Bobtailing Question

there is always back roads but its still risky.

 

Only if you get caught... I've blown scales many of times... Usually the one on I-10 & I-20 on the Louisiana/Texas state line. I now have prepass & have no reason to blow on by or the stress of watching my mirrors to see if they'd be coming....

I have never seen a scale house with a sign saying bobtails don't need to enter.

The chance is yours... The ticket is yours... But I will tell you what I just recently did... I had a Tennessee Temp... I drove on that for 2 weeks till it expired... Then Mercer registered my truck in Illinois... I never got a temp tag, I only had the temp reg. papers in my permit book. I drove coast to coast for a month with no plate on the truck... Never was hassled.

There are many different variations of Prepass.... Of course you have your scale bypass version... Then you have a version that covers tolls & scale bypasses... Then you have the version that covers tolls, scale bypasses, & bypasses for the Florida Agricultural Inspections...

I say that only to clarify that NOT all prepass transponders cover tolls. I pay $12 a month for mine & I'm authorized to bypass scales & the Florida AG inspections when & only when I get a green light.... If I blow a toll, Mr. Police Man won't be to happy with the story "But I thought....." He will happily write me a ticket for 300 times of the toll charge though.

 

But I bet you've seen one that says "Vehicles over 20,000 must enter weigh station"......which would exclude a lot of bob tails

 

My bobtail with my headache rack, chains, straps, & full of fuel is over 20K. Your still registered for 80K.... So how do you want to read that sign? By the sticker in your door jamb, and take the chance of getting pulled over & put OOS for running the scale? Or would you just play it safe, assume they are saying registered weight & spend a extra couple minutes & roll thru the scale? I ain't got time to be put OOS.... I'd much rather give them the couple minutes it takes just to roll thru.

 

Here is another way to ask that question. I am buying a truck in another state. I am going to bring the truck home. The truck is NOT registered to a business, paperwork is in my personal name. There are NO DOT numbers on the truck or company name. Is this bobtail considered a commercial vehicle? What if I decided to pull my 5th wheel RV with it? RV's do not have to stop in scales, only the ones being delivered are considered commercial.

 

If the state requires entry to the scales by weight it would depend on what your new truck weighs. If it only requires entry by commercial vehicles then I would think that you would not have to stop, since you are "NOT YET" a commercial vehicle. That is just my opinion and has no actual basis in law.



PS:

Your welcome Turker

 

Follow the signs and do what they tell you to do.
People can tell you anything they THINK is the law but let me tell me, I have some pretty good experience on this one.
Here is my setp up: Full 19,000 LB Semi with sleeper and 12,000 trailer that I use to haul my PERSONAL belongings. Nothing about what I do is commercial. Mostly, I haul a couple of horses for the wife and the kids to trail rides. They are NOT for sale. I do not require DOT #'s or ANY identifcation on the truck as this is 100% Private Non commercial use.
Anyway, follow the signs. If you are not commercial and the sign says "All Commercial Trucks must Enter" then you do NOT have to enter. Chances are they will come after you and question you but you will be ok.
If you are bobtailing and the sign says all trucker over 10 tons must enter, you better know your weight and if you are not over 10 tons then don't enter.
Now if you are travelling west of the Miss. River heads up..............trip permits/fuel permits etc will come into play. CA, Idaho, and Orgeon are pretty strick and there permits can be rather expensive......$180 in Idaho.
Like I said, consider the source for your information but I have driven my private not for hire non commercial private semi truck and trailer coast to coast.

 

Yup blow a scale house while bob tailing and they arrest you.

N O T !!