how many bushels and volume

I know this isn't directly related to tractors but you guys have always been a lot of help. I have a F-700 grain truck. GVW of 22,000 lbs. I am assuming I can only legally haul 200 bushels of soybeans at a time to be legal haulling it to the elevator. This is in MN. The truck box is 7.5 feet by 14.5 feet 3.5 ft deep. I need some math help here. If the box is filled level, how deep should the box be filled to equal 200 bushel of 60 lb test weight soybeans?

305 bu. is what your truck will hold and it will weigh 18338

Legal weight - you ask 5 different people, you get 5 different answers, _including_ the folks writing out tickets....

My understanding is you can be legal weight up to 26,000 lbs in MN on most trucks if you have a licence sticker for that weight rating. My F-600 is rated for 23,000 or so on the door, the DOT fella said it doesn't matter, as long as the licence covers what I'm weighing. Over 26,000, you need special inspections and stickers and fees, so 26,000 is the magic number in Minnesota with farm plates. Take that for what you paid for it, I've heard it different ways too....

7.5 x 14.5 x 3.5 = 380 cubic feet.

1 bu = 1.24 cubic feet

380 / 1.24 = 306 bushels.


In heavy corn like this year, my F-600 will hold 350+ bu, but 290 or so leagally to keep it under 26,000 lbs gross.

--->Paul

Volume times .8 gives you bushels of any container. Same answer as paul's, just getting there using a different known.

If my math is correct, about 27" deep will get you 200 bushels.

Then add 9000lbs+/- for truck

The other fellows have it right at 304-305 bushels. So take 305 x 56 ( Corn weight per bushel)=17080 plus the weight of the truck empty. I would guess the truck would weight at least 10-12K empty. So if it weights 12k then you would be 29000 lbs.

So you would need 15 ton farm tags to be legal. IF you own the truck and the commodity in it then you are exempt from CDL and DOT commercial requirements. You still have to obey the weight laws and safety requirements. You loose the exemption if you cross state lines. You become a interstate carrier then and need to follow all the rules a commercial carrier does.

This issue comes up a lot around here. Many farmers have their own semis now. They have hired men working on the farm. The farmer is exempt from needing a CDL license if he is driving the truck. His hired hand has to have a CDL to drive it because he is doing so for pay. Then the farm tags exemption does not cover going to another state. Cargil moved their grain shipping facility across the river to East Dubuque. Only a two mile move but you have to cross into Illinois. The DOT guys in both states have a field day stopping fellows when fall harvest starts.

I know I have picked up several customers because we are set up for interstate hauling. The guys just don't want the cost of legally going into another state. There is no exemption of distance. The coffee shop crowd told everyone the first year you had a five or ten mile license exemption. NOT true. Made for some nice big tickets. Usually around $600 for a semi.

The best thing to do is to get a empty weight of your truck. You then will know what your gross weight will be. Then call the MN DOT enforcement department and asked them what you need to be legal as a farmer/owner in MN. I know Iowa has a State number you can call for this type of information. I use it several times each year.

rear axle legal weight is 20k if the load rating written on the tires adds up to at least that much. front axle, is the added up weight of the load rating on the 2 tires. licence plate tonnage also gives 1000lbs of grace weight. example of 13 ton is 27000lb; but if your over; the grace disappears and the ticket is written from 26,000. always cheaper to buy a little larger plates then needed. most people here plate a single axles truck at 16ton. and yes, different DOT people have different thoughts on whats legal. best not to argue with them, wait for the county attorney, those people get paid for making deals!!!!!!

Thanks guys for the advice and math. I guess I thought you couldn't be over your truck's GVW. 26,000 lbs is the magic number you can't be over for farm trucks even though my truck is 22,000 GVW. Like you guys said, it depends probably on who pulls you over.

Most Minnesota roads are 9 ton, not 10 ton roads. That will mean that you will be limited to a maximum of 18,000 lbs per axle. Tire weight rating if not listed on the tire is 500 lbs per nominal inch of tread.

Trucks over 26,000 lbs are commercial vehicles requiring CDL. The weight rating will be determined by either the manufacturers GVW or the actually loaded weight, whichever is greater.

(quoted from post at 06:33:19 09/18/12) I know this isn't directly related to tractors but you guys have always been a lot of help. I have a F-700 grain truck. GVW of 22,000 lbs. I am assuming I can only legally haul 200 bushels of soybeans at a time to be legal haulling it to the elevator. This is in MN. The truck box is 7.5 feet by 14.5 feet 3.5 ft deep. I need some math help here. If the box is filled level, how deep should the box be filled to equal 200 bushel of 60 lb test weight soybeans?

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According to a MN DOT officer I talked to farm plates can take you up to 26,000 pounds. There is no grace but most officers will only give you a warning and "out of servies" till the weight is right for a couple of hundred pounds overweight. Call MNDOT and ask what the rules are so you are covered, be sure to get the name of the person you talked to.

1st haul I'd take it in about half full and get the weight. Then it should be easy to measure the depth of the beans and fighure out how many LBS per inch. May seem like a waste of fuel but get an over weight ticket and you will not think so.

Last year DOT was heavy on it around Battle Lake MN. Just about shut the potato haulers down with ratty old trucks being over weight and failing inspection. They stayed around until corn was in.....got a bunch of local farmers too. Haven't seen em this year too much but the tater haulers have much better looking and newer trucks this year with floaters to give the extra axle or 2.

Wife's uncle is certified to do DOT's for the state and US DOT stickers. The standards for getting the MN DOT farm sticker are not as hard as com trucks but THE COPS CAN WRITE YOU UP FOR ANY VOILATION THEY CAN FOR A COM TRUCK!!!!! He's pretty mad about it. Double standard for getting the sticker but one stadard for actually on the road.

If you have questions the forum is a great place to learn about DOT laws in many areas but the people you need to talk to are the enforcement folks. Last time I stopped at an inspection place the officer gave me a booklet on MN DOT laws. I stopped in my car because I'd seen that officer writing a ticket to a pickup pulling a single axle trailer with some small branches on it. Saw that on my way into town. Coming back she was in a wayside rest area with no one else in there at the time. She wrote the guy up for an unsecured load. That was shortly after a guy I know in the Foley MN area got nailed with a Bobcat behind a 1/2 ton truck. He's been running a Bobcat service for years and always had an F150. He's driving a F250 now.

Rick