My grandfather is giving me an old 14' aluminum boat, outboard motor, and trailer that has been sitting in his yard for over 30 years. I'm going to have to bring it back home from Kansas and, given the lack of trailer lights and a license plate (and the unknown condition of the trailer axle and hubs), I would prefer to load the whole setup on a flatbed trailer to haul it back home.

The only flatbed trailer I have access to has farm tags on it. I remember reading a story on here sometime back about a guy that got ticketed for hauling hunting blinds and four wheelers on a trailer with farm tags. Is there any way to avoid being ticketed other than just upgrading the registration from farm use to regular use? What about a temporary permit?

I'd just do it.

In the off chance that you get pulled over, just explain your situation. Let him know you're just hauling this boat back to your farm to work on its trailer, etc. Might get a warning, but that'll be all.

I see people with farm truck tags ALL THE TIME, even on commercial type vehicles and obvious suburbanite personal vehicles. Tecnically, vehicles tagged as farm vehicles can only be used on the farm, or for transporting farm goods and supplies and equipment to and from the farm, or on farm related business.

Yeah... violated serially. Farm tags save a boatload of money.

I have a farm tagged trailer. All it is ever used for is transporting a tractor around, and perhaps fencing materials. If I ever plan to use it for something else, I'll get the registration changed to non-farm.

IF you get a ticket, you can usually get out of it by voluntarily chaning the registration, but you're unlikely to get a ticket. Nobody seems to care about it much.

Yeah, the FT tag issue is one of my pet peeves, but it must not be very well enforced, else you wouldn't see so many.

I'd say the difference between the two issues (vehicle vs. trailer) is that when someone is driving a never-seen-the-dirt Suburban down the road, it's hard to prove that they weren't on farm business, or on one of the exceptions (school, church, groceries, doctor)

On the other hand, if a trailer is obviously carrying non-farm items, it's pretty easy to prove the ticket.

Though I have had a college kid borrow my farm trailer to move his furniture a long distance and get away with it.

The biggest problem I can see is that you might have trouble crossing state lines. Depends on who sees you, catches you, or if the border crossing station is open.

Does anyone know if you can cancel commercial tags and switch back? I was wondering if you could buy commercial tags, use them for the trip, and turn them back for FT tags after this one trip? Might be cheaper than a ticket.

Just tell them the boat is for your fish farm.

I got a ticket one (1 of 3 tickets I managed to snag during that particular stop) for having farm plates on my truck while not doing farm business.

I think the upgrade to regular plates cost me a whopping $40 or so. Had I known it was that insignificant, I'd have done it sooner. The time to go to court was worth more than that.

I believe you can get a 1 time use exception for $10 or something like that.

I called about an exemption and the woman I spoke with didn't know what I was talking about.

The biggest problem is the trailer doesn't belong to me, so I just have to convince the owner to let me pay for the increase in cost to get regular plates AND for him to go to the courthouse to have it done. He doesn't have farm plates because it's cheaper, he has them for the principle of it being a "farm" trailer since he also owns a "farm." The trailer isn't used more than once every couple years, if that much. I've tried to buy it from him on the condition that he can use it whenever he wants to, but he won't sell it to me "yet."

I don't mind breaking the law inadvertently here and there, but I'm not going to do it on purpose. I try to take that whole Aggie Honor Code to heart as often as possible.

I know for a fact you can get a "one time use" tag for a trailer to let you use a trailer on the road that had not been registered.

Maybe that's what I should do. Pretend it hasn't ever been registered and just get a "one time use" permit. They'd never be able to know if it was registered as a farm trailer if I took the tags off.

Are those "one time use" permits good in other states, do you know?

Tell the cop that you have a 1-D-1 Exemption, which gives your property ag exempt status.

^
Check on or ask about a "72 HR Permit", sometimes called a 'single trip permit'. You can get a 72 hr permit for commerical trucks and trailers that are not otherwise licensed for the purpose of a single trip or one-way trip. Usually they are purchased for heavy trucks/trailers but I don't know if they are limited to that. Even though they are not for this purpose and probably illegal, I once covered up a TX FARM TRK TRAC tag and run under a 72HR permit to haul a non-farm, but also NOT commerical, load. Give it a try.

Otherwise, F* it. Run it! You won't get caught.

If 20 cops see this, maybe one bored ******* will pull you over (likely a Constable). They have better things to do.

I had to pay $25 for a one time use on my pop up trailer last year.

I also represented a guy once who was ticketed for hauling firewood to sell in Amarillo. Even though he could prove that the wood came from his farm and had been sold to someone in Amarillo the trooper still gave him a ticket. The JP finally dismissed the case when we requested a jury trial.

I cant speak for other places, but I know the DPS in the Val Verde/Edwards/Kinney county area will bust your balls for hauling non-ag stuff on a trailer with farm tags. They are also BIG on making sure your load is secured to their specs. Its a real pain in the *ss when your moving equipment just down the road and you have to put all the chains and crap on it.

Specs for securing loads? Where are these specs? The last thing I want to do is get some cheeseball ticket for not having my tractor "secured properly" one day.

I figure 2 7000lb load straps on each end are adequate.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 10/20/2009 3:11p).]

I dont remember all of them, but its something like chains on all axles, everything thats loose must be tied down, nothing can hang off the sides. Just a bunch of b.s. I got the rundown from a Smokey a couple weeks ago, I still dont follow all of em mainly cuz its to much crap to remember. I had like 6 violations.

Stack bales of hay around the boat.

Should not have to stop at any state line check points, they are for commercial vehicles only. Most trailers do not have titles and are licensed by weight, a simple solution is to go to the tax office where you live and tell them you built a trailer and it has ? axles and you would like to get a license plate for it to carry how ever many pounds you think you are going to haul. You will pay them and get a plate. You then put the plate on your friends trailer (keep his farm plate in your garage) go on your trip and when you return change plates back put yours on the wall and his back on his trailer. You have now been pretty legal or do like I have done for years, pull it like it is and most likely no one will bother you....

Just do it, dps would understand i'd bet

just use it and don't worry about it, it's not like you are using it to run freight from Dallas to Houston on a daily basis

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I got a ticket one (1 of 3 tickets I managed to snag during that particular stop) for having farm plates on my truck while not doing farm business.

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Yeah, that's what I'd guess. I would surmise that most of the time you wouldn't get pulled over for just the FT tags. But if you were speeding, you'd probably get the FT ticket as a bonus.

My Ag exemption is for Wildlife Management so I am looking forward to the day i get pulled over with a four wheeler on the trailer or corn and a feeder etc...

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Tell the cop that you have a 1-D-1 Exemption, which gives your property ag exempt status.

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My Ag exemption is for Wildlife Management so I am looking forward to the day i get pulled over with a four wheeler on the trailer or corn and a feeder etc...

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I'd like to be there when you try to explain to a cop or a judge that your land property tax exemption somehow effects your vehicle registration.

Youll be fine. man, white people are such sticklers. we do this crap all the time.

besides. a boat and motor and such can be considered farm stuff. "im taking it to the ranch" enough said.

[This message has been edited by AgeofEase08 (edited 10/21/2009 5:29a).]

Just don't get in an accident with a farm tagged truck pulling a commercial or recreational trailer. At that point, you are screwed. The cops will have you, and your insurance company will throw you over the side.