rfeiller

it really becomes a problem trying to comply with two different residences in two different states.
like CD while in CA I meet all of the requirements for this state and the DOT as enforced here. i just don't like looking over my shoulder in fear of the axe falling, it tends to fall at the worst times. a few hundred now saves a few thousand if caught.
like everyone else, i don't like the regs or the fees required, especially to own a 5500, would never have bought it if i had known.

rich

state dot can enforce rules and regs on any highway, have heard of the usdot doing the samr by a driver who got stopped in the middle of town by a fed dot it doesnt matter what the roads are they can stop you on a city street if they want to

annabelle

Makes since......they are stopping people on the county road to the landfill.

rfeiller

sorry, i have no idea why i ended up with 3 posts, the computor froze
rich

annabelle

join the club

RickG

While a CDL is not required for vehicles under 26,001 lbs. GVWR , here is the definition of a CMV from FMCSA part 390

"Commercial motor vehicle means any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle
(1) Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater "

A medical card is required when the GVWR exceeds 10,000 lbs. In KY Department Of Vehicle Enforcement often stops 1 ton trucks pulling a trailer , especially if it has not DOT numbers . I worked for a company that used F-350 Crew Cabs to carry crews to jobs . No one was allowed to pull a trailer with the truck unless they had a medical card .

chaikwa

And that's what a lot of people don't understand. Summarized in a nut-shell, 'interstate commerce' is defined as transporting property for personal gain. So in essence, if you haul your race car to the track and receive even so little as a trophy for your efforts, you technically have a personally 'gain'. Even if someone puts some fuel in your truck's tank if you've helped them move something it's considered a personal gain. Now, whether or not an officer sees that as a 'gain', is what muddies the waters and makes things seem subjective. There's a certain amount of 'looseness' to the rules that leaves a lot to interpretation and unfortunately, makes things seem un-even across the board. Add to this the mood an officer may be in on any given day and it can turn into a real cluster!

chaikwa.

rich

yes Rick but your 10k refers to interstate lines in Texas you have to be over 26k or combo of it, or haul hazmat, or 15 people in order to need any cdl requirements. We are some of the few states that issue are own dot numbers.i see a lot of 1 tons that are not towing trailers working that ate not required to have anything

CD in NM

chaikwa.

That 'personal gain' stuff got a lot of guys tickets in the last couple of years. I recall reading a quite lengthy thread about the fellows that haul race cars and such being nailed on the 'personal gains' since they competed for trophies and money, etc. Even those who SHOW horses are into personal gains and from what I've heard, they have been getting tickets too.

I had a friend who won a real nice 4-horse stock trailer with a small living quarters at the end of barrel racing season a few years back. It had ALL KINDS of rodeo advertising stuff painted all over it. He got stopped in a road check somewhere in the midwest pulling it with his 1-ton, he was moving so it was loaded to the hilt with boxes, something like 12K plus the 8K truck, so he was under the 26001 sweet spot, didn't matter 'personal gain' and he got a ticket/fined as the advertising was interpretated as 'personal gain'. So even the gross weight doesn't seem to matter in how they view us. He has since stripped off all that 'advertising' from the trailer.

That's why I label all my trailers 'not for hire'. It clearly states my intentions. If 'personal gain' is a standard of measurement, we should never have problems hauling heavy loads of hay, I have yet to meet anyone in the private/personal use horse side of things that has a personal gain out of their hay burners when it comes to $'s to feed them. How would they ever manage to measure your enjoyment?

CD

annabelle

My Vet stopped at a weigh station in AZ at the AZ NM border as he went to a roping. He was told if you so much as win a ribbon, you are considered to have personal gain. He was told it's not strictly enforced right now (he even saw several trucks pulling horse trailers blow by and not stop....but they also picked one to go after). He was told all live stock trailers should actually pull into be checked.(For required vaccinations & proof of neg. Coggins if nothing else).

JohnBer

I drive a 1 ton service truck for work, (16,000) go by the scales almost everyday,been pulled in twice for inspection.truck has company name on the side
think they mostly wanted a weight. I have a cdl. in WA so far its only 16001 and up that have to pull into the scale. i was never asked for my med card. i offered it the first time and the officer said im under 26k so he dont need it.
both times the biggest interest seemed to be my equipment fueling tank in back. checked for capacity added in the amount of 5 gallon buckets i had on board of oil and told me by the letter of the law i could be sited for no haz-mat plackard.I was carrying to much oil products. they let me go but after the 2nd time i got rid of the fuel tank. Also the dot guys didnt care much what color fuel was in the truck, but, the guy in house from WA dept. of revenue checked both truck tanks.
When i asked why he did it instead of them they said they had enuff other stuff to worry about.

rich

the rodeo guys are the ones who are the ones who are really doing things illegal. they'll have farm tags on the trailers, not to many ranch or farm horses ride in a 30k trailer to go chase cows in the pasture. plus they cross state lines for money gains and that puts them in the over 10k issue with the usdot. even if you are not for hire but are hauling your own stuff to make money with it wether you are going to a job site or a roping it technicsally puts you in the commercial catagory

chaikwa

Don't take this as an attack because it certainly isn't, but I'm curious... this is the first time I've heard of a state issuing a DOT number. If you have a state issued number, then you go out of state, (I'm theorizing here, so assume 'commercial'), do you need a fed DOT number as well? Or does Texas subscribe to 'SAFER', the fed's Safety And Fitness Electronics Records system? (SAFER is the registration and records arm of the DOT numbering system)

chaikwa.

annabelle

I think the sheer volume of trailers going to some ropings(1700 teams to the one I referenced) over whelms the DOT.

rich

Chaikwa, the state of tx issues its own dot numbers for companies who operate in state only. we followthe txdot rules which are the same as usdot with i'm sure sometype of variance because we all know states dont want to run the same regs as everybody else be to easy. if you want to run out of state you have to get a usdot #, mc number, ifta and apportioned tags or pay the trip permits to each state along with fuel permits