A growing segment of the trucking industry is the light duty truckers – people with big pickups who haul small loads in the bed or on a trailer. Sometimes we get questions whether these light duty truckers need an ELD. So let’s take a look at who needs an electronic logging device (ELD.)
Do Light Duty Truckers Need an ELD?
Let’s start by narrowing our discussion to truckers, not people hauling other people (bus drivers or van transport of individuals.)
So we’re talking about commercial motor vehicles, not your kids’ school bus.
Drivers of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) that is used as part of a business, is involved in interstate commerce, and fits any of these descriptions:
• Weighs 10,001 pounds or more
• Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more
• Is transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placards
Data found at Code of Federal Regulations
There are exceptions.
HOS final rule changes (2020) for the exceptions:
- Short haul drivers must operate within a 150 air-mile radius,
- Start/end duty period at same reporting location
- Maximum duty period is 14 hours.
So, if you’re using your pickup for business purposes outside your home state and totals over 10,001 pounds (with or without freight), you need to track your Hours of Service (HOS). If you never go further than 150 miles from your home base and return to it within 14 hours, you don’t need an ELD to track your HOS. (I’m guessing this covers local deliveries and most farmers.)
Light Duty Truckers and ELDs
For a while, getting an ELD that worked on a light duty truck was hard. Many ELD producers had developed equipment for semi-trucks, not pickup trucks. But that’s changed over the years. Newer equipment has been designed for the pick-up trucks in particular.
We’ve seen the small automobile hauling trucking segment of the industry explode thanks to the use of the Internet to purchase cars online. There are companies dedicated to hauling used cars across the country. Those car haulers must have an ELD if they’re crossing state lines.
Hours of Service restrictions apply to the light duty truckers. So the ELD isn’t an option, it’s a requirement.
TruckingOffice ELD and TMS
If you’re a light duty hauler or car hauler, you have to have an ELD. But do you know about trucking management software that works with your ELD?
Why does this matter?
If you’re a light duty hauler, you’re likely in business for yourself. That means you have to track your miles for IFTA and IRP. You have to bill your customers and track their payments. Some of your expenses per trip are tax-deductible and you have to maintain those records.
In other words, you’re a business owner. You have to run your trucking company responsibly and efficiently.
A bookkeeper/accountant might sound efficient. You hand off the records of each trip and they take care of some of the paperwork.
But then you have to pay them.
TruckingOffice ELD and trucking management software (TMS) will help you do it yourself.
ELD and TMS together is the ideal solution.
When you’re running your business, do it the best way you can. Using TruckingOffice TMS and ELD together gets you the most accurate records for those IFTA and IRP tax filings. Using a trucking invoicing program that can track your deliveries and bill them properly is invaluable. That’s why you need both and why they need to work together.
Try both with TruckingOffice!
Recent Comments