Is that race car sponsored, do you win money for racing it, heck do you pay fees to enter it in a race? All of these things are commerce.

Who hauls there own lawn equipment for any other reason then to make money (other then maybe taking it in for repairs, or mowing two seperate pieces of property you own)? Not too many.

Bottom line: If there is money being made, then DOT wants thier part.

You may well own the truck, the trailer and everything in it or on it, if you use one piece of it to make money and you are 10,001 lbs or greater, you need a DOT #.

 

One piece of advice, call your auditor and ask him what kinds of things he's gonna be looking for specifically. The purpose of the audit is to help you come into compliance with their criteria, not to bust your chops. I called the phone # on the letter they sent me before the audit, and he told me exactly what to have ready, and some endorsements on my insurance that I needed to have but had never heard of, etc. He was nice and helpful. Get all that straight first, then get your audit and you should get a high saftey "score". That goes in their computer system, and when they run your tags or DOT # they'll see you're probably in compliance and may not pull you when you're on the highway. Here in MD, I live in daily fear of the DOT man, as does everyone else. That is a good motivator to have everything double chained, strapped, wedged, documented, all the saftey stuff and fire extinguishers charged and current, log books filled out, etc. They can smack you with $5000 in fines without blinking an eye, depending on your attitude. The audit is your big chance to ask allllll the questions you can possibly think of about your business, what you're hauling, how it should be secured, and which laws apply to you, what saftey stuff you need to carry, etc. Talk to all your buddies about DOT laws and stories, and gather up info on what you need. Every story is different. Start making a list of questions for the auditor, and get it all straight before they write you up a fine for not having some extra fuse on board, that you didn't know about. Good luck with it.

 

I meant those things are considered making money.....sorry

 

This is good advice, most auditors will go out of their way to help you on the first audit, and they really appreciate it when a guy is obviously trying to get his stuff straight. Give them a call and have your stuff in order when they get there. This will go a long way towards a pleasent and uneventful audit, and a positive safety rating.
Timberman, if you think the fines a DOT officer can write roadside are bad, you should see what an auditor can do to you if your paperwork is not right.

 

Yikes! The mere mention of DOT makes me look for a tree to climb. I actually have had no problems with them so far, but I'm absolutely terrified and paranoid from the stories I've heard from almost all of my friends and acquaintences. Every morning, literally, I prepare the truck and trailer for a roadside inspection from THE MAN with his ticket book. Since I'm so **** about the tie downs and cargo nets, saftey chains and tire pressures, blah blah, I notice a lot of other people who are way out of compliance, and wonder how far they'll make it before the state deals them a mighty backhand.

I had a good audit, actually passed everything, mainly because I asked ahead of time. The info he gave me on my cargo requirements and what records to keep, etc, was super. Good to have it straight from the source instead of hear-say. Just sent in my annual update form recently. I spend a couple minutes each morning filling out my log book, writing mileages, updating maintenance records, etc. That's a big one, the maintenance. They want to see that, and it better be up to date.

 

Wow, that sounds like alot to go thru...more like a pain in the you know what! I'm glad I live in South Dakota where they don't give a rip.