every scale will have sign indicating who they expect to stop. examples "all commercial vehicles over x weight", some states may say "ALL vehicles over x weight" most will indicate rv's excluded. the issue with Budman is that he is NOT hauling his own RV so he is commercial and probably is required to stop
I've been sweatin' the same issue.
I just built my own two-car hauler and pull it with an F250 pick-up.
I wanted to pimp the trailer with some cool shop logos and "not for hire" stickers but someone told me that would make me a commercial hauler. Even though I'm haulin' my own cars with my own truck to my own shop. It's crazy.
I spent half a day on the phone calling my local state police, state police HQ at the capital, DOT, NHTSA, FMCSA, CIA, UPS, USDA and anyone else I could think of.
No one could give me a straight answer.
I keep all the numbers and names of people I talked in the glove box. I pity the cop who pulls me over. I'm going to show him the list and ask him how he knows the regs but all these other folks don't.
I have 19 years experience in both for-hire and private operations. Because your trailer is above 10k GVW it makes your combination a Commercial Vehicle. It does not matter if you are for-hire, not for-hire or for charity... you are operating it. To follow the letter of the law, you need to stop. Additionally, you need DOT #'s, log book, medical cards, truck & trailer inspections, etc.
Now, the reality is that states vary in their enforcement. Like anything else, it is becoming a source of revenue for law enforcement.
Sorry to break the news to you, but you are a trucker!
__________________
2007 F-350 Crew Cab King Ranch SRW 6.0L FX4 -100% Stock. B&W Turnover GN Hitch.
And a bunch of other stuff with engines... all of which require a wrench.
In Calif. a pickup is 1 ton or less with a factory bed on it, and just to let you know if you drive a 1 ton or higher cab/chassis with modified body (utility, flat bed, etc.) on it, private or Comm. you are suppose to go through the scales.
thanks working, so if a guy with a 3/4 ton pickup with a standard bed with any legal trailer he decides to pull on the interstate sees a scale sign that says "no pickups" he's o.k. not to stop? (not for hire)
I have 19 years experience in both for-hire and private operations. Because your trailer is above 10k GVW it makes your combination a Commercial Vehicle. It does not matter if you are for-hire, not for-hire or for charity... you are operating it. To follow the letter of the law, you need to stop. Additionally, you need DOT #'s, log book, medical cards, truck & trailer inspections, etc.
Now, the reality is that states vary in their enforcement. Like anything else, it is becoming a source of revenue for law enforcement.
Sorry to break the news to you, but you are a trucker!
I have been driving RV's for over 30 years and never have seen that "Law" enforced. I see 80,000 lb Prevost H3-45 coaches towing 25ft triple axle 13ft tall utility trailers drive past weigh stations all the time.
I have been driving RV's for over 30 years and never have seen that "Law" enforced.
Me too. Right off the top of my head I can name at least 50 guys who've been pulling horse trailers "illegally" for years now.
Quote:
Additionally, you need DOT #'s, log book, medical cards, truck & trailer inspections, etc
Oh really? The many times I've crossed state lines, stopped at the Port of Entry scales to take in my Coggins Test and health certificates when hauling horses the scale guys always seem to forget to check me for any of the above.
Ya gott'a love the internet!
I just pulled this setup right here from Knoxville, Tn. to San Dimas, Ca. last week.
I have always been told, if your not for hire, do not stop at weigh stations, they are for commercial use only. In this trip from Tn. to Ca. I must have past 3 or more highway patrol officers in every state as it was the week of the 4th of July weekend.
I even got a thumbs up from an Albuquerque police officer. When I got to the Az./Ca. agg station, I was asked to pull over because they wanted to inspect the boat for Zebra musscles, after about a 15 minute inspection and even talking to a CHP, I was on my merry way. I did get alot of looks while I was pulling this setup. But no law officals ever bothered me... I have towed towed double tags before, but my longest trip prior to this was about 800 miles. This trip was 2200 and towed like a dream.
__________________
2003 BLACK Excursion Limited 7.3 w/DVD entertainment center, rear captians chairs, 3.73 limited slip. 4" MBRB Stainless Exhaust, AFE stage II intake, DP Tuner, 4.5" Donahue lift, 35" Toyo Open Country Mud Terains and airbags.
2002 BLUE F350 XLT 7.3 4x4 Crew Cab short box, 4" Silverline Stainless exhaust, S&B intake, DP F6 Tuner with 9 tunes. Line X, B&W turnover ball, Prodigy brake controller, On the way to BTS to join the club.
1968 Chevy C-10 Short Bed PRO-STREET 500+CI BBC
1991 Honda CRX-SI (Black Also)
2002 John Deere Gator Diesel 6X6
2003 Limited edition Cannondale Cannibal- With colors that woulnt run, RED, WHITE and BLUE #0000016
Multiple 1969 Camaro Convertible Indy Pace Cars (one Documented Festival Car)
1-1972 El Camino SS (Pro Touring) Under construction.
I don't think the guys working at the weigh station are all that interested, unless their boss is right there with them. What little interest they have seems to only be with the bigger rigs. I generally think of weigh stations and the code enforcement vehicles as pertaining to the commercial side of things. After hurricane K hit, I did a lot of volunteer hauling of stuff for local churches and a couple for the Red Cross. I hauled a load(24K) of bottled water on my goose neck one trip and I stopped at a MS weigh station thinking that since I was "hauling" and not "RV"ing, I should stop. The young fellow first thought I was wanting to get weighed and acted as if I was in his way. Then, as time passed, I just went on about my rat killin'. In Texas, the signs say all commercial vehicles and all TOWBARS. Haven't figured that out yet, but I haven't stopped yet either.
If you get into trouble with code enforcement seems the worse they do is pull your CDL.
But,,,if you're not commercial how many have a CDL to get pulled?
2006 F350 CC LWB Dually XLT Oxford white manual 4x4 6.0 PSD 6 speed. 4.10 LS front and rear, Built May05. 4" turbo back, 100gal aux fuel tank. A real pig from a stop, but give me 10' and she'll lite'em up.
well i thought 26000 lbs was commertial not 4k really
well if youre over 26k then stop if not go by and if you do get caught youre not commertial so it does not matter weigh stations are for commertial purposes only see the laws on it they cannot give overweight fines to private rigs that go through there if they do the fines dropped once its challenged
(oh it may be 21k now im not sure)
so if you got these then go past
1. non cdl liscence
2. your private truck
3. your private trailer
4. your private load (tractors you may need owners card or idk what they have for tractors but something to prove its yours, insurance on them would work)
5. and the kids in the back seat always help
and bad 350 did they really scrape your barnacles for you? wow i may need to try that if i get a boat
__________________
88 F-250 body,550 rear frame setup, 7.3 idi, 3:73 dana 80 rear, srw, dana 50 front, heavy duty leaf springs, back up camera, 20$ wallyworld fog lamps, class 5 bumper hitch welded to frame and gusseted, 32" steering tires all around, ac power converter,jeep bucket seats, deezee runningboards (cab only),cobra 29 cb w/ 102" whip, 2 trucklight worklights on front stake pocket each side,high lift jack behind seat, toolbox for the junk, visor, running lights, 6600 lbs with all my junk
88beast,
upon inspection, there was some traces of Zebra Shell casings (they were dead, since boat hadnt been in the water for over 8 mo.) They scraped a few into a small jar and then send into some lab for testing, they then pressure washed the out drive with a hot water pressure washer and wrote me a 5 day (out of water) quarintine, I also had to contact the people in Sacramento and then a local offical came out to inspect the boat,(after thoughly flushed and cleaned by a local boat company here) and then boat was cleared to enter calif. waters. But I didnt get to put it in for the 4th weekend, which was part of the reason why I took it.
This is the procedure if a boat is brought into Ca. and these musscles are present at time of inspection. So be sure if you are buying a boat that there are no signs of these creatures on the hull or outdrive. otherwise, it will have to be cleaned and cleared with. Ca. officals.
__________________
2003 BLACK Excursion Limited 7.3 w/DVD entertainment center, rear captians chairs, 3.73 limited slip. 4" MBRB Stainless Exhaust, AFE stage II intake, DP Tuner, 4.5" Donahue lift, 35" Toyo Open Country Mud Terains and airbags.
2002 BLUE F350 XLT 7.3 4x4 Crew Cab short box, 4" Silverline Stainless exhaust, S&B intake, DP F6 Tuner with 9 tunes. Line X, B&W turnover ball, Prodigy brake controller, On the way to BTS to join the club.
1968 Chevy C-10 Short Bed PRO-STREET 500+CI BBC
1991 Honda CRX-SI (Black Also)
2002 John Deere Gator Diesel 6X6
2003 Limited edition Cannondale Cannibal- With colors that woulnt run, RED, WHITE and BLUE #0000016
Multiple 1969 Camaro Convertible Indy Pace Cars (one Documented Festival Car)
1-1972 El Camino SS (Pro Touring) Under construction.
In California, at some weigh stations, the sign says no pickups. Sometimes it says that rental moving vans must stop, but I have seen lots of rental moving vans go past.
__________________
2001 F350 XLT 4X4, shift on the fly, 38 gal fuel tank, running boards, sliding rear window, black, crew cab, long bed, 4.10, automatic transmission, 11,500 gvwr, 20,000 gcwr, 7500 gvw, dual rear wheels, 7.3l turbo diesel, completely stock, 114,00 miles when purchased, now has 125,000 miles, repairs so far: starter, batteries, cps.
2005 Nomad Rampage toyhauler made by Skyline. 11,500lb gvwr.
I have 19 years experience in both for-hire and private operations. Because your trailer is above 10k GVW it makes your combination a Commercial Vehicle. It does not matter if you are for-hire, not for-hire or for charity... you are operating it. To follow the letter of the law, you need to stop. Additionally, you need DOT #'s, log book, medical cards, truck & trailer inspections, etc.
Now, the reality is that states vary in their enforcement. Like anything else, it is becoming a source of revenue for law enforcement.
Sorry to break the news to you, but you are a trucker!
I'm way behind on this topic, but this post caught my attention. By your post are you saying that anyone who pulls a trailer over 10k GVW is a commercial vehicle? It doesn't make sense that they can just decide to call something commercial because it's a certain size, when commercial should only be for when it's used as commercial. I have a GMC Brigadier with a 45' drop deck trailer I use only to haul my pulling tractors with. I have no idea what my GVW is, but it's way up there. Tractor pulling is a hobby and I don't even win any money doing it, but according to what you posted I'm a commercial vehicle? It looks to me like they'd have trouble enforcing that, but who knows.
And no kidding on different states enforcing the laws differently. I got taken to jail in Georgia for not having my CDLs (work said I didn't have to have them, I was too young and dumb to check for myself). A friend of mine got caught in Tennessee for not having them and only got a ticket. Go figure.
here in Illinois, every vehicle over four tons has to go through the scales, A "truck" in Illinois is any vehicle that weighs 8,000 lbs or more.
The absolute bottom rule for weigh stations in every state is that they are there to generate revunue. In Illinois, the overweight fine is 10 cents per pound. If you have a one ton dually (8,000 lbs) licensed for 8-12000 pounds and get caught pulling a 10,000 pound trailer, the fine is 6,000 pounds or $600. It does not matter if you are commercial or not.
Every state DOT or ICC unit is busy generating revenue and the easiest place to do that is at a weigh station.
I am commercial (RV transporter) and I make it a habit to stop loaded or unloaded at every weigh station unless the warning sign specifically excludes my truck.
Don't even try to run past an Iowa weigh station, those folks are very intense.
Bud
__________________
BudMan5
"A couple of quarter sticks of dynamite can turn an otherwise dull day fun!"
2006 F350 Crew Cab 2WD DRW 98 gal Transfer Flow aux tank, Crew Cab Sleeper, Ride Rite Air Bags with Dual Air Command II compressor and tank, B&W Companion 5'er and Gooseneck, Garmin GPS, XM Radio
Linear Mode
