Help understanding dot regulations

Wait until the fake calls come in saying one of your trucks just ran them off the road and want something to not report you the cops or insurance when you are the only driver and truck and are 200 miles away from the incident. Lol!

You may need med card and log if driving outside the air miles.
Yes keep all repair and maintainance receipts.
Does your state require an environmental water and air quality permit # of any kind to operate a “refuse or recycle” type business? Texas does.

 

One source of information that could help you, is your state trucking association. They have people that work with this stuff all the time.

 

2.5 is all you need in the cab by regulation. However I recommend you carry a 5 lb or two extra if you have space in a storage box and easy to get at. That little 2.5 is just required to show that you at least tried to put out the fire. 99.9999% of the time that you may use it will be on someone elses vehicle because their little 2.5 wasn’t enough.

Someone used to make a neat little yellow plastic basket that mounted on the floor next to and behind the drivers seat that would hold a 5 lb. upright. I have one that is probably 45 years old in my Pete. I have not seen another one like it in years. I also keep a 2.5 mounted in the battery box of every truck I can fit one in. What can I say. I’m like fire marshall Bill. Lol!

 

Fleetpride and truckpro have the extinguishers, triangle sets, and sometimes the fussee style flares in stock.

 

Driver qualification file,
Maintenance file / program
Annual DOT inspection sticker on the truck.
Safety file
Fortunately, your exempt from all the CDL stuff like drug testing.

 

The reason you aren't finding much is DOT doesn't regulate by the weight, they regulate by the rating.
1. There is no location requirement except "readily accessible for use". That to me means outside is fine as long it it doesn't get rusty. It must work after all...
2. DOT doesn't state the lb of an extinguisher. They got a coverage and type rating. For hazmat it's 10 B:C or more.and non-hazmat is 5 B:C or more. Some 2.5 lbs's are rated as 5B:C, some 5 lbs are 'just' rated at 5B:C too.

Here it the letter of the regs.

§393.95 Emergency equipment on all power units.
Each truck, truck tractor, and bus (except those towed in driveaway-towaway operations) must be equipped as follows:

(a) Fire extinguishers—(1) Minimum ratings. (i) A power unit that is used to transport hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placarding (See §177.823 of this title) must be equipped with a fire extinguisher having an Underwriters' Laboratories rating of 10 B:C or more.

(ii) A power unit that is not used to transport hazardous materials must be equipped with either:

(A) A fire extinguisher having an Underwriters' Laboratories rating of 5 B:C or more; or

(B) Two fire extinguishers, each of which has an Underwriters' Laboratories rating of 4 B:C or more.