25 replies to this topic

[srileo]

Hello all,

My camper is on the truck fulltime, but california assumes that if i own a truck, it is for commercial use and wants to charge me $154 weight fees on top of the usual license and renewal fees. 

I read somewhere on here that if you go to the DMV and tell them that your camper is on the truck fulltime, it is no longer a commercial vehicle and therefore does not attract the weight fees. 

 

I tried that last year, and i remember that the DMV lady was very cooperative about it, but said that my Truck title would have to be modified to be marked as recreational use only. But because the title is still held by the Bank of the West, I have to get some documentation from them.... (or something to that effect). 

 

I ended up having to pay the full commercial fees last year, but want to try and avoid it this year. Any insights into this would be helpful. Thank you. 

BTW, i cannot pay off the truck and take the title to the DMV right now ;-) 

 

 

[ACEBLACKDOG]

ONLY HEARSAY ON MY PART....

 

i have heard the camper has to be "bolted" to the truck and that if you are caught by chp w/ camper off while on a ca roadway then you will be ticketed and be required to pay all back fees plus any fines, etc...

 

good luck

ace

[srileo]

ONLY HEARSAY ON MY PART....

 

i have heard the camper has to be "bolted" to the truck and that if you are caught by chp w/ camper off while on a ca roadway then you will be ticketed and be required to pay all back fees plus any fines, etc...

 

good luck

ace

I'll happily pay the fine and it would be well-deserved. But how do i convince DMV that i dont need to pay the weight fee? 

 

shridhar

[NoPlanMan]

How can they tell it is/is not licensed for commercial or recreational/ Is it the plates?

[snuffy]

the dmv and chp etc go by the plates..number or letters are diff.. also i was told by my local dmv that it must be bolted down and must be self contained,  fine is very stiff too i was told

[lqhikers]

srileo.

 

i changed my 2013 ford transit van ,which also had weight fees to a camper.

all i had to do was to have them check van to verify it was a "camper"

sink ,stove, pota potti {works as bathroom} exchange old plates for new.

i could if wanted remove everything in about 20 min. 

i did this when registration was due,saved about $75.00 a year! (2 tanks of Gas  )

 

while there i asked about my truck 2015 tacoma with northstar camper,no problem  if its mounted

safely ,sugest removing corner jacks,also the dmv guy who inspected said that any topper

​on a pick up would allow you to delete weight fee.

 

i live in calif do not know about the rest of the world.

 

Les,lqhikers

 

Le

[Bad Habit]

What worked for me was I moved away and haven't looked back.  Interestingly enough, about 3 years after I moved, I got a letter from DMV stating that my vehicle registration was past due and they were threatening to garnish my wages.  Of course, this was mailed to me at my address in WA.  I responded with a certified letter asking them to explain to me how they could be smart enough to know my address which was out of state, and yet not figure out that I was no longer a resident of the State of California and probably wouldn't be registering a vehicle in a State where I didn't live. Not surprisingly, I didn't get a response.

 

Love the people, love the diversity of the environs, have no use for the bureaucracy

Edited by Bad Habit, 15 July 2015 - 02:22 AM.

[simimike]

Mr. Habit,  That sums it up nicely.

[srileo]

What worked for me was I moved away and haven't looked back.  Interestingly enough, about 3 years after I moved, I got a letter from DMV stating that my vehicle registration was past due and they were threatening to garnish my wages.  Of course, this was mailed to me at my address in WA.  I responded with a certified letter asking them to explain to me how they could be smart enough to know my address which was out of state, and yet not figure out that I was no longer a resident of the State of California and probably wouldn't be registering a vehicle in a State where I didn't live. Not surprisingly, I didn't get a response.

 

Love the people, love the diversity of the environs, have no use for the bureaucracy

Nicely done, and well said!

[srileo]

srileo.

 

i changed my 2013 ford transit van ,which also had weight fees to a camper.

all i had to do was to have them check van to verify it was a "camper"

sink ,stove, pota potti {works as bathroom} exchange old plates for new.

i could if wanted remove everything in about 20 min. 

i did this when registration was due,saved about $75.00 a year! (2 tanks of Gas  )

 

while there i asked about my truck 2015 tacoma with northstar camper,no problem  if its mounted

safely ,sugest removing corner jacks,also the dmv guy who inspected said that any topper

​on a pick up would allow you to delete weight fee.

 

i live in calif do not know about the rest of the world.

 

Les,lqhikers

 

Le

Excellent advise!! 

I am very surprised what the nice DMV lady told me last year she didnt mention anything about changing plates etc. Well, i guess I have to get an appointment at the DMV and have the camper inspected. Seems straightforward enough

 

I hope all DMVs do it?

And once you get the camper plates, are you good to go the next year as well or do you have to return for a camper inspection again?

 

Thank you all. You saved me some $$!

shridhar