How'd it go today?

[top hopper]

damn-

I got hit by the DOT today doing commercial vehicle inspections.

expired medical card (expired on march 17th)
no proof of insurance
no pretrip inspection
inoperative breakaway brake

Im guilty of the expired medical card, and the no pretrip inspection.
I had trouble finding my insurance card and by the time I found it he had already written the ticket.
When he activated the breakaway switch on the trailer the brakes didnt grab..... I pulled the terminals from the battery, scraped some corrosion from the battery post and viola they worked.

So now I need to make an appointment to go down and pee in a cup, turn my head and cough to get a new medical card, then bring my insurance card down to the courthouse and hopefully have everything waived.

All this driving a 1 ton van pulling a dumping trailer. So to those who may be under the assumption that a truck rated under 26000# is exempt from commercial vehicle inspections, I've got the tickets to prove otherwise. Basically, any vehicle displaying signage is a commercial vehicle (in MN anyway), and you are required to have a DOT medical card!!

It could have been my wife driving to go get groceries or run errands.




I was due. Its been about 3 years since my last roadside inspection.

 

[top hopper]

and now its raining and were supposed to get up to 8" of snow tonight!!

and I thought winter was overwith!!

 

[SkwerI]

Sorry for your misfortune, John. Here in FL the DOT likes to target people pulling the tandem axle dump trailers. If the trailer is rated over 10K lbs then you need a class A CDL license. They nail lots of guys driving 3/4 and 1 ton pickups that way.

I didn't do much today after my scheduled job was postponed. I did get my broken camera dropped off for repair. $125 to replace the LCD screen on a $219 camera.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Damn John! DOT, rain and snow? It's gotta get better!!!

 

[top hopper]

I'm used to it all here in MN. The DOT, and the weather.

On the bright side, with an expected day off tomorrow due to the snow, I have scheduled my exam for a new medical card in the morning.

At least I can sleep in tomorrow!

Now I just need for my Wild to beat the Avs tomorrow night.

 

[sotc]

ive never been pulled over and inspected but i think they can if your licensed over 10k pounds

 

[inztrees]

I killed a 100' 2 leader pine today. My ground guy used a GRCS and he really liked it! That's good, because he usually hates new things.

 

[Frans]

I did not know that about a tandem trailer rated at 10,000. Jeez I really really do not want to have to get a commercial license.

Not because I can't, in fact once I took all the tests (doubles, triples, haz mat, bus, etc) passed the tests but then realized that if I should EVER get a speeding ticket or anything like that, my driving life would be curtailed.

 

[Stumper]

The most stupid part all this overweaning nanny state bureaucracy is that Granny can still crawl behind the wheel of the 32 foot 26000 lb motorhome that she and Pop just bought with the gargantuan boat trailered behind it and set out down the highway driving and looking into the back hollering at Pop to give the dog a biscuit.

 

[Frans]

Or setting the cruise control and then getting up to make a sandwich

 

[rumination]

<------------------------------- PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN TITLE!

That's right, I am very happily unemployed again. Today was my last day of work in Hong Kong, helping some line clearance workers prepare for climbing part of the Certified Tree Worker exam. In two days I head up to Wu Tai Shan for a week of vacation hiking in the mountains and checking out temples and monasteries, then back to Hong Kong for two days of wrapping up loose ends, and then back to the States. Hmmmm....I might as well change my location now, while I'm at it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Damn Leon, you're a regular cosmopolitan kinda guy! Be safe on that hike...

 

[Al Smith]

The most stupid part all this overweaning nanny state bureaucracy is that Granny can still crawl behind the wheel of the 32 foot 26000 lb motorhome that she and Pop just bought with the gargantuan boat trailered behind it and set out down the highway driving and looking into the back hollering at Pop to give the dog a biscuit.

To further add to that,farm use is not covered in those regulations either .

Sooo,in theory a farm kid from the hills in southern Ohio could load up an 800 bushel bottom dump grain trailer behind a beat up old F model Mac.Bad brakes,bald tires the whole nine yards,in icy Feb.,no less .Wind up through those hills and accross to Andersons grain terminal in Toledo ,with no CDL .:what:

 

[Frans]

Al, thats really true and funny.

I have seen HUGE combines being driven through the main street of town in Montana. Taking up the entire street and being driven by some kid maybe 15-16 years old.

 

[lumberjack]

Ha, I rear ended a Jeep once with my tractor.

Justin, towing a boat would put them over 26k requiring a class B license I believe?

 

[arborworks1]

The way I understand it, as long as its not commercial, you can drive any combination of vehicle over 26K.

 

[sotc]

the way i understand is any combo up to 26k anyone can operate. then if the truck is 26k and the trailer is rated 10k or more its a class A

 

[Chisel Tooth]

Finally back to work here, having a month off sure was nice but boy!, am I paying for it. Didn't realize that a feller could get so out of shape in just 34 days.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Shoot, try laying in bed for three months!

 

[Chisel Tooth]

I know all about that, I broke my left some years back, and was in a cast for 13 months. The first three months the cast was up to my butt. So I can relate.

 

[Paul B]

supervised a three man crew digging stumps out and other menial tasks today. Listened to my voicemail and had a message from a corporate recruiter talking about one of the local city's searching for a senior arborist. I think this has been on the slate for a while now, not sure if its within my abilities but I might call her back on Monday to see what the deal is.

http://www.brainhunter.com/frontoff...on.do?sitecode=pl333&jobId=958640&page=search

after reading the "accomplished climber" part it looks like it arent for me. oh well, continue with the daily grind, they do offer a $30 / hour starting wage though thats not bad I dont think.

 

[Old Monkey]

Well I had the day off and all I had to do was fall off an orchard ladder to get it. Went to the chiropractor and got adjusted and zapped by electrodes. Tomorrow I will do today's jobs.

 

[Paul B]

ouch, hope you are ok in a jiffy ancientsimian.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Dang, sorry to hear Darin.

 

[SkwerI]

Getting old sucks. My lower back has been unhappy for a week now (might have had something to do with a 1900 mile ride in an old truck) and I aggravated it yesterday even more. Took a Flexiril last night so I could sleep and I'm still a bit foggy this morning. I hate taking that shit.