hello everyone, newbie here. grew up in chester, il (with no probs from the locals for big trucks ), went to school in st. louis, then moved to alabama(no problem at alllll with big trucks ), then some time in iraq. now i am in columbia, il and i am around belleville, columbia, and waterloo (all which are jerks about such business ) i need to find some exceptions to the laws. i know some of you have found them.
i am looking to pick up a v10 f250 with 8 inches of lift and 38.5 boggers on friday... i wish i could just get a doctors note like i used to for tinted glass, haha . is there anyway around the tickets??? i own my own business so would registering it as a commercial vehicle change anything??? anybody live in this area and drive something that is too big??? tickets??? how much are they???? any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

The only help I can be, is that when my BIL and SIL lived at Scott, we used to visit. The Belleville police seem to have nothing better to do than to hassle people with lifted/dropped/riced out vehicles. My Jeep only rides on 5 inches of lift, with 33" tires, and the lowest part of the main bumper structure is 21" above the pavement. I was stopped on an average of 50% of the trips there. It got so bad I would carry a copy of the IVC on lifts with me, so that when the police would start their speel and get out the tape, I could offer it to them to show me what I had violated.

 

If you can keep your frame height within reason (Donahoe says their 8" lift will keep you legal), you could always work on some bumper modification...

For some time, I considered cutting my bumpers in half and welding in a 2-3" spacer, essentially increasing the height of that bumper by that much, while keeping the top of the bumper where it was from the factory. I don't know what this would do for the structural integrity of the bumper, but it would decrease that ground-to-bumper height.

 

there is a loop hole for everything, i just have to find it....

 

what about one tons?? are the lift laws different than, or is just a weight issue? if the police thought it was a one ton because of a certain badging or mark on the truck.........

 

depends on where in illinois you are in. i'm on the south-side of chicago (go sox) and there are plenty of lifted trucks around here. in fact, the south-side was the home of god-mudders, you should have seen the things they did. they had a spot at the world of wheels a couple years back. its been done before, drop the bumpers to stock height and it may help. as far as tint, mine are limo all around except the windshield, coppers hate that so i roll 'em down when i see a smokey!

 

Here is the specific Illinois Vehicle code dealing with lifts.

BTW, one of the reason GodMudders ran to hide in Indiana is he couldn't seem to grasp these laws. His customers were more than a little perturbed over getting fines after spending tons of money with him, and getting something illegal to drive.

BTW, thank you to the Illinois Four Wheel Drive Association for the link to the I.V.C.


(625 ILCS 5/12‑607) <CODE>(from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12‑607)</CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>Sec. 12‑607. </CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE>Suspension System. </CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(a) It shall be unlawful to operate a motor vehicle on any highway of this State when the suspension system has been modified from the original manufactured design by lifting the body from the chassis in excess of 3 inches or to cause the horizontal line from the front to the rear bumper to vary over 3 inches in height when measured from a level surface of the highway to the lower edge of the bumper, except that it is unlawful to operate a street rod or custom vehicle when the suspension system has been modified from the original manufactured design so that the horizontal line from the front to the rear bumper varies over 7 inches in height when measured from a level surface of the highway to the lower edge of the bumper.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(b) Nothing in this Section shall prevent the installation of manufactured heavy duty equipment to include shock absorbers and overload springs, nor shall anything contained in this Section prevent a person to operate a motor vehicle on any highway of this State with normal wear of the suspension system if normal wear does not affect the control or safe operation of the vehicle. This Section shall not apply to motor vehicles designed or modified primarily for off‑highway racing purposes while such vehicles are in tow or to motorcycles or motor driven cycles.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE>(Source: P.A. 92‑668, eff. 1‑1‑03.)</CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE>
<META content="text/html; charset=UTF‑16" http‑equiv="Content‑Type"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=500 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><CODE></CODE>

<CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE> </CODE><CODE>(625 ILCS 5/12‑607.1)</CODE> <CODE>(from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12‑607.1)</CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>Sec. 12‑607.1. </CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE>Frame and floor height. </CODE><CODE></CODE><CODE>(a) No person shall operate upon a highway a first division vehicle which has a clearance between the frame and ground in excess of 22 inches. The lowest portion of the body floor shall not be more than 4 inches above the top of the frame. No such vehicle shall be modified to cause the vehicle body or chassis to come in contact with the ground, expose the fuel tank to damage from collision or cause the wheels to come in contact with the body under normal operation.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(b) No person shall operate upon a highway a second division vehicle which has a clearance between the frame and ground which is in excess of the limits specified within this subsection for its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) category. For the purpose of this section, GVWR means the manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating whether or not the vehicle is modified by the use of parts not originally installed by the manufacturer. The stacking or attaching of vehicle frames (one frame on top of or beneath another frame) is prohibited. No portion of the body floor shall be raised above the frame.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(1) The frame height of second division vehicles, whose GVWR is under 4,500 pounds, shall be no more than 24 inches.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(2) The frame height of second division vehicles, whose GVWR is more than 4,500 pounds and less than 7,500 pounds, shall be no more than 26 inches.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(3) The frame height of second division vehicles, whose GVWR is more than 7,500 pounds and less than 10,000 pounds, shall be no more than 28 inches.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(c) Under subsections (a) or (b) of this Section, measurements shall be made when a vehicle is unladen on a level surface at the lowest point from the bottom of the original vehicle manufacturer's longitudinal frame rail between the front axle and second axle on the vehicle.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(d) This Section does not apply to specially designed or modified motor vehicles when operated off the highways. Such motor vehicles may be transported upon the highway only by use of a trailer or semitrailer. The specially designed or modified motor vehicle may also be transported upon another vehicle, providing that the entire weight of the specifically designed or modified vehicle is resting upon the transporting vehicle.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE> </CODE><CODE>(e) Any violation of this Section is a Class C misdemeanor. A second conviction under this Section shall be punished with a fine of not less than $500. An officer making an arrest under this Section shall order the vehicle driver to remove the vehicle from the highway. A person convicted under this Section shall be ordered to bring his vehicle into compliance with this Section.</CODE><CODE></CODE>
<CODE>(Source: P.A. 90‑89, eff. 1‑1‑98</CODE>
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One little question for you guys, What do they mean by second division vehicles?

 

It's my understanding that second division vehicles are anything that qualify for something other than a standard passenger vehicle plate. So basically, trucks, trailers, RVs .... ect. So by the technicallity of the law, alot of Jeep and SUV drivers are plated as primary vehicles and are probably breaking the law.

What you should be concerned with more than if your going to be pulled over, is that some insurance companies like to take advantage of the law and refuse to pay damages. Ecspeically if you monster truck some little car.

 

The sec of state site is once again down, so I can't grab the official definition for you. But in basic terms, its vehicles that require CDL's to drive. Semis, buses, commercial trucks over 26k and such. There are other vehicles included, but I don't remember them off-hand.

The state has really relaxed the B-truck designation for plates. My Jeep Cherokee is official a Multi-purpose wagon on the title, and reg. But it has B-truck plates on it.

Many moons ago, when I first started driving. Farmer's insurance would give a discount if a vehicle was plated as a truck.

 

a second division vehicle is one that is for hire,carries over 8 passengers or is designed for these purposes,tow truck,dump truck ect cdl is a designation for drivers lic.Usally any plate greater than a "b" truck plate and any vehicle that is required to get a saftey sticker is a second division vehicle.by the way if the whole interior is passenger ,even though it says multipurpose on the title,it is still considered a passenger vehicle and does not require truck plates.B- truck plates just designate that the vehicle weight class is 8000 lbs or less.

 

The bumper height law was changed effective 07-09-04
625 ILCS 5/12-608
It states front bumper height not to exceed 28"
Rear bumper height not to exceed 30"
REGARDLESS of GVWR of vehicle.
It also keeps the Frame height at 30" on all GVWR
God Mudders is being investigated for a Federal indictment for fraudulently reclassifying vehicle weight ratings to get around the under 10k law previous to this.
We can all thank them for the rewrite on the law.

 

Why a federal indictment? Except on commerical vehicles used in interstate commerce, all vehicle regulation is the responsibilty and jurisidiction of the state. If the IAG is looking at this fool for this, it certainly gives him one more reason for his run to Indiana.

 

i am totally suprised to hear this about godmudders. i've been wondering what happened to those guys. i live very close to the old location and i went by there the other day and there is a new owner at that location. where in indiana did they go? i often wondered how they got away with the crazy stuff they did!

 

He didn't.....

Google his website. Pretty insane rantings on there. I certainly wouldn't let him work on anything I owned after reading it. The black helicopters and green men probably would steal all the brake hardware.