Car vs. Truck Plates
 

I am buying a Bronco soon and I have a question about the different plates in Indiana. The DMV website seems to be saying that under 11,000# GVWR you can put any plate on any vehicle - car tags on an F350, 11,000# on a Beetle. The 7,000# truck tag for the Bronco is only about $10 more, so that's not really a factor. I know there is the cool factor in having the truck tags, but that too doesn't mean a whole lot to me.

Can someone explain what the pros and cons of the two different plates are? What benefit is there to getting one or the other?

Thanks for any help.

I don't think there really is a benefit to having one over the other. I know on SUVs, if you have truck plates you don't have to wear your seatbelt (although they are trying to get that changed). I just don't see any reason why you wouldn't want to wear your seatbelt, so I guess it all depends on what you want on your vehicle.

In OH it allows you to use loading zones and some other traffic benefits. It is well worth the extra $25 to give myself Rockstar Parking anywhere in Cincinnati.

Mike

Yeah as far as I know no benefits like that exist for Indiana truck plates.

Call your local DMV, in MO, MI, and OH the truck plates allow you to park in any "Loading Zone."

IN has to be similar that you can use and No Parking Truck Loading Zone Only area.

Just my thinking,
Mike

California (and I believe it's nationwide) Disabled Person (handicap) Plates: Allow parking at meters without paying, and allow parking in restricted to neighbor's only areas.

Commercial Plates: Free parking in yellow loading zones.

In CA, if your pickup doesn't have a camper shell, you automatically get the more expensive Commercial Plates. If you have D/P Plates on a pickup without a camper shell, you get the benefits of both Commercial and D/P plates.

I decided to go ahead with the truck tags when I got the plates yesterday. I read through all of Title 9 - the Indiana vehicle code - and did not find any differences between a vehicle with car plates and light-truck plates (under 11,000#). The clerk at the BMV also said that there was no difference. She did mention that she has heard of people running into snags in other states where the truck/commercial plates do have significance. She specifically said that I would need to watch out for restrictions posted in Chicago, which is just up the road from here.

I guess when I am in Ohio I'll have to pull up a patch of loading zone and take a nap just for fun. :)

The real differences in Indiana begin once you get into the 16,000# class. This would mean that an F350, at a GVWR of 11,200, is not technically a light-truck and would need to observe lane restrictions and other special postings.

Here in Indiana handicap plates DO NOT entitle you to park at meters without paying. You CAN park at parking meters painted blue (and marked "HANDICAP) but you still must pay.

And now as of June 1st, the seatbelt law has been changed by the legal nazis so trucks are now included. Can't I just take my safety into my own hands? I thought part of being an adult was you didn't have to have a baby sitter anymore!

Actually it changed today, July 1.

Part of being an adult is to follow the laws, which explains why I still act like a kid. : )

Ok, so I should learn how to type my dates. Dangit these late night sessions

As long as the truck is under 11,000 pounds you can use truck plates, car plates, "In God We Trust" plates, "Support Our Troops" plates, or any of the Organizational/Commemorative plates that you could run on a passenger car.

The only differerence prior to July 1 was the seatbelt exclusion, as others have noted, but now there is not a bit of difference. No special parking, lane exclusions, etc.

In fact the only thing I can think of is that you can transfer car plates to a truck but not vice versa. Other than that there isn't any reason other than cosmetics or preference to run one over the other.

is there any requirements about towing with car plates vs truck plates? ill have a car plate on my F250 when i get it, i just dont want to get haggled...

No, but car plates aren't legal on a pickup, are they?

Yes, they are legal as long as the truck weighs less than 11,000 pounds.

I've done some more research and have found one difference in the code book that may apply to some folks in Indiana.

A vehicle registered as a car can only alter the bumper height by 3" up or down before it is outside of the vehicle code. A vehicle registered as a truck can have a bumper height of up to 30" regardless of original bumper height. If you plan to lift your truck, truck tags are the way to go to remain legal.

IC Code 9-19-4-1 and 9-19-4-2, respectively.