Min accident/commercial?

[white-eagle]

That means the few bad cops out there win by making law abiding citizens start to think and act afraid of their ability to abuse their power. I don't like the sound of that for some reason.

Don't use your bus for commercial purposes and you don't have anything to hide is the way I look at it.

Before i bought my bus, i had an RV with company name, phone, pic of sat dish on the side and back.  We did RV shows, pulled a plain black trailer with merchandise for about 3 years.  Luckily, no questions, no problems, no tickets, no accidents.  I'm not disagreeing with anyone on this post.  i was ignorant and doing almost the same as most RV show vendors.

i agree with Rick - too many times we give up our rights too easily for the wrong reasons. go ahead and letter the trailer.  But Don't do what i did.  you may not be as lucky.

[Busted Knuckle]

I been watching this thread turn into a debate about trailer lettering and trying to stay out of it.
But......ya'll know me and I have a hard time staying out of anything especially trouble!

This summer we had a wheel bearing failure on the drive axle of one of the buses. It was toast! Ruined the end of the axle tube and lots of other parts too.
Well some one recommended I try a company called Axle Drs. http://axledoctors.com/ and I did.
The guy that came up and cut off the end of our axle and welded on a "new end" had a 4X4 Chevy P/U and a small single axle enclosed trailer.
Well when he was done we were talking and I was commenting on how I liked his compact trailer set up. He said "yeah it's nice and the size really helps keep me out of the watchful eyes of DOT too". I asked "oh really you mean they'd bother you?"
He told me yes and then told me that when he first got it he had it all lettered up with Axle Dr and the ph # on it. He was on the way to a job and went past some bored DOT boys and they chased him down and checked him over pretty good. He ended up getting a ticket because his DOT medical card (proof of recent physical) was expired. (he was an ex-trucker when he bought his franchise)
Anyway as they were wrapping up one of the DOT officers told him "ya know if it were me I'd strip that lettering off that trailer, without it we'd never known you were for hire!"
He asked "you mean that is the only reason you chased me down and pulled me over?"
They told him "Sure is, with out lettering fer all we knew you were hauling a dirt bike or something in there. But with yer company name on it, it's obvious that is a commercial trailer!"

Well I know Brian and his crew ain't commercial and don't even get a prize or anything. But just knowing the lettering would draw possible unwanted attention. Why tempt them?

If it were me I'd leave it plain jane or maybe paint it to match the bus (but wait till the bus is all one color, kind of difficult to match that color scheme right now! )
Just my honest opinion. Which if you add $3 too it'll buy a cup of coffee!
  BK 

[Lin]

Well, it seems to me that every RV entering Las Vegas should be considered a commercial vehicle.  After all, they could make money.  Just a warning, if while traveling in your bus you come across a hundred dollar bill on the ground, don't pick it up.  If you do, your bus becomes a commercial vehicle.  It's a dangerous world out there.

[RickB]

Alright I have had a 180 degree turn around on all of this "commercial vs non-commercial" discussion. The basis of this is whether or not if we're doing something illegal we are gonna get caught or if we're not doing anything illegal how can we keep from being inconvenienced right??

My wife and I stumbled onto a new version of "Ice road truckers" where they are driving in India on these terrible mountain passes and I have come to the conclusion that we have it so godd in this country compared to most of the world as far as cops and corruption, road surface quality, engineering of those roads and bridges and yes even the need for and the enforcement of rules and regulations that I can't in good conscience complain anymore.

Rick

[Ed Hackenbruch]

That program is an eye opener isn't it!  I have driven on logging roads that were like that to some degree, but never have encountered that many drivers that seem to have no regard for their life or well being, or yours.....  A few, once in a great while, but not like that!

[Jeremy]

The basis of this is whether or not if we're doing something illegal we are gonna get caught or if we're not doing anything illegal how can we keep from being inconvenienced right??

Rick

Absolutely. And - incidentally - I also completely agree with your earlier point about not changing your (legal) behaviour through fear of unwarrented intervention from the authorities - but at the same time it's entirely rational not to give rise the authorities undue reason to suspect you might not be behaving legally. I won't comment on the issue of corruption or fear of Big Brothers, because I suspect that discussion is coming from somewhere else entirely!

Jeremy

[Busted Knuckle]

As I said I tried to stay out of it, and now I wish I had. Sorry for putting my 2 cents in! (one of these days I'll learn to keep my big mouth shut!)

[wal1809]

I think the best point to be made here is if any officer begins to ask questions about your bus, the only answer is "It is an RV for personal use".  All other questions should be answered with  "I don't know".  I am not about to give an officer any information to use against me when I know I am clearly right about the comercial vehicle law. 

[Zeroclearance]

What are your views when the State Patrol ask to board your bus?   I usually tell them it's okay.  I dont have anything to hide.  You come down the stairs to open the door.

[belfert]

I've three interactions with the state police in my bus.  In no case did they ever enter the bus.  I think only in one case did they ask for my driver's license.

1. The police had a DUI check at a highway onramp.  They simply asked through the window if I had any passengers, checked my driver's license, and then let me go.  All they cared was if I had been drinking.

2. I was stopped on the shoulder on an interstate.  My air operated door wouldn't stay shut.  An officer stopped to check and went on his way after there was no emergency.  No ID check and he didn't enter the vehicle.

3. We had stopped on shoulder due to losing axle on trailer.  I called 911 because the axle was reported to be in the left lane.  Before the officer arrived someone stopped and said they pushed it off the road.  The officer never asked for any ID, registration, or anything.  He simply verified nothing was on the road and left.

My only interaction with the police in a regular vehicle was my brand new F350 died on the side of the interstate.  The State Patrol stopped and gave me a ride home because it was 9 below zero.  No tickets ever.

[Lin]

I don't think anyone is suggesting the the roads be lawless; rather that the laws should be enforced sensibly.  For example, if you are on a trip with several friends who are chipping in for fuel, it would seem by some of the information posted here that you would be considered a commercial vehicle.  Still sounds foolish to me.  However, as I said before, I would not use signs or whatever to invite trouble.  When stopped it would be best to just say, "Life is like a box of chocolates."

Zero,

On principle, I think one should very politely apply his legal rights.   I'm sure that the officer has nothing to hide either, but he would not let you check out his house.  He has no more right to enter yours.  I think it is the intention that bothers me.  There is no reason that an officer would want to enter the vehicle other than in the hope of causing you harm.  Further, if I tell him that there is nothing there of interest to him, he is implying I am a liar by asking to investigate it himself.  I understand it is his job to do so (retired law enforcement) but I still don't like someone calling me a liar and seeking to harm me.  Just one of my idiosyncrasies, I guess.

[RickB]

Lin,

Having been there and done that and since I knew I was not using my bus for commercial purposes (that's the big rub here, because some folks are probably closer to the line of commercial than they like to admit) I actually asked both the state trooper and the DOT guy TO enter my bus and they declined. My reasoning was, they will see that I am not guilty and move one

I believe their reasoning was: If I go in there I may see that this guy is not operating illegally and that will make me:

1. look stupid to everyone involved
2. Discontinue my investigation because it will be obvious this guy's not guilty

All that to say... I think it should be on the top of everyone's list who had has run-ins like I did with the law to watch a couple episodes of "Ice road truckers". The things we take for granted and the little things we get inconvenienced by are just so infinitely small compared to whats going on in most of the rest of the world.

I must sound like a spoiled little whiner to visitors from place like Africa and India and China or Russia. They know what corruption and government manipulation is on a scale I can't comprehend

RB

[belfert]

I've been watching the IRT: Deadliest Roads series since it started.  I'm surprised there are not more accidents the way they drive.  Alex quit the first day because he had two accidents that were not his fault before he even got out of the big city.  I can't believe the one car pulled out and hit Alex's truck.

This is a TV show and they probably dramatize a lot, but the roads would still be crazy without any dramatization.

[Len Silva]

In the late 80's, I spent about six months in Lagos, Nigeria.

I remember when I came home and driving on U.S. 19 north of St Pete, a notorious slow and congested road and marveling at how nice it was, all the cars going in the same direction at the same time.

[Jeremy]

This is Imposible?