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What you use to haul a D3 size dozer

Steve Frazier

Founder
Staff member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Messages
6,599
Location
LaGrangeville, N.Y.
Perhaps your laws are different than ours. We can not exceed manufacturer specification of any equipment used in transportation. Just a week or so ago Tuney posted his experience with DOT where he had to purchase tires for his trailer to meet the weight he's carrying. DOT is pretty aggressive here and if you run that combination on a regular basis you will be impounded and face big fimes.

And again, it is possible to physically move the machine with that truck, but it is not stable at all unless perhaps a gooseneck is used with enough weight on the truck. A pintle hitch trailer will toss the tow vehicle around, I know this from experience.
 

nmmountainman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2007
Messages
75
Location
Santa Fe, NM
thought i would pipe in here just briefly w/ my 2 cents.
I joined this site to learn more about heavy equipment as I plan on purchasing a small dozer w/in the next year or so.
I work for the 3rd largest auto insurer and our fastes business growth is in the commercial lines.
I work everything from coverages, liability, property damages and injuries.
If your ever "overloaded" and are at fault for an accident, you better have high limits on your liability coverages.
if you cause major injuries, your insurance company will pop your limits and then the attorneys will run asset checks.
they'll go after your business and any assets that are in your name
seeing all that I have seen, I would never pull anything knowing ahead of time I was overweight.
Your better off buying the proper trailer/truck or paying someone else to do it.
 

Reuben

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
450
Location
north central pa
Its a no brainer;who cares what is legal!! the point is;What is safer?! DOT is in place for one simple reason safety. Use your head if you are "puckering" then you obviously arent safe. sorry if I sound harsh
 

PETE379

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Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
138
Location
Long Island, New York
Occupation
Manage and oversee daily operations, also process
Just like said earlier in this post, just because you can move it, doesnt mean you can stop it.
 

RT Engineering

Active Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2007
Messages
35
Location
Port Hueneme, CA
Occupation
Owner
One other little bit of information. Believe it or not, you need a CDL to pull a trailer that has a GVW of 10,000 lbs or more. It does not matter if it is loaded or not. Yes you are reading this correctly, it does not matter if the load is under 10,000 lbs, just the GVW. I know this thanks to the California DOT. At least my Cat 246 was chained down well, so I did not get the no- binder ticket.

The good news: it's a fix-it ticket, cost me $10 and I had to get my CDL. And yes I did take the drive part of the test with the F-350 and the empty Trailmax trailer. I added the airbrake endorsement later when I bought my Ford L-9000.

I agree with most others here, the amout you will save by moving the D3 yourself with the 1 Ton truck will be spent very quickly if there is even a small accident, and even if it is not your fault!

RT
 

xcavate

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Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
187
Location
Boston,MA
RT What did you have to do to get the air brake endorsement? Did you have to take the whole test pretrip and driving over again or just the airbrake testing part?

I got nabbed driving a ford 550 with a 16,000 lb trailer and i have to get my class a. I first had to go get the trailer and truck DOT certified and now i just have to go for my driving test.
 

ror76a

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Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
211
Location
Michigan
Well, how do the hot shotters run all over the U.S. with over 16000 lbs? My father-in-law hot shots and crosses scales in every state without a problem.

The next time I get stopped and am being harrased by the DOT because I have a tire that is getting low on tread, (on my leagal rig) I will ask them why they don't go after those "hot shotters" more often. I fear the real answer is that when they see big trucks they see big money, and big tickets. It seems like the more you try to comply with the rules the harder they are on you.:Banghead

Just like said earlier in this post, just because you can move it, doesnt mean you can stop it.

Couldn't have said it better myself, goes along with "just because it can, dosen't mean you should."
 

RT Engineering

Active Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2007
Messages
35
Location
Port Hueneme, CA
Occupation
Owner
Hey xcavate,

Over all it was not too tough. I had to go to DMV, pass the written test (I also passed the air brake written), then get the medical card filled out by a doctor. Do not worry about that one, if you are breathing, you will pass.

I then scheduled the on road driving test, you will probably fail the walk around inspection the first time- almost everybody does. The good news is that once you give up, the DMV guy (Who by the way does not have a CDL) completes the walk around inspection with you, just remember what he or she says, and reschedule. You need to say things like ' these are the break lights, the covers are red, which is the correct color, they are clean, and not broken' and ' this is the frame, I do not see any cracks, broken bolts, or illegal welds', etc.

As for the driving, easy. All they make you do is drive around corners, back up to some cones simulating a dock, Cross the railroad tracks (do not shift), drive in front of a school, etc. If I remember right it was about 60 miles or so.

Apparently DMV used to issue the air brake endorsement if you passed the written, no matter even if the truck driven in the test did not have air brakes- no longer. So to add the air brake endorsement, I had to pay to take the written airbrake test again, get the permit, and then schedule the driving test. This time just memorise the proceedure from the book, remember the cut in pressure, the static loss allowed for your vehicle, etc.

For the air brake test they just had me do a quick inspection, then the air system tests, and a quick around the block. Done in 15 minutes.

Hope this helps,

RT
 

thejdman04

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2006
Messages
582
Location
Illinois
One thing you got to keep in mind is a 20k lb trailer is what the vheicle will haul GROSS. Load and trailer. Say a 20k lb trailer weighs 7000 empty its payload or waht you can put on it is 14000lbs
 

tuney443

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Mar 19, 2006
Messages
1,216
Location
Dutchess County,NY
Occupation
excavating contractor
One thing you got to keep in mind is a 20k lb trailer is what the vheicle will haul GROSS. Load and trailer. Say a 20k lb trailer weighs 7000 empty its payload or waht you can put on it is 14000lbs

Not true at all.My 10 ton trailer weighs 5900 lbs. empty.The placard on it clearly states 20,000 lbs. for the load--max and a GVW of 25,900 lbs.
 

DirtWorker

Active Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
31
Location
Ontario Canada
Well here is my advise. Run up and write your D.Z license. Purchase a cheep dump truck, cut the box off. Weld two runners and winch powered ramp set up on her. Off you go to trim.
 

RollOver Pete

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Mar 5, 2007
Messages
1,510
Location
Indio, Ca
Occupation
Operating Engineer/mechanic
This site more or less spells it out.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/online-registration/onlineregdescription.htm

I already have a CDL and a commercial insurance policy with the proper liability and freight coverage.
But thats still not good enough.
I would need to apply for a USDOT # for my 06 Dodge Ram 3500, enter a safety program, register with the FMCSA, run a log book.
All this due to the fact that the load I might haul came from another state.
The loophole I use goes like this.
The company(side job) that I might haul for buys the freight.
Pumps, casing, well heads....
It becomes their property.
That in itself means that I don't need to apply for all the garbage listed above.
As far as crossing scales goes?
The only time I will cross a scale is if I can enter the scale without having to come to a stop on the side of a freeway.
Our famous Banning scales are always backed up out on the freeway.
So I move over a lane and pretend like they aren't even there.
Regardless of what I'm driving, pump rig, low bed, flat bed or my Dodge with 15.000 lbs of well casing on a tag along trailer...
I have not stooped at Banning or any other scale in almost 4 years.
Not that its right...
I have an entirely different reason for not stopping at any California weigh stations.
I'll save that for a different thread.
I'm sure one day the man will chase me down...
And we will end up in court....which is just what I want.
:cool:
 

VjjR

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Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
50
Location
Livermore, CA
what do you mean by hot shotters? im new here just trying to learn a few things. i also saw a d3 on a gooseneck behind a dodge in new mexico on a wildland fire. dont know what state he was from but contracted fire dozers come from all over and im sure he drives that out of state all the time.
 

PETE379

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Jan 10, 2008
Messages
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Location
Long Island, New York
Occupation
Manage and oversee daily operations, also process
A hot shotter is a single axle truck, usually with hydraulic brakes, sometimes even as light as a 550 or an IH or freightliner with 19.5 inch rubber. These are the trucks you see pulling a two axle trailer with two or three cars, trucks or equipment on them.
 

girlieracerk

Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
5
Location
Ararat, VA
My two cents...lol

I would say it depends on how far you are going. Where I live we use a f350 and a gooseneck for almost everything but we live in a small town and don't go too far. For everything else we use a Peterbilt and lowboy trailer.
 

tuney443

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Mar 19, 2006
Messages
1,216
Location
Dutchess County,NY
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excavating contractor
I would say it depends on how far you are going. Where I live we use a f350 and a gooseneck for almost everything but we live in a small town and don't go too far. For everything else we use a Peterbilt and lowboy trailer.

Have to ask---what exactly is ''almost everything''?
 

CM1995

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Jan 21, 2007
Messages
13,250
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Running what I brung and taking what I win
Not true at all.My 10 ton trailer weighs 5900 lbs. empty.The placard on it clearly states 20,000 lbs. for the load--max and a GVW of 25,900 lbs.

That is a good point. You need to make sure that the trailer manufacturer rates their trailers for payload and not GVW. It's kind of a shady practice they do - some manufacturer's rate their trailers at payload and some others state a GVW. So a 10 ton trailer rated at payload, you can haul 10 tons of whatever. A 10 ton trailer rated at its GVW means you need to subtract the trailer weight to get your legal payload weight.
 
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