Logging bobtail

When I was working for a manufacturer, driving a day cab and moteling it every night, it was not uncommon for me to drop the trailer and bob tail to the restaurant or grocery store, my logs have been checked under those circumstances twice and not a word was said

 

I asked an officer (Wyoming State Patrol) whether I may use my truck for personal use and how I should log it. He explained it as follows:

1. You need written permission, on a company letterhead from your carrier, to use the truck for personal use. If you are an independent contractor, that means from yourself, to yourself. Example: "The Minder Kat is an employee of Cat Hauliers and hereby authorized to use truck number 5143 for personal use at his own discretion. Signed, The Minder Kat." You need to keep a copy of this letter in your log file.
2. After complying with requirement 1 above, you are to record in your log book, OFF DUTY. PERSONAL USE OF CMV. BOBTAIL, NO TRAILER. You need not supply a reason for personal use on the log sheet.
3. The officer informed me that you can not do this when attached to a trailer, empty or laden. It's written in stone.
4. For the regulation dealing with this matter see question number 26 of the Interpretation for 395.8: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regu...fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=395.8&guidence=Y

Part 395 of the Rules and Regulations deals with Hours of Service in general.

Happy trails!

 

Some officers are wrong . Nowhere in FMCSR does it state that info needs to be noted when bobtailing off duty .
As far as defining unladen goes it has been much discussed but I take the word of Mike Millard , a former FMCSA inspector that was chosen once as Inspector Of The Year . Mike posted here as Mike_MD . He stated pulling an empty trailer is unladen unless it is a chemical tank that hasn't been washed after delivery or the trailer itself is the load as in a new trailer being delivered from the factory .

 

Keep in mind, each state has a certain level of authority when it comes to what their rules and regs (or laws) can and will emcompass, along with the accepted (proven in the Constitution that pesky part about STATES RIGHTS....dems don't like that part)....a state law (rule/reg) can be more strict not less strict. It behooves us all to know and understand the differences in these regs and the differences in their adaption/application by the individual States.

WA and now we see WY do not accept anything except bobtail when using "Personal Conveyance"...that is their right to decide how they will apply the rules within their State.

 

I know they can do that but can anybody post their written regulation applying to PC ?

 

There's the rub...I stopped and asked in CA, OR, and WA...none would/could present their "position" in regulation form. Additionally, within 24 hours, the "opinion" from the Cottonwood scale house, was dramatically different from the "opinion" at the Dunsmuir scale.

I'm starting to think....it's all in the "mood" of the guy with the ticket book!

 

It is a matter of interpretation.

The guy writing the ticket will be the one to cause the most pain.

 

Or bring the payday home of he can't defend his posistion in court.
They can't make it up as they go they can try for those who'll take it.
You're allowed personal use and if they can't prove otherwise there's nothing they can do. (in the end)

 

Not quite....you will only find the term/use of Personal Conveyance in an example, not in the actual Rules and Regulations....PC isn't even covered by any "definition", which CMV, driver, vehicle, trailer, terminal....almost everything else has a specific definition.

 

That's because PC is off duty . Off duty time is exempt from FMCSR . I was surprised to read in one guidance drivers are allowed to carry alcohol in a CMV when off duty . The answer stated when off duty the driver is exempt . O.K. to pickup beer or whatever on the way home or to a motel .