1936 Model 51 Dump - GVWR - Commercial Reg. Issues

[LFEngineering]

Good afternoon everyone. Having just overcome the overheating issue in my truck I though I was finally on the right path for this summer. That was till Johnny-Law decided to flex his muscle and ruin my day. I was informed by a local officer that because my truck is a "dually" it needed to be registered as a commercial vehicle. I thanked him for the info and he was kind enough to let me finish my journey home. While I though he was just giving me a hard time I did some research and he was correct, any vehicle in MA that has "five or more wheels on the ground." classifies as commercial. To confirm my understanding of the write-up I called the DMV and they confirmed it aswell. This is unfortunate news because they also explained that I would need to pass the commercial vehicle inspection ($100+ / yr) as well as update my insurance to a commercial policy $$$.

The way I currently see it I have 3 options.

A.) Go though all the BS and get the commercial stuff done.

B.) Build a custom set of 20x10 rims with 5x8 bolt pattern and run a large width single tire on the rear, there by skirting the "Any vehicle which has five or more wheels on the ground." regulation.

C.) Pray that my insurance guy with his "RMV Contacts" can get a waiver or work some magic.

As a fabricator and owner of a machine shop I'm partial to option B. Now I understand this is going to most likely upset some of the purist, but fear not. I will not be getting rid of the dual rims, there's always hope for the future.

Lastly does anyone know the GVWR for the 1936 Ford Model 51 1-1/2T?

Feel free to chime in with other ideas.
Just sucks having a fully functional truck at home, stuck in the driveway because of some regulatory BS.

(rant over)

[skidmarks]

Just put super singles on the back like you said in option B.

Thankfully the state of delaware last time i asked does not have a GVW limit on antique tags but dont get caught hauling anything or using it for anything other then club or show events.

[JSeery]

I would go with the single rear wheel option. Would be fairly easy to switch it back and forth for a static situation.

[drolston]

According to the MV-65 Affidavit you can register your truck as an "Antique Auto". Would that not avoid the commercial vehicle business?

[Vintage Copper 47]

In Calif, you can register as historical vehicle plates & no commercial license required..

[rotorwrench]

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If you can't go under antique or historic status, your next option is to become a pain in your state legislature's back side. Bug em enough and they might come up with a legal loop hole. An antique vehicle isn't even practical for commercial use. Most any person, regardless about which way there wind blows, should be able to figure that out.

[tubman]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

If you can't go under antique or historic status, your next option is to become a pain in your state legislature's back side. Bug em enough and they might come up with a legal loop hole. An antique vehicle isn't even practical for commercial use. Most any person, regardless about which way there wind blows, should be able to figure that out.

You obviously have higher class people working for the DMV in Texas than we have in Minnesota.

[LFEngineering]

I was hoping the antique status / plates would be the loophole, but according to the "helpful" people at the DMV, it does not. That's where I hope my insurance guy can dig a little deeper and find someone more knowledgeable than the girl at the front desk.

The only other issue I have doing the single wheel is the truck must still have a GVWR of less than 10,001 lb. Unfortunately I have no record of this. The only info I could find mentioning any sort of GVW was a forum post with the attached images. Listed under the 131.5 dump body with 6.50-20 tires (which mine is equipped) the GVW is 8949. If this could be confirmed, it's my loophole.

[51504bat]

Delete. Misread O/P

[rotorwrench]

The states requirements for registration should be accessible on line. Most of them are. I always just wade through that when I come to it. Some older vehicles may not even pass certain commercial truck requirements. It's well worth your time to find out as best you can.

I don't go to the Tex Dot offices unless I have to. I go through a civilian title service. They are always up on the rules and they do change on occasion. They get changed by the state governments. The squeaky wheel always gets the grease with them. If regulations are unfair then get together with all the antique truck guys you can find and shake the tree a little bit. There has to be a way to do it if not using it for actual commercial purposes.

They just recently relaxed the rules in Texas for annual safety inspections of trailers. It used to be for all 4,500 Lb or above. Now it's 7,500 LBs or above due to all the complaints.

[barnstuf]

I am in Massachusetts and I have seen quite a few dual rear wheel antique trucks, usually restored fire engines, at car shows with antique registration plates. I would just register it as an antique, use it as an antique, and as long as you do not carry a cargo in it, or have a business name on it, you should be OK.

This regulation you are fretting about is not silly. At the time the Registry of Motor Vehicles allowed pickup body vehicles with gvw under 10,000 pounds and single rear wheels to be registered with passenger (instead of Commercial) plates, if there was no business use and no signage on the vehicle, folks began abusing the privilege by putting passenger plates on trucks that did not qualify. Strict enforcement is now the rule. If your truck has signage on it regardless of gvw it is considered Commercial, even a pickup. Also if registered in a business name it is Commercial. These days you see Commercial plates in Massachusetts on pleasure cars because they are registered to a business or because they have signage. Part of the tradeoff for light trucks to have passenger car plates if no signage, privately owned, and no business use.

[KDL]

Anyone that considers a '36 dump truck a commercial vehicle needs to have their head examined.

[tubman]

I have seen many times on this very forum where owners of these vehicles state that they often use them for their original intended use.

[rotorwrench]

In Kansas, we had to register all the family farm trucks as "Farm" vehicles. Since we had a farm it was actually a savings. Farmers have to have a fair amount of vehicles to operate if it is a large family farm or a corporate farm. I don't know about Mass but I'm sure it only works for actual farm use vehicles.

Here in TX we have fuel police and they do check to make sure the farmers are not using off road fuel on the road. They will sample the fuel and the fine is a heavy one.

[5851a]

Sounds like cash cow to me, 100 extra a year for inspection. Lots of crew cab dually's running around here taking grass clippings to land fill. Any time the state sees a trend here they jump on it adding additional tax. Sorry for rant but dot's need to have separate mediation alternative. I would go with the single rear tire.

[skidmarks]

I have been stopped by the police and have had a seperate irs cop sample the tanks. Fines are very expensive

[tubman]

As a "city boy", let me see if I understand. Are you saying they add some chemical or something to the off-road gas so it can be easily detected?

[Bob C]

In CA off road fuel has red dye in it.


Bob

[flatford8]

Originally Posted by tubman

As a "city boy", let me see if I understand. Are you saying they add some chemical or something to the off-road gas so it can be easily detected?

Their talking about diesel fuel not gas...... Mark
There is “road use tax” on onroad fuel.

[blucar]

Most states that have exemptions for "off road fuel tax" a red dye in the off road fuel.. In many states the fine is $150. per gallon of storage the tank can hold. ie; a 25 gal tank is 25 x $150. = $3,750.
I travel the western states on a regular basis driving many different sizes of vehicles, large diesel RV's, pickups pulling trailers and flatbed trucks.
In most states if the truck has dual rear wheels, more than two axles and has a flatbed and/or box, with a GVW in excess of 10K, in some cases the trigger is 16k, the vehicle is rated as commercial.
I know a lot of people that try to avoid the laws with vintage trucks that they claim are exempt from current DMV rules, however, when they get stopped by the law, they find themselves in deep trouble.