license plate

I started this post long ago. I was planning a trip to Alaska. For the record, I moved my plate from the truck to the provided spot on the camper. When entering Canada the gal asked me my plate #. She could see it on her screen. Had I not moved it she would not have seen it. I knew the # or I would have had to produce the registration. She must have noticed from my passport I had a CCW permit. She drilled me for 5 minutes about weather I had a handgun, I did not. She threatened to pull me aside and offered a jail cell if I was not truthfull. Again I had no weapon. She also suggested next time I could bring a long gun with a simple permit. Coming back into the states in Mt , again I was asked the plate#. This US gal asked why I had an Alaska plate on the front and MI on the back. "which one is legit or stolen she asked" I explained the front plate said ALASKA and was purchased at a gift shop. We both had a good laugh. She was not the first to be fooled by that. I am glad I moved the plate. I never took the camper off. Now in a week or so I go to SD bird hunting and take the camper off. This time I will just leave the plate on truck both ways.

My plate is visibly clearly despite the long camper because it sits so high, but I would fail the test of being at the furthest back portion of the vehicle. So perhaps I should move it. It would at least be a bit more visible if I did. However if the main goal is to avoid giving LE a reason to pull me over, in 49 states I should probably leave it slightly less visible because being from Colorado seems to be it's own reason to elicit a pullover these days ;)

deltabravo wrote:

Bedlam wrote:
If my post came off that way, it was not my intent. I work with number of retired LEO's.

Your post was useful.

The kicker to that traffic stop was that the little 1-7/8" ball had been used less than one year before I installed a Class III 5000 lb receiver under the bumper - The bumper mount was only rated for 2000 lbs and too high for most small trailers. I never removed it because I had no use for the ball elsewhere.

I was never rude or curt to the officer, but was surprised by the lights (I saw him following me). After I told he officer everywhere this little truck had been and how well it was still running, I think I could have sold it to him right there. It was '89 Mazda 4wd extended cab with a 2.6 FI L4...

Prior to reading this thread, the thought never occurred to me to remove the truck rear plate and mount it to the camper.

Washington State requires front and rear vehicle plates. The truck camper is titled/registered/plated too.

I've never seen a camper owner pull the truck plate and mount it on the camper in my travels in Washington.

Will I consider moving the plate after reading this thread? no.

msgtord wrote:

SugarHillCTD wrote:
I think this thread should go on for at least 3 or 4 more pages.......

and continue to go nowhere.

Anytime a question about laws is asked, the cop haters come out of the wood work to do their cop bashing. It side tracks the thread and contributes nothing.

On some forums I frequent, when the above happens, someone will post this (to define the fact that a given thread has turned in to a train wreck, which hasn't totally happened to this thread yet):

Bedlam wrote:
If my post came off that way, it was not my intent. I work with number of retired LEO's.

Your post was useful.

If my post came off that way, it was not my intent. I work with number of retired LEO's.

SugarHillCTD wrote:
I think this thread should go on for at least 3 or 4 more pages.......

and continue to go nowhere.

Anytime a question about laws is asked, the cop haters come out of the wood work to do their cop bashing. It side tracks the thread and contributes nothing.

Slymer wrote:
Just a thought. Here's what I do. I have an old trailer plate I found laying around. From a pop-up camper decades ago. It is still reg'd to my name and address, but to a pop-up that no longer exists.
I put that on the TC & leave both truck plates on the truck. If I get stopped I will just explain the plate switching hassle each time the TC comes off. The fact that the plate is reg'd to me shows that I am not trying to deceive anyone. I'll also explain that they don't issue plates for TC's as they are just loads.
I doubt there would be an issue.

That is just ridiculous logic. You're putting an invalid plate on the back of the camper to fool the police into thinking you've moved the truck's plate, but then claim you're not trying to deceive anyone?

Frankly you'd be better off not having a plate on the camper at all, and feigning ignorance/forgetfulness if you ever got pulled over.

"Oh, you have to put the plate on the camper? Let me fix that right now!"

or

"Sorry officer, I knew I forgot something this morning. Let me fix that right now!"

I was pulled over once for an obstructed plate, but it was an officer fishing for a violation. He claimed that having a hitch ball mounted in a step bumper obscured the plate and made it unreadable. I explained to him I was the original owner of the then 15 year old truck and the bumper was OEM. The same truck, bumper and hitch ball had traveled both coasts of the US plus Canada and Mexico without issue, until now. Although he did not admit to an error, my vehicle and documentation was clean so I was not cited. I still drive through this town often and have not had incident in the past 11 years nor have I seen this officer.