I applied for and got a DOT number several years ago.
Within 1 year I got the 'educational/inspection' visit from the DOT 'nice guy' -slash- inspector guy.
He talked to me for 2 hours, went thru the huge DOT rule/reg book (within 10 minutes my eyes glazed over) and looked casually at my box truck, told me my 1.5" DOT numbers should be 2 or 2-1/2 inch, and the small ones are a ticket waiting to happen.
He said a few things that made me wish I never bought the truck.
1. If the tag in the cab shows a GVW of 10,000lbs or more
"YOU ARE IN THE GAME"
(in his words)
2. Unfortunately, (I hate to admit it but) we do have (some) road side officers we call MSU's.......Make Shit Up.
And if they can't find something wrong to write you up, they can and do make shit up to ticket you on.
Great....
So, I'm like......how do I avoid all this BS and extra fees, insurance, med card, log book, etc.??
He says 'go back to a pickup rated under 9995lbs and don't go over 10,000.
Great again!
I NEED a truck just a few times a year, and the box truck is superior to any pickup for hauling capacity and economy.
And I just plain like it a whole lot more than a shitty wimpy pickup. But I 'can't have it' because it makes it not worth the extra cost. So I can't really justify having it around and on the road just have it for occasional use.
Damn government!
There should be more lax rules for sole proprietor and small businesses with fewer than 5 employees!
But I get it.....cash cow for the states, and feds.
Make it 'safer' for the motoring public, and harder for the little guy.
And the other aggravating thing is, I see guys all over with pickup trucks (some only 1/2 ton) with NO DOT numbers on them pulling 5000GVW trailers with 8000 and 10,000+ pound Mini Excavators and Skid Steers on them!
Apparently they NEVER GET CAUGHT because they wouldn't be doing it afterward.