Nys DOT what I learned

[caterpillar guy]

What used to peeve me was the big companies would go running around with a flat tire or other defect you could see as they went by me on the road. No problem. IF I had a tire that was a little bit low on tread. I would get wrote up for it. I tried very hard to keep things up to snuff so I didn't have to deal with that kind of nonsense. One time I got pulled around back over reflective tape not being on the mud flap brackets with a Step deck trailer you can't see it unless you were right beside the drive tires almost. They also whined about no reflective tape on the back top corners of the sleeper .The guys that painted the truck should have put that back on when they got done painting. Was BS since I owned the truck and trailer it never got bobtailed anywhere when on the road. About the only time it got unhitched was to grease the fifth wheel when I greased the truck which was every week. and that was done at home so not on the road. I did most all the maintenance at home on the truck and trailer Brakes,clutch tierod ends even tires. I adjusted the clutch replaced wiring harnesss on the back of the trailer and lights. In general I didn't leave the yard with it if I felt it was not safe to operate on the road even did 90 day inspections so If I missed something it could be taken care of at home. I was a motor carried at that time so it all fell on me which was fine just make it even so the big companies with no maintenance got the out wrote up for those things they had in violation.
As for the Communist driver license It seems to me if you are using a truck for most anything it is going to make money whether you haul a tractor to the field to load hay which in turn you feed or sell hoping to make a profit so how is that not being used to make money with? Even hauling your Skid steer or tractor to be worked on is cheaper than having the dealer so still in essence making money with it. Just a lot of it is indirectly making money.

 

[john in la]

Not being killed by an exhausted driver hopped up on pep pills doing 90MPH down the highway running 10,000lbs overweight doesn't seem like all that unreasonable an ask...

"Why can't they leave me alone? I'm a good operator!" Too bad the DOT doesn't have a "good operator detector." They could just aim it at the truck as it passes by and only pull over the ones that need to be pulled over. Unfortunately, they don't, and all trucks tend to look pretty good at 60' and 60MPH.

I agree.
Just stating facts.

In fact I think every car/truck on the road should have to follow DOT rules.
The problem with that is if you start enforcing DOT safety rules on your voting public you get kicked out of office.
Much easier to pick on an out of state truck that doesn’t vote in your area.

 

[moresmoke]

"Hauling my own stuff"...

When I read the farm plate rules for NY, I interpreted that to mean my own "produce" from the farm. Hay, Grain, possibly even Cattle...within the mileage and other restrictions.

Hauling scrap/garbage from our farm to the solid waste authority... I figured would be OK as well... as long as it's local.

As for equipment hauling... I interpret that as maybe allowing me to haul equipment to a field for baling, harvesting, excavating for field modifications (i.e. installing drain tile)... but as soon as I haul that equipment to do something commercial, like dig a house foundation... I'm definitely outside of the rules; whether I'm paid for it or not.

These are my interpretations, and I'm about as sure of them as the chance of a snowball on top of the woodstove.

Most of the gray area here comes when people (in my opinion) use their farm as an umbrella to do all sorts of other things that aren't farming, such as landscaping, excavating, property maintenance, etc. etc. These types of things should be done with all of the same licenses as the non-farmer people that you're competing against...in a fair world.

While each state manages to make its definition a little different, the federal definition of “farm“ use is anything involved in farm to market activities done by a farmer or someone that works for him. So as long as what you are doing pertains to raising your crop or livestock and getting it to the first point of sale, you fall into this category. Subject to mileage limitations etc. The local co-op is not a farmer so they are commercial even though they are doing many of the same activities.

 

[moresmoke]

Anybody driving a RV should have to get a cdl or close to it as MANY don't know how to drive a larger vehicle, let alone back it up.

There are about 12 states now that require a higher class non commercial license for large RVs. I for one think it is a good idea.

 

[john in la]

While each state manages to make its definition a little different, the federal definition of “farm“ use is anything involved in farm to market activities done by a farmer or someone that works for him. So as long as what you are doing pertains to raising your crop or livestock and getting it to the first point of sale, you fall into this category. Subject to mileage limitations etc. The local co-op is not a farmer so they are commercial even though they are doing many of the same activities.

The local co-op is not a farmer so they are commercial even though they are doing many of the same activities.

That depends on what state you live in as federal law allows for states to exempt farm related business.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Mi has an F endorsement for farm hauling within 150or 160 air miles. Not crossing State lines. With the F endorsement there is no medical card needed for driving.

 

[farmersamm]

I think what a lot of guys forget.............is that FMCSA is the governing body. All you have to do is look to their requirements. State requirements generally mirror FMCSA.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

I think what a lot of guys forget.............is that FMCSA is the governing body. All you have to do is look to their requirements. State requirements generally mirror FMCSA.

Generally but not always, and FMCSA regulations are open to "interpretation." One officer will tell you something is fine. The next will put you out of service for the same thing.

 

[Ray,IN]

There are about 12 states now that require a higher class non commercial license for large RVs. I for one think it is a good idea.

One New England state (Delaware?) has a law that requires motorhomes to stop at scales, but it is not enforced. I regularly participate in RVing forums. I'm surprised at how many diesel pusher MH owners don't have a clue about air brake operation and maintenance.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Delaware is not part of the New England states. There are only 6 and NY is also not one of them even though it gets included alot by unsuspecting persons. NH,VT,MA,CT,ME and RI are the six New England states the others are north eastern states but not New
england. Alll has to do with what European country colonized them and NY was considered a Dutch colony so not a part of the NEw England States by those rules. Used to drive my Mom and Grandmother crazy when people who didn't learn their Geography referred to NY,NJ,and PA as part of the New Emgland States being they lived or were raised in them. Mom born in VT and Grandma was in NH Mom's Dad worked at the Manchester air port back during the war for the local people that will know the difference in airports there it was called Grenier Field then by the Air Force.

 

[showcrop]

Generally but not always, and FMCSA regulations are open to "interpretation." One officer will tell you something is fine. The next will put you out of service for the same thing.

Yes! around 15-20 years ago there was a major revision of the laws, resulting in what FMCSA described as "performance driven rules". The objective was to get away from insignificant nit-picking specifics and go more towards common sense "what works" enforcement. An example is when using straps the requirement was if it went over a sharp edge it needed to be sleeved. The question was "well is that really sharp? what is sharp anyway? thus passing at one check and failing at another. So the new rule was "let the driver decide." BUT, if he decides to not sleeve the strap, it better not be getting frayed or he gets put out of service. The emphasis was to reduce leeway of interpretation.

 

[caterpillar guy]

If they choose to they will fail a new undriven truck and trailer or just straight truck. Especially in MI or IA. Most difficult states to deal with and the most rude cops in the country i have run into and live in MI. On the other hand Sd has some of the most practical and easiest to work with cops. From my experience with any of then in the country. Most of the western states were pretty good to work with.

 

[MeanGene1]

I left NY in '73, and back then you could get a $100 ticket for being over on your gross and $100 for being over on axle weight, so the biggest weight ticket you could get was $200, so guys would load up real heavy and take a ticket once in a while. They used to give you 200# per inch of tire on the front so you would see most larger trucks with at least a 10.00-20, then 11.00's and 12.00's and flotations, and load up on the front, even loading the cab shields on dumps. We had a pair of Loadstar 1800 gasser dumps that were legal to 17.5 tons if loaded up on front, then later a Fleetstar 2010 with the 549 gasser, 11.00's and a 15ft aluminum box and it would carry 19 tons legal- and that 549 would boogie. One guy had a very long wheelbase R-model Mack 10-wheeler with the little Cummins V-8 , flotations on the front and a 20ft box, and it would legal 20 tons- looked like a big dachshund. After the '72 flood there was a big call for "shot rock" and rip rap for damage repairs, and "rock boxes" with 1/4" walls and 5' tailgates got popular. My uncle had a DM600 Mack with a Maxidyne and a rock box, so it weighed 22K empty. He had a load one day that was 3 rocks and the net weight was 27 tons

 

[NY 986]

I left NY in '73, and back then you could get a $100 ticket for being over on your gross and $100 for being over on axle weight, so the biggest weight ticket you could get was $200, so guys would load up real heavy and take a ticket once in a while. They used to give you 200# per inch of tire on the front so you would see most larger trucks with at least a 10.00-20, then 11.00's and 12.00's and flotations, and load up on the front, even loading the cab shields on dumps. We had a pair of Loadstar 1800 gasser dumps that were legal to 17.5 tons if loaded up on front, then later a Fleetstar 2010 with the 549 gasser, 11.00's and a 15ft aluminum box and it would carry 19 tons legal- and that 549 would boogie. One guy had a very long wheelbase R-model Mack 10-wheeler with the little Cummins V-8 , flotations on the front and a 20ft box, and it would legal 20 tons- looked like a big dachshund. After the '72 flood there was a big call for "shot rock" and rip rap for damage repairs, and "rock boxes" with 1/4" walls and 5' tailgates got popular. My uncle had a DM600 Mack with a Maxidyne and a rock box, so it weighed 22K empty. He had a load one day that was 3 rocks and the net weight was 27 tons

How bad did you get it in 1972? I know further south the Canisteo River moved houses that were near it. One of my mother's relatives lived in Corning and it was shocking to see mud up above the first floor on some buildings. We visited a couple weeks after the flood. The rain was nowhere as bad at our farm but it put the brakes on planting some late corn dad wanted to get in. Seems like it was a late spring to start with but I was just a boy so I did not get lengthy stories as to what happened.

 

[MeanGene1]

We were in Wallace, and the water came up within 30 ft of our shop, and was seeping up through the ground into the basements. This is one of my gramp's trucks that the driver pulled up on the dike in Avoca to keep it out of the rising water

 

[NY 986]

We were in Wallace, and the water came up within 30 ft of our shop, and was seeping up through the ground into the basements. This is one of my gramp's trucks that the driver pulled up on the dike in Avoca to keep it out of the rising water

I recall it said that the big rain in excess of 10 inches over one day was to the south of Rte 17. That the Mt Morris dam would have had overflowed if they had not open the gates which made for a tough situation downstream. The concern in part was debris going over the top of the dam. Not a pleasant event but people pulled together to get through the flooding.

 

[masseyowner]

Any truck and trailer combination over 26,000 pounds requires a class A license. Does not matter if for commerce or not. This includes pickups with large 5th wheel travel trailers. Weight is determined by the manufacturer sticker on truck and trailer. It does not go by the registered weight. Basically as long as under 26,000 pounds anyone with a class d license can pull that combination. As far as large motorhomes. If over 26,000 pounds a special R endorsement is required. To get that endorsement you need to take a road test in your motorhome, or one over 26,000 pounds. If pulling a trailer behind the motorhome that puts you back to needing a class A license. These according to the officers are the laws here in Nys. They also stated they do not rarely if ever bother with travel trailers, motorhomes, or people with any type of recreational trailer. They are mostly after people operating for commerce. Anyone out making money with their truck and trailer is commerce. They said people always try to bs them on it and fail. They said occasionally they pull over someone doing work for themselves at a property they own or for a friend/relative but that is almost never the case. They said when a truck has Not For Hire on it a red flag goes up. The officers said people put that on their vehicle thinking they won’t get pulled over or stopped but the officers said they pull them over all the time and find that they are using the vehicle and or trailer to make money. So basically stay under 26,000 pounds, don’t use it to make money, and remember what your registered for means diddly. There are all kinds of endorsements for farm vehicles and licensing. Biggest thing they said that stuck with me was - most people will never get pulled over by Dot with a travel trailer, motorhome, or recreational trailer. Where the problem lies if there ever was an accident with someone driving out of class the lawyers would be all over it with huge lawsuits. Just something to think about. They spewed out a lot more info and my head was swimming by the time they were done. I just thought I’d share a few things. Most probably covered by John and others in the previous thread.

what about dot numbers to go upto montreal que, i've a 2500 hd 03 schev truck, what size trailer is max for me , and those dot number, plus haver comercial plates, an ordinary drivers licence sufficed to go up and go into que with no troubles.