Is this illegal or OK?

Excuse me sir! I don't know you, but I resent your accusation!

My "job" is not "manufacturing violations". Nor is it to slip up on unsuspecting drivers and ask trick questions.

I am perfectly happy to stop you, have a chat, do an inspection on your vehicle, find out you are doing everything in a legal and conscientious manner, slap a CVSA decal in the corner of your windshield and wish you a good day.

As the tag line in my posts says, "All we ask is that you be legal"! If you are in compliance with the regulations, wonderful. That is what I like to see.

 

This is another controversy that gets the IRS involved . If the vehicles are a hobby and expenses are not claimed as business expenses it is private , not commercial .

 

You came here expecting consistent answers ?

 

Hey-Just my thoughts.I think so far you are doing everything right.The things i would want to know more about if it were me doing it are the IFTA thing,keeping track of state miles,keeping fuel receipts,make sure you are in compliance with the states you are going into.If for example California wants something the other states don't make sure you have that.

While you are practicing your driving for the CDL test back in different ways and pay attention to how the truck and trailer are positioned when you start backing.When you find what works best for you,remember that.Something i do for turns and getting backed in is this-I'll bump the tractor over a tad going in the other direction so when i turn the trailer tracks in the manner i want it to instead of being off center to the side of the turn.

The Class A CDL is good to have anyway.If you are bored,take the endosements even if you have no intention of using them.Tomorrow might be a completely different day than today.Keep your physical up-to-date and keep a copy with you.Make sure Arizona has a current copy.They are real good about notifying you ahead of time it's due.I'll believe they are just as good at suspending a license if you are late.Have fun with all this and take care.Brian

 

Agreed.. You are not operating in commerce (hauling stuff that does not belong to you or being "for hire")
As far as a DOT# there are numerous motor homes "toter" homes Pusher coaches etc. that meet the configuration
and or weight threshold of a CMV but because they are private they need no authority / DOT #'s etc.

You might need to obtain a class "A" lic. though but even that is not widely enforced here that I've seen. There's lots of old folks etc. cruising around in their "GreyHound Sized" diesel pushers that have only a regular drivers lic. dragging everything from boats to toy haulers behind them.

Having the Class "A" lic. can't hurt anyway

 

Dan 200.... If your racing for prize money or selling swag out of state it is concidered commerce meaning you are goverend under the commercial laws. I run race cars and even though it says private carrier on my doors i still race for money and so i run commercial plates with ifta stickers and all the goodies.. Now i do run my motorhome as just that a motorhome (until it burned down the first of march) and i stick a double stacker behind it but (and i stress this) i have on the back of the trailer Non commerce/Non commercial use.. only when i use the Volvo and the featherlite do i run under the DOT laws... Texas got me on I-40 just outside armadillo (amarillo) and asked me if i was racing my corvette in the trailer even though it said non commerce/non commercial i said no... had i said yes he told me he could have wrote me a dozen tickets just as he did stopping a lady from oklahoma who in a pick up truck with a little trailer was selling wicker chairs in texas..he wrote her up a bunch of tickets..towed her truck the whole nine yards.. so just remember if you are selling swag or racing for money you are under FMCSA rules...selling your own stuff in your state is fine once you cross state lines now your commerce

 

This is a great quote...And there has been talk about some of the toter homes running commerce and being commercial and not running the DOT numbers and weighing just as much as a big rig..heck you can get a double stacker trailer thats just as well equipped as my 51 ft featherlite yet get away with it ..... i see in the future that it may change for those who skip outside the law with some of these rigs...

 

Nice Avatar "RoadWarrior" I need a Mack like that one Another little nasty clause is even if your truck does not leave the state .. if the goods on it have come from another state.. you then by definition are in commerce because you have become part of the transportation chain of the goods that have been across state line/s.

The next paragraph.. says basically that personal use of a CMV removes you from commerce as long as it's your stuff in or on it. Go figure.. As usual the regs. are as clear as mud and probably vary from state to state and peace officer to peace officer

 

Even within your profession there are inconsistent decisions.

Had a friend that got popped for not having a DOT #, no safety equipment and no medical card on his Ford F450. Technically, he can also use his tandem axle trailer or a 5th wheel flatbed we have used and gross over 26,001 too. (Class A)

It also happens to be his personal pickup for his homestead. DOT couldn't give him a straight answer. Different licensing offices couldn't give him the same answer. Different Commercial Vehicle office employees couldn't give him a straight answer.

So he went to court, argued it to the judge in HIS interpretation of the law and the judge agreed with him. The only thing he got left with was the no medical card since he DOES have a Class B CDL.

The one thing he learned out of the matter from one lady at the driver's license office is that there IS a non-commercial plate you can obtain for your vehicle.

So he got that to save himself further hassle in the future.

So call your local driver's license office and ask them if they have a non-commercial vehicle plate. There will be a series of questions on the form for it. Answer those.

And I WOULD give you an example of what I am talking about, but I can't find it in the MN DMV or CVO website. If it weren't for the lady at the county DMV office, we would NOT have learned about this at all. So check with a couple of different offices if you need to find out about it. He went to 3 different county offices, only one knew about it.

Check with the CDL manual. In the back of the Minnesota Manual, they have diagrams of the backing test to use. You can actually set up the course and practice in the actual thing.