Renewing Ontario license plate stickers just got harder

[gitane59]

Well I tried renewing my F350 dually TV's license plate sticker today and ran into a new bureaucratic stumbling block.
Seems Service Ontario just got a new computer system a couple weeks ago. This new system has a default that locks out the agent from proceeding if the RGW is over 4500kgs without first entering a CVOR number.
Unfortunately I also ran into an agent that knew nothing about CVOR regulations or exemptions and was curt and belligerent when I tried to explain I was exempt and had been for the past 5 years and I knew no reg's or laws had changed this past year.
When I pushed her she shutdown and walk away leaving me fuming. I demanded to speak to a supervisor who finally explain the new computer system and the issue.
Previous years we were not even questioned at all about the CVOR but now the computer system has tied the CVOR regulations requirement into the sticker renewal computer program.
The supervisor gave me a new document on which you have to declare and sign stating that you meet one of the exemptions and this must be filed with the Service Ontario sticker renewal paperwork.
Now comes the bizarre part. I had gone to one of the privatized small rural Service Ontario offices and the supervisor said that even if I signed the exemption declaration that particular office I was at did not know how to bypass in the computer system the CVOR number field in the program and that I had to take all my paperwork to a large regional Service Ontario office for processing.
I then left and called the CVOR office and this was all confirmed by a representative at the CVOR office who told me many o fthe small rural office do not yet know how to handle CVOR exemptions.

[gitane59]

CoMoCo wrote:

Gitane - I have been looking at new GM 3500HD's - not in person, only online so far - and for GM they are 13,025 pounds. Only the regular cab duallies are 13,500 or 13,400 (gas or diesel). This is stated when you do a "vehicle locate" from the GM Canada website and also on the specifications page. Hopefully this link to the specs page works.

I too was looking online at the different options and using the build and price tool I too did find the information you are stating. The only way to get a comparable GVWR with one of the other manufacturers is to option the RAM truck with the 3.42 rear gear which is not useful for towing at all. The Ford has no option to reduce the GVWR I can find online.
I will begin investigating more closely upon my return to Ontario in a week.
It appears that the only choice for large 5'ver owners in Canada wanting to tow with a dually in 2015 is the GM trucks.

[CoMoCo]

gitane59 wrote:

CoMoCo wrote:


Gitane59 - I am starting to look for a new truck and I will probably eliminate Ford due to its GVWR.

On a relayed note I was pulled over in Milton, ON this morning as there is a "safety blitz" checking yellow stickers. I have one and it is current but it is still unnerving when the lights come on behind you for no apparent reason. They are watching us already!

CoMoCo:
I was just looking on both GMC and Ram website's and both of their 3500 duallies have GVWR rating over 6000KG's. The Ram with the Aisin tranny is rated at 14000lb or 6300KG and the GMC was rated for 13500lbs or 6130KG's so unless you chose to not have the dual wheels I see a major problem looming.
This is a fight I am willing to have with the powers that be who regulate the CVOR rules as this virtually eliminates private RV owners from using duallies to tow recreational trailers.

Regarding the Yellow safety stickers I don't understand the logic that allows the CVOR exemption for personal pickup truck use but does not extend the same exemption allowances to the yellow safety sticker.

Gitane - I have been looking at new GM 3500HD's - not in person, only online so far - and for GM they are 13,025 pounds. Only the regular cab duallies are 13,500 or 13,400 (gas or diesel). This is stated when you do a "vehicle locate" from the GM Canada website and also on the specifications page. Hopefully this link to the specs page works.

[gitane59]

hone eagle wrote:
Thanks for starting this discussion Gitane,I will have to investigate what it means for me.
I have a 'B' with Z endorsement medicals and logs (for work) I use a motorhome(totoerhome) to pull a heavy trailer,will see what hoops are in my future . the medical is the most worrisome if required after I retire .
Case in point a fellow driver had bypass surgery, approved by his london heart doc,but MOT required 'their' doctors to approve and test him,all on his dime and this could be a yearly thing.
School bus driving does not pay enough for the hassle .
RV ing ?

I too will be investigating this further upon my return to Ontario from the south to confirm with the Big 3 in Canada the GVWR of their new F350 duallies and then have some conversations :R as required based the information I find out.


JaxDad:
It irritates me to no idea that a few fly by night commercial bad apples and a few irresponsibly private individuals with no concept of dangerous towing spoils it for everyone.
With regards to the increased tax revenue from fines for our broke province don't get me started or this thread will be toast. :M

[hone_eagle]

Thanks for starting this discussion Gitane,I will have to investigate what it means for me.
I have a 'B' with Z endorsement medicals and logs (for work) I use a motorhome(totoerhome) to pull a heavy trailer,will see what hoops are in my future . the medical is the most worrisome if required after I retire .
Case in point a fellow driver had bypass surgery, approved by his london heart doc,but MOT required 'their' doctors to approve and test him,all on his dime and this could be a yearly thing.
School bus driving does not pay enough for the hassle .
RV ing ?

[JaxDad]

gitane59 wrote:

JaxDad wrote:

No, optics have nothing to do with it, on Holiday weekends and the Friday / Tuesday on either side of them they have 'safety blitz's' where ANY vehicle pulling a trailer is fair game regardless of appearance.

They set up importu inspection stations in parking lots alongside major highways then have OPP and Carrier Enforcement units escort traffic in off the highway for inspection.

A neighbour of mine at the cottage got a hard lesson on the side of the 400 south of Barrie. With an almost new F150 and box trailer he collected nearly $1,000 in tickets. Mind knowing him he very likely got mouthy and racked up a couple he might not have otherwise. He told me he had to drop the trailer and go to CT and buy some new binder straps before they'd even let him continue on. He had been also ordered to get both truck & trailer inspected pronto or there'd be more tickets coming.

Just another reason to be happy I don't live in the GTA region. I have never heard of these safety blitzes being run anywhere but on that crazy stretch of 400 highway from the GTA to cottage country. Guess these is simply not enough volume of vehicles to test to warrant these safety blitzes in SWO.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the powers that be have already announced that the enforcement of these sorts of laws is going to be dramatically stepped up.

Regional Police forces are forming commercial vehicle enforcement units it they don't already have one. Again, a few bad apples, mostly small landscapers and contractors, have caused a bunch of regulation and oversight for all to deal with.

Of course I doubt that the money the broke Provincial government will receive from all those tickets had anything to do with it. LOL.

[gitane59]

JaxDad wrote:

No, optics have nothing to do with it, on Holiday weekends and the Friday / Tuesday on either side of them they have 'safety blitz's' where ANY vehicle pulling a trailer is fair game regardless of appearance.

They set up importu inspection stations in parking lots alongside major highways then have OPP and Carrier Enforcement units escort traffic in off the highway for inspection.

A neighbour of mine at the cottage got a hard lesson on the side of the 400 south of Barrie. With an almost new F150 and box trailer he collected nearly $1,000 in tickets. Mind knowing him he very likely got mouthy and racked up a couple he might not have otherwise. He told me he had to drop the trailer and go to CT and buy some new binder straps before they'd even let him continue on. He had been also ordered to get both truck & trailer inspected pronto or there'd be more tickets coming.

Just another reason to be happy I don't live in the GTA region. I have never heard of these safety blitzes being run anywhere but on that crazy stretch of 400 highway from the GTA to cottage country. Guess these is simply not enough volume of vehicles to test to warrant these safety blitzes in SWO.

[gitane59]

Bumpyroad wrote:
and some folks here in the states want us to adopt more requirements/regulations/hoops to jump through to operate a RV
bumpy

Well you can see the result of all this regulation, create laws to protect the small percentage of intelligence deficient people from themselves and make everyone else's life more difficult and controlled.

[gitane59]

Well with the big three ever increasing the GVWR of their 1 tons duallies over 6000 kg's something has to give.
RV'ers who wish to use large 5'vers will be forced into a tough decision, force the big three to lower the GVWR ratings, switch to a large Class A motorhome that is exempt from every commercial regulation other than the Class D license and air brake endorsement, tow illegally and unsafe with a SRW TV or try to deal with CVOR, log books and daily inspections required with GVWR over 6000 kg's.

None of these options interest me one bit, however if push comes to shove the motorhome route is likely the path of least resistance however unpalatable to those of us that prefer large 5'vers.

[Bumpyroad]

and some folks here in the states want us to adopt more requirements/regulations/hoops to jump through to operate a RV
bumpy

[JaxDad]

gitane59 wrote:
Regarding the Yellow safety stickers I don't understand the logic that allows the CVOR exemption for personal pickup truck use but does not extend the same exemption allowances to the yellow safety sticker.

Yellow stickers are to show the vehicle is safe, CVOR is to track the performance of commercial carriers. You can lose your CVOR for nothing more than driving like a jerk.

It's another case of a few fly-by-night operators spoiling things for the honest folks. There's a newbie posting on the 'other' board who hauls RV's commercially but refuses to accept he needs a yellow sticker or anything else.

IMHO it's not the TV's that are the issue, it's the trailers. Exempting the worst offenders makes zero sense.

[Community Alumni]

It's the same here in Quebec where have the 'Contrôle routier Québec' which is essentially 'the transport police'. They patrol the highways looking mostly for trucking safety issues however they can and have pulled over any vehicle they might deem as potentially dangerous. They can pull over rv's.

... Eric

[JaxDad]

gitane59 wrote:

JaxDad wrote:

Not long ago I was pulled off the highway in one of my company F550's, while I passed muster with flying colour, but another guy didn't. The officer told me the other driver had basically told him to 'F'off and go hassle some truckers'. The officer told me that there was enough issues with both the truck & (RV) trailer that he wasn't going to allow EITHER one to continue on down the road!

If some guy was towing with a recreational trailer with a truck and the pair was in such poor enough obvious condition to garner the attention of a DOT office then the guy deserved to be pulled over and taken off the road regardless of whether he was private or commercial.
I highly doubt you will see DOT officers randomly pulling over recreational units without obvious due cause safety defects.

No, optics have nothing to do with it, on Holiday weekends and the Friday / Tuesday on either side of them they have 'safety blitz's' where ANY vehicle pulling a trailer is fair game regardless of appearance.

They set up importu inspection stations in parking lots alongside major highways then have OPP and Carrier Enforcement units escort traffic in off the highway for inspection.

A neighbour of mine at the cottage got a hard lesson on the side of the 400 south of Barrie. With an almost new F150 and box trailer he collected nearly $1,000 in tickets. Mind knowing him he very likely got mouthy and racked up a couple he might not have otherwise. He told me he had to drop the trailer and go to CT and buy some new binder straps before they'd even let him continue on. He had been also ordered to get both truck & trailer inspected pronto or there'd be more tickets coming.

[gitane59]

JaxDad wrote:

Not long ago I was pulled off the highway in one of my company F550's, while I passed muster with flying colour, but another guy didn't. The officer told me the other driver had basically told him to 'F'off and go hassle some truckers'. The officer told me that there was enough issues with both the truck & (RV) trailer that he wasn't going to allow EITHER one to continue on down the road!

If some guy was towing with a recreational trailer with a truck and the pair was in such poor enough obvious condition to garner the attention of a DOT office then the guy deserved to be pulled over and taken off the road regardless of whether he was private or commercial.
I highly doubt you will see DOT officers randomly pulling over recreational units without obvious due cause safety defects.

[gitane59]

CoMoCo wrote:


Gitane59 - I am starting to look for a new truck and I will probably eliminate Ford due to its GVWR.

On a relayed note I was pulled over in Milton, ON this morning as there is a "safety blitz" checking yellow stickers. I have one and it is current but it is still unnerving when the lights come on behind you for no apparent reason. They are watching us already!

CoMoCo:
I was just looking on both GMC and Ram website's and both of their 3500 duallies have GVWR rating over 6000KG's. The Ram with the Aisin tranny is rated at 14000lb or 6300KG and the GMC was rated for 13500lbs or 6130KG's so unless you chose to not have the dual wheels I see a major problem looming.
This is a fight I am willing to have with the powers that be who regulate the CVOR rules as this virtually eliminates private RV owners from using duallies to tow recreational trailers.

Regarding the Yellow safety stickers I don't understand the logic that allows the CVOR exemption for personal pickup truck use but does not extend the same exemption allowances to the yellow safety sticker.