California CVRA decal question
This question is primarily for CA registered vehicle owners, and I’m not looking for the weight police to chime in on “what is the safe weight my truck can carry”. Background information: Recently...
Forum Discussion
Wayne... Wayne... ayne... ne..
I like how your posts repeat themselves... selves ... elves ... ves
With that kind of echo, you must live near Big Canyon Creek... creek... eek.. :E
;)
I know the OP wanted to let this matter die.. die... "LET IT DIE ALREADY" tomve shouts...
But you brought up one important nuance that shouldn't be ignored, for the benefit of others similarly situated who may review this thread as they search for answers and wonder what other people have done who face the same dilemma:
In some cases, there is NO ADDITIONAL COST for registering the truck under the CVRA. It all depends of the estimate of Gross COMBINATION weight declared. One is free to declare a minimum amount of weight that works out to a fee LESS than the weight fees charged to a pick up truck.
But don't pull or carry a pound more than that declared weight, or you'll owe full fees and fines as if you declared 80,000 lbs.
So it really isn't money that is saved by registering the truck as PK. It is personal freedom. I'm not trying to take the topic back to the Mayflower where pilgrims escaped the rule of the King and sailed into an unknown future in the Land of the Free to gain personal freedom... but essentially, that is what it is about.
When you have a personal pickup for your own non commercial use around the home, and for recreational use around this Land of the Free, you never know what you're going to haul. You might drive to Home Depot one day to get new 4' fluorescent tubes for the kitchen, and in front of the entrance there are two pallets of stone pavers being blown out for 70% off, due to change of vendors.
Those were the exact pavers your wife said she loved when you guys saw them last year, as the both of you were dreaming about what it would be like to redo the back yard entirely, if only the cost of attractive materials weren't so darn expensive. It's her birthday next week, and here are the stones ready to be forklifted into your one ton dually truck.
Only one problem. Truck weighs 8K, your camper (which is parked at home on it's happi jacks at the moment) weighs 3K, and your stuff weighs 1K. So you registered for 12K under the CVRA. The total lot of stones on those two pallets weighs 5K (2500 per pallet). Your truck's GVWR is 13,300, so you won't be over weight, even if you are 300 lbs. But the weight will be 1K over your declared weight, so you can't surprise your wife, unless you also want to surpise her with a huge fine if you get caught.
Will you get caught? 99.9% not a chance. If you get in a wreck, with CVRA, you're in trouble. With registration as a pickup, you are legal and the weight is fine.
That is what is being fought for here. The freedom to use a pick up as a pickup, like we all used to do before 2001.
The CVRA was lobbied for by the Teamsters Union to get after the hot shotter industry that blossomed ever since that fateful day in 1989 when Dodge introduced the Cummins into their stodgy pickups whose design hadn't changed since 1973. Once a 500,000 mile motor that got 19-20 miles per gallon got stuffed in a pick up that not only didn't have to stop, but actually got shoed away from truck scales and load inspection stations, it was GAME ON for the hotshotter industry.
It took 12 years to figure out how to write the laws, governing both trailers as well as trucks, to restrict this unfair advantage that hotshotters had over Teamster driven semi trucks. The downside is, us RV folk have gotten caught in the cross fire.
Even as we upgrade our trucks to be able to safer handle the weights of RVs, we are bumping into the regulations that were not intended to target us.
It isn't about us trying to get over on the State, trying to get around rules, or trying to save money in registration fees. It's really just about preserving our freedom, within a societal sense of reason.
How often are you going to haul two pallets of pavers home to surprise your wife with the beginnings of a new back patio? Once, maybe, in a lifetime. It isn't like you are in the commercial hauling business of delivering pavers everyday. It isn't like you are a commercial landscaper. You're a homeowner. And a wonderful husband full of surprises. Should you really need to pay the CVRA fees for an entire year, or multitude of years, for that one act of spontaneity?
The CVRA declared weight must include the estimated weight of the loaded truck AND all cargo, persons, fuel, camper, canoe, and equipment on or in the truck, as well as the weight of any trailer towed by the truck, and all the contents within the trailer.
The pick up weight fees are an average flat rate, so to speak, because there is no penalty for exceeding a weight that you didn't have to estimate or declare.
I hope the issue at stake here makes more sense with this example.
It isn't just about money. It's about freedom and flexibility. It's about the real world use of the vehicle. It's about the letter of the regulation obfuscating the intent of the legislation. It's about steering the boat back when bureaucracy bloat drifts off course.
Its about time I stopped talking about this topic!
:)
I like how your posts repeat themselves... selves ... elves ... ves
With that kind of echo, you must live near Big Canyon Creek... creek... eek.. :E
;)
I know the OP wanted to let this matter die.. die... "LET IT DIE ALREADY" tomve shouts...
But you brought up one important nuance that shouldn't be ignored, for the benefit of others similarly situated who may review this thread as they search for answers and wonder what other people have done who face the same dilemma:
Reddog1 wrote:
"what is the additional cost for the registering of your truck, over the typical registering?
In some cases, there is NO ADDITIONAL COST for registering the truck under the CVRA. It all depends of the estimate of Gross COMBINATION weight declared. One is free to declare a minimum amount of weight that works out to a fee LESS than the weight fees charged to a pick up truck.
But don't pull or carry a pound more than that declared weight, or you'll owe full fees and fines as if you declared 80,000 lbs.
So it really isn't money that is saved by registering the truck as PK. It is personal freedom. I'm not trying to take the topic back to the Mayflower where pilgrims escaped the rule of the King and sailed into an unknown future in the Land of the Free to gain personal freedom... but essentially, that is what it is about.
When you have a personal pickup for your own non commercial use around the home, and for recreational use around this Land of the Free, you never know what you're going to haul. You might drive to Home Depot one day to get new 4' fluorescent tubes for the kitchen, and in front of the entrance there are two pallets of stone pavers being blown out for 70% off, due to change of vendors.
Those were the exact pavers your wife said she loved when you guys saw them last year, as the both of you were dreaming about what it would be like to redo the back yard entirely, if only the cost of attractive materials weren't so darn expensive. It's her birthday next week, and here are the stones ready to be forklifted into your one ton dually truck.
Only one problem. Truck weighs 8K, your camper (which is parked at home on it's happi jacks at the moment) weighs 3K, and your stuff weighs 1K. So you registered for 12K under the CVRA. The total lot of stones on those two pallets weighs 5K (2500 per pallet). Your truck's GVWR is 13,300, so you won't be over weight, even if you are 300 lbs. But the weight will be 1K over your declared weight, so you can't surprise your wife, unless you also want to surpise her with a huge fine if you get caught.
Will you get caught? 99.9% not a chance. If you get in a wreck, with CVRA, you're in trouble. With registration as a pickup, you are legal and the weight is fine.
That is what is being fought for here. The freedom to use a pick up as a pickup, like we all used to do before 2001.
The CVRA was lobbied for by the Teamsters Union to get after the hot shotter industry that blossomed ever since that fateful day in 1989 when Dodge introduced the Cummins into their stodgy pickups whose design hadn't changed since 1973. Once a 500,000 mile motor that got 19-20 miles per gallon got stuffed in a pick up that not only didn't have to stop, but actually got shoed away from truck scales and load inspection stations, it was GAME ON for the hotshotter industry.
It took 12 years to figure out how to write the laws, governing both trailers as well as trucks, to restrict this unfair advantage that hotshotters had over Teamster driven semi trucks. The downside is, us RV folk have gotten caught in the cross fire.
Even as we upgrade our trucks to be able to safer handle the weights of RVs, we are bumping into the regulations that were not intended to target us.
It isn't about us trying to get over on the State, trying to get around rules, or trying to save money in registration fees. It's really just about preserving our freedom, within a societal sense of reason.
How often are you going to haul two pallets of pavers home to surprise your wife with the beginnings of a new back patio? Once, maybe, in a lifetime. It isn't like you are in the commercial hauling business of delivering pavers everyday. It isn't like you are a commercial landscaper. You're a homeowner. And a wonderful husband full of surprises. Should you really need to pay the CVRA fees for an entire year, or multitude of years, for that one act of spontaneity?
The CVRA declared weight must include the estimated weight of the loaded truck AND all cargo, persons, fuel, camper, canoe, and equipment on or in the truck, as well as the weight of any trailer towed by the truck, and all the contents within the trailer.
The pick up weight fees are an average flat rate, so to speak, because there is no penalty for exceeding a weight that you didn't have to estimate or declare.
I hope the issue at stake here makes more sense with this example.
It isn't just about money. It's about freedom and flexibility. It's about the real world use of the vehicle. It's about the letter of the regulation obfuscating the intent of the legislation. It's about steering the boat back when bureaucracy bloat drifts off course.
Its about time I stopped talking about this topic!
:)
