Registration , Commercial VS. Regular

d_bertko

Active member
Every state has different registration requirements.

You can get into trouble many places if you register at a weight less than the GVWR. Just check that point with your state.

That likely is mostly applied to commercial vehicles. Here in MA you used to be able to register according to what ever you wanted as long as your weight stayed below it. That made sense for a furniture hauler like me but that got subsumed by new rules to use the gvwr.

RV insurance in many states is cheaper than passenger rates. But only about $10 total difference in MA. I opted for passenger registration since that allowed me on the most roads and best city parking privileges.

Dan
 

Old Crows

Calypso 2014 View Profile
Kat.. Try the library. Or, be bold and take it to a dealer and "wonder" about its trade in. Vs. blue book ...
 

220629

Well-known member
...
I need to figure this out soon since both my insurance policy and tabs need to be renewed by next week.

Thanks!

Kat
I think that Roger Sailquik has done a good service to help make us aware of some of the pitfalls of commercial vehicle issues as related to DOT inspection stations. In my mind he gets full credit for that and it should help us to make our decisions.

Kat,
In your case it may not be so important. If you walk like a duck... er, RV, then on the interstate you'll likely be considered a duck.

I'm not ready to break down your comments to individual answers because I think you have a good handle on your situation.

My opinion.

It is highly unlikely that you will have any problems DOT or officer wise. Even if you are pulled over, a cordial response will generally avoid great problems. Please don't try to educate an officer about the laws as apply to your Sprinter. It is like a red flag to a bull.

The ability to discontinue insurance seasonally has some advantages.

By not declaring your vehicle as an RV and insuring it as such then you do risk some additional value lost in the event of a total loss (fire, catastrophic collision) turned into your insurance company. They will consider you to be under-insured and pay out based upon your policy. Any collision loss caused by another party and covered under their insurance should generally be paid as to the actual cost of repairs necessary to restore your vehicle.

All in all, except for the possiblity of total loss not being covered by your insurance, if your present registration and insurance mode works for you then continue it. BUT, I don't have all the facts and I'm not an insurance agent so FWIW. vic
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
Kat: There are other insurance companies which will cover storage periods.
If you ever join Camping World's "Good Sam" or (extinct) "President's Club", your mail box will forever be filled with such offers.
Heck... just drop into any CW store (Fife, Burlington) and there are scads of handouts (and the occasional agent).

--dick (passenger vehicle (ignore the bed (fold,fold)... see? it's a seat!))
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
I called the county auditor's office and asked what kind of license plate I have. I was told that the dealer listed the use as a "truck" (with van body) and that THEY do not consider it a commercial vehicle and that if they did, the registration would say the use is "commercial" and would most likely be registered under a business name.

I'm wondering if this would this be obvious (truck license versus commercial license) to some state trooper who pulled me over me because I didn't stop at a weigh scale or who was suspicious and just decided to pull me over?

The lady at the auditor's office said I could also re-register the van as a personal vehicle instead of an RV and fees would be based on weight. The cost would be a bit more than what it costs now with a "truck" license, but less than an RV license. She also said that I should register it as an RV if it has amenities like a bed, toilet, sink, etc. because if I got pulled over, a state trooper could inspect it and tell me to get it licensed as an RV. I'm not too worried about that.

I'm wondering if there is some advantage in licensing it as an RV over a personal vehicle, or if since it is (by my state) considered a truck/van and not a commercial vehicle to just leave it as is.

The cost per year for a truck is $51.00, for a passenger vehicle $64.00, or for an RV $112.00 (but it would cost an extra $40.00 to change it to passenger or RV this year).

If I insure it as an RV, my insurance agent said I need to come up with a value for it and I could use receipts for my van conversion to justify that part. But after searching the internet, it looks like there is no FREE source like NADA or KBB to get a value on a used Sprinter van. Apparently there is a commercial NADA book that costs $120.00 :shifty: In addition, my insurance company says that if I insure it as an RV, that is a yearly policy and that I can't suspend the insurance when I'm not driving it.

I need to figure this out soon since both my insurance policy and tabs need to be renewed by next week.

Thanks!

Kat
I purchased my van at a Portland, OR dealership. When I brought my van into WA, I picked up plates in Battle Ground, WA. The person that took the dealership sales paperwork and registered the van went out to look at it. I told her it was a personal vehicle. She asked me to open it. I asked if she was looking for a toilet. I was joking but she said, "yep." I asked why. She said it'd have to be an RV if I had one.

I ended up with commercial plates even though I told her it was not being registered under a business.

One advantage I have is that if I'm picking someone up in an office building down town, cops to look twice; once at the commerical plates, then they leave me alone.

I did get lost on the way to Portland earlier this year. At 5 am, I was driving aimlessly around a neighborhood built up around a mall (I was looking for McDonalds, which I saw from the freeway). The cop asked if it was mine, or a business. I said mine. He let me go after telling me which turns to take to get back to the coffee.

I think commercial plates offer me a little latitude.

As for weigh stations on the highway, I've driven past ones that were open and with troopers in cars waiting to pounce. I don't do it daily, but maybe two or three dozen times in the last five years. I've never been pulled over for failure to weigh in on WA or Interstate highways.

I forget what your van looks like now. If it looks like a camper, I'd probably advise you to register it as an RV.... but that's me.

As for insurance, it's insured for replacement value. My agent didn't balk ask any questions or try to upsell coverage.... of course, all my insurance policies are with that office, so maybe being a 14 year customer bought me courtesy.

FWIW
-Jon
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
<snip>
--dick (passenger vehicle (ignore the bed (fold,fold)... see? it's a seat!))
I just thought about a halloween prank, writing "Don't you be knockin' if this van's a rockin!" in saddle soap on the side of your blue van.... but you're smart and you'd probably find me, get me back with "Free Candy" on the side of my upscale, window-less stalker-type van; or maybe you'd just write "FBI" on the side.... so let's just leave our vans out of halloween, 'k? :) I know when I'm out-gunned in the brain department.

-Jon
 

220629

Well-known member
...
I did get lost on the way to Portland earlier this year. At 5 am, I was driving aimlessly around a neighborhood built up around a mall (I was looking for McDonalds, which I saw from the freeway). The cop asked if it was mine, or a business. I said mine. He let me go after telling me which turns to take to get back to the coffee.

I think commercial plates offer me a little latitude.

...
-Jon
I have passenger plates, but I think that my Sprinter walks like a duck.

I park in loading zones quite often when I am actually unloading/loading. No hassle so far.

In my favor this time...

I went the wrong way into a "buses only" area at a Florida casino while trying to drop off my wife and sister-in-law so I could nap while they gambled. The guard looked up, hesitated, and then waved me on. I have a full complement of dark tinted windows so that may help.

Almost went the other way for me here:

Just the other day I stopped to pay the toll into Canada.

The collector said I was a bus.

I said that I was a van.

She then asked how many seats I had back there. (Tinted windows.)

I replied "two".

She then said that if I seated 10 or more I was a bus.

My reply was no problem, I only seat "8".

She accusedly replied that I told her only two seats.

I replied "Yes. Two seats, 3 passengers each".

"WELL... I thought you meant two bucket seats."

"Sorry, no. But I only still seat 8 people max."

"WELL, EXPECT TROUBLE WITH THIS at the bridges."

I said "Thank you" and drove away.

So yes, I guess we can have issues as Sprinter owners. vic
 
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autostaretx

Erratic Member
Jon: i depend upon soaping incidents... add rain and i've had my free car wash for the year.

Vic: i have non-tinted windows.
That only caused a potential ruckus once when we (in bed-in-van mode) had one of my wife's stained glass tables (with price tag affixed) in back, too.
After a few back-and-forth questions/answers, i merely had to state "we're not conducting any business in Canada", and they waved us through.
(i wasn't lying... we'd taught a class in Washington the previous day, and were simply taking the long way back to Seattle (a week on Vancouver Island))

--dick
 

Kat

Katmobile
Thanks everyone for your advice.

I spoke with my State Farm insurance agent again today and she said that if I insured my van as an RV, it would be not only a yearly policy that can't be suspended, but I'd be limited to 5,000 mi per year. Well, that was enough for me to NOT want to have it insured as a motor home.... besides the fact that it costs more to license it as a motor home.

Then I asked her if it would change anything else with them if I changed it to a passenger van and she said no, that they already consider it non-commercial and as a passenger vehicle. So with that designation I could still suspend it if I want to and reinstate full coverage on my car. I don't know, but it doesn't make much sense to me to fully insure 2 vehicles when I can only drive one at a time. I'll put the Subaru back on full coverage if we get a Northeaster and for some reason I need to go out in it. I guess I should probably put some fuel stabilizer in the tank and run it for a bit, and then unhook the battery, or maybe run it back and forth in the driveway once a month.

Anyhow, I went down to the county auditor's office and talked with them about the license. They said it is a truck plate, just like a commercial truck has, only they don't consider it commercial. I asked them how an out of state trooper would know the difference and they said the trooper would look at my registration. :shifty: Well, I don't want to have to worry about being chased down by troopers in other states who may think the van is a commercial vehicle... as remote a possibility as that may be. I don't know about you, but when I see flashing lights behind me my adrenalin lets loose. (No, I don't get frequent tickets... only got one in my 43 yrs of driving... knock on wood). Anyhow, I thought it would be wise to avoid the anxiety or stress associated with having commercial plates. Also I don't have any need to park in a loading zone, so there's no benefit for me to have commercial plates for that.

So licensing it as a passenger vehicle seemed like the best option. I brought my recent CAT scale weight along in case they wanted it, but the lady never asked for it; she just went off of the original weight of the vehicle which made the price cheaper than I thought it would be (I guess they only needed that if I changed it to a motor home). So they did charge me for new plates and a filing fee, but the total only came out to $77.75. She said next year it will cost $53.75 to renew the tabs (only $2.75 more than having truck/commercial plates).

They said that if I had wanted to license my van as a motor home, all it needed to have is a bed, a sink, and a toilet and that they don't inspect the van for those things and I didn't need to provide them with any documentation. My van does have a sink, a bed and a porta-potty. But I'm thinking that I really don't need the porta-potty in there. In the off chance that a state trooper would stop me and question why it isn't licensed as an RV, I could say I have no toilet :). During my 24 day road trip in August, I only used the darned thing once and could have just as well used the camp bathroom. It really wasn't worth the hassle of having to clean the darned thing out. I mean you can find a toilet for #2 just about anywhere... McDonalds, a gas station, campground, etc. I found that the female urinary device and a bottle was easy enough to use if I needed to get up and pee in the night and the bottles are a whole lot easier to clean out!

Anyhow, I'll be putting the passenger vehicle plates on the van tomorrow.

Kat
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
Kat: in the old days, the only difference between non-commercial Truck and Car plates in Washington was that the truck plate started with a single letter, versus a car's three-letter preamble. I'd be surprised if further-than-Oregon (and California) police would be aware of that subtle distinction.
There are lots of other reasons that any state can decide to pull you over... got a suction-cup on your windshield? (for GPS, cell phone or note pad?). Illegal in many states.

I was happy to see one of the other replies mention that at least one state accepts having seat anchors in the back maintains "car"-ness. Some states regulations say "seats", without providing for unclipping them (you can fold 'em, but you've gotta hold 'em).

If not having a sink allows me to claim i'm not an RV, i'm happy (and legal... here).
Having a full set of windows probably helps me maintain that image, too. And no built-in cabinetry.

good luck, may your rear view continue to be absent of any blue blinking lights....
--dick
 

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