Illinois trailer inspection's for TC plates & higher

[Yaj Yak]

all fun and games til a state cop who does know the law get's ya

 

[Yaj Yak]

For clarification, the stipulation for a safety lane test is not over 8,000 pounds “GVW”. The truck has to be registered for more the 8,000 pounds.

A truck with a gross weight (on the scale) of 8,500 pounds is not required to have a safety test unless the registration is for more than 8,000 pounds.

Similarly, if the manufacturers GVWR is greater than 8,000 pounds, the truck is not required to purchase registration to cover the GVWR. However, it still needs to be registered for more than 8,000 pounds for the safety lane mandate to kick in.

While most of our law enforcement membership is from the northeast part of the state, we can assure you safety lane enforcement is not lacking in Cook and the collar counties.

We understand that the further south you go in Illinois, truck enforcement is left almost entirely to the Illinois State Police. While local police can enforce the validity of the safety sticker itself, only ISP has the authority to perform roadside motor carrier safety inspections.

The ITEA is hosting a 40-hour Basic Truck Enforcement Class in O’Fallon from April 14-18. We cover safety lane enforcement in our instruction. If you would like to see more enforcement of this in your area, please get on the phone with your local police chief and sheriff and have them send an officer or deputy to our class.

some good stuff there too.


none of this answers my OP question if a tc plate NEEDS an inspection though

 

[Yaj Yak]

However, none of the provisions of Chapter 13 requiring safety tests or a certificate of safety shall apply to:
(a) farm tractors, machinery and implements, wagons,

wagon-trailers or like farm vehicles used primarily in agricultural pursuits;
(b) vehicles other than school buses, tow trucks and

medical transport vehicles owned or operated by a municipal corporation or political subdivision having a population of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants and which are subject to safety tests imposed by local ordinance or resolution;
(c) a semitrailer or trailer having a gross weight of

5,000 pounds or less including vehicle weight and maximum load;
(d) recreational vehicles;
(e) vehicles registered as and displaying Illinois

antique vehicle plates and vehicles registered as expanded-use antique vehicles and displaying expanded-use antique vehicle plates;
(f) house trailers equipped and used for living

quarters;

that reads to me that if a loaded trailer weighs above 5k lbs it needs an inspection.

 

[boostedguy05]

State troopers do

 

[boostedguy05]

all fun and games til a state cop who does know the law get's ya

Serves me right for not going to the next page

 

[Yaj Yak]

i think some state troopers may have portable scales in their vehicles too from what i've heard through the grape vine

 

[Chester Copperpot]

No idea what the Raptard GVWR is but I have a normal passenger plate. TA plates on the trailer and rarely sees 3k pounds unless it's loaded full of ATVs and 3 fat fucks in the truck, THEN I might be pushing it.

 

[Outlaw]

It comes down to the truck. TC being pulled by a B truck is not needed AFAIK, but a D truck plate requires trailer safety lane. FWIW I don’t have a safety lane on my TC enclosed car trailer, it’s not right but I’ve never been hassled. I have an A,B,C,E and G and all the others are laned along with all the trucks.

 

[Yaj Yak]

interesting

 

[Yaj Yak]

patiently awaiting [MENTION=10061]093LZ[/MENTION]'s arrival over here.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Gunna be on the look out for this outlaw YAJ YAK now

or something

 

[Outlaw]

Again, not saying it’s right. Just what I do. Lol. The only trailer I regularly inspect is my equipment trailer because it gets used the most by a long shot. The TE is the boat trailer which I only do if I’m gonna use it (which is rare)

 

[Outlaw]

With as many sketchy ass trailers as I see on the road I almost wish TB and up required safety lane lol. They’re not out to get you at those places, just to make sure your brakes work, break away, etc and that the tires aren’t going to explode or are rated for a VW bug

 

[b4black]

Does this help?

Safety-Lane-Inspection :: Rondo Truck and Trailer - Sycamore, IL

“Most second division and medical transport vehicles must have a Certificate of Safety before being driven on Illinois highways. Safety inspections are required every six months. Garages or service stations licensed by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) may conduct safety inspections. Second division vehicles not required to pass safety inspections include:

• Vehicles with a gross weight of 8,000 lbs. or less, provided any trailer being towed is 8,000 lbs. or less. {We read this to mean a Truck B plate towing a TC trailer plate.}

I believe my Dodge 2500 has a B plate and my car trailer a TC plate. Sounds like I'm good.

 

[boostedguy05]

i think some state troopers may have portable scales in their vehicles too from what i've heard through the grape vine

thats what i hear as well.

 

[64Rambler]

i think some state troopers may have portable scales in their vehicles too from what i've heard through the grape vine

The truck enforcement guys in the SUV’s do. Remember, overweight trucks are where the money is, and I mean real trucks, not pick up trucks. I’ve never seen a cop drag a pick up truck towing a boat to a scale.

Follow the money.

A license plate is a tax stamp. You only pay tax on the weight you’re actually carrying. The law quoted above said any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of “X”, not a gross vehicle weight rating. If your tow vehicle never exceeds 8000 pounds even with the tongue weight of whatever trailer you’re pulling, stick with that B plate. Likewise, if your loaded trailer never exceeds 8000 pounds, go with a TC plate. That’s why they set up scales when they enforce this stuff. They don’t open the door, look at the sticker then look at the plate and ticket you. They weigh you and ticket you on the untaxed/not covered by your plate class weight.

Weight ratings express the mechanical limits of the components. Every semi I drove had a 20,000# axle on the front, but the law said no more than 12,000#’s could be on the steer axle and 34,000# on tandems actually going down the road.

Now, if the law says a truck or trailer with a certain plate has to be inspected, then it has to be inspected no matter how little you are hauling, the theory being that if it’s plated that high, it’s going to be hauling that weight. Why would you pay extra tax if you aren’t hauling that much weight?

 

[093LZ]

all fun and games til a state cop who does know the law get's ya

Yes, that tends to be bad if you get pulled over by a CVEO.

State troopers do

:beer:

i think some state troopers may have portable scales in their vehicles too from what i've heard through the grape vine

Yep, they all do. But for us, not sure how many people know this, but we have whats called "weigh in motion". Its basically scales in the ground and they watch a monitor as a truck passes over it. Then they physically weight it.

The truck enforcement guys in the SUV’s do. Remember, overweight trucks are where the money is, and I mean real trucks, not pick up trucks. I’ve never seen a cop drag a pick up truck towing a boat to a scale.

exactly, people towing boats and landscapers are not the ones they look for.

Yaj Yak, to be honest I really dont know, we have a specialized division of guys (the dudes in the suv's) that only do truck enforcement. Anytime we have a question we go right to them. Its just like if you ask a truck guy a canine question, they call me. With that said, I will find out for you. Ill text one of my guys now. Just for clarification, this is just a flat bed trailer you would tow a car on? Is this for business or for personal? (ie are you getting paid is the magic question). And can you tell me if the combined GVWR with the truck and the trailer would exceed 10,000 lbs.

 

[093LZ]

Called the CVEO M/Sgt, need pretty much what I posted and if you can take a picture of the tongue of the trailer, there shoud be a sticker on there. He said that if you meet the criteria in 625 ilcs 5/13-111, then the sticker is valid for one year from the date of inspection. GVWR of the truck then GVWR of the trailer. What you are plated for is completely irrelevant when it comes to meeting the criteria of an inspection. Meaning you could be plated for 80,000 pounds, the plate only covers the actual weight in regards to registration even though the trailer is only 8,000 lbs. So you never go off what the registration is when it comes to vehicle weight. If that makes sense.

 

[guspech750]

Illinois trailer inspection's for TC plates & higher

i think some state troopers may have portable scales in their vehicles too from what i've heard through the grape vine

They do and have for many years. I was pulled over in my drill rig about 12 years ago. Weighs about 47,000 lbs +\- depending on how I load it. The officer pulled out his portable scale. No biggie. I knew my truck was well within the legal limit.




Also,

At our shop. We just have all our F-250’s and everything heavier inspected and stickered including all our trailers regardless of plate type just to avoid any possible issue with the laws.

 

[Outlaw]

Does this help?

Safety-Lane-Inspection :: Rondo Truck and Trailer - Sycamore, IL



I believe my Dodge 2500 has a B plate and my car trailer a TC plate. Sounds like I'm good.

Your truck probably weights somewhere around 7,100#'s dry. Only another 900#'s of occupants, gear, tongue weight on the truck axles and you'll be over your weight class on those B plates and that's an expensive ticket. That's one thing the truck enforcement guys seem to like to do is pick on the 2500/3500 trucks that are running B's.

I run B plates on all of my 2500 plow trucks and D/F plates on my 3500 RAM and F-550 respectively, but, they're zero option gasoline single cabs and I really don't tow much with them. They probably weigh around 5,800 so I've got a decent buffer before 8,000. Only one I'd be concerned with is my one truck with a 100 gallon transfer tank. Figure another 700#'s of fuel. I guess if I were to have a full tank of fuel, plow on the front towing a skid steer I'd be over but that's like a "fuck we're screwed" scenario to have all of that happening at once lol.

 

[093LZ]

Except your truck probably weights somewhere around 7,100#'s dry. Only another 900#'s of occupants, gear, tongue weight and you'll be over your weight class on those B plates and that's an expensive ticket. That's one thing the truck enforcement guys seem to like to do is pick on the 2500/3500 trucks that are running B's.

I disagree, the ones they are looking for are the landscapers with a bobcat held down with string /exaggeration. We continually have crashes with landscapers and Bobcats coming loose and hitting cars. When the public and attorneys ask what we are doing about it, obviously we have to act. Kinda part of our job to react to what the public voices concerns about

 

[Outlaw]

i think some state troopers may have portable scales in their vehicles too from what i've heard through the grape vine

thats what i hear as well.

Let me clear that up for ya.


They do.

 

[Outlaw]

I disagree, the ones they are looking for are the landscapers with a bobcat held down with string /exaggeration. We continually have crashes with landscapers and Bobcats coming loose and hitting cars. When the public and attorneys ask what we are doing about it, obviously we have to act. Kinda part of our job to react to what the public voices concerns about

Oh I don't disagree that you have to act, but, if you don't think that Joe citizen doesn't get wrapped up into it you're 100% wrong. I'm a one man show Owner/Op who doesn't tow a single thing for others, just my equipment that I buy and resell and I could damn near recite the rule book when it comes to DOT regulations at the state and federal level. Shit, I passed my CDL A permit test last week without opening the book

Come work in Northern Lake and McHenry County then please. It'll save me about two grand a year in inspections and proper plates and safety inspections then. I HAVE been ticketed for this stuff before, ISP and county regularly set up truck enforcement zones on main highways I travel daily (Rt. 12 and Lake Cook road)

 

[Outlaw]

My general rule of thumb is over plate and safety lane everything unless all the truck does is plow snow. The plates are expensive, but, one overweight ticket is more than a few years worth of the difference in cost from a D to E trailer plate or what have you.

The only thing I haven't had to be 100% legal is my CDL. With some of my truck/trailer combo's I'm definitely under licensed. That's why I'm just putting that nail in the coffin getting my A with air brake, a few endorsements and then stopping towing shit with these stupid pickups and going and buying a medium duty truck.

 

[Outlaw]

My TK plates (20,000-32,000#) I'll have to buy for the trailer I'm ordering within the next week are $722/yr. I could risk it and go one step down and save myself about $500, but, it's not worth the butt pucker when I roll the scales.