Hope this isnt true..BUT..

I was hoping is wasn't true but I have heard this twice this week.I buy old signs from a guy not too far from me when he asked had I been to any local swap meets lately.I told him no..he said he had been to one in Ohio and all hell broke loose.It seems as guys were pulling in they all got out of there cars and trucks before it opened and noticed several State and Local Police cars parked on the route into the meet.
A few said farther back they saw and before this guy could finish..all of the Police cars pulled in along with several weights and measures cars.Kinda wanna guess what happened then..? Every trailer was searched and every drive sited for several different things.Trailers loaded with too much stuff..un-secured loads because no straps were on any of them items in the trailer...no fenders..improper towing chains..no visible license plate lights..no fenders..and the list went on and on...and I MEAN on and on..
Officers said this had been going on too long and they are starting to crack down on every swap meet and widen the area and start writing tickets for everything wrong.Weights and Measure officers wrote 11 tickets in less then 4 hours.Seems a lot of guys headed there got wind of what was going on and headed back.
State Police said counties are losing money...guys with over loaded trailers..un-safe trailers..and a bunch of other details that seemed to go on too.A buddy of his went to a tractor pull meet and the swap meet area had maybe 10 guys in it but had sold over 300 spots.Makes you kinda wonder..I wonder which state is next.?

 

I haven't heard of anything like that in the Carolina's or Georgia. HRP

 

You voted the powers in, vote them out. That is the root cause.

 

Without pics it's just a rumor

 

I haven't heard of a crackdown in Pennsylvania yet, but...if the police were issuing tickets for overloaded trailers, unsecured loads, unsafe trailers, etc., and any other condition that could potentially cause an accident or harm to other people, then the police were simply doing their job. Good for them.

Wayne

 

I heard of similar things happening here in PA at general flea markets, not necessarily auto-related swap meets, but it's all the same in their eyes. Also, every year it seems there are rumors of the authorities beginning to crack down on vendors without a tax ID number, but thus far I have yet to see it happen.

 

How about just being legal?

 

Well.....we shouldn't be running around with overloaded anythings or unsafe anythings as long as the road is shared by all. There's always one guy that pushes it too far, wrecks it for all of us.....

 

Assholes from the CARB and BAR did a similar thing at Pomona a few years back in California.
I mentioned it, (and our wonderful 'overseer' in Sac) and was flamed by some street rodder type that vulcanized me for critiquing the finest guv'nr we ever had!

Yep. We vote 'em in...(not me, but the rest of 'us')

Oh, the Tax ID#? They pulled that in Santa Cruz, at the drive-in movie flea market.
Two 'agents' were at the entrance...my ex wife got caught up in that one. (heh, heh!)

 

I like swap meets. I am not a square.

I see no problem with law officers doing their job. Have you ever had something fly off of the vehicle in front you? Old signs, lawn chairs, whatever... I don't like it.

I don't have a 32 roadster, but if I did I damn sure wouldn't want to be behind some lazy law breakin jackass and have a car part or sign fly off toward me.


Be legal, don't worry.

 

What exactly did the California Air Resources Board and Bureau of Automotive Repair crack down on?
I have never heard of a problem with either one at Pomona so i am curious what "similar thing" they were actually doing?
They would have no jurisdiction or authority to do anything similar to what the OP posted.....
Help me out here.

 

There has been a huge trailer crackdown in Massachusetts this summer, mostly targeting landscaping companies.

 

Ohio has cracked down on car trailers for years , just not really noticed , when I raced they would try to get us on the commercial / non commercial issue which puts trailer rules at a different level of enforcement ( if you race for money its considered a commercial venue , race for trophys non commercial) . all because people have gotten lazy and don't think they have to abide by the rules or think a set of fenders , or chains or even brakes are not needed . as a truck driver I have rules to follow and if a accident occurs because of a missing mudflap , those people are the type to be the first to complain , but they do not follow the rules themselves . over the last several years the states also want to change licensing requirements for the large motorhomes and campers and pick ups . as too many people think its like driving a car , its not , big difference between a 102" wide by 40 foot long 33,000 pound camper and a 2500 pound turdota pukus , several states have already gotten behind the ball and started doing this . PA , CA are 2 of them . Illinois is starting to check trailers for tires , brakes and axles on homebuilts , if you have a homebuilt with mobile home style axle change it out to a legal one with brakes , as they will put the vehicle out of service, as they are not legal for highway usage for trailering , and remember cris cross chains , all lights work , one set of axle brakes if its a tandem before a certian year , fenders and tire pressure , and license plate lights . most of this is from the soccer mommies complaining and hitting the stuff in the highways while talking on there cell phones , and Illinois just past that law too effective jan one , must be all hands free . and heres the requirements for trailer brakes http://www.brakebuddy.com/Towing-Laws But imo all axles should have brakes capable of weight rating of the trailer .

and one word of warning about Illinois cops , any officer if he deems the vehicle to be unsafe can inspect upon will and place it out of service and have it towed . The DOt officers are State troopers and also the state trains and certifys local/ county police depts to do inspections .

 

Even here in WV certain municipalities have started requiring tax ID for ALL flea market and yard sale activities. Always searching for a new tax base, since ours is in steady decline...

 

Sounds like the cops were doing their job. If I pull my trailer, it's licensed, safe, and the load is secured. Just because someone wants to haul 10lbs of shit in a 5lb bag to a swapmeet using a POS trailer, why the hell should they get a pass?

 

As revenues decline, new revenues must be found. Keep it legal. Brakes, lights, weight, breakaway switches straps and chains. No reason to dance with the law if you don't have to.

 

Haven't run across anything like this in Northern Cal or Nevada, but I have seen some pretty poorly loaded trailers and loose loads arriving at meets. A few years ago, someone lost a fiberglass Willys front end from their load, and a young gal swerved and lost control of her car trying to avoid it, and was killed. This was either on Hwy 99 or I-5 after Hot August nights. People with loads like this getting stopped, deserve it, if you ask me.

---John

 

1) checking every trailer for violations on a list of offences that goes on and on, and then issuing only 11 tickets in 4 hours doesn't seem excessive. In truth, they probably only ticketed the most egregious ones and let many off with a warning.

2) if this is true, it seems strange that this was done in a state that doesn't require an annual auto inspection. In western PA where I live, quite a few cars are registered with OH plates to take advantage of OH's lax motor vehicle standards.

These kind of things are usually a response to one or two events caused by bad apples. There may have been an accident caused by an improperly secured load or a trailer that got loose on the road. Consider it a message sent, and received.

 

If your saying tickets were written for truly unsafe conditions that's fair,i mean some people are just dangerous.if your saying the police were just revenuing, guess what, its only going to get worse.

 

I wish they'd do that here,would make the roads a lot safer.
If it's unsafe then it shouldn't be on the road...simple.

 

"Trailers loaded with too much stuff..un-secured loads because no straps were on any of them items in the trailer...no fenders..improper towing chains..no visible license plate lights..no fenders..and the list went on and on"

Really? have you ever been behind one of these " swap meet idiots" at 65 on the way to the swap meet and have a brake drum roll off and slice through your radiator?

If those who haul loads in this manner only got citations, they are lucky. What if the brake drum would have skipped and jumped into the windshield and killed me or my passenger? Would you still share compassion for them?

You don't need to support idiots that can't tie a load on a legal trailer to get reasonably priced parts for your Hot Rod at the swap meet. It's common sense to secure a load on a safe and legally licensed trailer, if you can't why put others at risk?

 

State government here in Ky. is cracking down on people selling at antique malls, flea markets, etc. not paying taxes. I hear they are going after people on Ebay also. Everyone want to put their hands in our pockets.

 

Happened to everyone before a sunday VW Bug Bash here in Faremington N.C.But that was about 10 yearts ago. Expect more of it as the red states make up for lost revenue. They searched my truck pretty good.

 

Nothing new here. I got pulled over once in Calif about 40 years ago for a safety chain that had come off and was dangling. No ticket, I put the chain back in place and headed dwn the road. But CHP looked for that stuff then too. Maybe some people have just gotten away with stuff too long.

 

I have seen people hauling scrap to scrap yard and things full off in front of me fenders missing off trailer seen the same people at swap meets with same trailer try to stay away from them on the road now kind of scary

 

You have Blue and red confused. The Blue states are sucking wind and need revenue.

 

Yes that is the ultimate solution. The rules were written to keep things from falling off trailers and to safely haul what the trailer is designed for. It's dangerous for you and others on the road when you don't follow the rules.

 

All you guys supporting the cops are right. (I can't believe I said that!) I was a trucker plus I pulled many types of RV trailers, a motorhome, and car haulers. I always did my best to be legal and safe.
Here in the Sunshine state many idiots pull those illegal loads, even without a license tag, and think they have a right. There's a scrap yard not far from our home. The crap being trailered or hauled on redneck pickups is unbelievable. Some have no licensae, tags, or insurance. How do I know, I have cop friends but most of them are busy arresting druggies and wife beaters.
I say get more cops in more states doing the same things.
One thing my son said was that near the race tracks police do monitor and check trailers.

 

Been doing this in NJ for a couple years now. Seen trailers of stuff hauled away first hand. I don't sell at those venues now.

 

He who breaks the law must be punished.

Can we get off politics and go back to talking about rods and kustoms now?