"The Kid" found a real good deal on a semi tractor. He wants me to go in
half with him. I have a farm and he thinks I can get farm licence and tags
without trouble - class B rating.

I'm worried getting and keeping all the DOT requirements and licences could
cost a bloody fortune. what are the facts here?

Karl

Karl Townsend wrote:

"The Kid" found a real good deal on a semi tractor. He wants me to go in
half with him. I have a farm and he thinks I can get farm licence and tags
without trouble - class B rating.

I'm worried getting and keeping all the DOT requirements and licences could
cost a bloody fortune. what are the facts here?

Karl

Last I knew, a class 8 tractor with trailer required a class A, class B
is commercial straight truck. If you register it as a farm truck, you
typically are limited to a relatively short range around the farm, like
150 mile radius. Insurance is another headache, though since you have
commercial insurance already, probably less of a pain. You need to check
with your state motor vehicle department to find out the particulars for
your state.

Karl Townsend wrote:
"The Kid" found a real good deal on a semi tractor. …
I'm worried getting and keeping all the DOT requirements and licences could
cost a bloody fortune. what are the facts here?

Karl

Even with the reduced rate for farm plates in my state, plates still
could not be considered cheap.
In this state, the farm plates allow certain exemptions from the cost of
the Commercial carrier's record keeping requirements, however, The feds
have recently determined that this is a violation of the Federal Motor
Carrier rules, so, even with the exemptions written in the federal rules
they will pull the state's federal funds unless all the farm exempt
privileges go away by Dec. 31, 2009.
Check your own state rules, and, local state farm organizations. A road
tractor which is a good deal today, might be a time bomb.
In this region, the determination, is going to require, all farm
equipment over 17,000lbs, to need a CDL operator to move on the highway
under its own power.
Check your local rules.

Carrier rules, so, even with the exemptions written in the federal rules
they will pull the state's federal funds unless all the farm exempt
privileges go away by Dec. 31, 2009.
Check your own state rules, and, local state farm organizations. A road
tractor which is a good deal today, might be a time bomb.
In this region, the determination, is going to require, all farm equipment
over 17,000lbs, to need a CDL operator to move on the highway


Thanks, R and Pete. Farm exempt priviledges going away explains the large
number of low cost offers out there right now. I think renting truck and
operator is still the best way to go.

Karl

Karl Townsend wrote:

Thanks, R and Pete. Farm exempt priviledges going away explains the large
number of low cost offers out there right now. I think renting truck and
operator is still the best way to go.

Karl

I am not sure if the exemptions going away, is going to be a nationwide
thing, or, done on a state by state basis.
I spent a good share of last week sorting out the rules, as they apply
to me, within my state. My trucks will be parked.

Good Luck.

"R" wrote in message
...
Karl Townsend wrote:

Thanks, R and Pete. Farm exempt priviledges going away explains the large
number of low cost offers out there right now. I think renting truck and
operator is still the best way to go.

Karl

I am not sure if the exemptions going away, is going to be a nationwide
thing, or, done on a state by state basis.
I spent a good share of last week sorting out the rules, as they apply to
me, within my state. My trucks will be parked.

Good Luck.

Well, Minnesota has never seen a new regulation they didn't like. Land of
10,000 Lakes, taxes, and regulations. This sure sounds like a fed thing -
states must do it or lose milk from the federal tit.

Karl

"Karl Townsend" wrote:

Well, Minnesota has never seen a new regulation they didn't like. Land of
10,000 Lakes, taxes, and regulations. This sure sounds like a fed thing -
states must do it or lose milk from the federal tit.

Milk extracted from your state and returned with strings. I think we should abolish the
federal gasoline tax.

Wes

On Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:38:12 -0500, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:

"The Kid" found a real good deal on a semi tractor. He wants me to go in
half with him. I have a farm and he thinks I can get farm licence and tags
without trouble - class B rating.

I'm worried getting and keeping all the DOT requirements and licences could
cost a bloody fortune. what are the facts here?

Karl

The best news/info I usually see comes from our state Farm
Bureau association. It looks like you have a Minnesota Farm
Bureau too. These links may lead you to some info:

http://www.fbmn.org/page/site/search...Z2luPWZybmVwdQ

this is for a pdf update concerning recent changes:

http://www.fbmn.org/page/script/down...ZyZWNpZD0yMjI1

Funky page links, I just searched their site with the term
"commercial driver license" sans the quotes if they fail to
work. Only got 25 hits. Most were of no use.

I really don't care for the Farm Bureau, but probably your
best source for info concerning your question...

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

On Aug 15, 8:38*pm, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:
"The Kid" found a real good deal on a semi tractor. He wants me to go in
half with him. I have a farm and he thinks I can get farm licence and tags
without trouble - class B rating.

I'm worried getting and keeping all the DOT requirements and licences could
cost a bloody fortune. what are the facts here?

Karl

Minnesota does still have the farm exemption, at this time. However,
as you noted you still have to comply with DOT and all of that fun.
As long as you are transporting your own product you are exempt from
the majority of the regulations.

You do still need a health card to pass CDL requirements, but don't
need an actual CDL.

Your equipment does still need to meet all DOT inspections, which is
an annual thing. Couple hundred $, for the tractor and trailer.

You will have to file for a DOT number. I don't think that cost
much. You only need one, and it covers your entire operation.

Licensing will vary depending on the gross weight you license for.
Done on a quarterly basis. 76k gross is about $400/quarter. 55k is
about $200. (I drop mine down in the off months).

There are some headaches in having your own rig, but the convenience
factor is huge. I have a grain trailer and a drop deck. The drop
deck is nice in that if I see a new toy, I don't have to worry about
moving it. I have gotten a few "steals", because nobody else wanted
to mess with a machine because it was too big for them to deal with.

I don't know your market model, but my rig has more than paid for
itself in the better market price I can get past my local elevator. I
can truck directly to the river port and gain quite a bit in market
price.

JW