Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[dodge man]

I know someone that was retired and drove grain trucks part time just to keep busy. He’s in his 70’s and I assume he had to do the road test because of his age. He failed because he couldn’t parallel park a semi. Is that even a thing anybody does with a big rig?

 

[Gee Ray]

I'm torn on the CDL question. I've towed boats, utility & equipment trailers most of my life. My current rig if ever loaded to capacity with a gooseneck would definitely put me into CDL territory weight wise, but I don't haul for commercial purposes anymore. I did as a kid of 16 in the 70's, I ran a wrecker out of the gas station I worked at (when I wasn't fixing cars) & maybe since we towed for the local cops, no one ever questioned me doing it with a regular class c. Boss would call me at night & was like ... "hey, I'm about to get lucky with the Mrs., but cops just called about a drunk wrapped around a phone pole at Broadview & 81. Can you run over to the station, get the wrecker, & do the tow so we don't lose our contract to Filthy Phil?" (Phil owned the Shell station across the street from us.) Off I'd go.

My view is more along the lines of so long as I have the insurance to cover damages caused by me, I should be able to run as much or as big as my vehicle/comfort level will permit. Yes I get that commercial Insurance is more expensive, but I carry it anyway since I consult with State & local governments who treat any rental car driven by a contractor the same as if it was a Semi hauling girders or cranes to a construction site on their property.

If the gross vehicle weight of the truck plus the gross vehicle weight of the trailer exceeds 26,001 pounds you need a CDL. It does not matter whether you’re hauling commercially or not. If the DOT pulls you over and checks the gross vehicle ratings on both the truck and the trailer they can write you for not having the CDL.

I have had the DOT pull me over because he ran my tag on the trailer, and when it did not come up as a CDL, his lights went on. The officer was infuriated when he realized he could not give me a ticket for not having a CDL. my truck gross weight is 11,400 pounds. My trader gross weight is derated to 14,500 pounds. This combination puts me at 25,900 pounds. The man then spent 45 minutes trying to find something to write me up on. I made the mistake of using the safety chain hook to also hook the breakaway cable. He told me that it needed to be on a separate attachment point. So I reached in my pocket pulled out a carabiner and hooked the safety cable to the ring in the bed of the truck. I asked him if that was correct and he said yes.

He then went to his car and wrote me an out of service ticket. He stated that I was out of service because of the breakaway cable. When he gave me the out of service ticket I ask him if he did not see me correct the problem. He simply said have a good day turned around and walked away.

By law, I’m not supposed to move the truck until the out of service ticket is corrected. Since I had corrected it with him present, I went on my way.

I then found at the bottom of the ticket and extremely small print were the instructions that I had to sign the ticket that the problem was corrected and fax the ticket into the DOT. Failure to do this would have resulted in a fine of several thousand dollars per day if I was caught running the truck without the correction notice being sent in.

That same DOT cop has now pulled me over four times.

 

[jjeff]

I know someone that was retired and drove grain trucks part time just to keep busy. He’s in his 70’s and I assume he had to do the road test because of his age. He failed because he couldn’t parallel park a semi. Is that even a thing anybody does with a big rig?

Lol had to parallel park 20 yrs ago during my cdl driver test in so cal. Neat trick to parallel park my instructor showed me long forgot though.

 

[alexpops]

If the gross vehicle weight of the truck plus the gross vehicle weight of the trailer exceeds 26,001 pounds you need a CDL. It does not matter whether you’re hauling commercially or not. If the DOT pulls you over and checks the gross vehicle ratings on both the truck and the trailer they can write you for not having the CDL.

I have had the DOT pull me over because he ran my tag on the trailer, and when it did not come up as a CDL, his lights went on. The officer was infuriated when he realized he could not give me a ticket for not having a CDL. my truck gross weight is 11,400 pounds. My trader gross weight is derated to 14,500 pounds. This combination puts me at 25,900 pounds. The man then spent 45 minutes trying to find something to write me up on. I made the mistake of using the safety chain hook to also hook the breakaway cable. He told me that it needed to be on a separate attachment point. So I reached in my pocket pulled out a carabiner and hooked the safety cable to the ring in the bed of the truck. I asked him if that was correct and he said yes.

He then went to his car and wrote me an out of service ticket. He stated that I was out of service because of the breakaway cable. When he gave me the out of service ticket I ask him if he did not see me correct the problem. He simply said have a good day turned around and walked away.

By law, I’m not supposed to move the truck until the out of service ticket is corrected. Since I had corrected it with him present, I went on my way.

I then found at the bottom of the ticket and extremely small print were the instructions that I had to sign the ticket that the problem was corrected and fax the ticket into the DOT. Failure to do this would have resulted in a fine of several thousand dollars per day if I was caught running the truck without the correction notice being sent in.

That same DOT cop has now pulled me over four times.

I get that. That's why I'm torn. Since I most probably have a Class A in my future to avoid that type of harassment, I'm not looking forward to the expense, time factor, putting up with the other morons in the class, etc. On the plus side, who knows, from what I've seen in the auctions, an older (still capable) big rig can be had for lots less than a modern 1 ton, & since I grew up driving stuff I needed to double clutch when the synchros went, I figure the twin sticks can't be that much tougher & prices may get better if newer drivers are only doing automatics. Less wear on the PU, a true "post apocalypse rig", & probably more fun to run with a heavier load. At least it would open up some rental options I don't currently have. Might even save me on insurance, since my wife can't drive anymore & I have 1 car registered in CA covered by a Commercial Policy & 3 in FL covered by personal, with a CDL I should be able to combine them on whoever will give me the cheaper commercial policy, & be done with it.

 

[jjeff]

I get that. That's why I'm torn. Since I most probably have a Class A in my future to avoid that type of harassment, I'm not looking forward to the expense, time factor, putting up with the other morons in the class, etc. On the plus side, who knows, from what I've seen in the auctions, an older (still capable) big rig can be had for lots less than a modern 1 ton, & since I grew up driving stuff I needed to double clutch when the synchros went, I figure the twin sticks can't be that much tougher & prices may get better if newer drivers are only doing automatics. Less wear on the PU, a true "post apocalypse rig", & probably more fun to run with a heavier load. At least it would open up some rental options I don't currently have. Might even save me on insurance, since my wife can't drive anymore & I have 1 car registered in CA covered by a Commercial Policy & 3 in FL covered by personal, with a CDL I should be able to combine them on whoever will give me the cheaper commercial policy, & be done with it.

Post apocalyptic rig? Lol, mad max came to mind I apologize for being a smart ace but couldn't resist.

 

[duramaxsky]

I don't know what is going on here.

 

[aczlan]

I don't know what is going on here. View attachment 788109

Don't do drugs while welding?

Aaron Z

 

[Topzide]

In some states you can get a non commercial CDL if you'll be over 26,001 GVW on a truck and trailer combo. I could see quite a few that wouldn't be able to pass it. That's why they class the RV's like they do ( Class A , Class C). Biggest thing missing is common sense and time allotment!

 

[alexpops]

I don't know what is going on here. View attachment 788109

A couple thoughts come to mind. First, along the lines of aczlan, " Aw you don't need a truck, go get us some beer while I dig around my scrap plie & get what we need to fix you up. you'll be on the road in an hour." but the other thing I'm trying to figure out is if that's two dogs (maybe a couple velociraptors) in the back window or someone doing hand puppets.

 

[jjeff]

Multiple uses for a compact car.