DOT number on pickups????

JD Seller

Well-known Member
I have a DOT number for the semis but I never put it on the pickups. I see the fellows from WI have them on their farm trucks pulling trailers. They also have a scale that they have to cross to get into Iowa. It is on the WI side.

So here is my issue. I finally got that Ford F350 dually on the road. It works great for pulling the gooseneck trailers. Just had it out twice so far. I want to be as legal as possible just to limit trouble. I want to license it for 16 ton weight. In Iowa that is easily done.

If I am driving it there is little issue as I have a class A CDL which I think is required because it is over 26K and is a combination vehicle. I really do not want to have to decal the truck with a Name and DOT number. I will always own the load and vehicle.

So am I required to have a DOT number???

Why do the WI guys have them??

Do I have to have IFTA as I will be going interstate and burn diesel???

IF the pickup is being driven without a trailer does the driver have to have a CDL ?? Example would be wife driving it. It would not be combination vehicle at that time but the license would still be for over the 26K.

Truthfully all the rules/laws are getting to the point we are just about a communist country by default.

ALL I want is a pickup/trailer that I can safely haul tractors on an is not a full size semi.
 
I don't know what the website is anymore,but it's an official DOT site. There's a questionnaire to fill out to determine if you need one or not. I filled it out and it said I didn't need one. But,that's just me.
 
here they want them on pickup with a dsl engine and hauling a lot to other States,,I do not have them as then they have a reason to make you go into a port, be different if I was hauling for pay
cnt
 
JD I know in Ohio where I live the pucodot are craking down on the pickup and goose neck loads I think the laws have went to 10,000 GVW truck and any trailer behind it requires class A cdl. I think where this stems from alot of people are using these one ton pickups to tow loads way beond there breaking ability like (JD 310 hoes & D3 Cat dozers) and the bigger thing is trucking companies are complaining to dot about it. As a farmer and owing the load you have a great deal of exemptions though.
I know ther are alot more people on here with more knowladge on this than I
John
 
Putting them on a pickup adds a whole level of complexity that is not worth it to me. DOT Inspections along with log books and IFTA not to mention the drivers need cdl's. Rules vary so much that you will need to check regs in your state. Sometimes it just better to play dumb.
 
JD Seller go to WWW.FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). This site will give you the regulations state by state.
 
There was a big thing with some cops several years ago, apparently it was mandatory but the cops never enforced it till one cop or some department started pushing it, kind of went stupid with it, then for a bit we all needed one but was dropped to the commercial guys I think, you will have to check in more than just my word.
 
They can inspect you regardless of having a DOT number or not. Same with pulling into the scales, depends on your weight/ configuration. Log book and cdl depend on gvwr, not licensed weight. Your wife would be ok with no trailer and a class c.

If you do need to run the info, get it printed on a sheet magnet. It just has to be readable at 50 feet. Not permanent. Or on vinyl you can tape in your back, untinted, side windows, if so equipped.
 
Fellow forgot to post: I am getting different opinions from the people that are supposed to know. I called the state and they told me one thing an then I stopped a local DOT officer then he told me something else.
 
You'll get different opinions from DOT guys also,My Ford F550 is licensed for 25,000 GVW (farm tag) which includes the weight of a trailer I would be pulling instate I'm fine,where it gets complicated is up on I81 I cross into 4 states in the course of 50 or so miles VA,WV,MD,PA I don't have a DOT number on the door as I was told I don't need one but I suspect
I might get told different from the DOT folks in one of these states one day.They usually give farmers the benefit of the doubt so..........
 
You can hold a CDL and not need a logbook (no matter what you licensed weight is) if you stay within a 150 mile radius of home terminal.
 
If you can weigh over 10,000 lbs haul for a business and travel interstate you need a DOT number.
If you own everything including the load this exempts you from MC number but not DOT.
If you live in some states and travel intrastate you need this DOT number.
Iowa and Wisconsin fall under this rule.

So if we assume that you will use this truck to haul tractors you will use on your farm or resell then yes you need a DOT number. You just use the same number you have on your semi.

You go out of state and weigh over 26,000 lbs so you need a ifta sticker also.

Now sit down.
Since you travel out of state; use this truck for a business; and it weighs over 26,000 lbs your tag has to be a apportion tag just like your semi unless you plan on running farm tags.

Here is where it gets iffy........
This makes your truck a commercial truck so your wife driving it with a regular license is pretty much out the door.
While she does not weigh 26,000 with just the truck what is to say she is not on her way to pickup a trailer.
I do know some mobile home totters that push the rules. They claim as long as they are pulling a home they are commercial. But once they drop the home the truck becomes a personal truck and is not subject to DOT rules. I do not know how I would deal with this if put in this situation.
 
A few years back, MI required ALL farm vehicles aside from tractors to have a DOT number. If you didn't have one, you had to give a registered name for your farm, and were issued one. Had to have that number in I think 3" tall letters, and the registered name of your farm on both sides of the vehicle. If you weren't hauling or using it for farm stuff, you didn't have to have it, so most guys had magnetic stickers made up. That law lasted 2 years before it was repealed, you no longer have to have the DOT number on the small farm vehicles. As far as I know, you still have to use the DOT numbers on a semi though.

Ross
 
Most of the points are pretty much covered below. If your wife/granddaughter is driving it they do not need a CDL as long as the truck is under 26K gross weight and trailer less than 10K. CDL rules are based on the VIN tag weight. The laws are typically based on the federal rules, but the enforcement comes down to the state, and that varies widely.

I've been in this situation before, had DOT numbers/farm name on magnetic signs. Put them on when needed and removed when used as a personal vehicle.

Now to add another wrinkle, if operating interstate and over 10K a medical card is required even if a CDL is not.
 
Interesting. I think NY was already in the process of adopting FMCSA rules, but after the twin towers were knocked down in NYC, they got serious about it. Compliance (with the DOT #) was staged, on vehicle weight, to eventually get down to 10,000#. I just looked, and I was issued my DOT# in 2005. That and a name had to be on my agr. licensed dump/grain truck, legible from 50' away.

Different area, but from what you experience I would guess the concern has eased off. Hopefully if you get in trouble, it will be a matter of compliance, and not a fine. The biggest challenge for me was getting through the on line process of hitting the right button to eventually get the DOT#. Then in 2012 classifications changed and I had to go through it again!
 
The DOT number gives the scale police access to a list of who is naughty or nice. If your number is on the naughty list you are more likely to be inspected.
 
In WI, we were told it needsd to be on a farm truck IF pulling a gooseneck trailer. We bought a couple sets of magnets with our logo and DOT #, and put them on whatever truck is pulling the cattle trailer. Some local guys have just put it on the cattle trailer now.
 
I never understood why people feared getting a DOT number. I did mine online years ago and had it in a few days. It doesn't cost anything.

If you are over 26,000 lbs. and go out of state then you are subject to IFTA. Mike
 
If you are licensed over 26k, you are subject to all the same regulations as a big semi. That being IFTA ,fuel purchase reports, annual inspection, etc. If the GVWR is over 26k, you must have CDL and needed legal equipment , but, avoid tax reports by staying 26,000 or less on base plate. When I asked a Ky vehicle enforcement captain, he told me that magnetic signs were fine. Take them off when not on "business" .
 
When did they change it because when I retired it was 150 radius. I drove for a commercial carrier and we had drivers that didn't run log because they stayed under 150 mile radius. We had meetings several times a year and DOT officer and union safety rep would come in and up date us on new rules and regulations and answer questions.
 
In Oregon if you only haul for a "hobby" you can get an exemption letter from the Motor Carrier Division of the DMV. This exempts you having to pay weight for mile taxes and keeping a log. I have pulled through scales in Oregon and Washington was just waved on through. Anymore I just drive past the scales and haven't gotten a ticket yet... I also don't have a DOT number. As always you should check with your state and neighbor states on local laws. Just remember your millage may vary by location....

OTJ
 
Here in the land of "not quite as free" , I have to have annual inspections on all heavy trucks , and truck trailer combos. As well as a Commercial Vehicle Operators Registration number . (CVOR) pain in the butt , comes with a annual fee too .
 
Seller,there are not many states that are harder to deal with than Iowa. Every DOT cop will tell you what he heard at the last training class. We had a driver ticked because his air horn kinda blocked the view of his Hazmat placard(if you stood on one leg and squinted with one eye). Gota love the Corn Patch.
 
You see very few pickups pulling trailers from MO and KS that have a DOT number..So far they are leaving us alone....Iowa is one state that I stay out of...
 
Sometimes, had a Mississippi DOT officer used to put us out of service at the scales between Mississippi and Tennessee because he wouldn't accept an exempt log on our drivers. We were afraid if we pushed the issue he and his DOT buddies would go from jerks to Super Jerks, at the time the company had 2,200 pieces of equipment on the road, we didn't want to be that big of a target. We just found different routes back and forth and yes for some of them we still went over scales just with DOT officers who could read and write. If it got worse the "B" plan was to get put out of service at the scale in August with 48,000 pounds of hog offal in the trailer and leave it there for a few days. In our experience that usually softens 'em up a bit.
 
It always was 100 miles. However, the confusion comes in when you look at what kind of miles are being discussed. The 100 mile radius is 100 AIR MILES. Air miles are "as the crow flies" and so are significantly different from "road" miles. Also, since we are talking about AIR miles, they are NAUTICAL miles, which are LONGER than statute miles. A land mile is 5,280 feet. A nautical miles is 6076 feet. Once you have done all of the necessary arithmetic, you will find that 150 is a relatively fair estimate for distance limitations.

Another commonly held wrong belief is that a log book is necessary when you cross a state line. Go back and re-read the rules, and there is nothing about state lines in the rules.

Most truckers take hearsay as fact without ever opening the book. You know that little book published by J. J. Keller that has all of the rules in it? The carrier is REQUIRED BY LAW to give one to EACH DRIVER in their employ EVERY YEAR!!!. Guess how many have ever been cracked open???

Remember this: when the DOT cop asks you who told you that this was the law, how foolish will you feel telling him that Joe Trucker (or whoever) that works with you told you. Also, don't consider a DOT cop to be an expert in the laws. When they go into the scale house to write you up, they generally have their nose stuck in one of those previously mentioned books.
 
The pickup itself isn't licensed for 26,000 bt itself so I don't see a problem when driving it without a trailer. The gvw of the F350 plus the trailer weight on the license plate is what gets you over 26,000 requiring a cdl. At least it is that way in Mn and SD.
 
(quoted from post at 15:23:09 05/22/16) Interesting. I think NY was already in the process of adopting FMCSA rules, but after the twin towers were knocked down in NYC, they got serious about it. Compliance (with the DOT #) was staged, on vehicle weight, to eventually get down to 10,000#. I just looked, and I was issued my DOT# in 2005. That and a name had to be on my agr. licensed dump/grain truck, legible from 50' away.

Different area, but from what you experience I would guess the concern has eased off. Hopefully if you get in trouble, it will be a matter of compliance, and not a fine. The biggest challenge for me was getting through the on line process of hitting the right button to eventually get the DOT#. Then in 2012 classifications changed and I had to go through it again!

Bob, the reason NYS adopted the FMSCA rules had to do with Federal funding IIRC. NYS was always 10-15 years behind the rest of the nation as far as CMV rules went. That's why we still had a non-CDL Class C long after all other states had trashed the idea. So one day the Legislature decided to simply adopt the entire FMCSR en mass as NYS law. Stoopid! They had zero understanding if what they were doing, but they darn sure weren't going to let anyone know that. So, now, every vehicle that might qualify as a CMV is subject to DOT rules even though they never leave the state.
 
(quoted from post at 00:16:46 05/23/16) The pickup itself isn't licensed for 26,000 bt itself so I don't see a problem when driving it without a trailer. The gvw of the F350 plus the trailer weight on the license plate is what gets you over 26,000 requiring a cdl. At least it is that way in Mn and SD.

It doesn't matter what the registered weight is as far as DOT goes. It's GVWR that matters. Don't confuse the two.
 
(quoted from post at 12:43:05 05/22/16) I have a DOT number for the semis but I never put it on the pickups. I see the fellows from WI have them on their farm trucks pulling trailers. They also have a scale that they have to cross to get into Iowa. It is on the WI side.

So here is my issue. I finally got that Ford F350 dually on the road. It works great for pulling the gooseneck trailers. Just had it out twice so far. I want to be as legal as possible just to limit trouble. I want to license it for 16 ton weight. In Iowa that is easily done.

If I am driving it there is little issue as I have a class A CDL which I think is required because it is over 26K and is a combination vehicle. I really do not want to have to decal the truck with a Name and DOT number. I will always own the load and vehicle.

So am I required to have a DOT number???

Why do the WI guys have them??

Do I have to have IFTA as I will be going interstate and burn diesel???

IF the pickup is being driven without a trailer does the driver have to have a CDL ?? Example would be wife driving it. It would not be combination vehicle at that time but the license would still be for over the 26K.

Truthfully all the rules/laws are getting to the point we are just about a communist country by default.

ALL I want is a pickup/trailer that I can safely haul tractors on an is not a full size semi.

You mention "licensing for 32K, but what is the GVWR? That's the number that determines drivers license class requirements.
 
If you cross state lines you need to display a DOT number farm truck or not. Otherwise for a farm truck you are exempt from everything except maintenance logs within 150 miles of your home. Over 150 miles everything applies, log books, CDL, fuel permits, inspection stickers and on and on.
 

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