Paper logs ... not worth it

More that likely. Many states, not only IN use the bobtail only rule regarding PC. They use the reasoning, somewhat true, that the tractor is the conveyance to go to the store, restaurant, home, etc. There is no need for the trailer. If you have a trailer, the probability that one is actually just positioning themselves favorably for a future move to actually go get a load later is high.

 

That's when you ask the officer WHERE you should've dropped the trailer. On the shoulder of the road (to be towed by him)? At a truck stop (to be towed by the truck stop)? At Walmart (to be towed by Walmart)? There aren't drop lots on every corner, and NOBODY wants trailers dropped in their parking lots anymore. Shippers & receivers don't want you hanging around in your truck taking a 10, so do you really think they're going to let you drop the trailer to be in their way until you eventually make it back? Hang on a sec...let me just pull a drop lot out of my ###...#######. Think about what you're saying along with the reality that exists in this world, and then get back to me.

For as long as "stuff" has been transported from one place to another, whether on pack mules, ships, or trucks, "unladen" has ALWAYS meant "without a load". They don't get to change that definition now just because they think it'll generate more revenue for them in fines.

 

But, the tractor is "laden" even with a empty trailer attached to it. That is technically true. The tractor is not laden if their is nothing attached to it, not just no load in the trailer. If my pickup truck has a trailer attached to it, it is laden. It is only unladen if the trailer is not attached and no load in the box. The same thing applies to a truck tractor. The trailer is not what makes the tractor, it is an addition to the tractor. The reasoning used by some jurisdictions is sound.

 

What does a straight truck or car hauler (even if bobtail only) do?

I am not dropping and leaving my $78,000 reefer. Anywhere.

Does it change if I can prove my next load is not in the direction I used pc?

 

Your argument is not with me. It is with the folks with the badge and citation book. Irregardless of what we think about it, their reasoning is sound that only a tractor without a trailer is unladen. What you and I think about that is irrelevant. Do as you see fit. But don't cry like a little boy when it doesn't go the way you want it to. Take it like a man. Besides, the risk of actually being stopped and checked is not that high, so it would probably be a non issue anyway.

 

I don't agree with their reasoning being sound. Hopefully they will clarify all these questions in the coming months. The last thing I want is for regulations left up to interpretation where one officer may say that is fine while the next says you tried to hide hours and that's a false log which carries high ramifications.

 

Back to the original post. I agree with the premise that increased camera and plate recognition technology has made it nearly impossible to change times, even rather modest ones on a paper log, IF you are inspected. Add the legal risk if you are involved in an accident and it truly "isn't worth it". And we haven't even covered the biggest tattletale, your cell phone.
The days of "Six Days on the Road" are over. Some folks are going to try it of course, the odds of being checked in the next 7 days are relatively slim, the 6 months at your carriers office are a little harder.
Technically my tractor is exempt from ELD's. I have one and am going to keep it just for the OP's original reasoning.
Why? for the same reason I accept other improvements and changes that technology has brought. If you had told me 40 years ago almost everyone on earth would have a two way communicator on their person, A la Star Trek, I would have said you are nuts, as I was freezing my ##* off in a pay phone waiting for dispatch to call. Not to mention the improvements in the trucks themselves etc..

 

Another reason for the cameras is the enforcement of IFTA.
Also Oregon likes to get there $0.1638 per mile

 

The LADEN aspect only applies to the trailer. An empty trailer, attached to a tractor, is just that: E.M.P.T.Y also referred to as UNLADEN.

The tractor is just a mechanical horse, used to pull a buggy (trailer)

To help clarify the point: I purchased a tractor (semi) and needed 3 day permit from DMV. Guess what, the DMV sent me a letter, and clearly instructed me that the Vehicle (yes, they refered to it as a "vehicle") must not be under load, when using the trip permit. In those instructions, they also allowed for the said vehicle to have trailer attached, and the trailer must be empty. ....and to even further clarify, they stated that I MUST NOT BE in possession of a BOL -- implying that the trailer better not be the "goods being moved"

Now, this changes when you are on a power-only trailer transfer gig, and tryna be on PC, since the trailer itself is the "goods"