I was visiting my son and while on the parkway...after noticing no f-150's or f-250's, began to wonder how legit my use of the parkway was. i had previously done my homework and registered my 2005 4X4 CC f-250 which has an empty weight of 6350lbs, modified by install of a larger campler top (leer 122) , and loaded with a small bed, campling equipment and refrigerator in the back. SO I decided to double check and found the attached motor vehicle guideance.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...uECKTmWOEOsWGA

according to this...a truck with a bed completely enclosed by a campler top (more on that later) , and has seats, seat firritngs OR campling equipment mounted in the truck bed (more on that later), may be registered in the passenger class OR commerical class , at the registrants option


according to the link.....registering in the passenger class allows you to drive the truck on roads and parkways in NYS that are restricted to non-commerical trafffic.

some gotchas

The "camper top" has to be at least 48" from the top of the camper stop to the truck bed floor.

The "camping equipment" can be a bed, refrigerator, stove.



I have heard of folks never getting cited while not meeting the camper modification registration class and have also heard of folks getting two tickets when stopped...one for being on the parkway...the other for invalid registration class.

So I think the key is the camping equipment qualification if you do not have seatas in your camper and the size of the camper top...a small one may not qualify as a camper top. At 48" you can move around the camper area and use the bed, refrigerator and camping equipment pretty easy.

So, I'll carry a copy of the MVB advisory in my glove compartment and see how it goes.

als, there's some refererences to some roads having truck restrictions to be under 7000lbs...but I do not think that applies to vehicles registered in the passenger class.

thoughts

 

Well, this story has nothing to do with New York State parkways, but does have to do with truck weights and campers and rules...

In 2007, in Ontario, there was a rule that if your truck weighed over a certain weight limit and towed a trailer over a certain weight limit you had to be commercial in the sense of doing daily inspections, keeping a driver's log book, having a CVOR (commercial vehicle registration for an operator) and stopping at all weigh stations. I had such a truck and towed such a trailer, and had no idea I was in default on the law for years. So an acquaintance got stopped on a routine inspection, got dinged for several thousand dollars in fines and we all started to read up on the rules. I couldn't figure them out so I called the enforcement branch and started to just ask questions. I got on to a senior guy who told me that my interpretation was correct and I was basically screwed. In the course of the conversation we talked about what I was doing, which was amateur car racing, and he said his brother in law did that and got around the rules by towing with a converted school bus. It turns out that campers are exempt from registered gross vehicle weight laws in Ontario, so if you have a camper you can never be considered commercial regardless of weight (other rules apply but not that rule). He said "why not get a truck bed camper and anytime you have it on the truck you are an RV and exempt". So the next weekend I drop $9K on a nice truck camper and by adding a ton of weight to my over-all load I became exempt from the weight laws...

I think they have changed the rules there now.

Brian

 

MC5C

I think your story is perfectly relevent. Sounds like you got a high end camping rig. In one of the NYS DOT notices I read that if the bed cover was 48" from top to the bottom of the bed and had windows...it could be called a camper top.

So I bought a used leer 122 top which is basically the highest one they make.

...now I'm wondering if I can have a tool box in the back of the bed with my camping equipment.....might get a citation for having burgler's tools in my camper.

...make sure you don't have propane in your camping stove...can't go thru tunnels in most states with compressed gas...

 

para 106.6 (c) takes care of the "must be under 5000lbs" issues.


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...65397613,d.cWc

 

I have to ask - why do you want to drive on those parkways? There are ways around though not exactly, time wise, the best choices. Fighting NYS DOT regs is something like trying to push a chain uphill. And yes, I did make that mistake once on one of those @#$% parkways but luckily got off with a warning and at the very end of my 'trip'.

 

I am lucky that I live in Manitoba , Canada that has little laws like this. All this sounds some what confusing.

 

Fighting any dot regulations is like pushing chain up hill.

Sent from my Telegraph using IB AutoGroup

 

i have an easy way around the silly NY dot regulations.

i stay out of NY.

 

Me too! Lol

Sent from my Telegraph using IB AutoGroup

 

I live on the South Shore of Long Island, and the Southern State Parkway is the only way to get east/west fast on the South Shore. I only have a tonneau cover yet was able to register my F350 passenger with some influence down at DMV. I am in violation, however, Troopers will not pull you over for a registration infraction alone. Typically you would need to be pulled over usually for speeding, and they will add on the registration issue. I WOULD NOT ADVISE THIS TO ANYONE AS I AM TAKING A BIG RISK RECEIVING A SUMMONS FOR IMPROPER REGISTRATION! This only applies to Pickups 3/4 Ton or better. Though there is talk of changing registrations of 3/4 ton or better up in the state assembly because the argument made is crew cab/extended cab Pickups already have back seats with belts technically. It would still to apply to the traditional models though.

If you have a bed cap or truck cover, that is usually enough to stay off the radar. However to be completely legal, along with the cover, you would have to add 2 permanent seats and seat belts to the bed. This way your truck will be registered as a "Suburban". This is the classification NYS DMV uses to describe a truck of this sort. Funny they use a truck model from Obama Motors! I suppose it is easily associated name than Excursion.

One other item regarding the Parkways in NYS, you cannot have anything in tow, nor hauling anything in an open bed, regardless if you have a half ton pickup, which are considered passenger vehicles. As long as they do not have a company logo on the truck and used for commercial purposes and registered as such. You would not get far anyway because the majority of the overpasses on the Parkways are anywhere between 10'-13' high. In some cases they are even lower depending on what lane you are traveling in.

This is all easy for me to understand as I was raised in NYC and Long Island. However, I can see how this could be very confusing to out of state drivers unfamiliar with all of this. As far as I know, I believe D.C. has a Parkway with these restrictions, on the East Coast. What makes it even more confusing is NJ, adjacent to NY, has the Garden State Parkway. However, commercial vehicles and towing is allowed on that Parkway.