We weighed everything today.

Yeah, but in AK they will get you on heating fuel.
Funny my PWC for first few years was getting property taxes for assessor office.
The bills stop coming when assessment come down to like $3000. when my big boat was still getting them.
I called assessor and they answer that the tax come too small for them to bother

Best solution, hitch a ride with work2much to AK and STAY there.
$5 a year for a snowmachine sticker, can buy for 2,4 or 6 years up front. Doesn matter if it's a sno machine, atv, bike, buggy, tracked moose rig, $5 a year same sticker, let er rip.
And unless you're poaching, the fish cops leave you alone. WA tried to string me up on a technicality involving AK, where if I'd actually committed an infraction it would have been with AK not WA, yet somehow they spun it and I spent 2 grand to get out of something I didn't do. They involved AK in it and when I talked to the AK state troopers they said "you're good on our end, sorry this is an issue with your nanny state and you're welcome back any time. Too bad you had to leave. Nice chatting with you have a good day and good luck with WA!" Literally.

To Bedlams point, WA hasn't gone off the deep end with the whole commercial truck reg thing. Probably too many (not enough imo) rednecks and eastern WA to make that fly.....for now.
But they couldn't be more effed up when it comes to orv, on road atv, motorcycle, sno machine titling/registering. I won't even start with why they wouldn't issue a title for my perfectly legal, newer 4 wheeler when we moved here and the jacked up laws regarding on or "off" road travel. That's so bassackwards it's not even funny. However, the icing is if one has a dual sport bike and wishes to use it as a snowbike, the title must be changed with the seasons! Literally, new title in the spring and fall if you want to do both. And the fish cops hide in the bushes, literally to make sure they get their share!

Nice setup. It is really a night and day difference between 3rd gen dodges and new ram trucks. I have towed crazy loads with old 12v dodges but these newer trucks are so much more capable and safe. Less stressful to drive. More confident feeling. Yours will last you awhile, that's the other great thing about it.

Bedlam wrote:

Dig deep into the regulations so know them better than the person or office with whom you are interacting. Always be polite and helpful and show them how and why their course of action goes against the regulations. If you can deal with someone that is truly a professional and not a resistive block in the system, you may even make a friend.

Very true. I closed our DMV 45 minutes past 5 on a Friday and left with sincere aploigies for the situation. I said earlier, I'm the guy with the Dodge truck as they say in a city of 125,000 people. Not quite "Norm"

The complexities of the vehicle codes are not just in CA. I was able able to register a dune buggy for street use although they initially gave me grief in the past for similar efforts and even CYA'ed themselves by reissuing one of titles into another classification. One dual sport buggy I have is fully registered as a street vehicle with no restrictions because I came armed with RCW's and exceptions that supported my assertions. This was in 2009 when Bombardier and Polaris inverse trikes were not popular or released yet, so I targeted the motorcycle and trike classifications to get my motorcycle engine powered buggy with tubular frame and motorcycle based suspension classified for road use. The fact that the vehicle was manufactured with DOT road lighting and had options for fenders which would clear DOT wheels, their arguments continued down a slippery slope that countered their own regulations. Even my insurance company was willing to insure this vehicle, which supported its legitimacy.

Since my success in registering this vehicle, a new classification with a restricted road registration has been created. If I were to try this again today, they would most likely lump me into this category and take away the flexibility and enjoyment I get out of this vehicle.

Dig deep into the regulations so know them better than the person or office with whom you are interacting. Always be polite and helpful and show them how and why their course of action goes against the regulations. If you can deal with someone that is truly a professional and not a resistive block in the system, you may even make a friend.

work2much wrote:
... lying to the DMV really isn't something I feel personally comfortable with even if the odds of being caught are slim.

Your ethics are different than mine. Point one, DMV does not make the laws. Point 2, if the laws are so ambiguous DMV employees and CHP Officers have trouble figuring them out, depending on the financial consequences, I am willing to let the Judge figure it out.

I had a truck registered as a pickup for fourteen years. It had a flatbed when I bought it, and was inspected by DMV when I registered it. After fourteen years, a CHP Officer gave me a citation. I had to change the registration to a flatbed. My license went from $60 to $250. No fine or other cost.

jimh425 wrote:
Kind of a shame that the laws are so confusing. It's almost like people are getting paid to make them confusing. :D

Agreed

Kind of a shame that the laws are so confusing. It's almost like people are getting paid to make them confusing. :D

OK. After spending way too much time researching this I came across what I was looking for.

In the vehicle code, division 14.85 "Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act" section 34601

Sub section G:

(G) Vehicles never operated in commercial use, including motortrucks or two-axle truck tractors, with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 26,001 pounds, when operated singly, or, when used to tow a camp trailer, trailer coach, fifth-wheel travel trailer, trailer designed to transport watercraft, or a utility trailer, never operated in commercial use. Vehicle combinations described in this subparagraph are not subject to Section 27900, 34501.12, or 34507.5.

While this only addresses trailers (and not big trailers) and not TC's I think the spirit of the law is clear here. I believe this would be a 'leg to stand on' in court to fight a ticket. It also helps me rationalize declaring my truck as being operated at 10,001 pounds or less to avoid paying additional fees as anything over this amount would be strictly non-commercial and fall into the category of camp use.

Here is the section of CA law

In any case it seems that mass confusion is the norm for citizen and government alike.