If you could show where it says that I would appreciate it because that is not the way I understand it.
FMCSA interpretation of GCWR
- Thread starter Duffster
- Start date
If you could show where it says that I would appreciate it because that is not the way I understand it.
newbury
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 13,603
- Location
- From Vt, in Va, retiring to MS
- Tractor
- Kubota's - B7610, M4700
So are any of you guys thinking there should be some special license to drive something like this?
FlaDon
Platinum Member
It would have to be in the state statues. Florida has it in their's. You are limited to 150 miles from your farm. We see semis all the time with the farm exemption tags and no FL DOT numbers.
rjkobbeman
Platinum Member
So are any of you guys thinking there should be some special license to drive something like this?
Everytime I see one of those going down the Interstate, it is driven by some 80 year-old that has the reaction time of about 10 minutes.
No offense to the 80 year-olds, but at some point age should be an issue with driving.
Touchy subject I know... and I don't have the answer... because not everyone is the same. But we all know there are issues with a lot of old folks out there driving.
Agreed. But the ones that scare me the most are the soccer moms in their Tahoe driving 6 ft off my bumper at 70 on the freeway, fooling with the happy meal, dabbing the catchup drip off the car seat, passing around the fries to the kiddies, checking their makeup every 10 seconds in the mirror, then when they get by me they do 85 just 6 ft off someone else's bumper, they have no clue....
Yesterday I saw a pickup pulling a large conventional travel trailer with another trailer behind that:confused2: I really wondered what is GCWR was and I'm pretty sure that double trailers is illegal except some places allow it with a fifth wheel trailer....this was all "bumper pull".
C'mon now, that's a little ridiculous. Enforcement Officers that apply the rules are simply doing the job they're supposed to do. Should they take the job and draw the salary....and then not do the job? Is that common and accepted practice in your profession? They're not writing the laws or regulations, so why be upset with them instead of the entities that are writing the rules?
It's not that a weld on a frame is going to cause immediate and complete failure, it's just not an area the unfamiliar/untrained/less-experienced should experiment with. If the manufacturer allows, there are areas that can be welded on safely, but there are areas that should be stayed away from. In the areas where it's allowed, there are guidelines to follow as to how gusseting or sleeving should be done, what direction the welds should be made in, the type of rod or wire to use, etc.
It's interesting to see what's allowable as far as drilling or welding frame members goes, and it's information you won't find in the owners manual. Most often you need to consult an "incomplete vehicle" manual and a "body builder" manual from the manufacturer. They're sent out with cab & chassis vehicles that are going to go from the vehicle manufacturer to installers of aftermarket equipment like boxes, snow plow equipment, truck cranes, etc.
Here's an example of one page from a body builder manual that shows what's allowed on an F-650 frame:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/2006/f650750_pdf/20.pdf
Take a look at pretty much any piece of farm equipment that has had some owner-done welding repairs or modifications done to it. Yes, there are some talented and experienced welders that also farm, but there are also a lot of haphazard, "hobby welders" out there with no training or real experience, and whose only equipment is an old buzz box welder and some unidentified rods they picked up at the last auction sale they attended. Bracing and gusseting consists of whatever rusty angle iron was left over from the last project, etc.
It's just not a good idea...
Lt CHEG
Platinum Member
I'm not saying that the officers shouldn't do their job. As I said before I'm an investigator now and used to be a uniformed police officer before that so I'm quite familiar with application of the law. What I am saying, and what I've experienced is that the only reason that these commercial vehicle enforcement jobs exist is because of the revenue that they generate. If it wasn't all about the money, then the officers who do nothing but commercial vehicle enforcement would be responding to car accidents, answering disturbance calls, etc. etc. The officers are certainly doing their jobs and I would expect anyone to do the job that they are paid to do. What I am getting at is the government created these jobs for the purpose of generating revenue.
I'll share with you an example from my own professional experience. In the city where I worked in uniform we had a traffic unit. It was comprised of 3 officers and was the third largest source of revenue in the city behind property taxes and water and sewer fees. When the chief wanted to reorganize things so that the traffic unit would have additional responsibilities besides traffic enforcement (and thus write less tickets) he met resistance from city hall because of the financial cost to the city. The city even bought commercial vehicle enforcement equipment for the traffic unit to use even though they didn't request it and specified that the equipment could only be used by that traffic unit. Meanwhile the rest of the patrol division was down several patrol cars because there wasn't enough money to buy new ones, even though some of the traffic equipment sat unused.
Lastly, to be clear I'm not upset at the members of law enforcement for doing their job. Heck that would mean that I would be mad at myself. My anger is directed at those who write the laws and who create the budgets. That still doesn't change the fact that commercial vehicle enforcement is all about the money. The regulations are written and the positions to enforce them are created all with the intention of the revenue that it will generate.
Diamondpilot
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2007
- Messages
- 16,326
- Location
- Daleville, IN
- Tractor
- Jinma 254/284 Ford 861 Powermaster at work
You are correct that double pull is illegal in your area. I have a book with all the trailer laws listed by state and in NC, SC, and FL for example it is illegal. In about 40 of the states its legal and there is no limitation if its 5th wheel or not. Not sure where you heard that but its wrong.
The only stipulation on double pull is total length. For example here in Indiana its legal and done commonly. The only stipulation is it must be under 60' long and of course they both must have the proper lighting, safety chains, and brakes if over 3000#, ect.
Chris
