THSCC Forums

anyone know of a place that does a NC DMV safety inspection on trailers?

I'm confused (again). Is this for an open trailer? When I first got my open car trailer (in 1992) I'm reasonably sure I checked into safety inspection and learned that there was no such thing?

Anybody know for sure?

Dick (wondering what the penalty would be for 13 years without inspection)

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

Hah, I got pulled right behind your trailer Steve. Stupid inspection stickers...

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www.ncvw.org
1993 VW Corrado VR6 - DSP15 (RIP)
1986 MB 190E 2.3L 16v - STX (SOLD)
1997 BMW M3 3.2L - BS for now

Any place that sells trailers should do them. Raleigh Hitch probably does. I know a trailer place out in the boonies near me that does them, but that's too far for anyone other than me and Carl and Mary (who don't have a trailer, I don't believe). They're actually in Alamance County, in fact.

I keep them on my big trailer (the three car stacker) as well as my big farm trailer (it's a 20,000# gooseneck trailer), but never bothered for anything else. Might have to start, I reckon.


--Donnie

anything over 4K lb requires a state inspection & over 10K is a federal inspection according to the DOT guy.

Does this apply to travel trailers as well?

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Rob Harvey
919-697-5485
1997 BMW M3
1992 Acura Integra (Simon)

your guess is as good as mine Rob. first time i have heard of this. one would think the people selling the trailers would mention this.

FYI, it is a $25 fine. of course it is also $110 court costs. so if i want to save myself $110 i can get the inspection, spend the day in So. Pines for court & they will probably drop the charges. or so said the DOT dude.

i am just glad they did not have scales set up. i am not sure i have enough weight covered on my tag. that gets expensive real quick.

When I had a registration ticket there last year, I was able to fax a copy of the citation and the new registration card as reciept to the clerk and everything was dropped weeks before the court date. I will see if I can find the info on who to fax it to to save you the trip to Southern Pines. Looks like I will be needing it myself.

thanks Daniel.

Ok so i was a bit off, you have to wait until within one week of the court date and fax a copy of the ticket and the new inspection reciept/card to the Moore County DA's office at (910)-947-6218. Give them about 10 minutes and call (910)-947-1784 to make sure it went through. After that, everything should be dropped with no fines or costs. Saves me a 4 hour round trip drive.

I'm skeptical of that 10k federal claim.

I haven't been stopped, but I've got at least three trailers that could eclipse the 10k limit and none have anything federal on them. I believe that may only apply to *commercial* vehicles.

In fact, my "big rig" trailer is easily over 10k empty, let alone once you put three cars in it. I took the toter and that trailer to get my class A license (yes, there is a road test for that, and you have to do it in some qualifying vehicle). The DMV lady never once said anything about it needing anything special since it is *my* private vehicle. The trailer had a valid safety inspection sticker, and she checked all that stuff.

But we went through whether I needed a CDL including a call to Raleigh, and I didn't. Problem is it seems a lot of the DMV people actually aren't that well versed in the gray area that exists in between normal passenger stuff and commercial stuff. Several different DMV people said I'd need a CDL including air brake endorsement, but when push came to shove I didn't. I was also told I didn't need any federal DOT numbers or any of that business.

I've had a lot of people that run race support businesses give me a lot of crap for not having DOT numbers and not having a CDL. I've been told things like "it's just a matter of time before you get railed, etc...why just this past blah, I got stopped for XYZ hours and they went through blah blah blah." I just shake my head and look at my plain white rig that has my personal name on the registration and consider the fact that they have business names on their rigs, business names owning them, and they're hauling CUSTOMER cars. None of which I'm doing. *shrug*


--Donnie

the DOT dude was reaching if you really want my opinion when he pinched me. they about let me go before the "safety inspection" thing came up. i think he felt half way bad about hassling me, but not so much as to drop it. i look at it like insurance. get the damn inspection and it is one less thing they can twist to print the report for the newspaper.

just wish they had been around cary today while in the rain i got stuck behind a dude in a jeep pulling an unlit, no tag, utility trailer full of furniture on a hard axle. this damn thing was hopping down the road. and the guy was in a big ass hurry since he didn't want his furniture to get wet.

THANKS Steve. Good to hear. My trailer with race car and extra tires and spare parts, etc. totals about 2500 lbs. We barely hit 10K with the camper van, trailer, race car, and us loaded for Nationals (i.e. more tires, spare parts, clothing, etc.)

Dick

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

There is some overlap in the weights for inspection. At 10K the trailer can be federally inspected but can be done with a state inspection.

Also a comercial truck of over 8500 gross weight rating can be done with a federal inspection.

Also over 8500 # a gasoline powered vehicle is heavy duty and can be done as a safety inspection. It does not have to have a OBDII emissions inspection.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

Could always do what most of the pro dragracers do: register your trailer in ME. 35.00 for 3 years, no state inspection. There's an outfit up there that takes care of the paperwork for you. Both of my brothers have their trailers registered that way, I'll probably do the same. It's interesting to walk thru the pits at a national drag race and notice that most of the trailers have ME plates on them.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.