Hiring a truck to move my trailer

I agree. To add another point I thought about while reading your post, in most states you can even be a for-hire construction outfit and run farm plates, if your business is doing construction on farms.

Most log haulers around here can run farm plates and don't even have to have a CDL. The loophole is that most logging is done either on shares or they buy the standing timber outright so they either own part of or all of the logs they are hauling. Logging and growing trees is considered agriculture, so they are allowed to haul their own farm products to market. Once you run that same log though a sawmill and turn it into boards though, it is considered a manufactured product and not a farm commodity.

 

You are way overthinking this thing. My cousin and I have a dozer he moves between my late uncles hay and milo ‘“farm” locations 137 miles apart on farm tags without Cdl twice a year with a 1971 359 no less. Legal. There is no definition of what equipment is allowed to be used on a farm. Heck they use green JD’s and Red Case’s with disk’s down here to build pad sites for apartment and housing subdivisions.

 

When you go to dig that swimming pool for a couple of days, where are you going to park the trailer in the meantime? You just going to leave it parked in the street?
Good luck finding somebody to move your loaded trailer a hour down the road for $100 or so. I can't imagine anybody doing that unless they want to go broke.

 

Remember to say It’s not a swimming pool. It’s a stock pond.

 

Dino, I agree with SmallPackage, you are overthinking this. Just get the trailer plated for interstate use, pull it with the truck - any truck and claim it is a farm move or rental if you are harassed. The chances are slim there will ever be anything said.

I have a large farm a few miles away, They lease 200 acres from me that 265 miles from the farm. They moved a lot of construction equipment (like a gradeall and dragline excavator to the property to stage it on my property for rental to a company that will use it to build a factory, all using farm trucks and farm trailers.

 

I know guys that run Arkansas farm plates some with IFTA most without. Some with commercial insurance (1500 is all they are saving this way really cost of the plate) some insured as their farm use only not for hire with a 7500 or less per year waiver signed so they don’t pay heavy road use tax. They pull cattle or by products all over be Jesus. It’s a way of traveling staying under the radar in plain sight. Mostly really nice newer trucks. Now I ain’t crazy bout how they’re doing it but it’s their bidness.


@Dino soar the way you’re describing your deal I would absolutely run a farm tag or single state tag as some call it at least at first to get a feel for how it’s gonna go. You may or may not adjust things as you go and find your needs changing here or there. I would just do what I needed to and see where you’re at. You own a truck no sense in not using it for your purpose do to some Mumbo jumbo technicality. I would get your DOT number and MC number off of it as any DOT stop will put anything found on them. I would make sure your state doesn’t require some sort of state DOT number etc. some do some don’t. I get you’re wanting to be compliant but don’t over think it. They won’t eat you and can’t take your birthday away

 

I also would move the equipment myself. However, if you're set on having someone else do it, I'd recommend letting them use their own trailer and eventually you will find a person you really like working with. As far as the cost to move your equipment, I would look at it like this:

1. If you're planning on doing your excavation work hourly (Time + Materials) just charge the customer what the hauler charges you and add 15%.

2. If you're planning on bidding your jobs, just add the mobilization (What the hauler charges plus 15%) into your bid.

Just be clear with the customer that there will be a cost to move equipment to the site and back to home base. Most people call it mobilization, and everyone I work for understands this. And if you have someone else haul your equipment, don't be a cheapskate. Find a good, reliable person. They will make you look better to your customers and enable you to keep a schedule - they will be worth the money.

 

That's the difference between running as a business versus a hobby.