transporting tractors and farm equipment across state lines

Have a few questions for you guys. Asked a DOT officer one time when he came in for a safety seminar at work and he LOST me. I have a 1988 Ford 3/4 ton that has been converted into a 1 ton with dualls and heavier springs. I have the truck licensed for 15,000 lbs. I have a PJ bumper pull deckover rated at 14,000 but licensed for 15,000 (not sure what happened there). With a GCWR or GVWR (cant remember which one) equalls 30,000 lbs. He says that at 26,000 lbs, I need a log book and fuel permits to travel in the state of Iowa. I have a class A CDL and medical card. He says that this is if I am hauling for someone or going to sell a tractor or a part off a tractor then I would be considered commercial. I am hauling my own stuff and dont have any connections to a farm so what do I do. I have to take a trip to South Dakota this fall or summer to pick up 2 Mccormick 10-20s at about 5,000 lbs each. If I load these on my trailer, am going to be overweight (guessing trailer weighs about 5,000 lbs when it is licensed for 15,000? If you got those things tied down with 4 tie downs each, all lights working, and everthing look legit, would he pull me over for good looks? Do I have to stop and weigh at scales? All answers or comments would be appreciated. Thanks a million!

I don't know about the Iowa fuel permit, but when I got my DOT number and the DOT policeman came to my house to test me he said if I weigh 10,001 pounds or more I have to pull over the scales. If you pull over the scales you'll want to have all your paperwork. Vehicle inspection, Cheuffer's license or CDL, medical certificate and log book. The log book can be as simple as a sheet of paper with lines and columns drawn on it stating the time you started, and the time you stopped for the night, and you have to have the correct amount of stop time and not too much driving time. Recently a truck went on by the weigh station coming into Michigan. A DOT policeman went and stopped him to see why he went on by. He opened up the back of the truck and saw that it was filled with large boxes of photocopier paper. He opened a bok and it was full of marajuana. All the boxes were full of marajuana.

This might be helpful
http://www.coopsareopen.com/

As far as the vehicle inspection, I'm my own mechanic. I had to fill out a form saying that I was qualified to perform the DOT inspection. I did check, and I have sufficient training and experience to perform the inspection. Now, when I bought my present truck it was inspected in the State of North Carolina by the company I bought it from. When I looked at the truck from the front, one front wheel was leaning in about an inch at the top. This was three months after the inspection. The top ball joint needed replacement, which I did after I got it to Michigan.

Cut the truck back to 12,000 and get the trailer down to 14,000 so you are under 26,001. I have a dually and 25 ft gooseneck liscensed for 26,000 total.They weigh 12,000 total so with two 10-20 McCormicks on,I would only weigh 22,000.

I run all over the midwest hauling my own stuff and loaded I always take a route where there are no scales to cross.Heres a website that tells where they are.
Scales

I just purchased a F350 truck rated at 13000 gvw and have a PJ trailer rated at 21000. I call the DOT from MD and he told me to register the truck and 13000 and combination it for 34000. He also told me that if you have a trailer over 10000 and don't have it combinationed they will only accept the 10000 weight, meaning anything over 10000 is an over weight fine. Pa DOT told me the same thing. Also you only have to have a DOT # and fuel sticker if your hauling for money. But over 26000 you have to have a non CDL A licence and medical card and you are suppose to pull in the scales. So far I have by passed them, guess one day they will come after me. One other thing the MD DOT guy said was when you pull on the scale you will only be weighed, remember your not under DOT rules if your not hauling for money.

If you are over 26,001 pounds, you do need the CDL, but you already have that. You also need to have your truck and trailer registered (licensed) for the weight it will be carrying. You really don't have anything else to worry about so long as the tractors on the trailer are YOUR tractors, and you are NOT being paid to haul them, nor will you be profiting from the sale of the tractors.

What you do with the tractors when you get home is entirely up to you.

Might want to have a bill of sale that proves the tractors are yours.

F-350, What happens when some little old lady pulls out in front of you, and you can't stop, and she is seriously injured?

You hit the old lady and the insurance companies fight it out. That is what happens no matter what you weigh, what you are driving, how much you have been drinking, etc.

If you are hauling an 8N Ford on a semi the woman may be dead.I have 3 friends that drive semis for a living that have killed someone that ran stop signs or lights.

If you are hauling an 8N Ford with a pickup and gooseneck trailer the woman may be dead.

If you are driving a car the woman may be dead.

To some on here there is no safe way to haul anything so lets all just stay home and everyone is safe. Problem solved.

I agree there is no way you can be 100% legal.All any crooked lawyer wants is that 1% chance that you are at fault. If I was afraid that every time I did something I was going to get sued ,I would never get out of the house. Everything that I do is high risk. I weld, fabricate and repair stuff for a living. If one of my welds breaks it could kill somone.If I forget to tighten a bolt or leave a pin out of something, somebody might get killed. That is why we carry liability insurance. Safety is the main concern in trucking, tying down your load, or how much you can haul, a lot of which is common sense. Seems a lot of people don't have much of that any more.

You would be very wise to contact the DOT in your state and ask them what you need to be legal. In Missouri, any vehicle over 10K is classified by them as commercial. With dual rear wheels and a loaded trailer, in MO you better be displaying a DOT number too, along with all the other commercial vehicle requirements.
With a trailer with its GVW over 10K, it needs to have an annual inspection pretty much everywhere.

The manner in which trailers are registered varies from state to state. In Iowa, the "weight" is registered on the truck. The truck is registered for the weight of the truck plus the weight that the loaded trailer adds to the trucks axles only, NOT the entire vehicle.

I live in MO and run all over the state.The only DOT numbers I see are on pickups pulling trailers that have a business name on them.No one else seems to have them.

How can they call you a commercial vehicle when you are liscensed under 26K,dont own a business,and only haul your own stuff.

I have a 14K GVW trailer and it doesnt have to be inspected.If you would have a link to that guy on external_link I woulkd like to see what happened to him in MO.Thanks.