Trailer Upgrading: The Good News & The Bad News - Page 2 - Machine Underground -Tractor & Commercial Equipment Discussion Forum

Dougster · 04-18-2008, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducati996

Good advice but it would appear the 16ft trailer is too short for a L39.
I will figure it out eventually

Oh, I'd get it on a 16' alright...

...but it wouldn't exactly be pretty!

Scaling off of a drawing, it looks like 18' is a much better choice... 20' better yet.

Dougster

**LoneCowboy** · 04-18-2008, 06:54 PM

time is money

So, you took forever, errr took lots of time, energy, advice, research, etc to buy your first trailer right?

and you fouled it up and ti's wrong.
So what could possibly be worse than just trading it in, paying the extra grand or so and moving on with life.
Aggravation (anything dealing with government) is simply not worth it.

There are lots of 20', 14k trailers around, get one that seems decent, trade it so you don't get killed on sales tax and move on to a more important problem.

Less thinking, more doing.

LarryRB · 04-18-2008, 07:03 PM

Or I just go for the CDL - yeah screw that

[/quote]

CDL's in NY are quite easy to obtain.. If you have a good friend that is a highway dept supervisor, he or she can sign you in as a part time snow plow operator. Doing it this way, in NY, all you need to do is prove you can continue breathing and not much more.

**Ducati996** · 04-18-2008, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarryRB

CDL's in NY are quite easy to obtain.. If you have a good friend that is a highway dept supervisor, he or she can sign you in as a part time snow plow operator. Doing it this way, in NY, all you need to do is prove you can continue breathing and not much more.

PM with more details - just so happen to have what you speak. It never occured to me to ask them -

Dougster · 04-18-2008, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneCowboy

time is money

So, you took forever, errr took lots of time, energy, advice, research, etc to buy your first trailer right?

and you fouled it up and ti's wrong.
So what could possibly be worse than just trading it in, paying the extra grand or so and moving on with life.
Aggravation (anything dealing with government) is simply not worth it.

There are lots of 20', 14k trailers around, get one that seems decent, trade it so you don't get killed on sales tax and move on to a more important problem.

Less thinking, more doing.

Now with all due respect Lone: You are the preeminent businessman here, but let's please keep our facts straight:

1) I bought my equipment trailer almost 2 years ago when all that I was my Mahindra and not much else. It was the correct and most cost effective trailer at that time by far. The 500 lb overweight Yanmar mini-ex is brand new (to me) this month.

2) The wheel and tire upgrade had nothing whatsoever to do with legal load. It had equally to do with: a) Increasing tire safety factor after my dump trailer blowout incident, and b) Increasing trailer ground clearance after my evil, incompetent town DPW built the gosh-darned Grand Canyon at the bottom of my very steep driveway. I would have done the same upgrade whether I had bought a 10K or 12K trailer.

3) Time is only money if: a) You are blowing off paying work that you could have done with that time, and b) You have money in the bank to spend in lieu of said time. I have neither.

Trailers cost megabucks up here in New England LC. Wealthy folks like LarryRB can afford almost anything, but the old Dougster would have to pull off another Southern run. Even at that, we are looking at about a $2K net outlay to get from here to where I'd want to be... this at a time when I'm already facing a $2K-$3K expected deficit just to survive to June 1.

I don't like dealing with government any more than you do Lone. In fact, I was at the local RMV branch on another matter today and it was like walking into a living hell. But if an easy "under $500" upgrade and dealing with evil government a few times saves me $2K and another trip to Maryland, I can't just pass on that without fully establishing the facts.

Dougster

**Ducati996** · 04-18-2008, 08:39 PM

Lonecowboy -

Its not that straight forward- and needs do change. Im with Doug on this, since I now have to deal with CDL requirements (if I dont keep the weight down), or my truck thats 19k listed. Colorado most likely is more loose (could be wrong), so planing things out takes time. For me if I go over a 10k trailer, its automatically a CDL. Deal breaker pretty much out of the gate...I know my bandwidth is limited and spending time at Motor vehicles, taking training classes, getting certified just to be allowed to do what I already can do in my sleep, is not what I want to do

My #1 priority when I wake up besides taking a morning dump, is how do I want to make $$. I dont need training for that, and its a waste of my time

so ease up on dougster will ya?

Dougster · 04-18-2008, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducati996

Lonecowboy -

Its not that straight forward- and needs do change. Im with Doug on this, since I now have to deal with CDL requirements (if I dont keep the weight down), or my truck thats 19k listed. Colorado most likely is more loose (could be wrong), so planing things out takes time. For me if I go over a 10k trailer, its automatically a CDL. Deal breaker pretty much out of the gate...I know my bandwidth is limited and spending time at Motor vehicles, taking training classes, getting certified just to be allowed to do what I already can do in my sleep, is not what I want to do

My #1 priority when I wake up besides taking a morning dump, is how do I want to make $$. I dont need training for that, and its a waste of my time

so ease up on dougster will ya?

Duc - As one of my most senior and trusted advisers on all things business-related (going way back to my earliest TBN days), the LC has special dispensation to dump on me anytime he feels that I really need it...

...with the proviso that I am allowed to fully defend myself!

You need to understand that the LC is now beyond the red ink days and operating well into the black... so you have to take into account that sometimes he forgets what it was like to really struggle!

Dougster

**LoneCowboy** · 04-18-2008, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducati996

Lonecowboy -

My #1 priority when I wake up besides taking a morning dump, is how do I want to make $$. I

ROTFLMAOPMP

Now that's funny
and quite true here too.

Shoot, 500lbs over? Who cares? Just claim "no habla engles" Seems to work mighty well.

I added up the big tractor, the aerator, the custom built harrow, the front weights, the loader and the bucket. It comes to like 11,000
BEFORE the trailer
I'm easily 2000lbs over or more
I think I'll just take the back roads for a while with that setup. (only 2 more weeks with that setup til the fall)
I'll blind them with my $3000 F*cking license plate on a tractor that never touches the road.

**PaulChristenson** · 04-19-2008, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneCowboy

I'll blind them with my $3000 F*cking license plate on a tractor that never touches the road.

I've never seen a $3000 license plate...

Dougster · 04-19-2008, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneCowboy

Shoot, 500lbs over? Who cares? Just claim "no habla engles" Seems to work mighty well.

And it would work well if I were an illegal alien!

Why do you think I am trying so hard to become one???

I stay off the Interstates ever since that trailer tire blowout incident last year because you can never trust our state police... but there is still a threat from these portable scale & inspection stations cops can set-up almost anywhere. I know I am a prime target for those guys because I sat nearby in my car and watched them for a while one day. The odds of me passing one without being waved in are zero.

Dougster