The D.O.T. stopped me to inspect my landscape trailer.
Have you ever been stopped and inspected by the D.O.T. while driving your commercial landscaping vehicle? It can be quite a detailed inspection process. If you haven’t gone through such an inspection, this discussion from the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum will really shed some light on what to be wary of and be prepared with when you do get stopped.
One lawn care business owner wrote “I was pulled over by the D.O.T. yesterday while on my way to a job. They were sneaky and sat on the side of the road in a white utility van looking like a utility company. Anyway, they inspected everything for a good 45min. This included registration, insurance, inspection, weight, medical card, lights, trailer, trailer connections, equipment strapped down etc . I passed luckily! But will they compensate me for that lost hour? No! 
They want you to have a physical every year if your driving a vehicle and or trailer with a combined weight of over 17,000lbs. They don’t want someone passing out at the wheel with that much weight, and it makes sense. The rest of the inspection is common sense. Tie down your load, use a tarp, don’t have any objects that can harm other drivers etc. I believe each state has a website with all the available information that pertains to the state.
I had a trailer light out but only 1, in my state you are ok with just 1 light but get a warning to fix the other. The medical card website is http://fmcsa.dot.gov/ I think, you can print out a card and have your doctor sign it.”
A second lawn care business owner added “the DOT commercial inspectors are in the same areas every single week. They are ready to pounce on you in a heart-beat. DOT physicals in my state are good for 2 years.”
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