Newest Clear Shine truck

Im under 26k GVWR....no air brakes. regardless if state lines or not. They said the only diffrence it makes if i put down I cross state lines is a inspection. Either way, Im stuck with getting a DOT number. i would call the number on http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/online-registration/onlineregdescription.htm and make sure. Its something you want to be %100 positive about. We actually talked about this at the KY roundtable also. There was a guy there that said the DOT got him and hes running a truck and trailer. You are running commercial vehicles. I know they are pretty hefty fines!!
 
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-
  • Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
  • Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under 49 CFR, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C.
 
You need to know your state guidelines and the federal guidelines. Federal are the same for all over. I think some states require all commercial vehicles to have a DOT number.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/registration-USDOT.htm

I believe Alabama is on there. This is something you want to be for sure about! I called and called and called trying to find out about all this crap! It sucks, but hey its part of running a business!
 
I called my buddy who is head DOT Trooper for our counties (mainly runs I-65 and Hwy 31) and he knows exactally what we run and will be running with the F-350.....he said that as long as I stay in state with it, I dont have to have a US DOT number.....and this guy is very very through and knows the DOT law inside and out. This is all he does as a Alabama State Trooper. I am not saying you don't need one in Kentucky, but here we don't need it for my trucks for what we are currently using....
 
One thing that no one has metioned is that the laws change when you have a pick up tuck bed versus a flatbed, box truck, stakebed, utility bed even just a cab/chassis. You can get a F-650 with a regular pick up truck bed on it and don't have to have any numbers, permits, go through scales, ect.

I think the USDOT thinks that if you have a pick up truck bed that you aren't a contractor or anything else in their eyes.
 
Some States Require USDOT Numbers

In select states (see green highlighted states or list below), all registrants of commercial motor vehicles, even intrastate and non-Motor Carrier registrants, are required to obtain a USDOT Number as a necessary condition for commercial vehicle registration

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.



You guys ever see a car driving around with a DOT number on it? Or a F-250? I see them all the time. I got that off of http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/registration-USDOT.htm
 
Ron is correct. Whether your trooper friend knows it or not, that is what the law is. They are nailing guys up here hauling lawnmowers, roofing equipment, etc. and throwing them in the paddywagon, and I am not kidding about this. They have "surprise " inspections where they make every vehicle pulling a trailer pull off the highway and check them out for everything;correct paperwork, insurance, and registration, properly secured load, brakes, rusted bolts, even air pressure in the tires. Ask AC Lockyer about it after he was nailed with a $6000 fine. A friend of mine was pulling a single axle trailer that the DOT said had to have electric brakes on the axle. After he switched it over, the mounts on his aluminum trailer broke free as he was going home for the evening, causing the axle to leave the trailer. As luck would have it, it rolled and smacked into a police car sitting at a stoplight. Even tho he now has a Class A license due to a previous bust (he was one of many in the lawn business that got caught) he still got nailed even tho he was trying to abide by the law and has another hefty fine to pay. Personally I don't care whether you go thru all the hoops or not, but I feel that it is just a matter of time before the state you live in finds out about another form of "taxation."
 
Clean County PW said:
My Flatbed doesn't require a CDL license. Also any truck that has airbrakes here in NY requires a CDL license. My Flatbed F-550 truck because of the Aluminum bed weighs only 6700lbs and has a longer wheel base then the typical F-150-350 yet this truck weighed less then my F-350 extended cab that I sold last year. I stopped at Scales in the past and everytime they told be I don't have to be on them.

I love this F-550 flabed and the engine in it is one of the best ever made which is the Ford Diesel 7.3 liter. The truck is a bull and then engine doesn't blow any smoke or make any funny noises. I would recommend this type truck to anyone in this business and believe me I went thru many different types.
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John, curious what the GVRW was on the truck and what you have the trailer licensed for...2 good sized tanks like that makes me curious.
 
Free to get Dot numbers, fine thousands , also you maybe need health exam if you don't have that it is a 100.00 fine better check into it out guys
 
Yea that's my truck in the picture. Not over 26k gvwr. No air brakes. It's a commercial vehicle tho. It's registered to my business. If I had a elcamino with a rig in the back, some states would want that registered. Just like trailers. Around here, if they are personal, you don't have to register them, only if commercial. Getting a dot number took me all of 5 mins. I kno it's something ya don't want to do. Believe me I didn't, but it's alot less than a ticket. My recommendation would be to call your state office and the federal. That's what I done. And get the name of the person your talking to also. Some of you guys are running around with probably more weight than I am. Especially with those gooseneck trailers. I know AC was saying at the RT dot got him once. Then another guy there said dot got him and he just had a trailer and truck like most guys.
 
RGilliam said:
Yea that's my truck in the picture. Not over 26k gvwr. No air brakes. It's a commercial vehicle tho. It's registered to my business.
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I have a hard time believing the truck in the picture is not 26,000 GVWR.....I'm sure you know, but for those that don't, GVWR is NOT what your vehicle weighs, but what it is CAPABLE of weighing. All vehicles are given a GVWR rating, and all you have to do is look them up.

Here is the definition of GVWR:

A gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) is the maximum allowable total weight of a road vehicle or trailer when loaded - i.e including the weight of the vehicle itself plus fuel, passengers, cargo, and trailer tongue weight.
The difference between gross weight and curb weight is the total passenger and cargo weight capacity of the vehicle. For example, a pickup truck with a curb weight of 4,500 pounds (2,041 kg) might have a cargo capacity of 2,000 pounds (907 kg), meaning it can have a gross weight of 6,500 pounds (2,948 kg) when fully loaded.

Also, your truck being it is considered FOR COMMERCIAL USE and wouldn't be driven for non-commercial use may also automatically put your vehicle in the category of needing a
US DOT number, I don't know.....
 
I know what the GVWR is. That truck doesnt wiegh anywhere near 26k. Its rated under that. Its under CDL. DOT has classification. Class 4 truck, class 5, and so on. If you have a hard time believe its not a CDL truck, then look it up. Its a internation 4300 DT466. No diffrent than what alot of other guys here run also. NPRs are under CDL as well. And yes, it is a commercial vehicle. I need a DOT #. Is your vehicle not a commercial vehicle? Alot of guys can say that, especially when they get pulled over dragging there company trailer. Then they have all these signs and what not. I bet a DOT office isnt going to buy that. Either way, Just trying to give you heads up. Those fines are very hefty.
 
Something else to think about is if you are pulling a trailer with 2 axles and your truck is lettered/logo'd/has signs then your trailer has to have an inspection sticker on it besides the trailer brakes on at least one axle and the brake-away controller. This is D.O.T. which is nationwide, not just statewide.
 
Ron, without knowing your year or box size, you are anywhere from 25,000-29,000 GVWR from what I have seen. PLUS, I think your vehicle automatically falls into the commercial category with the DOT. Here is where you guys are messing up.....lettering your vehicle up and use your vehicle as a work vehicle doesn't qualify you as a commercial vehicle. Commercial is just a category the DOT puts you in with how your vehicle is rated. Just cause your pulling a trailer and using a big truck and it lettered up does not make it classified as a commercial vehicle bracket with the DOT. On the flip side, when you get a US DOT number, one of the requirements is to have your name on it...totally different then you having a lettered up truck. This is for federal law that I am talking about, not individual state DOT laws.....
 
yea its under CDL, CDL is 26,001 GVWR or more. BTW box size has nothing to do with the GVWR of these vehicles....the first one we had was a 16 and it was the same as a 26ft. So do you think If I bought this for a recreation vehicle, you know throw a bed in the back, stripper pole, I'd have to register it. No, Its registered to my business. I use it for my business, It is a commercial vehicle. Do you register everything as your personal? Also, I dont letter anything, why would I? I do fleets. its not going to bring me any business. By law I have the letters on my truck as small as DOT allows. But, if you get pulled over, going to a job, with 2 guys in the back. with that trailer hooked on, and a DOT says is this are you using this for profit? what are you going to say? No this isnt my business, this is my personal vehicle? Come on, hes not going to buy that, hes going to write you up! Its no sweat off my back. I just wanted to give you a heads up. They are very hefty fines. Have you called the state DOT office? Or FMSCA #?



A vehicle may be considered a commercial vehicle if:
  • the title was placed in the name of a company or corporation.
  • The vehicle is used for business but is in an individual's name such as a sole proprietor.
  • the vehicle is a leased vehicle and in the name of the financial institution that owns it.
  • the vehicle exceeds a certain weight or class and therefore is "classified" as commercial even though it may not be commercially used or commercially owned. A weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more is always consider commercial.
  • the vehicle is used to haul any hazardous material.
 
RGilliam said:
Have you called the state DOT office? Or FMSCA #?
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Yes, in fact, I have done better....I have had the State DOT troopers come look at my old rig (1500 GMC pulling my same 14 ft tandem axle trailer) with both of the truck and trailer wrapped with my company logo and information. I was required nothing as long as I dont cross state lines. I was totally perfectly legal in both the state and Federal DOT standards. The moment I cross state lines, I would have to go US DOT number. I called him up on my new rig and he said it goes by the GVWR on my vehicle classification. Here is where I dont think your getting it....I think your vehicle is in a different class, hence automatically makes it Commerical regardless of the weight.
 
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