Been peeking around here some lately. Seems like a very informative and friendly board! Glad I joined!

I've been asking people in the field and have been reading here, but couldn't quite get a solid answer to my specific questions.

So, I own a 1990 KW T400 single axle day cab. Came with a 4 place wedge car hauler. great deal on it. Hauls my junks around well. I'm working on talking to a local salvage company about hauling some cars for them on a part time basis. I own the truck outright. It is registered to me personally. I carry insurance on it. (personal, not commercial)

how does the "running under someone elses authority" work in this case? The salvage yard currently possesses a Roll back tow truck with DOT numbers. All hauling would be done in state (Colorado) with in a 100 mile radius.

Would their insurance cover me while I'm hauling their load? (cargo, commercial)

I assume I would run their DOT numbers?

Would they have to add my truck/ start a new policy just for my truck or is it covered under a "blanket" type deal?

Who would take car of IFTA? Is it even required for the small radius of travel?

Is my truck Bound to them? or can I remove the DOT/business name to run private when hauling my own junks around?

Any other advice or procedures/ legalities I'm missing?

Thanks Very much in advance for any replies given. I know a lot of you had to learn this the hard way over time. I appreciate any advice/help.

You need to contact your state IRP office. You should find them on the state website under Revenue or something similar. If you live near a DOT scale, you could also talk with them about your plans and requirements. Even though you are only hauling intrastate, you may still need to get an apportioned plate. Changes have taken place this year concerning IRP, so it would be best to talk with them directly. I don't recall if Colorado has intrastate authority, several states do. If you get interstate authority, you are only required to carry $750,000 auto liability insurance, although most brokers and shippers require $1 million plus cargo. If you lease to someone who has authority, you can operate under their authority. Whomever has the authority is the one responsible for carrying the insurance. You can have your own IFTA account, even if you lease to another carrier. Your IRP office usually is near the IFTA office. They could answer all of your questions.

If you plan on hauling freight on your own, you should have your own authority and insurance. If you stay intrastate and only haul your own product, you might get by without having authority. If you haul freight for others, you will likely need your own authority and insurance. You should find answers to all your questions by contacting your state IRP office. Let us know what you find out.

This is correct. The only thing I would add is that there is a bunch of gray area here, and a written lease looked over by your attorney would be a MUST. As mentioned, The plate owner is responsible for IFTA. So if its your registration and license then its your IFTA. IRP is separate from state registration and apportioned plates. IRP is easiest done through the State of Indiana's website, and for 1 truck, I believe its still $ 76.00?

If you are looking for an honest answer, The chances of you "leasing" to the salvage yard, and still being able to do your own thing are slim. My guess is that they will want you fully exclusive to them, or fully under your own authority since there would be no clear cut line when you would be on their dime, or on yours. The written lease would specify this. The reason being that they will have to add your truck to their policy, depending on the type of policy. If it specifies "scheduled autos" then your truck specifically would need to be listed on their policy, and would be insured for the term of the policy. This also will increase their premium, because it increases exposure.

Every policy ive had, always increases with truck count, unless they are not reported.

I am not familiar with Colorado laws, but many states have "exempt ifta" since you don't leave the state, you do not need to conduct a standard ifta filing as others do. The US DOT number is a must for "All commercial hauling" no matter who owns the materials being loaded. Basically, if you make money, and require a truck to do so, you have a dot #.

I don't know where you are getting your information, but IRP, cab card and an apportioned plated are the same thing. The base plate is assigned to whomever has authority. You can purchase your own base plate, but must do it under someone's authority. The same thing with IFTA. Your IFTA is assigned to whomever has the authority, but some states will allow the owner operator to have their own IFTA account as long as the individual has the written permission of the authority owner. I believe you are confusing the IRP and UCR. The UCR is the unified Carrier Registration and the cost is dependent on how many power units are running under someone's authority. I believe for up to 2 trucks the cost is $76. The UCR must be paid prior to being able to get one's base plate. The apportioned plate or IRP varies according to where you run. Changes came into effect this year. You now will have all 48 states on your IRP, but only be required to pay for those states in which you ran or had reportable miles. The new program works similar to IFTA.

You can have your own base plate and your own IFTA account. I had both prior to getting my own authority.


Your cab card will show the "carrier responsible for safety" however. That is the company who's DOT number is on the side of the truck.