I got a citation hauling firewood!

[BlueRidgeMark]

I need to have breaks added...

Just load it extra heavy, and find a really rough dirt road, then drive as fast as you can. You'll have plenty of breaks.


Then you can have the brakes installed while you're getting the breaks repaired.

 

[redprospector]

What do they consider proof of ownership? A piece of paper that says this wood is mine might suffice,no?

I was gone yesterday, sorry for the late reply.
The state has an official form that the land owner fills out, listing the legal description of the property the wood was removed from, species of wood, amount in cords or bd. ft., and an expiration date.
If I sell you a cord of wood I am supposed to give you a copy of this form, with a reciept attached stating the location of my property, you would add the final destination, and keep the paperwork untill all the wood was burned.
Law's are necessary, but like anything else can be abused. A lot of law makers simply want to put us on a short leash. I once argued my case over not having the proper form for firewood (the land owner simply wrote me a note), the Constitution of the US guarantees that I am to be assumed innocent untill proven guilty. The burden was on them to prove the wood wasn't mine, not on me to prove it was. I didn't loose my wood that time, just a lot of time. It's a mater of principle for me.

Andy

 

[clearance]

Right.

 

[turnkey4099]

I used to get wood with my Father(mid 70's---when I was about 6). He had an old 75 Chevy 1/2 ton. Well, it was -25 degrees and we were 5 sticks from being out of wood, so we loaded up the pickup from the toolbox all the way to putting a row on the endgate and piled it to the top of the cab.

Dad started the 30 mile drive home and we hit a small bump on the road. The front wheels lifted off the ground! Needless to say, we drove VERY slowly the rest of the way.

Seems funny now, but after today's post, I know we were awfully lucky!

On a lighter note:

I also was with my father when we loaded the pickup(not as heavily), but forgot to take out the spare tire and jack from under the toolbox. We had a flat and had to unload over 1/2 the load on the side of the road. This was in the late 70's.

BTDT. Couple buddies from the cops needed some firewood so I offered them cutting rights with me on the patch I was clearcutting. Went out with them, loaded both their rigs and mine. That was the first trip in the spring. Headed for their place with me in the lead. They told me they were debating stopping me and checking for DUI was I was wandering. Well, yes I was. I was basically correcting course every time the front wheels came down. I had not added 'heavy load' air to the tires yet.

Spare tires: I have mine mounted at in the bed at the rear left side. As soon as I bought the current (used) PU I took it to the shop and had the underbed mount torched off. If I ever need to use the spare I do not want to be laying on my back trying to get it out of that abortion under the bed. One time of swapping over from summer to winter tires - get it out, put the summer back under there, etc. on my prior work truck was sufficient for a lifetime.

Harry K

 

[CaseyForrest]

Casey,

Can you point me to those laws, please?? I just bought a utility trailer for firewood duty, and it took me a friggin week just to find the weight laws for trailers here in MI! (Yes, I now know I need to have breaks added...even the guy that built the trailer didn't know the laws.)

Any help appreciated.

I dont think cops are going to give anyone but commercial drivers a hard time on this, but I will see if I can find it. Its called "spillage."

 

[ChuckinOhio]

I don't know about up there in Michigan, but down here you have to have a monster stupid load on before the county boys will harrass you. If you are proceeding in a decent manner and not looking like the Clampetts moving into Beverly Hills, they usually don't give any guff. If you are dropping debris all over the roadway, any cop is gonna stop you.

Keep in mind also that going out on the interstate and tangling with the staties is always a different ball of wax.

Chuck

 

[ben14826]

Here's a pic of basically what it looked like, although there wasn't quite that much wood in it.

 

[bill's firewood]

Ben, I run hazmat tank loads through you're area (17,390),from rt 81 up to rt 90. That whole area is a hotbed for stupid law enforcement.I hate to state this ,because i can feel the backlash coming,but it is revenue game.I've been a cdl driver for 20 years,stay primarily in the new england /northeast,I'm telling you n.y. is the worst. Every town /county/ has there own DOT enforcer pulling everything over 10000 lbs over for stupid crap.I personally have not had tickets ,personal or professional in years but because i run hazmat i'm checked at least once aweek by state or local law,just looking for easy money.The load on your truck wasn't gonna spill unless you rolled the truck,they just saw easy money.When i haul firewood in my dumptruck(log length or cut/split),or in my brimar behind p/up Itry to make it look good and hope for the best.You just had abad day,don't take it to heart,keep cuttin and splittin! Bill

 

[Grace Tree]

I agree with NY not using sound judgement in their enforcement. I was in a DOT check in the SB rest area north of Syracuse. They found a 1/2" abrasion on one of the emergency side of the service air hoses to the trailer. I was loaded close to 80,000 and the guy that came to tow the whole rig had a single axle tow truck. DOT never said a word. Guy hooked on, lifted the tractor steering axle and towed the whole thing to the garage. There's no way he could have stopped quickly. Sometimes logic flys out the window.
Phil

 

[bill's firewood]

101 mile marker central square ny. ny taxpayers thank you for your donation.bill

 

[Grace Tree]

Happy to chip in and do my part. Especially when it was the my boss who paid the fine.
Phil

 

[ray benson]

I need a tarp.

 

[Woodie]

I need a tarp.

Gypo...that you??

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I need a tarp.

Funny, Ray! Funny!

 

[clearance]

I need a tarp.

This shows why they replaced cheeseblocks with stakes, huh Ray?

 

[ray benson]

Waiting for the Tarpman.

 

[younggun]

Keep in mind also that going out on the interstate and tangling with the staties is always a different ball of wax.

especially if your coming out of the quarantine zone. i think i saw that fine can be up to $4000

 

[gatkeper1]

In NYS a pick up truck with an unladen weight up to but not exceeding 5500lbs can carry a passenger car registration. At 5501 lbs it is classed as a commercial vehicle. When you register your pick up you must state how many lbs of cargo you will be carrying in the bed, and no you cannot say 0 lbs. This cargo weight adds to the registration fee. Typically most say 1000lbs cargo. This total weight number is on the registration certificate.
The problem is when the load is loose and you have visibly exceeded that weight you are going to get stopped. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know a pick up load of wood weighs more than 1000 lbs. I have a nice dent in my hood from a tree branch that came off a truck ahead of me a few yrs back.
Two weeks ago my mother(76 yrs old) was driving my niece to the doctor when a lawn chair came of the back of a pick up on I684, hit the front of her car and smashed the windshield. Luckily no one was hurt. the a**hole who didn't tie his load down ran away from the scene:angry2: . Frankly you got off easy pay the fine and learn from the experience.

 

[ChuckinOhio]

Man Ben, if that load or one similar is what got you dinked, that is a joke.

Down here, they wouldn't even look askance at a truck going down the road loaded like that.

I am reconsidering some of my antics though in light of liability in case something did come off. We have hauled some ignorant loads out of our woodlot at times.


Chuck

 

[ben14826]

Man Ben, if that load or one similar is what got you dinked, that is a joke.

Down here, they wouldn't even look askance at a truck going down the road loaded like that.

I am reconsidering some of my antics though in light of liability in case something did come off. We have hauled some ignorant loads out of our woodlot at times.


Chuck

That pic is before I upgraded and strengthened my racks, and that is definitely more wood in the pic than what I had on the day I got pulled over. The reason that pic was taken was because that is the most wood I have ever had on.