GVWR over 10k on new truck, need commercial plates?

[Mroma23]

Hey Everyone, I just inked the paperwork on a new 2020 2500HD AT4 and was a little surprised to learn that I may need commercial plates because of curb weight and GVWR of 10650. I am in Massachusetts and can not seem to find clear cut info on it. There must be someone who knows how this all works. I do not own a business and want to use it for personal use only. Anyone know if there is an exemption or work around in Massachusetts?

Thanks

[JIMNLIN]

mich800 wrote:
You do not need to even register it if you are just traveling. Save your money. :B

:B LOL...and don't forget to claim your moorish :C and don't even need a DL.

[SweetLou]

Lwiddis wrote:
Ask Massachusetts DMV. However, when dealer registers the truck it will or won’t register as commercial.

My half ton in California is “commercial.” No option and no more fibbing to our DMV to save on fees.

All trucks in CA are Commercial down to the smallest. If it can haul a trash bag they consider it potentially used for commercial business. Sad State

[deltabravo]

Me Again wrote:
I believe states honor the licensing requirements from a person's home state for personal non commercial vehicles, just like they honor drivers licenses from their state.

THIS ^^^ !!!!!!!!!!

[Grit_dog]

^ You mean she was towing with the 550? No need for a cdl to drive one bobtail. They’re only rated 19,500lbs gross or something like that.
Add a trailer and it’s pretty easy to be over 26k.

[philh]

Is this why Ford has an option on Super Duty for 9,900 and (IRC) 10,500 GVWR?

Friend at the campground had an "episode", and he had his business dump truck there. He wasn't permitted to drive, his wife didn't have a CDL, which seems odd to me... he didn't want one of his employees to come out to the campground. My wife said, she had a CDL, so she got to drive the F550 dump truck home 🙂

[blt2ski]

Ferndale flyer
Had an employee sting a flatbed 3500 with a single axle trailer get pulled over once. Had a few issues with lights that I was told were correct.....oh well, we did not get fined, but got a 10 day fix issue tag.
Employee tho, if he would have been wearing seatbelt, he would never had been pulled over! He got a $200-300 ticket. Probably cost me in the end an equal amount of time and materials installing lights I was told by builder I did not need. He used the bed is just under 6'/72", so needed that version of lights! Cveo used overall width including axle fenders etc outside of bed.....trailer was closer to 8' wide......
I can see where a triple say 6k axle trailer, 18k on axles, plus 10-16k licensed truck will cause issues in ANY state! Including here! Total over 26k gvw, trailer over 10k gvw....commercial use....in his state....he was doomed!

Marty

[Grit_dog]

Mroma23 wrote:
I read those rules you mentioned over and over again. I agree that it says pickups can be personal use. But the unless mentioned in other parts of 502 part is where the b/s comes in. I have a GVWR of 10,650 and Curb weight of 6800 roughly so it seems like registry is enforcing those stipulations on me. I have the truck love it and it is registered and insured. I may pursue it further but right now I want to enjoy it. The insurance is not that much more and I do not require DOT numbers because it is personal insurance and do not plan on towing anything except my camper so should be good to go for a while.

Well, ya got ****ed by the registry then.

On the downside, aside from expense (presume commercial reg is not less expensive), you could be subject to commercial carrier requirements by a DOT cop who is as clueless as the registry folks that stuck Comm tags on your truck.

[mich800]

You do not need to even register it if you are just traveling. Save your money. :B

[Mroma23]

I read those rules you mentioned over and over again. I agree that it says pickups can be personal use. But the unless mentioned in other parts of 502 part is where the b/s comes in. I have a GVWR of 10,650 and Curb weight of 6800 roughly so it seems like registry is enforcing those stipulations on me. I have the truck love it and it is registered and insured. I may pursue it further but right now I want to enjoy it. The insurance is not that much more and I do not require DOT numbers because it is personal insurance and do not plan on towing anything except my camper so should be good to go for a while.

[ferndaleflyer]

Blt2ski My friend and I got pulled into the scales in Burlington, NC several years ago. Identical F-350 DRW trucks and 3 axel trailers mine registered in MD his in NC. Mine is registered as a MPV (multi purpose vehicle)and his registered too his company. They looked over my paperwork and motioned me to go on and by the time they got done with him he had $4300 worth of violations and could not drive his mess away because he had no CDL. Now get this, he could drive mine and since I had a CDL I drove his. His all started with the weighted tags not being enough for what he weighed. MD has no such restriction on pick ups. MD has no emissions for diesels either.

[Taxman2436]

You can call my insurance person and he will help you. Atlas insurance in Tewksbury, MA.

Lenny

[blt2ski]

RobENY
Emissions issues as youention, only are a problem if you try to register said vehicle in an area requiring something other than what you have.
P saying for or not having to pay tonnage is another issue.
ALL pickups here have tonnage paid for, be it personal or commercial use. I would still want to know, if you don't have a paid tonnage license, travel into somewhere that does for how your traveling, will it count or not. Louisiana does not allow per say trucks wieghing more than iirc 75000 gvw. Texas does. You pay a $380 fine tax crossing the border for going in over 75000 gvw, even tho you have a reg weight license higher elsewhere. I could see it going the other way around too.

Marty

[Drew_A_]

Mroma23 wrote:

Drew A. wrote:

Mroma23 wrote:
Thank You all for the advice. In MASS right now RMV is closed and open for appointment only so that is tough. Turns out my insurance agent set it up for personal vehicle insurance with commercial tags. She told me the registry requires commercial plates because of curb weight and GVWR by the VIN, but going the personal policy insurance options saves me money from commercial, a lot actually.

Anyway excited to pickup the new tow rig and hopefully start looking at new fifth wheels or upgrading travel trailer!!! That is the important part.

Don't go with the commercial plates, you do not need them and may regret this later. If you are not using the truck for commercial purposes, get passenger plates. I have a 3500 with a GVWR of 11,700 and I have passenger plates. I am in MA too.

Tell your insurance person how you want it done and make them take care of it.

Good luck

What insurance company do you have? Safety wrote my policy for personal and would ok passenger plates but RMV said no. Gotta love the Registry!

My insurance agent said that is the best they can. Mass RMV requires commercial plates for this weight. I know there was some cutoff date in 2019 per my google searches, so maybe you can be grandfathered in? I have known my agent since kindergarten so I trust that she did her due diligence on this. I also dropped off paperwork yesterday and the manager said that personal insurance and commercial plates is the best you can do for GVWR and Curb weight over 6k. To be honest I have come to terms with it and think it may not be a big deal. I may go to registry once COVID is over (if ever) and plead my case.

I have Amica insurance and had no trouble registering my truck with passenger plates. Grid Dog quoted the section on page 1. The key is all the "ors" in the spec.

here is one definition.

Private Passenger Motor Vehicle is any vehicle:
(a) which has a vehicle weight rating or curb weight of six thousand pounds or less as per
manufacturer's description of said vehicle or is a sport utility vehicle or passenger van; or
which is a pickup truck or cargo van of the 1/2 TON, 3/4 TON or 1 TON class as per
manufacturer's description of said vehicle; or which is a vehicle used solely for official
business by any college or university police department whose officers are appointed as
special police officers by the colonel of the state police under M.G.L. c. 22C, § 63; and,
(b) which, if a pickup truck or cargo van, is registered or leased to an individual, and is
used exclusively for personal, recreational, or commuting purposes; and,
(c) which is not described in elsewhere in 540 CMR 2.05.
The terms pleasure vehicle, passenger vehicle, passenger car, automobile

Here is another

540 CMR 4.02: Special Definitions
(24) Commercial Motor Vehicle shall mean any motor vehicle which is not a private passenger motor
vehicle, antique motor car, motorcycle, auto home, house trailer, taxicab, ambulance, hearse, livery
vehicle, or school pupil transport vehicle. A commercial motor vehicle shall include the following
vehicles:
(a) The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of
10,001 or more pounds; or
(b) The vehicle is designed to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver; or
(c) The vehicle is used in the transportation of hazardous materials in a quantity requiring
placarding in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations of the United States
Department of Transportation. Any commercial motor vehicle that singularly has a gross vehicle
weight rating of 10,001 pounds or less and is designed to meet emissions standards, shall be
submitted for an emissions inspection in addition to all applicable safety inspection requirements;
or
(d) A single, full or semi-trailer, used in commerce, with a manufacturer's gross vehicle
weight rating over 3,000 lbs; or
(e) Any vehicle which has a vehicle weight, or curb weight, of more than six thousand pounds, as
per the manufacturer's description of said vehicle, unless such vehicle is a sport
utility vehicle or passenger van, or a pickup truck or cargo van meeting the definition of private
passenger vehicle; or
(f) Any vehicle which has five or more wheels on the ground.


If you read carefully, you see that even a 1 ton pickup can be registered with passenger plates as long as it's not a dually.

[Mroma23]

Drew A. wrote:

Mroma23 wrote:
Thank You all for the advice. In MASS right now RMV is closed and open for appointment only so that is tough. Turns out my insurance agent set it up for personal vehicle insurance with commercial tags. She told me the registry requires commercial plates because of curb weight and GVWR by the VIN, but going the personal policy insurance options saves me money from commercial, a lot actually.

Anyway excited to pickup the new tow rig and hopefully start looking at new fifth wheels or upgrading travel trailer!!! That is the important part.

Don't go with the commercial plates, you do not need them and may regret this later. If you are not using the truck for commercial purposes, get passenger plates. I have a 3500 with a GVWR of 11,700 and I have passenger plates. I am in MA too.

Tell your insurance person how you want it done and make them take care of it.

Good luck

What insurance company do you have? Safety wrote my policy for personal and would ok passenger plates but RMV said no. Gotta love the Registry!

My insurance agent said that is the best they can. Mass RMV requires commercial plates for this weight. I know there was some cutoff date in 2019 per my google searches, so maybe you can be grandfathered in? I have known my agent since kindergarten so I trust that she did her due diligence on this. I also dropped off paperwork yesterday and the manager said that personal insurance and commercial plates is the best you can do for GVWR and Curb weight over 6k. To be honest I have come to terms with it and think it may not be a big deal. I may go to registry once COVID is over (if ever) and plead my case.