In all fairness, the muffler was an out of service item. He is supposed to put you out of service for it. Could he have let you go to the truckstop? Sure. He has no way, however, of knowing whether or not you are handing him a line of BS. For all he knows, the stuff fell off a week ago, and you are just telling him you are heading to that particular truckstop just beyond his scale. I think you're fighting a losing battle here, because the law isn't on your side - even if your intentions were.

 

That just may be the problem, better get them all off before it warms up.

 

I hate to say it Dog, but the Rev is right as far as the muffler and the DOT are concerned.


What is worse though...It sounds like the DOT officer you pulled, is either the Son or the Grandson of the "gentleman" whom ran the Limon scales back in the late 70's & early 80's!! Whatta PR*@$ that guy was.


Oh yeah....Dog...whut ya doin with old caps on???

 

Seriously Dog........I live in Colorado and avoid that scale at all cost.That DOT officer in Lamar is well known for his hardnose attitude. Last winter after just purchasing a truck, I was pulled into that scale house, he gave me a 180.00 ticket for not having my IFTA decal displayed. I tried to explain to him that I had just purchased the truck in Texas and was only trying to get it home. Didn''t make a bit of difference, he was determined to stick it to me. Next time when coming out of Texas on US 287, take hwy 160 about 20 miles south of Lamar. It'll take you around the scale to hwy 50. That DOT guy is no joke.

 

Couldn't you just buy a permit for the IFTA?

 

Yes,..I change my own blowouts, the last two were easy,..outside wheels. I run the inside up on a block of wood and then if possible change the rubber without removing the wheel, blast my air tank into it,..air it up and go. I can do this in about 15 minutes if I don't have to remove the wheel.

I'm going to have to go with the old tire issue on this one. The tires seem OK and they have 1/4" tread depth on them,..but they are old recaps that came with the truck.

So now I'm looking for a good drive tire deal,...anyone had one lately?
I have new steers and the trailer came with good virgin rubber,..so its just the drives that are the problem.

I agree with the economy thing,...its a problem everywhere. You have to raise the money to pay the DOT cops right??

I called the court house and they gave me the number for tht DA, he is the one who I'm dealing with now.

Could he have put me OOS for the muffler? (don't some drivers run straight pipes???what's up with that??) but he didn't so I was lucky there. Also,..he could have made sure I had to reinspect before I left the truck stop,...but these guys are too busy, so I understand that as well. But come on man,..it shows in my log book where and when I had the blowout,..I was carrying the blown tire with me, who carrys blown tires around with them??

 

Dog,

Check around for SteelMark drive tires, I believe they are ADH or ADS II. I just bought 8 for $2,100.00 at Quick Fix behind the Pilot south of Louisville, KY on I-65.

Dave

 

Yeah, I guess if the air is leaking, you could get an early warning before it blows. Plus saving the damage cost if it is on the front.

 

Impressive, I must say. But don't you need to be a certified wheel changer to change wheels? You do here in Ontario at least. I just wonder if a DOT guy would ask for your credentials if you said taht you personally changed the wheels.

I am going through this now but I used a lawyer to contact the DA and the judge. If it happens again, I may elect to do it myself. All the lawyer did was pleas it down to a "1 for 3". The DA agreed to drop two overweight charges in exchange for a guilty plea on the lesser of the 3 charges. You can probably do the same. i.e they may drop the muffler in exchange for a guilty plea on the lesser charge.

I always thought that those straight pipes were illegal.

Does that matter? If the DOT man goes by the letter of the law (i.e. being a jerk) you are still breaking the law. The judge and DA may take circumstances into consideration though.

Was it you that just got a bad inspection recently or was that Merrick?