MTO is going gungho! - helpfull hints...

[Depot]

With the upcoming long weekend and that recent fatality with a trailer jack, MTO has been going crazy in and around TO. And they are not picking on the big rigs, they are going after the small guys. As an MTO officer recently told me.... "its not feasable for the big guys to break the rules anymore so most of them are up to par. Its the little guys and weekend warriors that are the biggest offenders and the most dangerous." I got stopped last week leaving a construction supply with 2.5 yards of gravel in my truck. Despite the fact that I was completely legal with a pre-trip completed for that day, he still gave me a good once over. He questioned the load capacity of my truck with that gravel in it but since the tires were not touching, he had no cause to complain.

So be forewarned if nothing else. Make sure ur rigs are legal, ur tow rig is legal with proper lights and brakes as applicable. And dont forget, make sure ur registration for ur tow rig meets specs.

For those of u in Ontario.. here are some helpfull links....

Most of u will fall into the small trailer excemption clause... whereas, if ur trailer with its load on transmits less than 2800KG of weight to the road though its tires WHILE connected to ur tow vehicle, that transmited weight does NOT get added to ur vehicles registered weight. Keep in mind though, the Tongue weight DOES get added.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks/regulations/trailers.htm

again, most of u will have vehicles registered for a weight of 3000KG. hence u pay $72 per year for ur stickers. As long as ur tow vehicle with all its stuff in it including u, ur stereo, ur beer and gas AND tongue weight of trailer does not exceed that 3000KG, ur fine... U dont need to do nutin else cept make sure its all safe and lighted proper.

If u wind up being heavier than 3000KG, then I would suggest going to a liscensing office and bumping up ur registered weights. They charge 5 bucks for the change and then u have to pay the difference in sticker price. it isnt that much. If ur caught over ur rregistered weight, its a $300 ticket.. no points but will still kill ur insurance later.

If u register ur weight over 4500 KG, then ur in a whole new world... yellow stickers for truck and trailer, CVOR, pre-trips and log books and restricted hours of operation.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks/regulations/annual.htm

that link splains who needs a yellow sticker... read it carefully. specially line 1... actual weight, registered weight or GVWR (u find that on driver door).

for those of u that may be using a tow vehicle with (or should have) a registered weight of 4500+KG....

pre-trip inspection requirements...
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks/regulations/daily.htm

CVOR - (mandatory if registered wieght is 4500+kg) main page...

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks/cvor/index.html


Hope this helps.. if u have questions or need more info, ask me here, please dont pm me with specfic q's.

I'll be posting requirements of trailer lights by the weekend so wait for it if u want that info.

GL and see yah at suzican

D

[zc911]

we are in the first category, and 2 of us are taking car downt ot he states this weekend for some road course action.
What kind of stuff do they check for ont he trailer, and what are the laws on brakes, safty chains, tires ect....

I know the laws on the lights, if your over a certain width you need 3 red lights in the middle of the trailer on the rear and side markes if your over a certain length, and the license plate light.

[Depot]

Basically they check over all the applicable stuff thats listed in a pre-trip form... check the bottom of the page on this link..

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/tr...tions/daily.htm

heres a quick list of the comon things I know of off hand..

safety chains on trailer must have working latches so they cant fall off.. an officer will kick ur chains to try to knock em off.

ur ball or pintow must have a locking pin in it.. zip ties dont cut it.

They'll test the brakes on ur tow rig and ur trailer.

they'll test ur handbrake - thats a biggie, if ur handbrake doesnt hold ur truck and trailer, they will park ur rig till u get it fixed or towed away.

they'll inspect ur steering linkages, tie rod, pitman arms and major suspension components including bearings.

ur fluid levels especially brake and powersteering. wipers and washers.

load security - ur tie downs must have secondary devices on em to keep em from backing off or falling off if they come loose... with ratchet straps, I believe that tying the end off to itself around the ratchet qualifies as a secondary device.

it goes without saying that everything has to be tied down so it cant jump out or off. Anything that sticks up over thesides of ur tow rig must be secured down.

thats all i caan think of off hand. ask away if u can think of anythign else.

lighting charts to come soon.

gl

D

[zc911]

ahh cool evyething seems fine for us if we get stopped
Except, when does a trailer by law need brakes?

[GearHead]

please remind me what the regs. are on flat towing?
I think i remember reading here that if the vehicle is on its own four wheels than it is not included in your GVRW is this correct?
thanks
steve

[Depot]

flat towing.. new thread....

http://www.zookpower.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=10255#post10255

D

[TheSarg]

thanks for all the info Depot, i now have a truck over 4700kg and a car hauler, so unfortunatly alll the worst pertains to me, but being up on the laws and being ready for them are of great asset to me and over the past few months you have shared more then enuff info for me not to do any research on my own.

thanks again
Sarg

[Depot]

hey sarg - welcome to the heavyweight class :D

Now that ur in CVOR class, u know u need yellows on ur truck and trailer, u need a CVOR and pre-trip inspections everyday u use ur truck whether ur towing/loaded or not.

Log Book - If u travel withing 160 Km (as the bird flies) radius of ur base of operations, and reurn there within 15 hours, U do not need to keep a log book per say but still must keep track of ur working hours for the previous 7 days. If u travel outside of that 160KM radius or are gone overnight then U do need to keep one.

here's the kicker, In order for a log book to be valid, it must show at a minimum, the previous 7 consecutive days of log entries. So if ur going to suzican, u should start filling out ur log book at least a week b4 u plan to leave. This is so that they can determine if ur within ur weekly alloted hours of driving or being on duty....

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks/regulations/hours.htm

One mre thing to keep in mind when filling log books.. U r restricted to 60 hours of work in a 7 day period or 70 hours in an 8 day period or 120 hours in a 14 day period. Those are set limits, if u hit any of those u can not drive anymore. What the MTO website doesnt tell u is that when u goto work.. ie an office job, THAT COUNTS TOWARDS ur hours... its classified as on duty - not driving and does count towards those hours...

just to be clear - for example.. lets say u work an office job monday to friday 8 hours a day with a 1/2 hour lunch and the drive to work is 1/2 hour each way.. ur log book should show at a minimum...

15 minute pretrip b4 u leave home.. on duty-not driving
30 minute drive - on duty-driving
15 minute stop for coffee - off-duty
4 hours at work - on-duty not driving
30 minute lunch - off-duty
4 hours at work - on-duty
30 minute drive home - on-duty
the remainder of the day/night if ur not working - off-duty

when u stop for gas, its considered on-duty not driving and u must log when and where u get gas and must keep the receits with ur log book.

One more thing... ur only allowed to drive/work for 13 hours a day but ur allowed to be on duty for 15 hours. so all of those stops u make for gas or pre-trips or changing a flat tire that go into on-duty not driving do not count towards ur 13 hour driving limit as long as they dont exceed 2 hours.

I know this is a lot of info and gets confusing fast so read the mto website and doublecheck ur logbook. make sure u dont exceed those limits. If u get busted over hours, its a heavy fine and u'll be forced to take an 8 hour consecutive rest period in a motel/hotel or in a proper sleeper berth.

D

[DasZuk]

Really good info Depot !
One more thing to check into before you get stopped somewhere... (since you are the owner/operator of your truck/trailer) If you are stopped and found to have a mechanical defect/problem - Can you as the owner fix it or do you have to have a licensed mechanic repair it for you ?
I know that if "big" trucks are stopped, they sit there until a licensed mechanic fixes them. No do-it yourself stuff allowed. And the MTO guys are very anal about that... BTDT - Heavy Equipment Mechanic + 4th year Truck apprentice doesn't cut it.... :bang:
Just another reason to make sure everything is perfect before you leave home...

Gerry

[Depot]

Depending on the nature of the defect it can go both ways. If indeed it is something major, do u really thin ur gonna be able to fix it urself on the spot? Usually, MTO will give u a ticket for it first up. If its serious enough (in their books) they will impound it. Then u gotta get it fixed by a licened mechanic which usually entails towing it to their shop. Either which way it has to be fixed properly.. no duct tape fixes. You also must have records of the repair including prrof of payment with u for 3 months after the repair and for 2 years I think afterwards in ur files at office. Im not 100% sure on the time requirements.

D