From: Sonny Heath (sonny@defuniak.com)
Date: Sat Dec 24 2005 - 09:41:46 PST
I have one of those $200,000.00 RV Toters, only I built it for under
$40,000.00, so I'm somewhat familiar with what you're saying here.
I wrote Timothy Smith a private email explaining how I use my motorhome and
32 foot gooseneck to go to shows and I asked his opinion if I, in his
opinion, seemed to be legal or was I maybe borderlining on illegal, can't
remember my exact wording and he hasn't answered my email. I wrote a couple
of reminders in case he may have lost it or was busy or something and still
haven't heard a word from him. I hear so many stories I don't know whom to
believe. The State employee who inspected my toter and registered and
titled it said that his work was only for the RV and if I ever were to pull
a trailer with it DOT might have questions so I asked him what kind of
questions and he wouldn't give any specifics.
I was stopped once in Iowa for, so he said, a light out on the trailer and
while talking to my wife and I and reading my registration and checking my
CDL he said "I realize that you're an RV but you do fall under certain DOT
regulations" I asked "which ones would that be sir?" he said "just certain
ones" now, what kind of an answer is that from an LEO who is wasting my time
on the side of the road where any fool would know its not safe? He gave me
no paper for the light problem, I checked them at my next stop and they were
all functioning as ther were designed to. He must have asked me ten
different ways if I ever sold anything at these shows I frequent. I finally
said to him "Officer I don't know how many more ways you're going to find to
ask me if I sell at the shows I go to but the answer will be the same, I do
not sell anything, I'am a collector" I know we could do better than that.
I've had others to tell me that its only a matter of time before I'm
required to go through the same checks that a trucker who is hauling for
money goes through.
Sonny
----- Original Message -----
From: "MV" <MV@dc9.tzo.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 24, 2005 1:20 AM
Subject: Re: [MV] Clarification 2
> The really confusing part is that what is actually enforced is only a
> portion of the applicable law - if that.
>
> For instance, you can drive a triaxle dump truck back and forth the
> Indiana/Ohio state line every day of the year without an IRP plate that is
> legally required and no one will pull you over. Put a 10K tag trailer
> behind that dump truck and the cops will be on your tail. I don't know
> why, but that is the way it works.
>
> Indiana has some rules for farmers driving semis that is totally ignored.
> From talking to farmers around here, they have been driving their full
> blown semis to the grain elevator for years and never even thought about
> getting CDL. Even the written law contradicts itself.
>
> In northern Indiana, near Elkhart, there are a number of Semi tractor
> conversion companies that turn full blown semi tractors into super toters
> or giant motor homes. No CDL required.
>
> I was talking to a steel hauler the other day who drives loads out of
> Gary, Indiana to Detroit. There is some unwritten rule that the guys
> hauling loads out of Gary can run Michigan rigs (160K GVW) in Indiana if
> they are headed to Michigan. Apparently the steel companies leaned on the
> Indiana government to stop hassling overloaded steel trucks. (Of course
> sometimes they have to drive to Ohio, and that seems to be ok also! But
> don't drive the same rig to Cincinnati, that is a no no.
>
> If I was to pile up all of the regulations that are suppose to be followed
> for a commercial interstate semi driver the stack would look like a phone
> book for Detroit. About 3 inches thick. There are so many rules, that I
> know that a lot of truckers simply do what is absolutely required at the
> time and if they get a ticket for Xyz regulation, section 99, part 81,
> they simply consider the citation a periodic road tax and go on.
>
> I think Tim's statement is exactly correct. We have the best government
> money can buy. I think the only thing more complicated than the laws
> regulating trucking is the IRS tax code.
>
> Dave
>
> timothy.smith1@att.net wrote:
>> To put it in the southern states vernacular..."Be nice to the lady behind
>> the counter. Sometimes you'll get more meat in your taco."
>>
>> You guys ARE right about one important thing...and that is that the
>> person at the goverment office, or the officer along the road doesn't
>> necessarily know what he/she's talking about or may be trying to take the
>> path of least resistance. On the OTHER hand he MIGHT know exactly what
>> he's talking about. I've heard some pretty weird stuff from some of you
>> and so that you know, if you put it in the form of a statement, rather
>> than a question, I didn't correct you! We all have "senior moments" and
>> if you guys have been sharing the private return emails I've made to your
>> questions, you can plainly see this is a complex subject with many, MANY
>> pitfalls. Messing up is doubly difficult when you realize later that you
>> screwed some guy's day up unecessarily. I have a few bad stories to tell
>> along these lines; even one where I screwed up. But I made that one
>> right when we got to court, killed it and as courteously as I could,
>> apologized for all the inconvenience because I dumb-assed out....and I
>> only waited THAT long because the interim prosecutor didn't know me well
>> enough to be comfortable quashing the ticket beforehand on my word alone.
>>
>>>From an enforcement persective I can only add this small piece of advice
>>>to everyone on both sides of the fence... and that is when you find
>>>yourself in these circumstances, try to keep an open mind and leave the
>>>ego out of it. You might learn something and you might get to teach
>>>something to someone else. Either way, you come out ahead in the long
>>>run.
>> TJ
>>
>> -------------- Original message ----------------------
>> From: Recovry4x4@aol.com
>>
>>>Heed this advice ladies and gentlemen in regards to the DL CDL and all
>>>the enforcement of same. No matter how right you might be, you always
>>>stand a chance of crossing paths with a LEO who is having a "bad day."
>>>Do your best to be polite and respectful and you stand a better chance
>>>for a favorable outcome. Don't be ignorant of the laws but if you are
>>>going to challenge the LEO, be tactful and polite. I would rather take
>>>my knowledge to court if forward progress doesn't look promising with the
>>>LEO. Sometimes knowing everything at the scene of a traffic stop can be
>>>counterproductive. LEOs are no different than any other folks in any
>>>other occupation, they have bad days just the same. I'm not saying bow
>>>down at their presence, just giving free advice for a better outcome.
>>>More recent entries into the field of law enforcement are letter of the
>>>law folks vs us older LEOs who are spirit of the law. Not much
>>>discretion is used among the newer LEOs. Again this is only a
>>>suggestion for a better outcome of a traffic stop. By the way, not much
>>>response on my previous question asking how many folks have been stopped
>>>and cited with the MVs and what became of it. It just doesn't seem that
>>>we (MVers) get stopped very much at all.
>>>
>>>===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
>>>To unsubscribe, send e-mail to <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
>>>To reach a human, contact <ackyle@gmail.com>
>>>Visit the searchable archives at http://www.mil-veh.org/archives/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
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>> To reach a human, contact <ackyle@gmail.com>
>> Visit the searchable archives at http://www.mil-veh.org/archives/
>>
>>
>>
>
> ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
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>
>
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