Mule Skinner

Fortunately the vet was O.K. w/ a good soaking w/ bleach and a pressure washer. That was several years ago. Now I clean the trailer when the wife wants to . I found the good woman that can clean and cook and does not mind horsy stuff under her nails, leaves more time for riding when I get home from work. She cleans trailer after each use and no she is not for rent or hire. Now just a good hose out and done, I do pull the mats out :'( couple times a year to thouroughly clean, another pain in the ****.

Haulin_in_Dixie

[quote author=BigBlackDodge link=board=11;threadid=5954;start=15#56184 date=1035335803]<br>Texas DOT will allow you to register for about as much weight as you want. But.......<br><br>The Full Grown Bear can get you for over axle, exceding manufacturer reccommended rating (rarely happens), and most of all &quot;exceding load rating of tire&quot;<br><br>Register that puppy for all you want, but if a guy is over the tire rating, he will get a ticket.<br><br>I was apportioned and had a 36,000 lb gross.<br>Now I am registered at 10,500 on the truck and 22,224 on my trailer. Thats 8 tires at 2,778 lbs per tire. Thats a combined weight of 32,774 lbs.<br><br>So it doesn't do a guy any good to get dual 12,000 lbs axles unless he gets overan E rated tire. And they are exspensive. <br><br>*Having an apportioned plate does help save time and money on permits. In Louisiana you must have a permit on a comm. veh if its loaded weight is over 26,000 lbs. States like Arizona beleives every comm. veh. should be apportioned so you must have a permit no matter what you weigh if you are not apportioned. In Oklahoma all non-apportioned com. vehicles must have in their possesion before crossing the state line - a permit. (Its $100 fine ;D)<br><br>This topic should be as clear as mud? What do you think HID?<br>[/quote]<br><br>BBD you said it well, including the &quot;Clear as Mud&quot; I understand it but no one that does not work with it will, at least that is my experience. I wonder, do you stay in Texas now? Over 26 requires licensing in most states unless there is a sister state agreement. In Alabama the trailer tags are not rated for weight, only the truck. There are 1500 pound utility tags but the &quot;trailer&quot; tags are only governed by the GVW of the trailer and tires, etc. Alabama &amp; Georgia have a sister state agreement where Alabama tags are accepted in Georgia. Most truckers are not aware of it and I only know because of my municipal attorny. See I had a plan in mind, once the apportioned tags are on the truck, I can stop in Montgomery and apportion for any state that I get a good load to so there was no reason to get carried away with 48 states. I set up to run all of the southeast, Chicage, and out to Texas/Oklahoma. I purposely tried to stay away from the ton/mile states unless I need them. (Colorado for example) My tag fee is just about the same as the x2 tags last year. $340 plus taxes, about $500 a year. MY IFTA fuel mileage for the month and a half came to 12.44 mpg. My friend with an FL60 got right at 7.

Haulin_in_Dixie

Joe if you can do it that way and make money it sounds like the way to do it. A whole lot simpler

Redleg

Technically in Michigan, the RV's are suppose to stop at scales, but they don't really encourage it. Pick ups are considered commercial by design and regardless of how registered, State Police Motor Carrier Officers are authorized to stop these, even for speeding. They do carry portable scales in the vehicle. If you look like your load is improper for your set up, they won't hesitate to let you know. They can be more inclined to give a break for personal use, but if it's for business, they will certainly make up for any profits you thought you were getting. Up here, each county has a MSP post assigned to cover it. Each post has one or more Motor Carrier Officers. At times they will group up in problem areas and at odd hours. They are also on call for vehicle inspections at fatal accidents involving commercial traffic. Just some trivia for ya.The state has a web site that give their job description.

TPilaske

[quote author=RTO link=board=11;threadid=5954;start=30#57992 date=1035731752]<br>Technically in Michigan, the RV's are suppose to stop at scales, but they don't really encourage it. [/quote]<br><br>When I emailed the Michigan Secretary of State asking about plates and scales, the reply I got was: If it's for personal use/pleasure, DO NOT STOP! If you are a commercial vehicle, you are required to stop. Hmmmm.... guess i'll just keep passing them... no one's come out and stopped me for dodging a scale! I did run a scale at a truck stop on my trip to GA. We were only 17900 fully loaded down for a weeks vacation. So I'm sure we're not even close to that for a weekend trip! So if anyone wants to stop us and check our weight, that's fine with me! ;D<br><br>Tony

Redleg

[quote author=TPilaske link=board=11;threadid=5954;start=30#58010 date=1035733213]<br>[quote author=RTO link=board=11;threadid=5954;start=30#57992 date=1035731752]<br>Technically in Michigan, the RV's are suppose to stop at scales, but they don't really encourage it. [/quote]<br><br>When I emailed the Michigan Secretary of State asking about plates and scales, the reply I got was: If it's for personal use/pleasure, DO NOT STOP! If you are a commercial vehicle, you are required to stop. Hmmmm.... guess i'll just keep passing them... no one's come out and stopped me for dodging a scale! I did run a scale at a truck stop on my trip to GA. We were only 17900 fully loaded down for a weeks vacation. So I'm sure we're not even close to that for a weekend trip! So if anyone wants to stop us and check our weight, that's fine with me! ;D<br><br>Tony<br>[/quote]<br><br>Yeah they don't want you to stop, MSP is understaffed as it is. But I think it's still written in the books that way. Glad SOS gave you an answer instead of &quot;HUH!?&quot; My neighbor was hauling gravel with a car hauler with stakes behind his dually, and got stopped. Too much weight for the ball hitch. MCO gave him a break because of personal use, but could have made life miserable. Price can get a lot steeper than a speeding ticket.

moss2904

I remember on a trip we went to in the Northeast part of the US, I think we were in Washington state. I passed one weight station and they had a crude sign made out of cardboard stuck at the weight station entrance that read &quot;No RV&quot;s&quot;.<br> FWIW Randy

NWDave

That's because, if I'm not mistaken, Canadians have to weigh in at their weigh stations. You'll notice of course, we have many Canadians visiting in Washington and they're just trying to do the right thing. Now if we could just get them to understand that our speed signs are in km!! <br><br>~Dave