DOT police going to Charlotte - Page 2

Myron Piatek · 04-16-2011, 10:27 PM

In Florida I was told the truck had to be tagged above the combined truck/trailer weight.
I tagged for 19,999 and guessed right. Mine ended up just under 19,500 with everything topped off and loaded with spares at a truck stop. Nothing special that I recall on the enclosed trailer tag.

cal · 04-16-2011, 11:19 PM

I talked to the MD DMV, and was told it is the combo of the Truck & Trailer that give you the total weight. The truck is pulling 20,000 # not carrying it, is what I was told. However they did say you can put any weight you want on the truck. If you put 10,000# or more on the truck you would have to carry a DOT medical card and have a DOT # on your truck.

I plan to go to the DOT in VA next week to see what the Interstate Law is, and which one would over rule the other one. MD Law where its registered or Interstate law.

Personly I belive this is just a way to gouge racers outta their hard earned money.
Look at that pretty truck and BIG trailer, he must have money!!!

Cal
HR 177X

THE LEGEND · 04-16-2011, 11:25 PM

Cal,
I don't think you need the DOT card or number until you cross over 26,001. Unless you have air brakes.
Chip Johnson

63corvette · 04-17-2011, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THE LEGEND

Cal,
I don't think you need the DOT card or number until you cross over 26,001. Unless you have air brakes.
Chip Johnson

You only need a DOT card if you are a Commercial Operator.
My motor home has air brakes and is over the 26,001 limit. I have a class B license which covers me pulling my trailer with less than a 10,000 lb GVW. If the trailer goes over the 10,000 GVW it takes a Class A license.
Another sticking point is the axle limit and tire GVW on the trailer.
I had a friend who was ticketed for the axle limit over the GVW of the trailer which was under the 10,000. The axles were 6,500 each for a total of 13,000 and the officer wrote him up for being 3,000 over the limit even though the trailer actually weighed less that the 10,000 it was setup for and tagged for. The officer also told him the gross weight listed on the tires added up for a total is the GVW for the trailer no matter what the trailer was tagged or what the manufacturers sticker said. Now that made no sense to me but that is what he was told along with the axle GVW as the reason for the overweight ticket even though the trailer did not weigh that much it was tagged for less than its GVW.
The moral is the officer will write a ticket for whatever they want if they need revenue and all the states need revenue now.
My 2 Cents
Rick Cates

Michael Pliska · 04-17-2011, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 63corvette

The officer also told him the gross weight listed on the tires added up for a total is the GVW for the trailer no matter what the trailer was tagged or what the manufacturers sticker said. Now that made no sense to me but that is what he was told along with the axle GVW as the reason for the overweight ticket even though the trailer did not weigh that much it was tagged for less than its GVW.

Oh, that's brilliant, encourage people to run tires with a minimal load rating. By running tires such that you are near the rated limit, you will have many more failures and potential accidents.

When I lived in NC I called NCDMV to ask about licensing several times, I got a different answer just about every call. Since I wasn't racing at the time, I just licensed my dually with car plates for a while.

Here in Oregon there are two different licensing schemes. A trailer can be licensed as a "light trailer" up to 8000 lbs. The law is unclear even on that one, as it states that as a load on its axles. What about tongue weight? One person at DMV said to add tongue weight, the other said not to. If you go over the 8k limit then it must be licensed as a "heavy trailer", where the licensing on the trailer is free but you must license the truck as a commercial vehicle and spend a LOT more.

Chris Williams · 04-17-2011, 05:12 PM

This is all just a complete mess, and it varies by state, jurisdiction, and even the attitude of the given cop on the given day. There is absolutely no way to get it right in every case. Some go by registration state, some go by their state. Some go by commercial vs. non-commercial, some go by plates, or by the placards on the trailer and truck. Some go by the license in the hands of the person at the wheel.

As far as I can tell there are only a couple of ways to be relatively safe. Don't have any kind of marking that can vaguely be considered commercial on the rig. Don't speed (by much), and obey all the rules such as signaling and such. Avoid all the weigh stations as if you were supposed to, they just attract attention. And when you do get pulled over, be the nicest guy the trooper ever met. They are always right, you are just trying to get where you are going, whatever you say sir. Smile, offer them a look at your cool race car.

We were pulled over in Iowa on our way from Illinois to Seattle with our new trailer, and this worked for us. The trooper said "well, you're over our commercial limit, but since you're clearly not commercial, I'll let you go." And off we went.

Rich Biebel · 04-17-2011, 06:05 PM

One word covers it........."Revenuers"

It's rediculous but they have the badges and the authority...

Some years ago a friend was towing another friends rig to Florida and got the same story and a ticket and fine. I am not sure what state it was but I think it was Georgia.Truck has to be registered for the total weight of truck and trailer. It was a dually and box trailer, nothing really all that big..I don't even think that is possible to do here in NJ on a NON commercial registration. Makes no sense to me other than the "revenuers" spot an out of state plate and decide to ruin your weekend....

Add in the stories of people getting their stuff robbed down in Charlotte for the second year in a row and it doesn't paint a real nice picture of racing down there....

Mickey Whaley · 04-17-2011, 09:40 PM

I went to charlotte this weekend no probs koncen was in maryland must be a problem?

cal · 04-17-2011, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mickey Whaley

I went to charlotte this weekend no probs koncen was in maryland must be a problem?

No Dale was in Charlotte, went 3 rounds in S/G. He is from MD.
He was stopped 45 minutes from the track. Said the guy checked everything,
Lenth, weight, Lic, ect... The really wild thing is it was his first trip outta town with
the new trailer.

Cal
HR 177X

koncenracing · 04-18-2011, 03:13 PM

hey mickey i talked to ya several times. i talked to people in nc they said i needed weighted tag on duelly there but wasnt sure bout md. just got home from state police barracks they did not have an answer why i got ticket not being commercial.they called scale opperaters they didnt know either. i got 1 more phone number of the head of dot in baltimore but hes away from desk right now. so far they have said if im not commercial im good but wont confirm it. dale

04-16-2011, 10:27 PM	#11
Myron Piatek VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 1,541 Likes: 34 Liked 137 Times in 51 Posts	Re: DOT police going to Charlotte In Florida I was told the truck had to be tagged above the combined truck/trailer weight. I tagged for 19,999 and guessed right. Mine ended up just under 19,500 with everything topped off and loaded with spares at a truck stop. Nothing special that I recall on the enclosed trailer tag.

04-16-2011, 11:19 PM	#12
cal Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: southern md Posts: 370 Likes: 39 Liked 30 Times in 17 Posts	Re: DOT police going to Charlotte I talked to the MD DMV, and was told it is the combo of the Truck & Trailer that give you the total weight. The truck is pulling 20,000 # not carrying it, is what I was told. However they did say you can put any weight you want on the truck. If you put 10,000# or more on the truck you would have to carry a DOT medical card and have a DOT # on your truck. I plan to go to the DOT in VA next week to see what the Interstate Law is, and which one would over rule the other one. MD Law where its registered or Interstate law. Personly I belive this is just a way to gouge racers outta their hard earned money. Look at that pretty truck and BIG trailer, he must have money!!! Cal HR 177X

04-16-2011, 11:25 PM	#13
THE LEGEND VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Fayetteville, n.c. Posts: 1,411 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: DOT police going to Charlotte Cal, I don't think you need the DOT card or number until you cross over 26,001. Unless you have air brakes. Chip Johnson

04-17-2011, 05:12 PM	#16
Chris Williams Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Woodinville, WA Posts: 401 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: DOT police going to Charlotte This is all just a complete mess, and it varies by state, jurisdiction, and even the attitude of the given cop on the given day. There is absolutely no way to get it right in every case. Some go by registration state, some go by their state. Some go by commercial vs. non-commercial, some go by plates, or by the placards on the trailer and truck. Some go by the license in the hands of the person at the wheel. As far as I can tell there are only a couple of ways to be relatively safe. Don't have any kind of marking that can vaguely be considered commercial on the rig. Don't speed (by much), and obey all the rules such as signaling and such. Avoid all the weigh stations as if you were supposed to, they just attract attention. And when you do get pulled over, be the nicest guy the trooper ever met. They are always right, you are just trying to get where you are going, whatever you say sir. Smile, offer them a look at your cool race car. We were pulled over in Iowa on our way from Illinois to Seattle with our new trailer, and this worked for us. The trooper said "well, you're over our commercial limit, but since you're clearly not commercial, I'll let you go." And off we went. __________________ Chris Williams 6304 SC, TD, ET

04-17-2011, 06:05 PM	#17
Rich Biebel VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern New Jersey suburbs Posts: 2,307 Likes: 25 Liked 537 Times in 211 Posts	Re: DOT police going to Charlotte One word covers it........."Revenuers" It's rediculous but they have the badges and the authority... Some years ago a friend was towing another friends rig to Florida and got the same story and a ticket and fine. I am not sure what state it was but I think it was Georgia.Truck has to be registered for the total weight of truck and trailer. It was a dually and box trailer, nothing really all that big..I don't even think that is possible to do here in NJ on a NON commercial registration. Makes no sense to me other than the "revenuers" spot an out of state plate and decide to ruin your weekend.... Add in the stories of people getting their stuff robbed down in Charlotte for the second year in a row and it doesn't paint a real nice picture of racing down there.... __________________ Rich Biebel S/C 1479 Stock 147R Last edited by Rich Biebel; 04-17-2011 at 06:09 PM.

04-17-2011, 09:40 PM	#18
Mickey Whaley VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,220 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: DOT police going to Charlotte I went to charlotte this weekend no probs koncen was in maryland must be a problem?

04-18-2011, 03:13 PM	#20
koncenracing Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 26 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: DOT police going to Charlotte hey mickey i talked to ya several times. i talked to people in nc they said i needed weighted tag on duelly there but wasnt sure bout md. just got home from state police barracks they did not have an answer why i got ticket not being commercial.they called scale opperaters they didnt know either. i got 1 more phone number of the head of dot in baltimore but hes away from desk right now. so far they have said if im not commercial im good but wont confirm it. dale