I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to post in but I will ask a question to see if other RVers in Ontario will respond.All pick up trucks in Ontario (both LD and heavy duty) are classed as commercial, the LD one can be deemed "for personal use" but HD ones can't. Our 5th wheel is heavy, so a HD dually is what we pull it with.I just received a letter saying I owe $119 for an extension period granted because of COVID, now the grant is over, they now want payment. The payment has to be made to the Ministry of Finance (not sure how), not Service Ontario where we get our license stickers renewed.I'm wondering if other Ontario RVers with HD pick ups have just received the letter. I have emailed the "bureaucracy" to find out more!

I got the letter owing $23 even though I had already renewed my license plates. I was 2 weeks overdue because the first time I went to the MTO right at the time when stickers were no longer needed the person didn’t know what to do and told me to come back in a couple weeks.The pain is that you can’t just go to the MTO or online and pay the balance. You have to set up an account for a deferred payment plan. You will get 3 letters in the mail. The first states what you owe and how to apply for the plan. It includes a registration id number. A week later you will get another with your PIN number to access the account. It gives you the website to go to in order to set up the account using the id and PIN number. You will then get another as an invoice for balance owing. You can then pay in a lump sum or deferred payments. You also have the opportunity to declare if the vehicles weren’t being used during the covid period.The first letter lays this all out.

I know we have language differences, but does the word "commercial" have a different meaning in Canada than it does down here? Down here commercial implies that you are using it for a business.

Any vehicle in Ontario with a gvwr over 4,500kgs (9900lbs) is automatically deemed a commercial vehicle regardless of its purpose. Ontario recently deleted the requirement for annual license plate stickers and the fees (still have to renew annually but there is no fee or date sticker) for non commercial vehicles but commercial vehicles still have a renewal fee. The amount of the fee depends on the gvwr it is registered for. You can actually register for a max gvwr for the summer tow season and then get a refund by going back and registering it for lower when not towing the rest of the year. You just need to make sure you raise it back before you’re going to tow again. The fines for towing over registered weight are very high if caught. I can’t be bothered with the hassle to save a few bucks and pay for the max gvwr.

camp-n-family wrote:The first letter lays this all out.Thanks for this! I am at "step 2", I got the first and second letter, waiting for the invoice. I may just make their life complicated (as they have made ours!) by indicating the truck was off the road so they have to through the complications that they have put us through. I just wanted to see if others in Canada are going through the same hassles. I emailed the "bureaucracy" and asked a question, they responded in an automatic reply that they are overwhelmed with mails and phone calls about the letters. As another comment in terms of commercial vehicles I note that even our neighbour with a little Honda Ridgline pick up has a commercial plate on it!

camp-n-family wrote:I can’t be bothered with the hassle to save a few bucks and pay for the max gvwr.Same here in Indiana...we moved here last year and wanted to register for the max GVWR of 12,300, but you don't get to pick any number, you have to go with pre-established classes, and the only choices were 10,000 and 16,000...so I have to pay for 16k to get my full GVWR.

RVing with a HD Pick up in Ontario | Good Sam Community

JaxDad
Explorer III
Dec 12, 2022
Lee_RV wrote:
I was looking for places that allowed you to drive a diesel pusher on a regular license and NB was one of them. I could be wrong (the gov't wording of these things is always terrible) but I am pretty sure it was ok.

You can drive a DP M/H with a regular licence, however, in certain jurisdictions (Ontario is one of them) an air brake endorsement is still required.

In fact, some friends got an ugly surprise when they stopped in a safety blitz and were not allowed to continue on down the road, despite having no mechanical issues, because of not having the air brake endorsement on their licence. Thankfully they were travelling with others, one of which had the air brake cert., and was able to trade drivers.
Lee_RV
Explorer
Dec 10, 2022
I was looking for places that allowed you to drive a diesel pusher on a regular license and NB was one of them. I could be wrong (the gov't wording of these things is always terrible) but I am pretty sure it was ok.
JaxDad
Explorer III
Nov 29, 2022
moisheh wrote:
Wow, Ontario sounds like an uber strict place live.

I think if you look at the reg’s you will see that Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories and Ontario are all pretty much the same.

In a weird quirk to the reg’s though, my converted Class 8 truck (registered as a motorhome) is not a commercial vehicle any longer and is therefore exempt from all of this save for the air brake items.
moisheh
Explorer
Nov 28, 2022
Wow, Ontario sounds like an uber strict place live.
Pipeman
Explorer
Nov 28, 2022
I have a 1 ton dually HD and a 5er. I also had a class Dz license, an AR license and then dropped down to a class G license when they wanted me to go for medicals etc. The class G covers what I haul with my HD. As for the plate sticker, I used to up the weight rating from May to October but I haven't done that in a few years now. I have never been given a break on my sticker cost by the gov't. I just renewed my sticker on line for $265. and it didn't take very long to get here. I tried online last year and I was told I couldn't do it. This year was different.
almcc
Explorer
Nov 27, 2022
harley4275 wrote:
I did not read all the replies but I got an bill for $ 111. Just go on the website and plug in the number that was on the letter that they gave you and your PIN number that they sent you and then red register it as being used. They'll send you an invoice in the mail within a week and show you where to pay.

I got the letter but didn't get a PIN number, I complained to our MPP, who was the house speaker at that time, and nothing else happened. Maybe my comment to the MPP about my truck being for personal use helped!
harley4275
Explorer
Nov 26, 2022
I did not read all the replies but I got an bill for $ 111. Just go on the website and plug in the number that was on the letter that they gave you and your PIN number that they sent you and then red register it as being used. They'll send you an invoice in the mail within a week and show you where to pay.
JaxDad
Explorer III
May 26, 2022
Grit dog wrote:
@Jaxdad, yup sounds simple as pie. As evidenced by your fellow residents’ issues and reports here…

I don’t see the ‘catch up’ payments and letters / payments associated with the payment hiatus the last 2 years as any relationship to the licensing itself.
Grit_dog
Navigator
May 25, 2022
@Jaxdad, yup sounds simple as pie. As evidenced by your fellow residents’ issues and reports here…
JaxDad
Explorer III
May 25, 2022
almcc wrote:
Jaxdad, you are behind the times! Have a look at this posting back from the McGinty era that extended the weights for RV's with a G license. If you know it has been cancelled let me know!

https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/18637/making-it-easier-for-rv-drivers-to-enjoy-summer

No, I didn’t mention it so as not to muddy the subject. It only affects a 5’er.