Need DEUCE to shuttle 150 gravity racers back up the mountain closed road environment

[sk8trek]

all information is here http://www.internationaldownhillfederation.org/events/acme-extreme-downhill-wqs

ACME Extreme Downhill is held in Port Jervis, NY August 29, 30 and 31, over labor day weekend (Friday Saturday and Sunday) and we need a better transportation solution besides UHAUL Box Trucks (they are like an oven). We need enough drivers (2 to 3) to transport between 100 and 150 downhill skateboard, luge and drift trike racers 8am to 7pm Friday Saturday Sunday. Will reimburse for fuel, provide lunch and non alcoholic drinks and a small stipend for each unit depending upon availability.

Location is Skyline Drive in Port Jervis, NY (NY, NJ and PA borders), closed road environment for three days of people hauling hill climbing fun. Please call Tom Barnhart 917.575.1990, thank you.

 

[doghead]

2 busses.

Find a local church and make a donation for use of their busses.

 

[Warthog]

My insurance would not cover passengers in the back. Not many would.

 

[sk8trek]

2 busses.

Find a local church and make a donation for use of their busses.

That's actually a great idea, thank you. Now, to find a church two buses or two churches with one bus each.

 

[sk8trek]

My insurance would not cover passengers in the back. Not many would.

Thanks for responding. There will be no passengers on open public roads. We have a permit from the city, the road is closed, we have ems on site, and our own liability insurance that covers vehicles. Would this not matter?

 

[fasttruck]

I have to ask as your message does not spell it out: This involved hauling just the equipment or the equipment and the people ?

 

[SteveKuhn]

I actually would love to do something like this, and I still take riders for events - very selectively. At a few comments along the lines of those above to try to give some perspective.

• Example: Last time I did a parade with kids in the back, I said, "Sure. Rules are everybody stays seated and there are responsible chaperones to keep everything orderly." They showed up as we were about to roll, packed not only the seats but the space between them, and the priest who was supposed to chaperone might as well have stayed at the rectory. I sucked it up, the kids really weren't bad at all, and the whole thing went off without a hitch, but . . . It was a really puckered ride from one end of Wyckoff to the other making the clutch real smooth so everybody stayed on their feet. Now if that was a girl's choir, what will a bunch of amped up skateboarders be like? Just sayin'.
• If I'm you looking for wheels for the event, I'd be looking up in the direction of the festivities. Three of us are responding from Bergen County. If I'm planning on Port Jervis for those hours, I've gotta be on the road about 5:30 - 6 a.m. and won't be back until 9 - 9:30 p.m. A full day of Deuce driving in between and I'm one tired old man. Or I'd need a chase vehicle and secure storage for the truck overnight.
• That's also where I'd be looking for the bus alternative Doghead mentions.
• Have you considered engaging a hay ride provider? Gotta be somebody (or 5) up there.
• You could go to www.mtaofnj.org or www.RedBallOnline.org to see if they have members who are willing. Both have people up in that direction.
• Crew: I want at least 2 adult DI-types riding in that bed every time the wheels turn.

Insurance - a bugaboo for me, mainly because of the way it's usually presented. I have QQs. Arguably, you could set it up that it's an exhibition/educational event where the kids learn about the trucks and get the experience of riding like the soldiers did. Might be a stretch.

When someone says they have insurance, it's probably written to protect the organization sponsoring the event against liability claims arising from the use of vehicles. Rarely, if ever, is it written as the 1st underwriter for the owner/operator. Most often, if he's covered at all, it will be for excess after his carrier maxes out (and he probably loses his policy.) Unless your volunteer drivers are willing to assume the risk, they should be given the opportunity to read the rider for the event to see if they're really covered to their best interests. Every time somebody tells me not to worry and I ask for the rider to review, I hear crickets.

I really hope you're able to come up with something neat for the kids for this, and that the event goes off without a hitch with a fun time for all.

Steve

 

[rtk]

pretty much sums it up .

 

[DeadParrot]

I see a possible trap in the OP. As a private pilot, I know the FAA is very strict on what requires a commercial ticket. Even improper sharing of fuel expenses has resulted in enforcement action against a private pilot.

The mention of a a free lunch, drinks and stipend is what caught my attention. If the DOT is anywhere near as strict as the FAA in what requires a CDL, a unwitting helpful volunteer could find themselves facing legal issues unless they had a CDL, commercial license on their truck, commercial insurance and whatever inspections are required to operate a commercial truck. The stipend is the big problem. But even the free lunch and drinks could be a problem.

I suggest the OP double check on the legal issues before providing any stipends or other compensation to any volunteers.

 

[SteveKuhn]

I'm a private pilot too, so i know what you're talking about.

We get free lunches and such when we do parades, appearances, etc., all the time in NJ. I ask that any honorarium goes: 1) directly from their pocket into my tank; 2) as a check to a military cause of my choice or, if that's not possible, 3) an immediate check from me to that cause that matches the deposit. I just make sure that there's a good audit trail. Besides, my dance card is 98% freebies.

Personally, I wouldn't sweat the commerical side of this at all, esp. when the cops are directing traffic for me on a closed road.

Steve Kuhn

 

[Tow4]

People deliver pizza with a regular DL all the time. The issue here is insurance and how hard it would be to climb in and out of a deuce. A bus is the way to go.

 

[sk8trek]

I have to ask as your message does not spell it out: This involved hauling just the equipment or the equipment and the people ?

both, racers and their equipment. However the stand up racer's board is only 36 inches long or so. There will be a dozen lay down racers whose rigs are a bit bigger and lastly, there may be drift trikes too (saving 150 spots for lay down and stand up and if there are less than 150 the balance will be made up with trikers) and the trikes are bulky but in the past, we would tow them up with a long rope they hang on to rather than rider in the shuttle.

fyi - I found 20 foot stake trucks that are just a bit more than uhaul box trucks.

 

[sk8trek]

People deliver pizza with a regular DL all the time. The issue here is insurance and how hard it would be to climb in and out of a deuce. A bus is the way to go.

Clearly a bus would work well... I have quotes from bus companies from between 50 and 75 per hour and at 11 hours a day for three days, it exceeds our budget. I found 20 foot stake trucks for 275 a day but have to find our driver. Insurance shouldn't be an issue for liability, we can have an insurance certificate issued in the name of the operator, all we need is correct verbiage and address to produce individual certificates.

 

[sk8trek]

This format is hard for me to understand and trying to respond to each post... the age of racers are between 14 and 50 and the event is part of the IDF world quantifier series, here is the event page on their site http://www.internationaldownhillfederation.org/events/acme-extreme-downhill-wqs

The racers although amped in deed, take this very seriously and their main interest is how many times they can get from the top to the bottom and eager to follow the protocols of the closed road environment.

We can provide individual certificates of insurance and can provide the policy too.

To the best of my knowledge, a cdl isn't needed for a vehicle less than 25,000 pounds and the insurance is for a closed road event... but I could be wrong. Since we have a permit by the town and the police/ems are there helping us, I sincerely don't think there would be any DOT issues, but frankly speaking, I have no idea about this???

We have had plenty of events where we use uhaul box trucks, just trying to find an alternative to the steam box with an open air pay load 20 foot stake trucks are available for 275 a day and leaning toward this as a solution. As mentioned before, bus companies will provide the service but at 50 to 75 per hour and at 11 hours a day for three days that goes beyond what we have budgeted for.

the church idea is an excellent suggestion, but it's challenging to find this