License plates by weight

Back when I lived in NC, pick-up trucks and weighted tags went hand-in-hand. The way it worked was a license plate for everything that had wheels. But the tow vehicle's tag had to be "weighted" for the total combined weight you ever thought about towing. If you had a F150 and wanted to hook up to your bass boat , your truck tag had to be for the total weight of the truck, trailer, and boat. XXX amount of weight per $$$. Some counties were tough on enforcing it, others ignored it. For me, I had a weighted tag covering up to 26000lbs costing me over $400 a year. Only issue was that my rig weighs 27500 ready to roll. The other part of this is that they want all commercial trucks to have weighted tags. Meaning Joe Blows backyard lawn service that had the ragged pick-up and 3500lb utility trailer is supposed to have a weighted tag.

In NY
Registration Fees for Commercial Vehicles
Weight of Vehicle (lbs.) 2-year Fee Weight of Vehicle (lbs.) 2-year Fee
000 - 500 $7.00 9,001 - 9,500 $137.00
501 - 1,000 $14.50 9,501 - 10,000 $144.00
1,001 - 1,500 $21.50 10,001 - 10,500 $151.00
1,501 - 2,000 $29.00 10,501 - 11,000 $158.50
2,001 - 2,500 $36.00 11,001 - 11,500 $165.50
2,501 - 3,000 $43.00 11,501 - 12,000 $173.00
3,001 - 3,500 $50.50 12,001 - 12,500 $180.00
3,501 - 4,000 $57.50 12,501 - 13,000 $187.00
4,001 - 4,500 $65.00 13,001 - 13,500 $194.50
4,501 - 5,000 $72.00 13,501 - 14,000 $201.50
5,001 - 5,500 $79.00 14,001 - 14,500 $209.00
5,501 - 6,000 $86.50 14,501 - 15,000 $216.00
6,001 - 6,500 $93.50 15,001 - 15,500 $223.00
6,501 - 7,000 $101.00 15,501 - 16,000 $230.50
7,001 - 7,500 $108.00 16,001 - 16,500 $237.50
7,501 - 8,000 $115.00 16,501 - 17,000 $245.00
8,001 - 8,500 $122.50 17,001 - 17,500 $252.00
8,501 - 9,000 $129.50 17,501 - 18,000 $259.00

lbrjet wrote:
7K is the standard Indiana truck plate. When I registered my F250 she got out a 7K plate and I said what is the next step up from that. She said 9K and I said I'll take that. She said that is going to cost me an extra $20 per year are you sure that is what you want? I said yes. She said but your truck weighs 6600lbs why would you want the 9K plate? I said please just give me the 9K plate.

Yea. I had my 3500 Chevy Dully originally licensed at 7000 pounds, then found out if I ever hauled anything that brought to total weight over 7000 I'd be in violation. So, about the 3rd year I owned the truck, I switched to a 11,000 pound tag. Reason? The pay load is slightly over 11,000 pounds.

One other thing I learned, the "pay load" does not include the weight of the trailer.

Let's say the truck weighs 7000 pounds by itself, empty. If the trailer is hitched and the tongue or 5er pin weight adds (let's just say) .. 1000 pounds, that 1000 pounds is NOT added to the weight of the truck (for traffic violation purposes) although the actual weight on the truck is now 8000 pounds.

But if you haul a load of rock in the bed of your truck and it weighs 1000 pounds, you've just added 1000 pounds (total) weight to the truck (for license purposes) you are now overloaded 1000 pounds.

So if your total weight goes over the license plate weight, you (could) get into legal trouble. Now, I keep a shell on my truck all the time, the possibility of loading it to 11,000 pounds will probably never happen. I could have stayed with the 7,000 license plate, but I wanted to make sure the truck was licensed to accommodate (anythng!) ... it's max weight (for license purpose ... not necessarily for the actual capacity of the truck itself).

Indiana is a real confusing state!

Dave H M wrote:

dodge guy wrote:

Dick_B wrote:
not Illinois...

My Excursion is registered the same as my minivan, yet the X has almost double (maybe not quite) the GVWR as the minivan. Yet a Ford Ranger has to have a truck plate with a weight rating!

I got regular ole B truck on my F 250, isn't that what you have on the Ranger?

No I don`t have a Ranger, I was just stating that a tuck with a GVWR 4k lbs less than my Excursion needs a B plate. even my BIL`s Sport trac needs a b plate.

I live in Indiana and my truck is a 3/4t with a 9k gvw sticker on door. It is currently registered as a 7k gvw, but was at 9k in the previous years. My renewal next month will cost me $60.75 as it is now 10 years old and value for excise tax is now low. I can pull any weight I want to and not be checked. If I owned a 1/2t I could register it with farm tags at 11k if I wanted to and nobody would care. Buy the way I believe 11k is the smallest farm tag. The agri based company I use to work for had the Chevy van I used,with a 7800gvw, registered with an 11k tag. I assume it was for insurance and other business reasons.

dodge guy wrote:

Dick_B wrote:
not Illinois...

My Excursion is registered the same as my minivan, yet the X has almost double (maybe not quite) the GVWR as the minivan. Yet a Ford Ranger has to have a truck plate with a weight rating!

I got regular ole B truck on my F 250, isn't that what you have on the Ranger?

ExxWhy wrote:

mowermech wrote:
I did the title transfer and registration on my "new-to-me" 2001 Dodge 1500 yesterday. Without asking, the DMV clerk registered it at 10,000 GVW.
That works for me!
Total cost: $284! HOWEVER, that is permanent registration; I will never have to renew it as long as I own it!

The plates stay with the vehicle forever in MT?

No, I didn't say that. The plates belong to the registered owner. If I sell or trade a vehicle, I keep the plates.
PERMANENT registration is for vehicles 11 years old or older, ALL trailers, ALL motorcycles (including street legal ATVs), and ALL boats.
I currently have PERMANENT registration on the 2002 motorhome, the 2001 Dodge, the 1977 Dodge, and a 12 foot aluminum boat.
The registration never needs to be renewed as long as I own them.

ExxWhy wrote:
Do you also pay sales tax on top of the excise tax?

No, just the excise tax on vehicle price + the cost of the vehicles tag.

I can put a truck plate on a ford escort, or toyota prius if I want to. Many local auto parts stores do just that with their delivery rigs. As they can now park in a truck loading zones with out worry of a parking ticket. Or if they park in a 2 way left turn lane with flashers going, not illegal per say, but a car doing so is. A few things to think about as to which plate one may or may not want.

In a state such as washignton where pickups are required to pay tonneage. IF you get pulled over and weighed, and do not have the proper tonneage paid for, you may be required to get an appropriate local paid for tonneage permit to continue. Vs if you had your states paid for tonneage plate vs a car plate, you could continue on.

Just a couple of things to think about when paying for a license

JIMNLIN wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

OH48Lt wrote:
...then there are those states that determine license plate fees based on the value of the vehicle.

True, but those states are most likely few and far between..

I do know that SC does fall into that category, you pay a "tax" yearly based on the value of the vehicle. Buy a new car and you get slapped with a pretty high "tax" but after x amount of years it is depreciated to the point is is nearly free. To prevent scoff laws you have to pay the "tax" to get your plate sticker...

Actually quite a few states fall in that type category with no weight registration as my state. We pay a graduated yearly tag depending on price of the vehicle but its the 3.25 percent state excise tax for a new vehicle thats a tough one. Which is one reason we see so many high end 5ers/motor homes with a TX registration sitting in campgrounds with a Oklahoma tagged toad behind the motor home or a tow vehicle for the trailer.

Do you also pay sales tax on top of the excise tax? Ohio you pay sales tax which is between 6.5% and 8% depending on what area.