It was nice to see ammonia application as well as dry fertilizer starting as spring is upon us.  This is a good time to remind our members that ammonia nurse tanks are required to have license plates in Illinois, and the stickers renewed every two years.  This past year, the IL Sec of State did not send out renewal notices and instead we had our members send in a list of their nurse tank trailers and plate numbers to the SOS office in Springfield to get their renewal stickers.  This process went fairly smoothly so thanks to everyone for cooperating.  If you forgot and DID NOT get your renewal stickers for your nurse tank plates before they expired on December 31, at this point you can take your nurse tank trailer information and license numbers for the nurse tanks to your local SOS office to get the stickers.  There is no late fee at this point but don't put it off any longer.  If you encounter any problems at the local SOS office please call IFCA and let us know so we can help.  

 

When transporting ammonia nurse tanks, you DO NOT need a Class A CDL.  There remains some confusion out there regarding this issue.  IFCA has the assurance of both the Illinois Secretary of State and the Illinois State Police that the weight of the nurse tanks are NOT taken into account when calculating the GVWR of the towing vehicle and combination.  That is because ammonia nurse tanks are defined as implements of husbandry, and implements of husbandry do not factor into the weight of the vehicle combination.  The weight of the commercial motor vehicle that is towing the nurse tanks is the basis for your license classification, and is usually a Class B license, or in some cases a Class C license.  IFCA prepared a summary of the requirements for transporting nurse tanks and it is available here.  This summary also includes information on obtaining a restricted CDL for transporting nurse tanks.  As always, if you have questions please contact our office at 309.827.2774.