Dealers and DMV licensing agents never seem to see or understand things the same way as your friendly Highway patrol amn or DOT officer as they are writing you a state general fund donation award. It's a legalized form of tax collection, accept it or you can understand it, abide by it and join the rest of us who are trying to fight it, get somebody elected who might help lower the fees, taxes, and fines.

 

that is one big problem with this country we are supposed to be united states of america? united in what taxes? that is all 50 states can seem to agree upon the same. we should have uniform rules for everything including gun laws ! you have to have a federal back ground check just to get a permit but can only carry in that state ??? unless your a bounty hunter

 

In Tenn. you buy tags for gross combined weight. As the officer said with my truck and trailer empty I was at 12000lbs. so according to my personal plates(9000lbs) I was overloaded empty. I fixed that when I purchased 32000lb. plates now I'm legal to pull 32000lbs. gross. As long as it is distibuted correctly.

 

In a way that is the beauty of this country, though i hate the gun laws and the screwy highways laws, we are the united states, the united soverign states of america, and though the feds have become increasingly more involved with local issues, according to the constitution the feds are only suipposed to regulate interstate commerace, defense and the manufacturing of money.

 

In Illinois a B plate, as stated means the truck, cargo, fuel, etc can not exceed 8,000# . If over, your truck will have to show a D plate. When I purchased my truck new, in Il, a Dodge 2500HD Max 8,800GVW I had to get the dreaded D plate. The dealer stated that if the GVW is rated over 8,000 LBS, By law they can not issue you a B plate. Thus I got the D. Now many avoid this by a simple transfer of plate from there OLD truck to NEW one. I purchased the truck through my son, due to Dodge discounts to farmers, but re-regestered in my name 10 weeks later, and got the B plate. Now with the B plate, and hooked up to the fiver, I am less than 200# over the 8,000 limit. But I do not have to go to the safety lane every 6 month, for 20$ each time, The B plate is about 75$ a year less, and our town sticker is 40$ less. So the only time I am slightly overweight is when pulling the fiver.I expect one day there will be a state crackdown on all diesel, PU and any duley will have to have the D plate, or even F plate.

 

mpfireman,

If I don't haul stuff such that my truck is over 8k the B plate should be fine, right?

What is the "safety lane" and whatnot? Some inspection?

 

Let me start this by saying that I'm somewhat amazed what it takes to get one of these on the road. I just want the MPG, the longevity, and the torque. I don't want to haul anything huge.

BUT Illinois says I need a "D" plate. Which means higher yearly fees, no sales tax, and inspections every 6 months. No sales tax is nice, like $3000 nice.

I'm trying to think of the downsides of this.

What about other states?
Tolls?
Parking?
Road restrictions?

It seems I'm getting into this whole catagory of heavy commercial vehicle, and all that...

 

How do you get out of sales tax with a D plate inquiring minds want to know?

 

The only way I got out of having to maintain the D plate I was issued when I bought the truck new, was buying the truck from my son. Remember he bought it due to factory rebates for farmers, even though I paid for it. When I re-registered it in my name, I got the B plate. As long as you stay under # 8,000 CGVW you should be able to run the B plate. Look around, you will see 2500 & 3500 series trucks all day long with B plates. You might try having it in your wifes name, to get the B plate. Talk to a currency exchange, and explain your situation to them. I do not know anything about this sales tax status. I know when I purchased the truck NEW, with the D plate, I paid all types of taxes. Lots of luck on your B plate quest.
Fireman Ken

 

Here in Connecticut I had no choice... had to go with Commercial plates. Unsure if yours is a dually or not... but I just ordered my dually diesel quad cab 8 ft bed and the dealer told me I have to go with commercial plates due to the weight. Just my 2 cents...

 

I've seen a LOT of B-plate diesels, I agree. I only saw 2 "D" pickups on my way to and from Lake Shelbyville this last weekend. BUT, both the Ford dealer (good folks, very helpful) and the Sec of State said that they were starting to crack down for new registrations. I've heard of a few ways to get around it, BUT starting to wonder if it's not just worth getting the "D" plate. I save money, the inspections seem reasonable. What am I missing? What's wrong with the "D"?

Tax info was obtained from my Ford dealer and confirmed by the Sec of State's office. Part of the 183 yearly plate fee is this CDF fee.

A bit From: http://www.sos.state.il.us/departmen...t/cdf_faq.html

 

Now you guys have me wondering. I wanted personalized plates for my truck. So I went into the MN DMV and asked if it was even possible. They asked if I used the truck for Commercial use. Personal only, but I do haul a trailer occasionally. They said that's not a problem and gave me my personalized plates with the 15,000tag on the plate. Walking through parking lots it seems that's as heavy a sticker they give out. Normally heavy truck (1 ton or bigger) in MN has a YA at the beginning of them. I don't have that with my personalized plate. What's the difference? Should I worry about crossing state lines with a trailer. I've been passed by MN troopers and none have given me a second look. One even gave me the Thumbs up!

Josh

 

If you're correctly plated for your home state I think you would be OK.

Illinois plates go by GVWR, not GCVWR. In other words, by the truck weight, not the trailer weight.

 

*sigh*

So I call my town. Any commercial vehicle over 18' in length or 9' in height is not permitted to be parked outside of a residence.

QC/SB...~19' long. Can't really find a full-sized truck that's not over the 18' mark. The Tundra is 18.1'...probably short enough.

They are checking what defines a commercial vehicle. Hopefully this is not an issue.