave. this only applies to drivers that cross state lines,whether it is 1000 miles or 10. i would like to hear some feedback from hotshotters and our moderators also. this is very important to everyone that hauls for fun or a living.

 

[LARGE CAR]

What new laws Packman? In Texas your not considered to fall under TXDOT reg. as long as you are not reg. or gross over 26,001 and do not carry HazMat. A HazMat carrier of any size or weight is subject to regulations. I know if you are reg. for or gross over 10k and travel across state lines as a for hire Co. or to "further" co. business you must be registered with USDOT and carry the min. Public Liability insurance think its 500 or 750 k. HazMat carriers of any size are subject to USDOT regs. too.
Good subject here,

 

[rob10858]

those us dot regs are tough. how each state interprets them is even worse. if you just happen to be inspected on your casual trip through the weigh station and fail, well thats another story.

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[Champane Flight]

You can count on troubles if you are "transporting any materials for comercial use,and or are over 26000lbs". The best thing to do is re-register your vehicle non-buisness and ignore the scales. The tax break you are receiving for your vehicle is not worth the hassle. Claim to be a dumb ole farmer with a tractor going to the fair. Or whatever the situation calls for.

If you are hauling over that weight and or the above. Go ahead and pro-rate,apply for each states permits. Get your CDL,keep a log and Get the insurance.

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95 Dodge 2500 Luverne grill guard,headache rack,running boards and Amzoiled. Soon to be mildly bombed. 84 Dodge d-150, 318 Hooker headers,Edelbrok intake,mallory ignition,Carter Afb,Accel coil,and Custom dual exhaust. Boat,fifthwheel,motorcycles,and shop,job to support toys. Yuck...

 

[QRTRHRS]

A friend of mine suggested that he knows of guys hauling race cars acrossed state lines that have been harassed depending on how they answer the cop. He said the best thing to do if the officer calmly says "Well how did you'all do today" is to say you did nothing. To say that you won, etc. places you in a business rather than just a hobby.

I have magnetic signs advertizing my farm and stud horse services that I remove when I cross state lines whether I am pulling a trailer or not.

 

[rob10858]

weve tried the dumb farmer routine and it pretty much applies to us [theres nothing wrong with farming] but im afraid that wont cut the mustard anymore. if you are in another state for even the most innocent reasons, such as equip repair or etc. a hardcore dot man will and can consider you commercial because you are in that state to "further your business " the next step is logbooks, dot markings and compliance, med card, and on and on. our trucks are rated at 25999 lbs to stay under the cdl ratings, but that has not made much difference in the last months. id really like to see some input from some hotshot drivers that really are commercial.

 

[R.E. Miller]

Information on this matter would be nice!
I run a small landscaping business in MD, and all of us here sweat over this subject. I have heard of all kinds of horror stories about people just trying to make a living who go across the scales, and nearly lose it all. There has to be some members who know about this stuff. I just get hot about subjects like this where the state expects you to know everything about everything, yet does nothing but fine you to bring it to your attention.

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1992 W-350 Club Cab Dually (All quiet for now)
1992 W-350 8' contractors dump with 3. 5" exhaust(don't ask)

 

[QRTRHRS]

Hard to sort these DOT regs out but here are some things to read.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/3903.htm#390.3

f)(3) The occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise;

This site has links to all the state DOT web sites as well as some other related info.
http://www.fmcsa. dot.gov/links.htm

Course' when you go to the various state DOT sites, the info we need is vague.

 

[rob10858]

yeah, ive had one of my trucks caught in a maryland scale for the driver not having a logbook. we do custom maint on golf courses throughout the southeast, but are all licensed under 26000 lbs. its as simple as this, if you drive over 150 air miles from your place of business[or your home] into another state, for any commerce related activities, you need to have the following. logbook,medical card, fire ext[mounted], safety triangles [not flares], dot #s on the truck [with business name address and phone # visible from 150 feet] no alcohol,closed or open in the truck, and then you better make sure that your vehicle is in tip top shape if they decide to inspect it. they look at brakes tires and lights really closely. i know that at the maryland scales that the sign says "all vehicles over 10000 lbs must enter for inspection" if your in a dually, thats you empty or pulling [look on the inside or your driver door panel, they do] i know that common sense would tell you that if every pickup started pulling into the scales it would shut down the system. im not telling yall what i think is true, im telling you what the men in the badges have told me. uh-oh, ive ranted again. ive also had weighmasters come out and tell me "you dont need to stop here we only weigh trucks" go figure.

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[rob10858]

oh by the way, the times im talking about ive always been pulling my equipment, not empty. after all the name of the forum says it all.

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[QRTRHRS]

packman,

I have my 14k gooseneck licensed at 10k. Most of my usage is local so I can avoid unnecessary hassles when I get over that. I was mulling over running to Maryland today being that saturdays tend to be "quieter". I decided to wait until after I get my deer damage repaired on Monday so the truck looks more respectable.

I can sympathise with you though. Being in a small business, you fall into the cracks somewhere between a rock and a hard place. The different interpretation of the laws is what stinks. I dropped my commercial drives license when the CDL thing came out. At the time, I was in school and figured it would only cost me money for nothing. I suppose eventually, I will have to get one as the noose further tightens up and the states look for more money.

 

[rob10858]

thats exactly what its all about, revenue for the state. in the different states that we travel, the registration on the truck [with a gooseneck] should cover the weight of the truck, trailor and load. the higher the truck registration, the more it costs. the trailor weight reg only needs to match what is on the mnf plate attached to the trailor. you can be assured that the dot is more interested in your 40,000$ truck than your 7000$ trailor. as long as you dont exceed the axle weight limit on your trailor, keep its registration as low as legally possible. when we first started our business, we had our dually reg at 8000 and our trailor at 16000 figuring that the combined total would cover us , wrong.

 

[R.E. Miller]

packman,
What do you have to pay and prove to obtain a DOT#? Also, I don't ever plan to tow interstate, should I still obtain this number; does it look better?
Thanks
Russell

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1992 W-350 Club Cab Dually (All quiet for now)
1992 W-350 8' contractors dump with 3. 5" exhaust(don't ask)

 

[rob10858]

unless the law has changed, it doesnt cost anything. we just got the dot address from our friendly local weigh station sgt. after about ten days you recieve a letter back from the usdot giving you your number and a brief outline of what it means to display them on your truck. as far as the need for them if you only travel in state, thats probably something your dot man can also answer. most of the older guys are very helpful and easy to work with, its the young guns learning the ropes that you have to watch for. sometimes they dont know the regulations any better than you do.

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[QRTRHRS]

I actually found this handbook from Maryland to be relatively straight forward and informative. R. E. , the phone number to apply for a DOT number is in here.
http://www.mdot. state. md. us/mmcp/handbok3.pdf

 

[rob10858]

"should not be cited in place of specific federal and state laws" that just about sums it up. how can someone such as myself [not for hire, not "commercial" not a professional driver, etc] know all of the specific state laws? in north carolina, if you get an out of service violation now, not only do you get impounded until the violation is fixed, you must pay the fine before they let you go. out of service can mean a bad tire, brakes that dont pass, a headlight out. its all a good idea as far as safety goes, and we need these types of regs to keep our roads safe. but sometimes it gets a little crazy. i was inspected at a west va weigh station a few ago and passed everything except the officer [ without asking what i had done that day ] determined that i "looked fatigued" it was a friday at the end of a long work day and i was tired [as we all are at the end of the week] but probably not half as tired as the other two hundred trucks that passed by us as we talked. he impounded my truck and trailor, and said that i was out of service for 24 hrs. iwas about 23 miles from my house and asked him what was i supposed to do now, he said that if i could find someone to come and drive my truck[ without the trailor which stayed there] i could take their vehicle home. so my wife came and drove my beast home while i drove our personal vehicle [its twin] home. the next day, when the scales were closed my partner and i went back and got the rest of our80000 dollar investment, brought it home, and wondered what was accomplished by the whole ordeal. it was perfectly in working order, i was no more fatigued than the night before, the only difference is that if it happened today , iwould be short about $450.

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[KB0OU]

In Missouri the pickup must be tagged for all the load, both vehicle and trailer. Can get expensive if caught over, last I heard, $100. 00/1000 lbs. over tag. I think it has gone up.

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96 CC 4X4 2500 SLT AUTO transmission, PrimeLoc, ISSPRO EGT Boost transmission Temp, GUTTED CAT, 155,000+ Miles still goin' strong, Lots of Ham Radio gear, NO IGNITION NOISE!!! Love my diesel!!! # 8 TST Fuel Plate.