I am reposting some information from a closed thread from 2013 on New laws in California.
The big changed are that HDTs can be up to 16000 lbs and driven w/o trailer for non-commercial personal purposes.
In 2016 (jan 1st) the weight goes up to 26000 lbs!
Note that the codes remove much of the "pickup exemptions" and uses motor truck now.
Here is the original posting:
Major change to California Dually (DRW) and HDT truck laws
I wasn't quite sure if I should post this in General or Tow Vehicles, so I'll just leave it right here.
Two new laws in California just made it possible for every private DRW and soon, HDT truck owner to avoid the Motor Carrier Permit (CA Numbers on the truck) process.
First a little background: Nearly every DRW truck in California is not statutorily defined as a pickup. A "pickup" in California is under 11,500 pounds, has a bed, and unladen weighs less than 8, pounds. Every commercial vehicle with GVWR over 10,000 pounds has to stop at scales except pickups. This means that your typical F350 DRW or Ram 3500 technically must stop at the scales, since they are not "pickups" in California. Enter the Motor Carrier Permit (MCP) process. The MCP law requires any vehicle, used for hire, or NOT, over 10,000 pounds to register. Statutorily defined pickup trucks are exempt from MCP. This means that DRW trucks need CA numbers on the side, and have to stop at scales. The $35 a year fee for the MCP is not a deal breaker for most. The problem is that MCP requires $750,000 in insurance. It also subjects the permit holder to the BIT (CHP inspection program) at your "terminal".
Under current law, if you are pulling an RV trailer, you are exempt. As soon as you unhook you are subject to MCP.
Here is where it gets awesome! Two bills made it through to law, AB 501 and AB 529. Both bills needed to pass for the good parts of each bill to go into effect. They both did. AB 501 (2014 Jan 1st) changed the current law to exempt trucks under 16,001 pounds from the MCP, as long as they are not pulling a trailer (remember RV trailers are already exempt), and not used for commercial purpose. This means nearly every DRW truck on the road, up to some 4500s is exempt. AB 501 is going to expire on January 1, 2016.
AB 529 will take effect January 1, 2016 and increased the weight to 26,001 for single rear axle trucks. The laws also added watercraft trailers to the exempt trailer list.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it just opened the door for every DRW owner to breathe a sigh of relief. Every time you drove a DRW without a trailer, and no CA numbers you were risking getting pulled over and cited for a hefty commercial vehicle fine. Most people never ran into this problem, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. The bigger deal is that it opens the legal door to HDTs in California. I know a few members posted about getting HDTs but were turned off since there were few legal ways to drive them unhitched from the trailer.
Scroll down to section 5.5
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB501
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB529
Scroll down to section 14 , 2F
Current Law - https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d14_85/vc34601.htm
End of original posting"
The vehicle code in California for large pickups is so confusing. The CHP MCP (Motor carrier permit) "safety" division is even worse than the codes for any kind of help other than fines, fees, inspections, and eventually the arrest and imprisonment for those not "interpreting them the same an officer of the state".
Here is the CHP (California Highway Patrol) MCP phone number just for the record:
916 731 6350
I do not recommend ever calling the MCP division for advice since they pretty much default to "yes you need a permit when you are driving any commercial truck anything we do not define as a pickup. ( Pickup = <11500 lbs GVWR and <8000 empty weight). They also claim any truck with utility bed is commercial. Basically they are clueless about the current and future laws and just follow "office and enforcement policy" most of the time. The biggest part of "interpreting the law" is that the codes redefine things like a pickup and a commercial vehicle. In fact any vehicle is commercial when USED commercially. The DMV considers all pickups commercial (different definition).
My first problems with these laws and CHP started when I stopped at a weigh station in my NPR HD Isuzu box truck. The dealer had said I did not need any permits for this truck as long as I was not for hire or having employees drive it and that registration and insurance was all that was required! ( Don't every listen to brokers or sales people about laws!) I registered my truck as a personal vehicle with not for hire status at the California DMV and got it insured as such. Then CHP gave me a commercial ticket ( a misdemeanor in California) in the amount of $800. The Judge removed the violation and fees in exchange for 40 hrs of volunteer work. She said the law was for fleet trucks and that private owners often get caught in this bureaucracy. So I did my time at a Goodwill thrift store and actually had some fun volunteering. Now I have paid 35$ + $1200 (extra liability commercial insurance) per year for 5 years to file as "exempt status" on the MCP and get the "CA" number. I am not a commercial driver and do not get inspections or keep logs. In fact when I do my required stops at the scales the CHP refuses to give me the weight of my truck. They claim the scale is for checking violations only and that I am not in violation at this point. So you can see my frustration in that the CHP is not even about safety or inspections but all about "extra fees" with threat of arrest or to impound my vehicle and tools. Sounds like the middle east or something doesn't it?
So you can imagine that I am excited that the new code seems to allow a box truck or a DRW when under 26,000 lbs for personal usages. Not sure how long it will take to
CHP to figure out the new law! It looks like I can use this truck after 2016 with no MCP or CA number or the expensive insurance. Now I just have to figure out the CARB ( california air resource board) requirements;-( .
I started researching all of this after needing a heavy duty 4WD pickup for places the NPR can not go. I am still dumbfounded that the old laws make it illegal to drive an HDT w/o the trailer on an empty load requiring un-needed extra insurance and permits to claim exemptions. The idea of pulling an 14,000 lb trailer so you can not need inspections is exactly backwards. It creates an unsafe situation to push less experienced non-commercial drivers in to smaller vehicles and trailers that are over loaded and not able to stop or maneuver as fast as the proper sized 2 axle vehicle.
The big changed are that HDTs can be up to 16000 lbs and driven w/o trailer for non-commercial personal purposes.
In 2016 (jan 1st) the weight goes up to 26000 lbs!
Note that the codes remove much of the "pickup exemptions" and uses motor truck now.
Here is the original posting:
Major change to California Dually (DRW) and HDT truck laws
I wasn't quite sure if I should post this in General or Tow Vehicles, so I'll just leave it right here.
Two new laws in California just made it possible for every private DRW and soon, HDT truck owner to avoid the Motor Carrier Permit (CA Numbers on the truck) process.
First a little background: Nearly every DRW truck in California is not statutorily defined as a pickup. A "pickup" in California is under 11,500 pounds, has a bed, and unladen weighs less than 8, pounds. Every commercial vehicle with GVWR over 10,000 pounds has to stop at scales except pickups. This means that your typical F350 DRW or Ram 3500 technically must stop at the scales, since they are not "pickups" in California. Enter the Motor Carrier Permit (MCP) process. The MCP law requires any vehicle, used for hire, or NOT, over 10,000 pounds to register. Statutorily defined pickup trucks are exempt from MCP. This means that DRW trucks need CA numbers on the side, and have to stop at scales. The $35 a year fee for the MCP is not a deal breaker for most. The problem is that MCP requires $750,000 in insurance. It also subjects the permit holder to the BIT (CHP inspection program) at your "terminal".
Under current law, if you are pulling an RV trailer, you are exempt. As soon as you unhook you are subject to MCP.
Here is where it gets awesome! Two bills made it through to law, AB 501 and AB 529. Both bills needed to pass for the good parts of each bill to go into effect. They both did. AB 501 (2014 Jan 1st) changed the current law to exempt trucks under 16,001 pounds from the MCP, as long as they are not pulling a trailer (remember RV trailers are already exempt), and not used for commercial purpose. This means nearly every DRW truck on the road, up to some 4500s is exempt. AB 501 is going to expire on January 1, 2016.
AB 529 will take effect January 1, 2016 and increased the weight to 26,001 for single rear axle trucks. The laws also added watercraft trailers to the exempt trailer list.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it just opened the door for every DRW owner to breathe a sigh of relief. Every time you drove a DRW without a trailer, and no CA numbers you were risking getting pulled over and cited for a hefty commercial vehicle fine. Most people never ran into this problem, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. The bigger deal is that it opens the legal door to HDTs in California. I know a few members posted about getting HDTs but were turned off since there were few legal ways to drive them unhitched from the trailer.
Scroll down to section 5.5
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB501
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB529
Scroll down to section 14 , 2F
Current Law - https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d14_85/vc34601.htm
End of original posting"
The vehicle code in California for large pickups is so confusing. The CHP MCP (Motor carrier permit) "safety" division is even worse than the codes for any kind of help other than fines, fees, inspections, and eventually the arrest and imprisonment for those not "interpreting them the same an officer of the state".
Here is the CHP (California Highway Patrol) MCP phone number just for the record:
916 731 6350
I do not recommend ever calling the MCP division for advice since they pretty much default to "yes you need a permit when you are driving any commercial truck anything we do not define as a pickup. ( Pickup = <11500 lbs GVWR and <8000 empty weight). They also claim any truck with utility bed is commercial. Basically they are clueless about the current and future laws and just follow "office and enforcement policy" most of the time. The biggest part of "interpreting the law" is that the codes redefine things like a pickup and a commercial vehicle. In fact any vehicle is commercial when USED commercially. The DMV considers all pickups commercial (different definition).
My first problems with these laws and CHP started when I stopped at a weigh station in my NPR HD Isuzu box truck. The dealer had said I did not need any permits for this truck as long as I was not for hire or having employees drive it and that registration and insurance was all that was required! ( Don't every listen to brokers or sales people about laws!) I registered my truck as a personal vehicle with not for hire status at the California DMV and got it insured as such. Then CHP gave me a commercial ticket ( a misdemeanor in California) in the amount of $800. The Judge removed the violation and fees in exchange for 40 hrs of volunteer work. She said the law was for fleet trucks and that private owners often get caught in this bureaucracy. So I did my time at a Goodwill thrift store and actually had some fun volunteering. Now I have paid 35$ + $1200 (extra liability commercial insurance) per year for 5 years to file as "exempt status" on the MCP and get the "CA" number. I am not a commercial driver and do not get inspections or keep logs. In fact when I do my required stops at the scales the CHP refuses to give me the weight of my truck. They claim the scale is for checking violations only and that I am not in violation at this point. So you can see my frustration in that the CHP is not even about safety or inspections but all about "extra fees" with threat of arrest or to impound my vehicle and tools. Sounds like the middle east or something doesn't it?
So you can imagine that I am excited that the new code seems to allow a box truck or a DRW when under 26,000 lbs for personal usages. Not sure how long it will take to
CHP to figure out the new law! It looks like I can use this truck after 2016 with no MCP or CA number or the expensive insurance. Now I just have to figure out the CARB ( california air resource board) requirements;-( .
I started researching all of this after needing a heavy duty 4WD pickup for places the NPR can not go. I am still dumbfounded that the old laws make it illegal to drive an HDT w/o the trailer on an empty load requiring un-needed extra insurance and permits to claim exemptions. The idea of pulling an 14,000 lb trailer so you can not need inspections is exactly backwards. It creates an unsafe situation to push less experienced non-commercial drivers in to smaller vehicles and trailers that are over loaded and not able to stop or maneuver as fast as the proper sized 2 axle vehicle.
Trace
