Where have you've been stopped for trailer violations and why?

[Bird]

And the sad part of that is your little utility trailer and mine as well cost's $60 to license, but my 24', 14K GN with farm plates costs like $14.

Yep, that's true; $57.50 this year for the smallest trailer I ever owned and pretty seldom used. I used to have a couple of trailers with farm tags, but not anymore.

 

[Groo]

I picked up a ticket for my car not being registered some years back, They didn't send notices to my brother or myself that year. He got a warning, I got a ticket. On the plus side, the ticket was less than it would have been to have the vehicle registered for the time-span.

now we don't have to worry about it with trailers. They are permanent plates, thanks to a short term cash grab by the state.

 

[tessiers]

No ticket but I got side swiped by a lady at the toll booths in Gardiner Maine this week, hauling a hay mower on an equipment trailer, over width, no permit no flags, no signs. She merged right into the trailer. Cop said if I was owner and hauling ag equipment to or from farm or repair shop I was exempt, no summons.

2 days later I should have gotten stopped, hauling a 55' house trailer frame. It was 75 ' long but we cut 20' off the back and slid it onto the rest. We also cut the wings off so it was 8'-6" wide. Was taking it slow and about half way home there was a state police on the side of the road, we had to go by. We were over length, too far between axles, no registration, no lights, no safety chains and the coupler was broken so I set it down on my pintle hitch and locked the top down so it couldn't bounce off. It must have been end of shift and he didn't want the aggrevation because he never even followed us.

Here in Maine best I can tell if you got farm plates you are exempt from about everything, as long as it is farm related work.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Getting a load of firewood logs on a 8x12' tandem axle trailer and had the logs stacked about 5'of so high. ... Once home I weighed the trailer and load and it weighed 13,500.

Firewood is HEAVY. A cord of green wood can easily weigh 3500 to 5000 lbs. Dry can range from about 2000 to about 4000. Keep that in mind the next time somebody tries to sell you a "full cord" of wood from the back of a half-ton pickup. I was amazed at how little firewood I could get into my old half-ton truck before I was at capacity. Just one reason I got a trailer. And eventually traded up to a 3/4-ton.

You mentioned getting your trailer certified for 10,000 lbs and putting new axles on it. All good steps. One thing I didn't hear was that you put brakes on it. Not to be the safety-nanny, but I'd recommend it strongly. I have heard different guidelines for when brakes are a must, and the least stringent I've heard is when the trailer weighs as much as the curb weight of the tow vehicle. The most stringent I've heard is when the trailer's gross weight is over 3000 lbs. Also, some states require brakes on at least one axle for any tandem-axle trailer. At the very least, you're stressing your vehicle's brakes by towing such heavy loads without brakes on the trailer. At the most, you're setting yourself up for a bad accident. There is nothing quite so reassuring as the gentle pull of my trailer's brakes helping me stop. There's nothing quite so terrifying as the inevitable momentum of a trailer that my tow vehicle is failing to bring to a stop.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I passed a guy last week with a Cut, with FEL and BH on a flat bed. No head board or sides on the trailer, and a single yellow nylon strap across the operators station.... Incredible.

I ain't naming names, but that was how the salesguy strapped down my tractor when I brought it home. I didn't have a set of straps that would work and he didn't want to loan me more than he had to.

At the time, I took him at his word. I know better now.

 

[foreman Etexas]

1st:Got pulled over pulling a Cat Backhoe,didnt have enough boomers.I had 2 on front a tractor and 2 on back but needed one on front and back buckets,then he dug and found out I was hauling for an oil field company but was doing work for a ranch just outside Bryan texas,well he didnt give me a no CDL ticket but he started writing.I was in a dodge dually with no #'s,no safety traingles,and a few more,we was at rest area told me I could un-hook and go on my way or call someone with CDL to come get it,had to wait cple hours for the big boss to come get me.
2nd:Over loaded 3/4ton with 32ft gooseneck full of old telephone poles and they was hanging off back of trailer to much,my boss was behind me so I let him take the heat on this one cause I told him before we left it was to heavy and we didnt have a chainsaw to cut them. Company got a few more tickets on this one but both time troopers were very nice and said I was just doing my job and they had to do there's. No tickets were written to me,only to company.
3rd:no sir,you get someone else to pull that.:laughing:

I travel I-45 between Dallas and Houston,just pulling my farm equipment,I over due the straps and havent ever been bothered but your gonna see several troopers and there is a weigh station thats open alot but I have always just drove past it when the light is green,they dont even pay attention to me(Im clearly not over weight and only pulling a 24ft GN, 14k trailer).

 

[two_bit_score]

That, and just looking safe goes a long way.

Chris

And current up to date license plates.


.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

I always worry about getting pulled over. Total combined weight about 23,500 to 24k on F350 flatbed pulling a 12k bumper pull with Bobcat or mini ex. I occasionally pull a 12,500 lb chipper and for whatever reason, that doesn't bother me.
worry about b
Everything is up to date, tied down, and looks clean but still think about being pulled over. Have checked with state time and time again and they always tell me under 26k GCWR and actual weight and not overloading truck or trailer and I'm fine for non-CDL intrastate. Still keeps me wondering if the state is looking for revenue, will I get hassled? It's not so much the money but the inconvenience and time.

 

[Renze]

April 28th this year, me and my brother were to pick up a Welger square baler in the North of the Netherlands, the shipping company could not get it to us before 30 april which is a national holiday (queens birthday) with parades and tent parties in every small town. The baler should be parked near the tent for some free publicity for my brothers small haylage baling/wrapping service, its the only time of the year you can get free advertisement.

My Volvo broke its alternator when i was driving from work that evening, so we took daddies Mondeo instead. The Welger baler weighs well over 3000 pounds, the weight is in the press chamber (on the left) and the total width was 2.60 meter, or 8 and a half foot, where the trailer was only 6 foot wide. We put some railroad ties under the axle and shoved it up the deck.
Because the center of gravity was off center, and the baler was wide and catched a lot of wind, we couldnt go faster than 70km/h (43mph) before some serious sway occurred... That was a long and tiresome drive home, going in 3rd gear with that basic 90hp 2.0 diesel...

A patrol car overtook us, we feared the worst, but the troopers had other business on their mind and didnt even look at us... phew...

So next time we know its better to leave a baler to a transport company, even though the 3000 pounds itself shouldnt be a problem, as we have hauled 4500 pound tractors on the very same trailer, cruising at 60mph... If you overspeed just a few miles, it doesnt occur to the cops that you're overloaded, they pull you over when driving too careful: careful drivers have a bad consience... drugs, drunk or overloaded.

 

[Looking4new]

My biggest worry is always getting pulled in for a safety check with the big truck. 'Did I miss something in my circle check?' The DoT always gets on their creepers and goes under to 'mark and measure' your brake stroke. The company put stroke indicators on the brakes so we (the drivers) don't have to crawl around underneath in the mud. But there is a whole raft of other stuff that needs to be looked at, too.