Ok, so here's a potential scenerio: I'm moving two cars for a guy with my personal truck on my personal trailer. No $$ has changed hands and there is no plan for $$ to change hands, a la 99 cummins. I'm definitely under 26k. Can I just go about my business like any other joe public? My overhead in life right now is very low and I want to keep it that way. I work part time in a garage and would consider hauling cars for this fella maybe once every three weeks or so. I guess I understand the implications and possible outcomes...it's a calculated risk just like every decision we make in life. Me? I think I'll buy that little 3 car wedge and give 'er a go...the lessons I most remember in life are those I've learned the hard way!! First I gotta get my new injection pump in

greg

 

Forget the scales and haul the car. I would charge in the neighborhood of $1.00 per mile. Good for you and him.

 

Haulin a car on your trailer for a guy is one thing, buying a 3 car wedge trailer, that one would be hard to convince someone that you are not making something off the deal. Would give the insurance company a reason to investigate because the trailer is so speacialized. FLY UNDER THE RADAR, NOT INTO THE TOWER.

 

FLY UNDER THE RADAR, NOT INTO THE TOWER

I just about wet myself when I read that

Seriously, that is some sound advice...I hadn't looked at it from that angle, thank you. The fella has some consistant hauls to offer me, just not too frequent, which is kind of a blessing. I'm still weighing all the options. Thanks again, all, for the replies!
greg

 

I run RV's for Bennett Truck Transport . I live in KY and they have terminals in KY , IN , MD , TX , KS , CA . I've deadheaded out of TX every time I've been there . Drivers complain all the time about getting jerked around at the TX and KS teminals . If I pull out of KY , IN , or MD , I can usually get a load fairly close to one of the other terminals and keep deadhead fairly low . Hotshotting with good pay is hard to get into but a got a call from a carrier this week I may get on with . He wants older , experienced CDL drivers and just needs drivers living in certain areas . RV haulers do not need CDL's . Most require you to have a fifth wheel . Bennett doesn't and they will hire an older truck if it's in good shape . They pay a 50% advance when you pick up the load and will pay the balance as soon as you fax in the signed paperwork on delivery . You can just pull a couple of loads a month to keep your contract but must send in daily logs every 13 days whether you pull loads or not . They will hold pay if logs are behind .

 

I see duallies behind the scales all the time . DOT loves to hit them for log book violations , overaxle weight , no physical card , no authority , etc . . Bypass the scale and that's another fine . They will come after you . It's not just the scales . They will pull you over just going down the highway and they patrol back roads drivers use to bypass scales . KY just hired several new Department of Vehicle Enforcement officers . They've been fining a lot of local guys that ran for years without DOT inspections on their trucks or DOT physicals . One plumber got hit with $1200 in fines but the judge gave him a break because he got everything straight by the time he appeared in court . You wanna gamble , go to a casino . The odds are better there .

 

What exactly are the DOT requirments concerning dual wheeled pickups? If you are traveling empty going on vacation are you requied to stop a weigh stations? I have noticed around here I have been see a few pick ups pulling tailers stop by the dot. I have been told that you only can be stopped if you towing a trailer. I think everyone is a little unclear on the exact rules, at least those of us who don't drive our trucks commerically.

 

If you're not commercial you don't have to stop in MOST states . Some states have signs saying all vehicles over 4 tons empty must stop . If you go to FL be careful about the AG checks. They told me private campers don't have to stop , commercial do . When I deliver trailers I have a blue GA transport tag on the trailer . It's a dead giveaway I'm commercial and I better have my DOT signs on and hit the scales . When not pulling a trailer I pull off the signs and bypass the scales .

 

Its a Gamble anyway you do it!!! Sometimes it seems even if you are going by the books they still hit you. Remember there is always something they can find. So Just be as nice as you can, and act DUMB!!!!

 

So Just be as nice as you can, and act DUMB!!!!


I may not be acting!

 

My father is a retired over the road trucker, and I have done some light trailer hauling myself. One thing I see mentioned on here are state by state laws. Thaats fine if you are running secondary roads, but when on the interstate, fed. law overrides. here are a few things:

-Run under 26,000 and the DOT can't touch you unless you have an equipment violation (overloaded for the GVW of the vehicle or trailer, lights out, etc.) Don't put any business name on the truck. Put "Not For Hire" lettering on the truck.
-Don't keep paperwork with you about any possibly financial contributions for doing the towing. If you want to tow for a friend, you have the legal right. If he wants to give you some money afterwards that he might owe you, thats his right. But remember, the downside is that if you are in an accident, as others have pointed out, your insurance won't cover whats being hauled.
-If you are under 26,000 you don't need a DOT physical.

Want a good example of this stuff? Check out the blue-hairs running all over the country with their Greyhound-bus motorhomes that don't need any special licenses. Also check out the big motorhomes and Toterhomes towing car trailers, such as those owned by Orange County Choppers (American Chopper show). They drag their bikes, and customer's, all over the east coast without any special permits. In this country the burden of proof is on the prosecution. Unless you are obviously a towing business (name, rates, phone number, etc. on the door of your truck), have a registered business name, etc., then there is no way they can prove you are a business. I have a ramp truck that I use for "personal" hauling. Sometimes I get donations from friends. I run all over New England, but there is nothing anyone can do about it. My truck is black with no distinguishing marks (name, etc.), so its no different than a pickup with a flat body on the back. I do, however, have to make sure that my loads are secured legally, and abide by all laws, and I have been stopped several times without a problem. The police or DOT just check my load, make sure my lights are all working, and send me on my way.

Jim

 

Thanks for the input, NHDiesel. I'm still waiting on my new VE pump, so I'm taking my time deciding on what to do....

 

I need to put in a P.S. here after reading several towing weight stories on another thread. DON'T OVERLOAD THE TRUCK. thats a sure way to draw attention and get nailed. I have seen many, many 1-ton trucks towing 3 or 4 cars on a trailer. I know the truck can handle it...you know the truck can handle it...but the truck is not RATED for it. Read the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) sticker on the truck...usually on the door or door post. Thats the max. weight the truck, trailer, and load can be by law. I know many people go WAY past this without getting stopped...I do it all the time...but we take chances doing it. Sure, the engine could pull a freight train, but that rear axle isn't a Rockwell, and you don't have an 8" high steel channel frame holding everything together. Go park your Dodge next to a road tractor and compare the drivetrain parts. Not to mention the brakes! I have hauled a fullsize Ford extended van on a trailer behind a Jeep Cheroke...and a 60's Ford F-600 fump truck on the same trailer behind a Grand Wagoneer equipped with a Dana 60 rear axle and 4-speed heavy duty transmission. it worked fine...but I would hate to have to pay the fine if I got caught. I can't imagine what I'll be hauling with my newly purchased Ram...I just hope I don't get caught.

Jim

 

The GCWR (Gross combination weight rating) is not posted on the door or any other place on the truck. Federal rules are to compute the GCWR you add the GVWR of the truck to the weight of the trailer and an load thereon. In many states it is computed by adding the GVWR of the truck to the GVWR of the trailer. All you have to worry about is that you are legal in your home state, and that the axles are not overweight, that includes tires. I pull my 21,000 pound trailer with my GVWR of 8800 truck perfectly legal in your state or anyone elses, because I have the plates that cover it and it is legal in Alabama. I have had many DOT checks although I always go around the scales in Kentucky. It is not illegal to go around the scales on a legal highway of a different route. The ticket for bypassing the scales is for going past them without stopping. I have never seen a sign saying "trucks must not exit and must go through the scales five miles down the road." Many states like Mississippi have lowered the weight rating on the roads surrounding the scales to prevent this, but your truck will not be over that weight. If the road says "no trucks" you are in trouble if caught. I go around one Georgia scale so often that the "Truck Enforcement" waves when I go by. I wave back and keep going.

Another post said that the Federal law superceeds the state laws on the interstate. No No No, the states can create stricter laws that must be complied with except for a couple like the length of a semi, and the length of doubles that have federal authority. You must comply with the individual states CDL, fuel permit requirements, length limits for truck and trailer (try hitting Florida with a 50 foot trailer) and many others. If the state law is stricter than the feds, you must comply with it. That is why my truck has no bed on it and is registered as a tractor, I fit under the feds length limits.

He gets the three car wedge, most likely he will need a class A CDL. Some states have screwey fuel permit laws, like over a 50 gallon tank, must have permit (ifta) and so on. You are responsible to know the state law and comply with it.

If you are on the road commercially, you are always in violation of some stupid law, experience says which you can get away with and how.

 

The GCWR has to be posted on all trucks. Here is the info from the Dodge web site for a Ram 3500:

With 3.73 Axle Ratio You Can Tow 14150 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating(GVWR)[i]=11500
Payload[i]=4784
Curb Weight[i]=6716
Curb WeightFront/Rear=3916/2800
GAWR[i]Front/Rear=4750/9350
Gross Combination Weight Rating(GCWR)[i]=21000

Get caught over 21,000 and get a ticket. I'm not saying the DOT doesn't look the other way most of the time...just that they CAN get you if they wanted to. When I built up my Wagoneer, I towed a 10,000 lb. trailer. I had big brakes, big axle, and a transmission to handle it. But I still had the stock frame, and more importantly, the legal trailer weight limit was around 5,000 lbs. I did once get stopped for having a 1-ton Ford, with snowplow, on the trailer behind it, and got a severe warning. The only thing that saved me is that it was late at night on a state highway, and the cop didn't want to wait around for the scales to be brought out.

As for the CDL, thats a federal license. That was the whole point of the CDL...ONE authority overseeing the licensing, not 50. It shows up on your state's license as an endorsement, but the actual regulations are federal and aren't governed by each state.

Jim