Stopped by DOT

[LHS Inc]

Has anybody ever been stopped by DOT? About 3 years ago I got pulled over on a section of road that MD State DOT had set up to stop anybody pulling a trailer. My trailer is an 18' landscape trailer and I had two mowers loaded on. Just by the Grace of God when they checked me everything was ok. I can thank my father too for most of what was done right, what he said to do made sense and it worked out.Their biggest pet peeve was the break-away switch. They caught so many people with faulty switches that all the local boat and contractor stores sold out of them. I was fortunate that my trailer was new and the officer didn't even try the switch. I had everything strapped down correctly. Had the right number of orange cones in place of the reflective triangles. It was scary but I passed. I just happened to do everything right. Went on Maryland's website to try to find some info on what the rules are but didn't find anything. I was just wondering if anybody in MD or any other state has had dealings with DOT and would like to share their experience.

 

[tcartwri]

Every time I get stopped I learn a new regulation. I wish they would publish them somewhere. I'm almost an expert now though! after 22 years of driving trucks...

 

[Soundguy]

down here dot won't stop obviously non comercial looking vehicles. ie.. no door sticker or things indicating it might be business.. etc.

I have on very limited occasion seen a dot stop what could be a landscaper or private trailer that had stuff unsecured and overloaded..

soundguy

 

[unbidden]

There is a federal government funded program that involves DOT and State Police departments, possibly some local PD's as well, though I'm not sure about that. Their job is to routinely pull-over and inspect commercial vehicles and there is at least three levels of inspection The full inspection of a semi can take 2 to 3 hours and is extremely thorough. This can be a private haulers nightmare as many of the violations must be fixed on site or the vehicle is towed on the spot (Out of Service). Inspections involve the log books as well. On the other hand there are drivers that welcome the inspections at times because they may be driving a rig that has a maintenance issue that a given company is refusing to address. These DOT and Police Officers go to various training academy's and are tested on all aspects of the laws pertaining to commercial transport, I know that there is such an academy in New Braintree Mass. which is the Mass State Police Acad.

 

[LHS Inc]

In my situation the MD DOT was going after landscaper/mower trailers and the occasional Class A restricted truck/trailer hook-up. Spring thru Fall my area is a hotbed for landscaping and mowing trailers up and down the road. DOT set up in the perfect spot and was nailing cats right and left. They didn't offer a fact sheet on how to be DOT compliant just nail you for what you had wrong. I'm all for safety but it would be nice if we knew what to do.
Since I'll be hauling my JD 3520 on my 10,000 lb trailer it would be nice to know to the correct way to transport it. I do have the 10,000 lb ratchet straps that I"ve been told by a friend is acceptable. I guess I'll overkill just to make sure everything is ok. Any advice on transporting my tractor would be appreciated. I'll check out the MD DOT website again.

 

[tcartwri]

Since I'll be hauling my JD 3520 on my 10,000 lb trailer it would be nice to know to the correct way to transport it. I do have the 10,000 lb ratchet straps that I"ve been told by a friend is acceptable. I guess I'll overkill just to make sure everything is ok. Any advice on transporting my tractor would be appreciated. I'll check out the MD DOT website again.

Eager Beaver trailers has a very good loading and safety video, that I'm sure you could order online. Rules are very specific for wheeled cargo.

 

[Soundguy]

while I'm 100% for road safety.. I get the feeling this was 'revenue' enforcement.. not safety enforcement. and I'm not a fan of that. there are proactive ways to encourage safety involving open citizen training fliers, websites.. IMHO.. the goal should be to let people know what they need to be compliant for whatever they are doing.. vs a myriad of selectively enforced codes that is difficult for the layperson to understand, and periodic military style stops and revenue enforcement...

soundguy

 

[HarryVanderpool]

Every time I get stopped I learn a new regulation. I wish they would publish them somewhere. I'm almost an expert now though! after 22 years of driving trucks...

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

 

[LHS Inc]

while I'm 100% for road safety.. I get the feeling this was 'revenue' enforcement.. not safety enforcement. and I'm not a fan of that. there are proactive ways to encourage safety involving open citizen training fliers, websites.. IMHO.. the goal should be to let people know what they need to be compliant for whatever they are doing.. vs a myriad of selectively enforced codes that is difficult for the layperson to understand, and periodic military style stops and revenue enforcement...

soundguy

You nailed it Soundguy.

 

[Soundguy]

You nailed it Soundguy.

yep.. the goal should always be safety.. and penalties for grosly neglected equipment, and/or multiple violations.

not draconian head chopping whenever the budget is shy...

soundguy

 

[tcartwri]

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

So based on the information available on that site, what should the OP do to secure his tractor on an open flat bed trailer, with no headboard.

 

[Soundguy]

don't be silly.. that's coverd in sub paragraph 47B section 512, chapter 29, but you have to have the new codex with adenda version 3.4208B or higher for all referenced materials and once you read that, it is nowithstanding any provisions of section 9 out of the 'red book' paragraph 14, sub section A, note 3, but keep in mind in the end it's all open to interpretation by the observing officer as stated in appendix C out of the 'Blue book' paragraph 37, sub section 9. Mind you the blue book is currently out of print and has not been updated to the current addenda level needed for this type of querry.


cripes.. reading that stuff is worse than sausage being made.. rats cockroaches dust and all included into the mix ( under acceptable levels of such ! )

soundguy

 

[Treemonkey1000]

don't be silly.. that's coverd in sub paragraph 47B section 512, chapter 29, but you have to have the new codex with adenda version 3.4208B or higher for all referenced materials and once you read that, it is nowithstanding any provisions of section 9 out of the 'red book' paragraph 14, sub section A, note 3, but keep in mind in the end it's all open to interpretation by the observing officer as stated in appendix C out of the 'Blue book' paragraph 37, sub section 9. Mind you the blue book is currently out of print and has not been updated to the current addenda level needed for this type of querry.


cripes.. reading that stuff is worse than sausage being made.. rats cockroaches dust and all included into the mix ( under acceptable levels of such ! )

soundguy

Ok Soundguy now you are making me lose my appetite for reading and sausage! What next are you going to pick on my Pizza? :licking:

 

[Soundguy]

hey now.. i LIKE pizza!


soundguy

 

[tcartwri]

Well instead of dinking the poor guy around, here is the answer;

First of all I would ditch the straps. They are rated for 10,000 lbs, but I am willing to bet that is not indicated anywhere on the strap itself. That disqualifies it immeadiatley in the eyes of the truck police. Plus a length of chain is really usefull on a day to day basis.

I am assuming the tractor with all of it's gear bolted to it weighs less than 5000lbs.

Because it is under 10000 lbs, you can use the same regs as specified for transporting a car or light truck. However, it is much easier to go by the rules for heavy equipment, as follows.

#1: you must have a minimum of 4 tie down points to the deck of the trailer.

#2: Take the weight of the tractor and divide by 2.

#3: Take the Working load rating of each of your tie downs, and divide by 2. ( that is not the ultimate breaking point, which is what those nylon straps are usually rated at. )

#4 Sum all of the tie downs in item #3. This number must be equal to or greater than item #2. If not, add more tie downs until it is.

So I would use two lengths of 5/16" G70 chain, run through the frame of the tractor in such a manner that it cannot be pulled through, with two lever binders rated at the same strength as the chain.

All tie downs must have an angle on the load, so that the machine cannot move forwards or backwards, or from side to side. Imagine drawing an X through the tractor from above.

Any binder or chain not marked with a rating is automatically disqualified by the DOT officer.

 

[MF 1532]

The state of Illinois , ( I'm sure you have heard of us we're one of the states that are broke ) has been cracking down on truck and trailers . Things they are watching for ; too light of license plate , D.O.T. numbers anyone hauling for hire (this includes farmers hauling their own grain to market ) , burning off road fuel , log book violations , etc... The responsibility of a unsafe vehicle is now not just the owners problem , but the driver too , a violation stays with his record also . I operate up to date safe equipment and would like to think the truck I just met is safe too . My biggest complaint is , it's a law to have liability insurance , but I still have to carry uninsured motorist coverage:confused2:Insuring all my stuff is enough , but to have to cover myself against the uninsured / underinsured

 

[WTA]

Texas is real funny. Because I have farm tags my one ton is registered for 38,000 pounds. I can "legally" weigh that much gross. I don't even want to get into what would happen if an accident were my fault.

Also because of the farm tags, I get stopped by every single state trooper, barney Fife small town cop and city cop that sees me because of the 100 gallon farm tank in the bed. I love it. It's got a clear filter housing on the pump and they still insist on dipping my tank. It's kinda irritating. I never buy red diesel because of past bad experience with the quality around here.

Also, thanks to the farm tags, and the fact that I have a class A, I run the posted truck speed limits. Don't ask me why but a state trooper told me once if you're registered for big truck weight, carrying a big truck license then you better go the big truck speed. It's typically 5-10 mph under the regular speed limit. That's ok though. I like saving all the fuel I can.

 

[FTG-05]

So based on the information available on that site, what should the OP do to secure his tractor on an open flat bed trailer, with no headboard.

Easy, for tractors, it's Chapter 10.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/cargo/cargosecurement-16-04.pdf

 

[jonyyuma]

How much liability insurance do you need to prove? Jy.

 

[tcartwri]

Easy, for tractors, it's Chapter 10.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/cargo/cargosecurement-16-04.pdf

Actually you would have to combine chapters 2 and 10 to be compliant. Chapter 10 alone, would get you in a lot of trouble.