DOT regulations

A buddy of mine posted a link to DOT regulations for Exemptions on motorsports trailers. I wonder if hauling your tractor to tractor shows fall under the same regulations as motorsports trailers? Here's the link. http://semasan.com/page.asp?content=DOT/UCR_Registration&g=SEMAGA

Ya do it with the plates!!

It all boils down to "are you doing it for money"

I was talking to Bobby about this and he looked up this INFO and posted so you guys can have the right INFO from the "DOT" and not the half-trues and sometimes out and out wrong INFO.
One little thing you guys might be missing is that it all changes when you cross the state line. I'd look at this long and hard before saying this is not about my truck and trailer; it will not help you at the scales and that old saying I have not been ticketed yet so it's all good will get you no help out of the DOT. I'm not trying to be a butt just tying to help stop the BS that's out there on the DOT and hauling tractors to shows. I was in trucking in a big way for over 30 years and have set across the table for the DOT, so it's a been that done it fact you will not win with them, I have seen fines of over $10,000 and time in jail of 10 years for been wrong please don't find out the hard way.
 

Edited by Don(MO) - 20 Feb 2016 at 9:06am

I can maybe see someone getting a 10 K ticket for being grossly overweight and having equipment malfunctions out the a$$, but what would get you 10 years. ..? Darrel

Here is the part where they get a farmer for hauling grain to town even though it is in state and short haul.
You are required to obtain a DOT number if you have a vehicle that:
is involved in “interstate commerce,” which is defined as:Between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States.

Haul grain to Bunge at the river terminal 4 miles away, and it gets shipped down the river and across the ocean, and it CAN be considered “interstate commerce,”
 Depends on what side of the bed the DOT officer got out of that morning.

our "farm" plates here allow us 150 miles from the home address

Stan you bring up a good point. In the FMCSA manual under section 390.5 which is the definitions section: 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 ---- subsection 1 Has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination weight, of 10,001 lbs or more, whichever is greater.

So with that said if your trailer has a GVWR of 10,001 lbs in FMCSA eyes you're considered a commercial vehicle.

Now under FMCSA 390.3 sub section F part 3: The "occasional" transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of commercial enterprise. If you go to a tractor pull, car show, or tractor show, or any show at all; no moneys are exchanged for prizes or you have no sponsorships you are exempt from being considered a Commercial Motor Vehicle as long as you stay IntrAstate.

Once you travel outside of your home base state, now you fall under interstate commerce Right out of the FMCSA book: If you are a Private Carrier hauling your own products across state lines with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or Gross Combination Weight Ratings (GCWR) of 10,001-lbs or above, you will need a USDOT number / DOT number. In addition, if your gross weight or combined gross weights exceed 26,000-lbs when crossing state lines, you will need to register for an IRP license plate / Apprtioned license plate, IFTA fuel tax and Unified Carrier Registration (UCR), and Commercial Drivers License (CDL) class is dependent upon Commercial Motor Vehicle.   

Not trying to be a butt, Just putting the information out there.

Been thru all this with the DOT already. If the combination of the gvw of your truck and trailer together are 10,001 pounds or over, you are required, even if only hauling your own product or toy or empty trailer, to have a DOT number, and name of business, farm, or your own name, and in some states, the gvw of truck, trailer and load, all on your truck in large enough print as to be able to read grow a minimum of 50 feet.
You are also required to have a medical card if the gvw is 10,001 pounds or more.
If you are in such a vehicle or combo, you are to keep a log book if traveling over 100 miles from home base.
I have been stopped several times, the second thing they will ask you is where are you coming from, and where are you headed. Ofcourse the first question is for your license and registration. I know a LOT of people that got tickets for not having a medical card too.
Farmers are exempt from several laws, but the ones above we are not exempt from.
When you get a DOT number, you will eventually be audited. There is a lot of paperwork that you have to keep up with and have on file. I have an interstate DOT number, and 2 years after I got my number, two federal DOT officers came here from San Antonio, TX and audited me. They aren't too bad the first time, but you better have everything the second time they come around. Mostly maintainance records on every truck and every trailer, every time you serviced, repaired, put on tires, etc, are supposed to be on file, and dates each were put into service. And every truck and trailer has to have a DOT inspection every year. This runs into money if you have several.
If you haul commercially, there are many more requirements.
I run farm tags on all pickups, and farm limited on all my semis. I am allowed to go anywhere with the pickups, and legal to go within a 150 mile radius of home on the semi tags.
If you haul anything for someone else, you are supposed to have commercial tags and all the above, and a CDL. But as said earlier, farm equipment is not titled, so if stopped, "it is mine". And they WILL ask. LOL
In the state of KY, any trailer over 16' is supposed to be licensed if for farm use, and all trailers are supposed to be if personal or commercial use.
HERE, they are writing tickets all the time to these guys in a pickup pulling a trailer with lawnmowers on them, and saying it is a business so they have to have a DOT number, trailer liscense, medical card and a CDL.
Oh yea, you have to have a fire extinguisher and emergency triangles in every truck also. My last ticket was for not having my fire ext. in my pickup. I used the one in the combine and put mine in it that day and forgot to put it back in the truck. I was pulling an empty gooseneck, they pulled me over for a spot check, and ofcourse I got a ticket for not having it.

If you pull a trailer, and the gcvw of the truck and trailer are 10,001 pounds or more, and hauling your own property, and within your home state, you are not considered commercial, but you still need a DOT number and a medical card.
This came up when I was audited. I had a half ton truck that did not have a DOT number on it. I had a 20,000 gvw trailer sitting in the driveway when they were there, and he said I couldn't pull that trailer with ANYTHING that did not have a DOT number. Soooo, I just had to ask, what if I hook it to that old 79 half ton over there??? To which he quickly replied, and I quote,"I don't care if you throw that hitch over your shoulder and pull it down my highway, you had better have a DOT number across your a**".
I just said yes sir. Lol
As already said, for the most part, how far they want to carry things is up to the officer, and what kind of mood he is in.

In the beginning all states were told that the DOT regulations were necessary " A NEED FOR SAFETY WITHIN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY " . And also a need to have the enforcement of the regulations "UNIFORM " from state to state. And federal money would flow to the states to help implement the rules/regulations. The trucking industry wanted "UNIFORMITY" and thus bought into the program. That's all changed. The program has moved from "SAFETY" to "GET MORE MONEY" from the trucks and owners/drivers. It has moved all the way down from the LARGE TRUCKS to vehicles 10,001 lbs. and greater are under the DOT regulations in one form or another. If you have children and you want them to earn money in the summer time to help with school expenses or just to get them to see how working is needed go buy them an old truck and a trailer get them some lawn mowers send them out to find lawns to move and advise them to charge a fair price for their labors and the see what the DOT rules say about what they are doing. The truck will have a GVWR of 8,000 lbs. or greater and the trailer will be at least 3,000 lbs. = 11,000 lbs. gross combined weight which puts it over 10,000 lbs. and they are receiving compensation. I speak with knowledge as I was a State Trooper for 33 years. I've been retired for 15 years. My story is,I was ticked by DOT 2 years ago for violations that did not apply to me or anyone else in my situation. I later found out through an association for the trucking industry that the Feds were wanting the state DOT to work a campaign against "DULLIE PICKUPS only and/or those PULLING TRAILERS" I plead "not guilty" I had my day in court and the DOT Officer never showed up in court. Not counting my time or travel it cost me $1,400.00 in legal fees. But if you were to check my driving record today it will show the issuance of those tickets but nothing about the tickets being thrown out. I've been informed that those tickets will be on my driving record FOREVER. When I first inquired about getting a DOT number for my truck and trailer for hauling my tractors to shows/events the young lady at a DOT phone bank in up state New York asked questions about receiving compensation for attending such events. She went as far as to tell me if I even received a "RIBBON" for participation it would be considered by DOT regulations as "COMPENSATION" and thus I was a commercial enterprise and I would be required to get a DOT number. She went on to tell me that by not receiving any compensation I would exempt me from having a DOT number. I will tell you that if you ask DOT officers in more than one state the same question about a certain regulation you will most likely get as many different answers as officers you asked the question of. Remember; un-elected Bureaucrats make the regulations which become law and these same bureaucrats require law enforcement to enforce them. Just my thoughts from someone "out there".

GaryL wrote: CTuckerNWIL wrote: Here is the part where they get a farmer for hauling grain to town even though it is in state and short haul. You are required to obtain a DOT number if you have a vehicle that: is involved in “interstate commerce,” which is defined as:Between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States. Haul grain to Bunge at the river terminal 4 miles away, and it gets shipped down the river and across the ocean, and it CAN be considered “interstate commerce,”  Depends on what side of the bed the DOT officer got out of that morning. Something is not right in your statement.  Interstate Commerce means among or between States (two or more).  Intrastate commerce is commerce conducted inside a Cparticular State.  If a DOT official is considering a farmer hauling grain a few miles as Interstate Commerce, then I believe he is grasping at straws and inappropriately applying the Interstate Commerce clause with a wide brush.

Everything in bold italics is straight from the regulations. If you haul corn 1 mile to an elevator, and they ship it over a State line or out of the country, it CAN be considered Interstate shipping. I'm not saying it's right, just what the "law" says.

CTuckerNWIL wrote: GaryL wrote: CTuckerNWIL wrote: Here is the part where they get a farmer for hauling grain to town even though it is in state and short haul. You are required to obtain a DOT number if you have a vehicle that: is involved in “interstate commerce,” which is defined as:Between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States. Haul grain to Bunge at the river terminal 4 miles away, and it gets shipped down the river and across the ocean, and it CAN be considered “interstate commerce,”  Depends on what side of the bed the DOT officer got out of that morning. Something is not right in your statement.  Interstate Commerce means among or between States (two or more).  Intrastate commerce is commerce conducted inside a Cparticular State.  If a DOT official is considering a farmer hauling grain a few miles as Interstate Commerce, then I believe he is grasping at straws and inappropriately applying the Interstate Commerce clause with a wide brush. Everything in bold italics is straight from the regulations. If you haul corn 1 mile to an elevator, and they ship it over a State line or out of the country, it CAN be considered Interstate shipping. I'm not saying it's right, just what the "law" says.

CT, depends on who paid you I would think, If you hauled it to the elevator 1 mile or a hundred miles and the elvator paid you, that is in your state... and thats as far as your ownership of it goes... after the elevator ships it from your state to the next state, or another country... then that is the elevators ownership of said commodity...  So...  the coppers better get it right I would think.  

How many have been ticketed for an unsecured load?????

I'm starting to think this might be the cheapest way in the long run to haul something to shows.
It's just like riding the bus, just get on and leave the driving to the bus driver, sad but true with today's DOT rules.



Edited by Don(MO) - 20 Feb 2016 at 7:49pm