T-Bone's New Truck Thread.

[duaneb55]

Talked to a guy who recently got his CDL and he said the test now includes parallel parking. I don't remember that from my test which has been maybe 10 years ago now.

Had to parallel park in the '70s when I tested. Got two tries for the test but my first was accepted. Had to fairly straight and within 6" of the curb. Thing is, there were no "vehicles" to avoid or limit your distance. Just pull up in your lane, stop and back in taking pretty much as much distance (within reason based on tester's judgement) as needed.

It was fun to blow people away when I'd pull up on a busy street to make a delivery and parallel park a trailer so as not to block a lane.

[smilindave]

I sometimes have to parallel park making deliveries, the tractor is easier than the straight truck. People are amazed this can and will happen, usually pretty quickly to get out of traffic in a downtown area. TBone, I am glad you like the new powerplant. I just want to see it at some point.
Regards
Dave

[Gmmandan]

I can't remember the exact regs now, but pretty sure that if GCVWR exceeds 26k then you need a CDL, and there might be a separate part about trailer GVW over 10k. I guess lots of guys pulling these relatively heavy trailers behind the new higher-rated duallies are technically skating by without CDL's.

Same thing with commercial vehicles with GVW over 10k requiring a USDOT number for interstate travel -- lots more people skating on that one but police have been cracking down on it here and there. That's one reason I specifically wanted a single-rear-wheel rear truck for my small welding truck - DOT stuff is enough of a pain to keep up with for just the International and I didn't want to cross scales, deal with all the record-keeping, and the other silly DOT stuff with my pickup too.

They are cracking down around here on 1 ton trucks if you truck is rated for 14,000 pounds and your Trailer is rated for 14,000 you have to have a CDL. I had to pick up a truck for a friend who got shut down in Norfolk ,VA by Dot. His truck and trailer was empty and he got a ticket for no CDL , no fire extinguisher, triangles, and no medical card.

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[user 9328330]

Yep, I understand wanting to keep everybody safe and if the truck and trailer were loaded I don't have a problem with pulling somebody over to make sure they're legit. But if you're in a dually with an empty trailer? I dunno man, it might be technically wrong but if I were a cop I'd be inclined to go with the spirit of the law rather than the letter, give the guy a warning, inform him of what he needed to do to be legal, and send him on his way. Stuff used to be done like that, but less and less anymore it seems. No one seems capable of making (or allowing) a judgment call anymore.

I work hard to keep my stuff either totally in compliance (the International) or to be sure it's totally outside of the controlled window (F350). I bent over backwards to figure out the regs so I'd be legal. I will say it took a lot of phone calls and a lot of online searching to piece together exactly what I needed to do to be legal. Knowing this, and knowing that most people won't spend as much time as I did, something needs to be done to make this stuff easier to access. Until it is, I think people ought to be given a break where it's warranted.

[WTXBTUMOVER]

Yep, I understand wanting to keep everybody safe and if the truck and trailer were loaded I don't have a problem with pulling somebody over to make sure they're legit. But if you're in a dually with an empty trailer? I dunno man, it might be technically wrong but if I were a cop I'd be inclined to go with the spirit of the law rather than the letter, give the guy a warning, inform him of what he needed to do to be legal, and send him on his way. Stuff used to be done like that, but less and less anymore it seems. No one seems capable of making (or allowing) a judgment call anymore.

I work hard to keep my stuff either totally in compliance (the International) or to be sure it's totally outside of the controlled window (F350). I bent over backwards to figure out the regs so I'd be legal. I will say it took a lot of phone calls and a lot of online searching to piece together exactly what I needed to do to be legal. Knowing this, and knowing that most people won't spend as much time as I did, something needs to be done to make this stuff easier to access. Until it is, I think people ought to be given a break where it's warranted.

I agree with this. I've been trying to get my crane truck legal and it's been challenging to figure out everything that needs to be done and what does or doesn't apply to my situation.



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[labparamour]

……

I work hard to keep my stuff either totally in compliance (the International) or to be sure it's totally outside of the controlled window (F350). I bent over backwards to figure out the regs so I'd be legal. I will say it took a lot of phone calls and a lot of online searching to piece together exactly what I needed to do to be legal. Knowing this, and knowing that most people won't spend as much time as I did, something needs to be done to make this stuff easier to access. Until it is, I think people ought to be given a break where it's warranted.

Seems like the more I investigate, the more I should possibly be doing to be in compliance. (I just have a 7yd dump for farm use and will drive as a casual for a dry bulk carrier)
Example: random drug test. My impression is its required so, I paid to join a "pool." The regs say to have a manual/policy...being owner/operator/farm rig, I kinda wonder if that's really necessary. Pool offers a "policy" so I may get a copy just to have.

Group's thoughts?

DB

[OMB]

I can't remember the exact regs now, but pretty sure that if GCVWR exceeds 26k then you need a CDL, and there might be a separate part about trailer GVW over 10k. I guess lots of guys pulling these relatively heavy trailers behind the new higher-rated duallies are technically skating by without CDL's.

Same thing with commercial vehicles with GVW over 10k requiring a USDOT number for interstate travel -- lots more people skating on that one but police have been cracking down on it here and there. That's one reason I specifically wanted a single-rear-wheel rear truck for my small welding truck - DOT stuff is enough of a pain to keep up with for just the International and I didn't want to cross scales, deal with all the record-keeping, and the other silly DOT stuff with my pickup too.

Not technically, more like clearly.

They are cracking down around here on 1 ton trucks if you truck is rated for 14,000 pounds and your Trailer is rated for 14,000 you have to have a CDL. I had to pick up a truck for a friend who got shut down in Norfolk ,VA by Dot. His truck and trailer was empty and he got a ticket for no CDL , no fire extinguisher, triangles, and no medical card.

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At some point your friend was loaded, might have been even minutes before he was stopped and without the things you listed it has to look like he wasn't even trying to be legal.

Yep, I understand wanting to keep everybody safe and if the truck and trailer were loaded I don't have a problem with pulling somebody over to make sure they're legit. But if you're in a dually with an empty trailer? I dunno man, it might be technically wrong but if I were a cop I'd be inclined to go with the spirit of the law rather than the letter, give the guy a warning, inform him of what he needed to do to be legal, and send him on his way. Stuff used to be done like that, but less and less anymore it seems. No one seems capable of making (or allowing) a judgment call anymore.

I work hard to keep my stuff either totally in compliance (the International) or to be sure it's totally outside of the controlled window (F350). I bent over backwards to figure out the regs so I'd be legal. I will say it took a lot of phone calls and a lot of online searching to piece together exactly what I needed to do to be legal. Knowing this, and knowing that most people won't spend as much time as I did, something needs to be done to make this stuff easier to access. Until it is, I think people ought to be given a break where it's warranted.

Since you know what MOT's are, I think you have a good handle on the regs.

The explanation I got was we are 'professional drivers and a true pro doesn't need help, a warning, free pass or a pat on the back'. A piece of the puzzle that was offered to me- most troopers are ex-military, a lot of them don't tolerate lackidazicle civilian attitudes.

Get a copy of the FMCSA Safety Regs Handbook and read the second half first, it will help you through 90% of what you need to know. Is it OK to post a link to a publisher?

I got stopped at the scales in CT, while one was looking me over, another trooper was working over a driver on his logbook. I had most of my act together but no DOT # on a freshly painted truck. He sent me on my way with a warning that was close to " get your **** together because next time I'll be breathing down your neck", other driver was still being interrogated about his logs as I left. Next year went through the same scales and suffered through a Level One for 2 hours and 20 minutes. I had a good attitude going in and their semi-automatic sidearms kept my attitude in check on the way out.

In-state I was stopped, trooper kicked a timber chained down only in the middle and it pivoted wildly to the side (wet timber had dried on the sunny side and curled up at the ends). When he was done with me I asked about the timber, he said," looks like it will never fall off, have a nice day"... there are all kinds out there, some are cool.

Seems like the more I investigate, the more I should possibly be doing to be in compliance. (I just have a 7yd dump for farm use and will drive as a casual for a dry bulk carrier)
Example: random drug test. My impression is its required so, I paid to join a "pool." The regs say to have a manual/policy...being owner/operator/farm rig, I kinda wonder if that's really necessary. Pool offers a "policy" so I may get a copy just to have.

Group's thoughts?

DB

Retire?


I'm in a pool and consortium that handles the testing compliance and acts as a consultant for driver and company legal compliance... 2 separate things. IMO, unless one has a person in-house dedicated to the task of compliance- and a company large enough to support such a postion- subbing it to a specialist is the way to go. Also, read the FMCSA book.

[MetalMan23]

I've spent hours send hours looking up regs and laws etc, trying to figure out which are applicable and when, it's a disaster, SRW F350s (including mine) nowadays are rated for 11.4k GVW so that puts you over the 10k dot requirement, but do you need a medical card? Log books? Triangles? They don't tell you any of this. it really upsets me that the info is so hard to find, and when to do find it, you can't understand it, and then you hear stories about people getting nailed with huge fines. The whole thing is ridiculous.

[user 9328330]

On having the drug / alcohol policy, yes, you have to have one even if you're an owner / operator with no employees. Some of the stuff for owner / operators is frankly stupid. The above policy can't be a one-page paper you handwrote and stuck in a file, it has to be pretty serious. The DOT guy who inspected all of my paperwork said I should probably just find a copy of some company's policy online, change the info, and stick it in my file.

EDIT to add that I think I've said this elsewhere, but I'm a member of a drug / alcohol random testing consortium. The proof of my membership in that has to be kept indefinitely, as well as the results of the quarterly lotteries.

Metalman23, I am frankly not sure what requirements you need to follow. I promise I'd tell you if I was sure, but I don't want to be handing out bad info. It might be smart to call your local DOT or even just take a trip (in your car) down to a nearby scalehouse and sit down with them to learn the ins and outs. There are people who would laugh at this and say it's asking for trouble, but my experience has been the opposite. Show somebody that you genuinely want to do the right thing, and they'll help you. Attitude does make all the difference. I've had people bend over backwards to help me understand things just because I was polite and interested.

[M J D]

On having the drug / alcohol policy, yes, you have to have one even if you're an owner / operator with no employees. Some of the stuff for owner / operators is frankly stupid. The above policy can't be a one-page paper you handwrote and stuck in a file, it has to be pretty serious. The DOT guy who inspected all of my paperwork said I should probably just find a copy of some company's policy online, change the info, and stick it in my file.

EDIT to add that I think I've said this elsewhere, but I'm a member of a drug / alcohol random testing consortium. The proof of my membership in that has to be kept indefinitely, as well as the results of the quarterly lotteries.

Metalman23, I am frankly not sure what requirements you need to follow. I promise I'd tell you if I was sure, but I don't want to be handing out bad info. It might be smart to call your local DOT or even just take a trip (in your car) down to a nearby scalehouse and sit down with them to learn the ins and outs. There are people who would laugh at this and say it's asking for trouble, but my experience has been the opposite. Show somebody that you genuinely want to do the right thing, and they'll help you. Attitude does make all the difference. I've had people bend over backwards to help me understand things just because I was polite and interested.

I think the part about going to the scale is good advice. Getting answers from the DOT of DMV people is fine , but it always comes down to individual interpretation of a law. I personally have been given wrong advice from DMV types. Maybe it's the DMV employee attitude, maybe just constantly changing regulations. What's acceptable with 1 officer may not fly with the next.

[labparamour]

[QUOTE=OMB;8365171

Retire?


.[/QUOTE]

There are days that's mighty tempting!

Thanks for the reminder- have a copy of the motor regs coming…

I got the dump truck out-of-state and she weren't the purtiest.
Had my DOT numbers and in-cab accessories and all trip permits- still, sweated every time running over the scales and ports of entry- seemed to me, an older rig with poor paint and temp permit begged an inspection…
Thankfully, green-lighted every time!

Guess I'll call the my consortium to get a copy of their policy to keep on hand.

Have a good weekend guys,

DB

[buck]

My problem is winding up with so many eggs in a basket I have a ton of tools in my truck and a ton of tools in my shop, and when I need them they're ALL in the shop lol

its a law,, when u needem on the job, theyll allus be in the shop, u will be able to seem exactly in yer minds eyeexactly wher e theyre at,, its on the same page in the lawbook as the phillips/flatblade screwdriver law,, buck

[OMB]

I think the part about going to the scale is good advice. Getting answers from the DOT of DMV people is fine , but it always comes down to individual interpretation of a law. I personally have been given wrong advice from DMV types. Maybe it's the DMV employee attitude, maybe just constantly changing regulations. What's acceptable with 1 officer may not fly with the next.

This is exactly what I have been thinking. My DOT consultant suggested a smaller copy (smaller print and minus the rule interpretations) in the cab of the truck I drive the most. It is there for to reduce the "imaginary" regs that get generated on the spot if I get stopped. It looks good to the trooper that I might be trying to be compliant Also, when I'm waiting on someone or something, I'll pick it and start reading sections that seem to be important such as load securement, MOT's, required equipment, etc.

[MetalMan23]

On having the drug / alcohol policy, yes, you have to have one even if you're an owner / operator with no employees. Some of the stuff for owner / operators is frankly stupid. The above policy can't be a one-page paper you handwrote and stuck in a file, it has to be pretty serious. The DOT guy who inspected all of my paperwork said I should probably just find a copy of some company's policy online, change the info, and stick it in my file.

EDIT to add that I think I've said this elsewhere, but I'm a member of a drug / alcohol random testing consortium. The proof of my membership in that has to be kept indefinitely, as well as the results of the quarterly lotteries.

Metalman23, I am frankly not sure what requirements you need to follow. I promise I'd tell you if I was sure, but I don't want to be handing out bad info. It might be smart to call your local DOT or even just take a trip (in your car) down to a nearby scalehouse and sit down with them to learn the ins and outs. There are people who would laugh at this and say it's asking for trouble, but my experience has been the opposite. Show somebody that you genuinely want to do the right thing, and they'll help you. Attitude does make all the difference. I've had people bend over backwards to help me understand things just because I was polite and interested.

Good idea to go talk to someone at the scales, I've thought about this before, probably the best way to find out what I need to find out.

[user 9328330]

Heads up y'all, I'm selling this truck. Lots of people were interested in it's story back in the day, so shameless plug here. You'll find it listed here:

https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/7...96#post8842096