you know who to thank..
soon they will be inbedding chips into you!

Well that will pretty much affect anyone on here that uses their truck and trailer to tow a car to an event. Furtherance of commercial activity.....Thanks Uncle Sam.
Todd

I retired in 02 and let my CDL run out. Glad to be missing all this shat!

one thing jumped out at me, was towards the end of the article stating : "if the vehicle is a 2000 model year or older, an ELD is not required." well just put an old [30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, etc] cab on a late chassis and go ! would look MUCH cooler in the long run ! i like HOT ROD trucks ! [can ya tell ? ] maybe not for every one, but if you got the bucks to waste on horses, well, just my opinion. plus, it would create a new industry ! [just my opinion also, so take my 2cents with a large grain of salt.] wonder if anyone will try this approach ?

Probably going to get flamed for this, but weight is weight, doesnt matter if its sand or horses. You will have to admit, there are always going to be drivers that cannot handle the vehicle with the weight they are carrying. Even CDL drivers that cant backup, cant handle their vehicles. People hook up a pickup to a trailer carrying horses or whatever and drive the thing like they are in a car. Just yesterday followed a SUV, not a pickup mind you, capable of the weight, pulling a horse trailer, stuck out in the left lane, trailer swaying all over the place, going too fast downhill and dragging uphill. Never dawned on the driver to move over, slow down and drive like they had some sense. Put everyone near him and the horses in danger.

People never realize when they are too tired to drive, so before anyone says it, Ive had my CDL A since its inception. Driven times when I shouldnt have, just older and a little wiser, hopefully.

Just my opinion.

Not really a big deal. The whole CDL/No CDL or Commercial/Not for hire game will continue to be played on the highways like it has for years.

In order to protect yourself, you need to understand the rules and know how to stay out of trouble.

1. NEVER ever stop at a scale house, weigh station, or port of entry.
2. Maintain your equipment in good working order. (clean, lights working, good tires, mudflaps, current plates.)
3. Avoid getting pulled over, (speeding, accidents, lane changes)

Just sticking with those three things will mean you will likely never have to have a discussion with a patrolman or DOT official about the status of your rig and whether it qualifies as a commercial vehicle or RV.

Should you find yourself in a situation where you are forced to be a roadside lawyer trying to avoid a ticket:
You need to know how your State's laws may differ from those around you, for instance AZ's plates say "Commercial" on all vehicles rated 1 ton or above, and law enforcement from other states always try to say that automatically includes you.
Be prepared for their line of questioning. It's a show car, not a race car. You are not sponsored by anyone and NEVER race for money.

Between myself, Dad, Mom, and my three little brothers, we've got nearly 200 years of CDL experience. We've got nearly that many years and many miles of RV/Hobby towing as well. Throughout all that we've only had to defend our non commercial status twice with our race rigs, and we're able to avoid a ticket on both occasions.

That’s it I’m selling my motorhome, truck, and Trailer and turning my cars into show cars and street racers. Maybe I will win a trophy

yep, wish I could. 6 more yrs til retirement. I heard the blood pressure numbers were also lowered from what they were. I have always been boarder lined. Pharmasudical companies behind this i'm sure. That will put some more drivers out of work.

I'm sorry, but I don't see the big deal. If you have the money for a full tractor, a triple axle trailer, 2 race cars, an ATV, and full support equipment, how much inconvenience can their really be in a tracking device. The relative expense doesn't seem like it should be a lot. Keep accurate records of change in drivers to justify going over their recording limits, and you should be fine.

And if you're driving the 14 hour limit, or more, go out all night partying with the guys once you catch up at the meet, I sure as hell don't want to line up next to you the next morning at time trials.

I have a CDL as well and I cringe at a lot of the stuff I see out there. This isn't a totally bad thing. There's a lot of unsafe iron out there and a lot of people that shouldn't be driving the weight and size.

I agree. Sure is alot of junk out there going down the road.

If I didn't have an opportunity to vote for you, or not, you shouldn't be able to make up rules and regulations that have such far reaching effects on people's lives. Career hacks and bureaucrats have to continually make up new crap to justify their existence and develop new revenue streams. It's never enough. There's always one more crisis to deal with.

The lazy bums we did get to vote for have given these various agencies the authority to do whatever they want with no accountability. Once they've washed their hands of it, they think people can't get mad at them for creating this crap.

I'm old enough to remember when you could just hook up your rig and go racing without living in fear of someone with Wyatt Earp Syndrome jerking you up and writing you up $1000s in fines for crap they don't even know about half the time.

Have I missed anything?

OK OK
when someone finally consults a lawyer in their state and gets a definitive answer please POST that for others to see that way we KNOW and are not just jerking around here

I have a match race / exhibition car---I am not paid and have no sponsors--no stickers on the car or trailer--my truck has proper tag, mirrors, etc to cover all the weight I don't race for $$ It is not a commercial enterprise and I do NOT deduct any of it on my taxes so...I plan on contacting a lawyer in NC that does DOT work--
But...I know in the past that there is always some uninformed or misinformed patrolman that does not like a fuel jug on board etc If they want you they will get you then it is off to the courthouse and a lawyer bill even if you are innocent I used to have and know the rules but since I have not been going much in last few years looks like I need an upgrade in the KNOWLEDGE department
I would suggest that anyone that tows do the same in their homestate so we can share
guessing that bracket racers that race for $$ are in a different situation

So...Lets go to work on it and not just yap about the durn Gov't we all know they suck and are out to get us but usually they just catch the uninformed

How about everyone here donate $5 and Moparts contact a lawyer and get some idea here we could all benefit greatly from a MILD donation
Hows that???????

Some more info.


http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2339026&highlight=dot+rules

I agree with mopar billy, don't drive any tow vehicle like you normally drive a car. Get in the right lane, drive slower, pay attention, no yakking with the others in the rig, don't draw the attention of the law. Remember, YOU are the idiot in the far left lane holding up everyone else, swerving and can't go fast enough to get around the other vehicle (like big trucks).
At the last race in MIR I was talking to a guy who had a 40 ft enclosed trailer and he said he got pulled over in Penn because he had triple axels, no lettering or ads, reason he was trying to sell it. He said he tows cars all over the country for other people and been seeing issues everywhere. Made me rethink buying one with living quarters, like he said, get a motor home and 2axel tag, but I guess they're next to go down.

I tow my 50 year old junk with a 40 year old 1 ton (3/4 ton convo) well maintained truck on a 20 foot flatbed. The Dot is in front of my house maybe 20 times a summer, they look, I wave, they wave back.

Like Billy wrote, keep stuff looking good, never stop unless pressed to and drive right, no problems.

I have rolled through some dot checkpoints where everyone stops and they look for current tags, say "nice truck" and I move on.

They seem to look at the newer 50k trucks and enclosed trailers differently then what im doing, but its all good.


All I can say is keep it simple.

I run a diesel dually and pull a 42' trailer..
it has a LQ in it and I carry the latest copy
of the regulations just so I can pull it out
and have the person(cop) show me(I have the
pages with a tab on them to say what is and
what isnt legal for me and my rig.. so far I
have never been pulled over.. but I am legal
and I keep my rig clean and always check my
lights daily if I'm using the rig

Two important parts to consider before your getting nuts. Is your truck rated over 10,000 lbs. This exempts most open trailers with a car. Are you deducting the gas,insurance on vehicle, race car itself and/or maintenance fees? If not then this does not affect you. COMMERCIAL USE is the key factor. If you add your race winnings to your total income and do not use the mentioned above deductions, then you are not affected.If you want to get around this, then have your local U.S. congressman and senator change the laws governing the IRS status of "race cars" and the tax code. The tax laws for racing are so screwy at best. If they change those laws and allow for the deduction on maintenance, then this new mandate of your truck/trailer may be just a little glitch.