Okay folks, I realize this issue affects you all in different ways. However, the politics need to stay out of it or it's going to the Club, which would be a shame because there is good information in here that many would not be able to read then. Also a friendly reminder about the following FTE Guideline:

8. Legal Actions .

• You may not use this site to discuss or organize any legal action including, but not limited to, class-actions. FTE does not give legal advice or host legal discussion. If you have any legal questions or concerns, please consult your attorney.

The references thus far have been pretty generic but any more references to legal action will result in the thread being closed.

Thread cleaned, carry on.

 

Believe it or not, my wife and I were returning home last night. We were on I-290 East bound approaching the Rt. 140 junction. When I noticed a state trooper pull in behind me as I exited the interstate. I was not speeding, weaving, most of my lights work :-) and I was sober. I honestly could not figure out why at 8:15 at night, on a cold February evening I was being pulled over. I have driven my truck 26k miles in the past year. Mostly on I-290 between Shrewsbury and Hudson.

But He was pulling me over for an improperly registered motor vehicle. Luckilly I received only a warning for my infraction this time. I guess I need to go ahead and re-register it. Unfortunately for me, I just re-did my yearly budget and things are, well tight, Thats going to hurt.

Does anyone have an update on the status of this? Perhaps I will call my reps office today.


Just had to vent.

Thanks
Glenn

 

That stinks Glenn..

Did he say it was because you were not registered commercial??

 

He did. Just shocked me that he actually pulled me over for that.

Luckilly it was just a warning, but I will take the warning with stride and take care of it. I was really hoping we would have this issue resolved by then.



G

 

I guess it's hard to get away with it when you have a dually..

 

How is it that the RMV can issue you an illegal registration? If I tried to apply for a trailer plate for my car they'd say "No way..." Isn't there some sort of implied legitimization if you present all correct information to them and they issue you plates and registration and you use them exactly as you represented you would?

That is FU'd bigtime, man....

 

I could not agree more. I was told it was my job to inform them it was a DRW pickup. Funny, I thought the VIN did that (And no, it's not a conversion)

The only thing I have done to the truck to even remotely imply commercial is that I have a plow on it. Not because I am out ******** 100's of driveways or plowing the town streets, but because I have 2 large driveways myself and it was costing me a bloody fortune to clear snow.

What really grabs my *** on this whole issue is that I am trying to be a responsible motorist in the fact that I have a 35' camper and a 1000lb motorcycle that I take with me. Put the bike in the back, and hook up the trailer. With a SRW it would be less than stable at best. The DRW handles is so well it's incredible. SO what would be safer, me trucking down the highway with a vehicle at it's maximum capacity or one at 3/4 capacity? Hmmmmm.. And they wonder why folks have a hard time towing those monster campers.



G

 

I know my vin specifies dually for certain. I know I can't take the vin from a trailer or lawnmower or motorcycle and get passenger car plates so what's the difference. I was certain the person at the rmv was using a computer which is really good at sorting strings of numbers.


Also dorked with the 120 a year inspection and 180 or something for registration.

 

Just a thought. I don't have a dually but with my 7.3 350 swd I do have commercial plates. I have a small business and even though loop holes would allow me to do otherwise I don't. It cost me alot more for plates but there's been no problem with a typicle 29.00 Mass. inspection or being pulled over other than going to a truck inspection station because it's a diesel. However I get my insurance through an agent. I find they are very knowledgable when it come to things like this. With dually's it may be a whole other issue but I would suggest getting an opinion on what's a private use vehicle VS commercial use in the eyes of the state from a reputable local insurance agent. BTW, there are several 'levels' under a commercial registration. I have a service rating which is much different/less than a fleet as far as the insurance costs go. They may have a private catagory, I don't know. These are the things that a good agent can answer.

In my opinion, which isn't worth much, I even get a little tee'd when I see a big ol' dually or work vans with passenger plates on them when I'm paying so much for my unmarked pickup and 1/2 ton van. When I see a dually with a much bigger camper than mine paying ALOT less to go down the road with passenger plates, it's a bit irritating. That being said, I think too many small bussiness owners have been abusing the last new law allowing non-business use pick-ups/vans to use passenger plates. Small bussiness owners have been doing the same simply by not lettering their smaller work vehicles and the state's taking it out on the 1 ton and dually owners now.


All I can say is good luck. I think 1 tons and dually's should be paying by the weight for plates but I also think the commercial inspection is way over the top for small trucks like those.

 

I definitely can understand the abuse problem. However I in no way use my truck for commercial purposes. It is my personal truck. The only reason that I have what I have is because I have a large family (3 kids, my wife and myself. Frankly none of us are small people) so I need the crew cab. The 8' bed is so I can get my slide in camper, or my motorcycle in the back if needed. The DRW allows for a very solid trip down the highway and means far less stress on me when I have the 35' tow behind on the hitch and the bike in the back. But that is recreational. not commercial. Why should I be forced to pay fees that are twice what I need in order to drive my truck for me.

If in fact we have a major abuse problem, I would suggest that we go back to the old registry style checkpoints at random intervals on the road. It's pretty obvious when it's a work truck, and when it's not. Let them fine the people that are abusing the system, not the ones who are not.


If you can give me 3 good reasons why being registered commercial is going to benefit me in the least, I will reconsider. But given that the downsides are:

-- Higher Insurance premiums
-- Additional equipment required in the vehicle per DOT
-- 10x inspection costs
-- Weigh station requirements in certain states
-- Left lane restriction on interstates
-- Other roadway restrictions (I.E. Parkways and scenic roads)

I don't see why I would want to put myself in that position. When I don't have any financial benefit from the investment. Just more headache.


Glenn

 

You get a fresh new plate decal every year.

Supposedly.. allegedly you get a rockin inspection where they take the wheels off, measure the brakes, lube your sperving bearings and put it all back together.

Commercial registration should improve your mpg's because your wallet is so much lighter (also avoids back problems)

-Jason

 

So, I'll play devil's advocate.
Why should I pay more (commercial) than you guys. My work truck is the exact same truck as your play truck. If anything you don't need your truck to make a living. What if I can't afford the fees. I guess I'm out of business.
If you can't tell I'm not knocking anyone. I think ALL the fees need to be lowered. This is getting out of control.

 

Reason One....I haven't been pulled over for having commercial plates on the f350?

Reason Two....ahhhhhh.

Kidding aside.... I can't give you any good reasons (other than staying on the safe side of state regs ) simply because there's no benefit at all. That's why there's plenty of small business owners ..... self employed plumbers, painters, cleaners, contractors, etc that have chosen to register their work vehicles with passenger plates. I've seen plenty. Some of these guys probably carry less weight than you at any given time. As much as it's wrong, why should they pay more for plates on a s10 pickup that carries a few buckets, some rags and a vac for a small cleaning company than you do on the f350 dually crewcab? Simply because they work out of the truck and you don't? Is that really fair either?

What the state needs to do is rethink the current process.


I know this is not what you want to hear but only privately owned 1/2 ton p/ups should be allowed passenger plates.I don't think any 3/4 or 1ton pickup or panel van should have them.. but I agree with you on the inspection. If you're not making money using the vehicle by hauling or towing you shouldn't be required to undergo a commercial inspection.

The state expects 'x' amount of dollars for vehicles registered. They're going to get it on way or another and I'd rather see them eliminate the easy loop holes that are being abused than go after honest people like you with a bunch of needless comm. regs. and inspections.

This cloud over 1 ton and/or small private owned dually inspections is the typical unfair Massachusetts BS but displaying commercial plates alone doesn't neccessarly mean you're required to follow commercial big rig DOT requirements. Small vehicles that are marked and owned by larger companies should have, and many do have, 'commercial' tags. Zip cars come to mind. To the best of my knowledge, they're not required to pull into weigh stations, stay out of left lanes and so forth. I've gone cross country hauling the camper a few times with commercial plates on the pickup and never had a third lane or weigh station issue. I have avoided parkways but that was more a decision based on the vehicle itself but we've routinely used parkways over the years with commercial plates on suv's without a problem.

Just to pass along my own experience with commercial plate costs, the only extra cost is the yearly tag fee based on weight, which I hate because I rarely if ever carry much with the truck, don't use it for work unless the van is broke and the trailer I pull is fully registered at 12k. Some tolls can be higher based on the plate alone too.

My insurance was only higher when my old agent had me classified as a fleet owner. Under a service rating, my insurance cost is just about in line with a normal registration.

Again I would check with a good agent and inquire about the details of a private party registering a non commercial use vehicle with commercial tags. They should know the in's and out's.

Only my opinion but I think the state's really interested in getting that plate fee on vehicles like yours and mine simply because it's simpler for them to deem a certain class of vehicle for commercial use rather than chase all those who are bypassing the regs. right now with the lighter duty models.

 

I'm not as concerned about the plate fee as I am everything else in the mix. If they want to hit me with a 1 ton registration, thats absolutely fine. Do it as a passenger.

There are definitely roads that state no commercial vehicles. Frankly, they mean it. Years ago, back when the cave men walked the planet (OK, Maybe not QUITE that far back) I had a Ford Ranger. The state of Massachusetts required that ALL pickup trucks be registered commercially. HOWEVER they did NOT have special inspections, etc for those plates. Just that it be REGISTERED commercial. I was visiting a friend of mine in CT, and the easiest way to their house was to go 91 to 15 and follow 15 for a while. There are signs ALL OVER that road that state NO COMMERCIAL VEHICLES. Of course I didn't think twice about it. It's not REALLY commercial, just has the plates. No worries.. Right... WRONG!! I was pulled over, issued a $175 ticket for operating a commercial vehicle in a restricted area. then I was escorted from the highway and dumped in a small town in the middle of CT without having a clue in hell where I was. Made for a very interesting trip.

To the best of my knowledge, commercial is commercial is commercial. It depends on the individual state rules. I had a Ryder truck about 10 years ago that I was using to move my recently deceased brothers belongings back from North Carolina to Massachusetts. I asked the rental counter specifically if I needed to worry about weigh stations. He said absolutely not, it's a personal rental. I took him for his word, and trucked on down the road (Not thinking the clearest I ever have of course) I drove right past the first weigh station. Only to be shall we say forcibly removed from the roadway about a mile later by 3 very determined state troopers. Yep, you guessed it. I should have pulled in.

I just don't need that hassle when I am just out enjoying my time off of work. I'm NOT a wealthy person. My toys are my toys but they are absolutely not million dollar behemoths. My camper is a 1985 Layton fun house. my motorcycle is a 1997 Honda Valkyrie. Nothing is expensive or extravagant. But they are what I have.

As I said, hit me for a 1 ton registration, and leave it at that. I run empty 99% of the time. I make about 5 - 6 runs a year loaded. The rest of the time, it's an empty pickup with a tonneau cover.


G

 

I hear you. I'm probably in the same ballpark as you as far as money and toys go.

Glad to see you understand my frustration with the current set-up as far passenger rates on a vehicle that could have a gcwr of 20k. Especially when I should have rated plates on unmarked smaller vehicles just because I'm self employed and might use them at one time or another for work.

You're right, commercial is commercial and so on when decisions are based on the plate reference alone. Again, at least with insurance there's sub classes but there should be more plate classifications to avoid problems on the road, mainly out of state where the plate is all they have to go on, the likelyhood you'll try to fight the ticket is slim and if you're anything like me, you try to be careful but never really sure WHAT the laws are or how **** the cops like to be in any given area.

We have (SR) snow removal plates for vehicles with that as a primary use now. Maybe a different plate could be applied to HD small trucks that are private, non commercial use only. Pay X amount per thousand, maybe at a little lower rate than real commercial, keep the state happy but avoid the commercial classification and keep you happy. A seperate plate designation would help keep people honest.


The reasons I stayed with commercial plates on more than one vehicle even though I don't really have to is I'm fairly honest to begin with. What that really means is .......... I always get caught if I'm not....

A recent example..I use my wifes honda civic on business on occasion, basicly to save on gas on longer runs. It has passenger plates. It got hit when it was parked in a parking lot. Once the insurance companies, BOTH companies, found out why I was there, I got the third degree on why the vehicle WASN'T registered commercially. My insurance company found out very quickly but I had to prove to the other company that I had other vehicles that are registered as such so I was safe.

Anyway, it's times like that, when I'm expected to register a little honda commercially simply because I drove myself to a job site in it, a big box van or a dulley drives by with passenger plates on it. Private use or not, it's just not right.


All in all it would be great if the state would come out with a solution that's fair to everyone ..I really doubt it though ...