-----Original Message-----
From: Timothy Smith [mailto:timothy.smith1@worldnet.att.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 12:56 AM
To: Rikk Rogers
Subject: Re: [MV] trailer laws -military low boy question
Wellllllllll.......I was gonna sit this one out, but since you
asked..........
Your state's laws may vary somewhat but G E N E R A L L Y they would likely
park an oversize vehicle/load/whatever and require that a permit (cha-ching!
$$$) be obtained before further movement is made (and lets not forget that
some cities even have a curfew on movement of extradimensional
loads/vehicles/whatever during certain hours!) Doubt they would impound
it........the nice folks at the pound don't like really big stuff on their
little tiny lot.
As for the list member that suggested that unless part of the load was
hanging over the edges of the trailer it would likely not be detected as
overwidth.......well, I beg to differ. Even the lowliest officer spends a
lot of time behind the wheel (and other motorists) and could easily detect
that the vehicle is oversized and make the stop..if for nothing more than to
verify his suspicions. What your average officer would do at that point is
anyone's guess. The DOT or License and Weight officer (as you know, I am
both) would certainly take action (cha-cing! $$$ again).
My feelings on this are simple.....don't buy it if it is overwidth even if
its a good deal unless you really REALLY need it (does he own a tank or
something?) There are lots of trucks and trailers out there and the
trucking industry is on the ropes right now. (I do NOT want to hear the
Death On Truckers DOT routine from the DOT-haters cause it ain't our
fault......its fuel costs, brothers, plain and simple) Lots of good deals
out there for guys like us who want to pick up some civilian commercial
sized equipment cheap (you can be assured I am probably gonna buy a truck
tractor very soon for myself...and I have a very nice one picked out by the
way....then I gonna look for a trailer!) so that we MV collectors can make
the logical evolution and move up to something like a half-track or larger
when the opportunity presents itself. After all, isn"t that what its all
about? Besides, civilian equipment (for this purpose anyway) is typically a
more road-friendly and more economical solution to a very practical
problem....moving your big, expensive HMV to somewhere you can enjoy it
more. How many of us know the guy with a half track that sits and sits and
sits because the owner can't take it anywhere by himself. I know a couple
guys like that and it sucks!
On the topic of trucks......You can pick up a fleet maintained truck tractor
right now (with decent sized sleeper) with about 3/4 of its comercial
service life gone (about 750,000 miles on the clock) for less than the cost
of an average new pickup truck. That leaves you about 250.000 miles to play
with since most modern big diesels are good for a million miles. So if you
drive it maybe 10.000 miles each year.....well....do the math. I just saw
some 45' floats (flatbeds to you greenhorns) go for $750 a piece at the GSA
not too long ago. Lowboys and drop-decks will cost more of course (or you
can go with a slightly smaller gooseneck trailer.) LOTS of options out
there. Belly up to the bar....pony up the dough and enjoy your HMV the way
you ought to be enjoying it. And by the way......properly kitted out......a
truck tractor with a decent sleeper makes a helluva RV.
Now I shall prepare myself for the next onslaught of CDL questions. Whew!
TJ
-----Original Message-----
From: Rikk Rogers <rkltd@swbell.net>
To: Military Vehicles Mailing List <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2001 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] trailer laws -military low boy question
I think you will find that if you do a little research on overweight/size
you may well find they can stop and hold your vehicle, possibly impound it.
Timothy Smith, how far out am I on this?
Rikk Rogers - RK Lion LTD.
(580)762-3157 rkltd@swbell.net
http://home.swbell.net/rkltd/
-M35A2- MVPA -22345-
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