Well, I found my inspection book right in the last place i looked! I will post up here some of what seem to be the most common issues/ questions relating to the PA inspection standards. If you have any other questions, reply here and I can hopefully answer them.

Body lifts-

1. Distance from frame to body floor may not exceed 4 inches

2. Some part of the bumper must be within 16-30 inches off the ground

Lifts and big tires-

1. See #2 above

2. Fender flares may be no wider than 3 inches

3. The tires cannot be turned to the stop without interference (TTB boys!)

4. The steering stops allow the tires to rub on the frame or chassis parts

5. Wheel spacers may be no more than 1/4 inch thick

6. NO lift blocks on front axle (You should know better!)

7. Shackles may be no more than 2" taller than factory

8. NO rear blocks more than 5" over factory

9. The tires tread extends past the fender or fender flares

And to Trucks in General

1. The tailgate must open and close securely, when questionable, remove, because thats ok.

2. You'll need mudflaps on a flatbed (thats the easiest way to put it)

3. Fenders are not same size and type as factory (technically pre-runner style fenders would fail)

4. Bumpers may not be wider than the body line

5. Auxiliary driving lamps can not work with the low beams, or standalone

6. Loose parts may not hang off the vehicle( that includes your loose door trim, just tear it off, ugly don't fail!)

7. No springs poking through the seat

8. Defroster must be operable

9. The battery must have a hold down (yes, your bungee cord fails!)

10. No muffler cutouts

11. Exhaust must discharge outside of the body (including truck beds!) Unless it was dumped underneath from the factory.

12. Auto trans must hold in park

13. Speedometer must work

14. Parking brake must work

15. The vehicle must be able to go forward and reverse under it's own power

Lots of this is subjective of the person inspecting your truck, but anything here you COULD be failed for. The book also has some grey areas. The inspector needs to use these guidelines and his own personal judgement. If you have any more questions, post them up.

Can I request that this get sticky'd for future reference?

 

Bumper heigth is different depending on the vehicle. My 4x4 is 28" front 30" rear.

 

4x4 does not mean anything relating to bumper height. It is rated by passenger cars and trucks/SUV's. That is regardless of the drive type. There are weight ratings that define how high the bumper may be. Here they are.

This is max height.

Passenger cars- 22 inches front and rear

Trucks and suv's
5000 or GVWR- 24 front, 26 rear
5001-7000 GVWR- 27 front, 29 rear
7001-9000 GVWR- 28 front, 30 rear
9001-11000 GVWR- 30 front, 30 rear

Also if your bumper is not factory, the measurement will be from the frame rail, not the bumper.

 

the mechanic that inspects my truck also does all the work on it, and every idea i have, i run by him first to make sure its legal. he said i didnt have to worry about my cutouts! shhh...

 

ive seen alot of dumped exhaust vehicals on the road. some are more leaniant then others i know. but i do thank you for the rest of the regs. will come in handy

 

Is that an error in #5 about aux lights cannot work on lo beams.
The trucks and cars come that way from the factory.
Or does that mean add on lights?

 

maybe mean on highbeams? since most fog lights do nnot stay on when HB's are on?

 

What I've always been told by my buddy that does my inspections is that fogs must work with low beam,and driving lights must work with high beam.

 

03scf250 is correct. Aux driving lamps may ONLY work with high beams. Foglamps may ONLY work with low beams. I believe you are resticted to 1 set of each, will have to get book out to double check.

 

hmm on my liberty renegade the roof mounted spotlights work whenever the motor is running high or low beam and there is 4 of em. but for off road use only dirt roads are off road arent they?

 

They are considered off road only, and they have covers on them from the factory, thats why they work when they do. But if you get caught with them uncovered on the road, you'll either get a warning or just get to pay up. Notice "uncovered" they don't need to be on to get fined, just uncovered.

 

ive been drivin around with em off since day one and noone said anything yet, i do carry the covers with me

 

They are little tougher to see than the rollbar or brushguard mounted ones, so you may have that on your side. But a friend of mine from school that lived in upper bucks county got harassed by the cops a whole lot about the ones on his rollbar.

 

There are two major problems with after market lights.
Those that have no beam forming lenses and those that do.
Even with the beam forming, if the operator dosn't take the time to aim them, the oncoming vehichles have a big problem.
IMO that's why most need to be covered while on state roads.
I have a pair of aux fogs mounted under the tow loops and have a switched relay so I can run either stock driving or the Fogs. I suppose there is some rule that even makes that illegal. They won't work on hi beams but that's not where I use them in fog anyways.
In addition I have extra side..markers..that..only..operate..with..the.. parklites or headlites and flash with the regular turns as well as 4 ways. This is all done with minuture relays at the two front corners. Reason I put them on is when a car is along side of you they can't see a turn indication when that close. Notice only European cars mostly have side lites. Now only only have the option of having them in the mirrors.

 

i dunno they are plainly visible from the front but i do live in a very rural area with one cop so that may be the reason