New Member Introduction And A Quick Question

[DaveinNH]

Just wanted to introduce myself. I took delivery of an LT40HD 26hp with a debarker on Monday. Several years ago I built what I call a hybrid (post and beam 1st floor, conventional truss 2nd floor) 28x40 barn with a small Lucas mill and a Hudson 18 inch mill. I had not had a sawmill in several years since then, started looking at smaller ones, and things just kind of got out of hand . It was actually my wife who said "you know it is always a mistake when we buy something that we outgrow". This forum was one of my research areas while I was looking, and I figured it was time to stop lurking and join.

Now to my question. I went down to the town hall to register the mill and get plates today. I was told I needed a certificate of origin to register it. I called my dealer in Maine and they told me Wood-Mizer would be sending that to me within a week. The town clerk also told me I would need construction plates, and that does not sound right. Can anyone who has registered and licensed a mill in NH tell me if they had to get construction plates?

[TimGA]

 Welcome and congrats on the mill, can't help with the plates. Someone near you will know.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Welcome Dave. I'm from S.C. Someone will be able to help you. 

[Ocklawahaboy]

I can't help you with NH laws but I know DMV employees are pretty much the same everywhere.  They often give you an answer to get you off the phone, even if it isn't the right one.  Call back and ask someone else and see if you get the same answer.   I had to ask a lot of questions to find out I don't need a tag at all here in FL.

[YellowHammer]

Welcome and the same here in Alabama, a portable sawmill is specifically listed as a piece of road transportable construction equipment that doesn't require plates.  Sorry I can't help you in NH. 

[Celeriac]

Welcome and the same here in Alabama, a portable sawmill is specifically listed as a piece of road transportable construction equipment that doesn't require plates. 

Ditto, same in Ohio.

This may be of some interest to you. http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XXI/261/261-64.htm

-Aaron

[Bruno of NH]

I'm in NH and have a Thomas mill . I have just a trailer plate . I had trouble a first until I put my foot down.
Jim/Bruno

[Bruno of NH]

You will have trouble because you live in Derry I think .
Do you have a farm ?

[rooster 58]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new mill  8)

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, DaveinNH.

[sprucebunny]

Welcome to the forum !

My mill has just a trailer plate but my mill seperates from the trailer. I had to get it inspected by a local policeman and be issued a 'homemade' serial #.

[thecfarm]

Good you have a mill,again. welcome to the forum. What's all the lumber going to be used for?

[highway]

Congrats on the new mill, I haven't registered my mill yet for the road.  ;D

I guess I should do that though. I'm in NH too and thought I would just get a trailer plate, I hope that is the case.

Ed

[78NHTFY]

DaveinNH--Welcome fellow NH-ite, and congrats on the new mill.  Haven't registered my LT40 but know the town clerk and she's registered another local mill.  Will check to see if it was as a trailer or some other classification.  But as Bruno of NH indicated, Derry is pretty heavily populated and things may be different there compared to more rural areas.  Looking forward to pics.  All the best, Rob.

[WV Sawmiller]

Dave,

    Welcome. Same here in WV as others listed above - mill is listed as a piece of mobile equipment and no tag required. Good luck.

[deadfall]

Here, licenses are charged by the value of the trailer.  So, we often license the value of the towing package separately, as opposed to the overall cost of the mill. 

[Bruno of NH]

The town clerks think the mills are on flat bed tractor trailer units :)
You have to set them straight !
I haven't moved my mill but I still plate it don't want the hassle if and when I want to haul it down the road .
The NH dept. of safety has to much power in this state . It's just a money grab .
Jim/Bruno

[SawyerBrown]

Welcome Dave!  Good to have you on board!

Bunch of us were just comparing notes on that last weekend at the FF Pig Roast.  Every state is different, so I guess you were right to ask your fellow NH'ers.

[Magicman]

No help, but Welcome to the Forestry Forum, DaveinNH. 

[DaveinNH]

Thanks for the all the welcomes and advice on the plates. I guess I will just have to wait until Wood-Mizer sends me my certificate of origin and see what happens. In response to a couple of questions:

I do not have a farm just a little over 6 acres (until the state bought 1/3 of an acre for the I-93 widening project). My step father and I cleared all of the hardwood off of it the week between Christmas and New Years. You really appreciate how much wood that is when you haul it out in 18 inch sections in the back of a 6x6 atv. I had hoped to borrow a friends log arch and pull the pines out in log length, but all of you in New England know what type of winter hit shortly after that. The barn I built was for my wife. She is a wood artist and does turning, pyrography, carving, airbrushing and guilding. The lower level is finished with a 200 amp service, as well as a pellet stove for heating.

As to what I plan to do with the wood that's a little complicated. The first thing I am going to do is no longer mill 150 to 200 cherry, walnut and figured maple blanks a year for my wife by hand with a chainsaw. Cutting a 20 to 36 inch log into 18 to 24 inch lengths then making a total of 6 cuts lengthwise to remove the pith and produce 4 blanks with flat edges on each side is no longer fun with a Stihl 460. I also mill smaller pieces for her for higher end artwork, and she has mentioned that she has an idea for some larger pieces. That is the primary reason we decided to get a mill again. The reason we went with a lot more than we need for that is I really enjoyed milling on the smaller mills I had for 3 years. The thought is this is something I can maybe do part time when I retire. I also have dodged 4 layoffs at the company I have been with for the last 16 years, and it would be nice to have something you enjoy doing to possibly generate a little extra income if the worst happens. Hopefully not, but you never know. In the meantime it is for my wife's business, so we can write it off on her taxes, I can learn to use a bigger mill more efficiently, and have fun with a few side projects like a sawmill shed in the meantime. I figure worst case scenario this mill will hold most of its value.

Thanks again everyone you sure know how to make a newbie feel welcome. I think I noticed that the annual pig roast is in Michigan. I lived in Grand Rapids for 2 years, my wife is from there and still has family there, so maybe I can combine a trip sometime and meet some of you.

[AnthonyW]

Good day Dave,

When I registered my mill, I was told if the tow-behind was purpose built and could not haul or be loaded it requires a CE plate. Campers, utility, snowmobile trailers, and the like can be loaded or loaded with anything and therefore get a trailer plate. This corresponds to the information I found on the NH DMV website.

While I was there I asked about log splitters. I see them all the time being towed down the road without a plate. I was told they require a plate, a CE plate to be exact. Anything travelling on a public road requires a license plate and registration. An unregistered item travelling on a public road could be subject to a ticket and fine.

Now finding an insurance company that will just insure the mill for travel was trying.

[Ox]

Welcome to the forum!

Here in upstate NY a sawmill is considered farm equipment and doesn't need any plates but maybe a farm plate (orange triangle) to be completely legal.  Most of us around here don't bother with that crap but we are in the middle of farm country after all and we're left alone.

It's funny how we're in the worst state of the union but certain things are too easy and common sense-filled like stated above.

[DaveinNH]

Update

Today a certificate of origin arrived from Wood-Mizer along with a bill of sale for just the trailer portion of the mill. I took those 2 down to the town hall and was able to apply for a title and received a plate with no issues. I am really starting to appreciate Wood-Mizers customer service and attention to the little details.

[Ljohnsaw]

Dave,
Welcome to the forum.  Glade it worked out for you.  Out here in California, the highway patrol officer told me anything that runs on the road needs a plate.  I got one for my backhoe that converts into a trailer.  It was a SE (Special Equipment) plate the size of a motorcycle plate.  But it was an ordeal getting that.  The DMV person saw that it had a motor (to run the hydraulics) and that it could be driven (at 2 mph) and was considering that it should be a licensed vehicle...

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the forum!

Here in upstate NY a sawmill is considered farm equipment and doesn't need any plates but maybe a farm plate (orange triangle) to be completely legal.  Most of us around here don't bother with that crap but we are in the middle of farm country after all and we're left alone.

It's funny how we're in the worst state of the union but certain things are too easy and common sense-filled like stated above.

Keep in mind though, if you put the orange triangle (slow moving vehicle) on the mill, you would then be limited to a max of 25mph on the road, otherwise you could be ticketed.