Covering rear license plate with gear

Grumpy374 wrote:
Your worrying too much about nothing. The minute you hook up a toad the plate isn't visible from the rear. Do you worry about that? The minute someone with a pickup hooks up a trailer using a big wd hitch that blocks the plate, do you think he worries about that?
I use a double 2" hitch extension so I can mount my spare tire carrier and tow my toad, and have never "worried" about it.
Just hook up and go have fun.
Grumpy

Sorry Grumpy, but you are wrong. Hook a toad up and there IS a license plate visible to the officer. Hook a trailer up and there IS a license plate visible to the officer. Cover the ONLY plate on a vehicle and it becomes an officer safety issue.

Any LEO that aggressively looks for stolen vehicles will stop a vehicle with no readable plate on the rear.

You can only get a ticket for state inspection in the state you are tagged in. If you could get one in another state you will have to pass their inspection to get rid of the ticket. Some states front License plate with trailer some with two and some with only one on rear. Some states no plates on trailers. Some with no inspections and some with emissions inspections. Just do what is required in your state for the plates.

I did that for 4 years of near full timing and something like 30k miles. Nobody ever questioned it.

Its probably one of those laws that LAW ENFORCEMENT will add on to your bill for doing some other refraction.

Obviously when you hook up a trailer to your truck you can't see the truck license plate very well but this should be covered somewhat by having a good visible properly mounted license plate on the rear of the trailer.

Our VIRGINIA state here requires license plates on both ends of the road vehicle so guess that covers the truck situation for us. Never had an issue with my setup... Even back in the JEEP DAYS when we were totally covered in mud haha Probably just lucky on those return trips...

Roy Ken

K Charles wrote:
I got a ticket for a dirty plate with my GTO

If I were fortunate enough to have a classic GTO, I would never let it get dirty....:)

I got a ticket for a dirty plate with my GTO years ago and my boss got one because hiss hitch covered the plate.

Check with your state and states you will be traveling through. It many (if not most or all states) your license plate is supposed to illuminated. Here in NC, you will not pass a state safety inspection if it isn't. I know the California Code Book has a code for it as well. Will you get a ticket? More than likely no, at most, it will be a "fix-it" ticket. But it could cause you to be pulled over. The same goes as having the license plate obstructed, which you seem to be concerned about.

Your worrying too much about nothing. The minute you hook up a toad the plate isn't visible from the rear. Do you worry about that? The minute someone with a pickup hooks up a trailer using a big wd hitch that blocks the plate, do you think he worries about that?
I use a double 2" hitch extension so I can mount my spare tire carrier and tow my toad, and have never "worried" about it.
Just hook up and go have fun.
Grumpy

Go to a handi-cap cargo ramp website. They sell a real nice looking extension for the license plate. Since their motorized scooters/wheelchairs cover the plates also.

And there is this one for cargo carriers. Be sure to get the one with the longer lead for the plate light.

'basic bracket has a longer lead to be used with cargo racks or carriers without taillights'

https://www.stowaway2.com/store/products/603/StowAway-License-Plate-Bracket