If it's registered as a commercial truck, the insurance company is required to write a commercial insurance policy on it.
My F350 cab/chassis truck costs twice as much to insure ($800/yr -vs- $400/yr) and 4 times as much to register ($300/yr -vs- $70/yr) as my F350 pickup, in AZ. Both trucks have the same policy coverage features and limits, except no towing coverage on the cab/chassis truck, since the insurance company doesn't offer towing on commercial trucks over 10,000 lbs.
In CA, the cab/chassis truck was twice as much to insure (about the same, $800/400) and almost 3 times as much to register ($650/yr -vs- $250/yr), than the pickup, both with same policy limits, etc.
AZ is alot cheaper on the registration on both trucks, especially the pickup.
In AZ, the pickup is registered to 10,000 lbs GVW. The cab/chassis is registered 20,000 lbs GVW.
In CA, they dont register pickups to GVW, instead they use the unloaded vehicle weight. So the pickup was registered to 6000 lbs UVW (which was the original factory stock shipping weight of the pickup, when it left the Ford factory in '92, according to the bill of lading document I got with the truck).
The cab/chassis was registered to 20,000 lbs GVW, with CA CRV weight stickers displaying '20' on each side of the truck. In CA, commercial cab/chassis trucks are required to go through all highway scales. The weight stickers are required by CA DMV, so the scale operator can see the registred weight limit of the truck, or truck/trailer combination.
In AZ, the cab/chassis truck does not have weight stickers displayed anywhere on the truck, as none were issued to me at time of registration.
Pickups are not required to go through the scales, at all, in CA.
In CA, the registered GVW of the commercial cab/chassis truck must cover not only the loaded weight of the truck, but also the loaded weight of the trailer. That is why I had the cab/chassis truck registered to 20,000 lbs, in CA.
When I brought the cab/chassis truck to AZ, I assumed the registration requirements were the same as CA, so I registered it to 20,000 lbs again. Later, I found out that, in AZ, the commercial truck registration only needs to cover the loaded weight of the truck, not the trailer too. In AZ, the trailer registration covers the loaded weight of the trailer.
In AZ, up to 10,000 lbs, for personal-use trailer weight, the registration is $130, paid only once, and is good for the life of the trailer. So, next time I renew the cab/chassis' registration, I can lower my registered weight to 15,000 lbs for the truck and save about $70/yr, versus 20,000 lbs.
Also, once I registered the cab/chassis truck in AZ, it is no longer allowed to cross into CA, at all, unless I purchase a temporary CA commercial registration for the truck. I did not know that and was issued a $250 ticket at the scale in CA, when the scale police saw the AZ plate on the truck.
Apparently, CA and AZ do not have a reciprocity agreement for commercial truck registration. Some other states do have reciprocity agreement with CA. Trucks from those states are not required to purchase CA temporary registration to enter the state. I was informed of that by the CA scale police.
The pickup can cross into CA with it's AZ plate and is not required to have a temporary CA commercial truck registration to enter the state, for personal use purposes. If they think it's being used commercially, there could be a problem, I would assume. However, since pickups do not go on the scales in CA, it is unlikely there would be a problem.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20'
BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 &
LockRite rear
