License plate cost (sticker) for pickup in Ontario...

[miatared]

Hello my fellow Ontarians.

I am trying to figure out the cost of a new sticker for my 3/4T Ford F250.

Does anyone have any relevant information from the MTO, their web site has nothing to speak of. There is a note for commercial vehicle under 3000 kg used for personal use or a commercial vehicle used for commercial use.

My pickup is a not a commercial vehicle, it is only used for personal use and pulling a 5th wheel occasionally.

My F250 is a tad under 3000 kg at 2900kg, that is the weight on my registration certificate, with a full tank of gas and myself, my 5th wheel hitch installed. I have a black and white plate. I currently pay $120 per year.

I heard I need to show the weight with the 5th wheel trailer attached, rear wheels weight only -- with the 5th wheel attached that is... A friend pays $497 per year for his F250 because of that...

Other tell me no, no need to do that.

I just want to be legit...

Thanks

[kilbearcamper]

According to MTO and the Highway traffic Act.
My pick up is, by definition, a commercial vehicle, and only commercial vehicles are allowed to tow more than one trailer in Ontario.

Double or triple towing however it is called would be legal in Ontario. Thoughts?

[free_radical]

JaxDad wrote:

shum02 wrote:

JaxDad wrote:
Having not just a personal truck in this category, an F-350 DRW 4x4, but a small fleet at work, we run into this ALL the time.

I have NO fleet, am not part of a fleet, no yellow sticker and pulling over a F350 with a RGVW of 4000kgs and weighing me will show anyone I'm under.

In these "spot checks" I only see guys with trailers and loads of gear in their trucks using "personal" trucks as work trucks. If you do that you are COMMERCIAL. Had a neighbor get nicked for that even after I warned him about it with his Ram 1500 using it for a driveway sealing business - got nicked!

I see this confusion all the time, there is NO such thing as a "personal" pickup truck in Ontario. If you have black & white plates you have a COMMERCIAL vehicle, period.

Compare the ownerships of a car and your pickup, you will see at the very top the term "COM - FIT" (commercial) on your truck and "PAS - FIT" (passenger) on the car ownership.

For an RV there is however several exemptions from some commercial vehicle requirements.
But as a commercial vehicle you can be stopped at anytime for no particular reason in order to 'inspect' the truck.

Fwiw any vehicle cars included can be stoped for inspection at any time also,right,,especialy if it looks unsafe or have some lights not working etc..

[Pipeman]

I don't have a black on white plate. Mine is blue on white, personalized.I've had it for a number of years. I forgot to get an annual done for 2016 but will get it for 2017 in January. I went up to my son's, in laws' camp, north of North bay without the 5er attached and we used the 407 to get to the 400 and did I get a shock when I got the bill. My GRW for the truck was still at 11,000 kilos and the bill was over $330. at the time. So just a warning for all if using the 407, which I will never use again even tho' they reduced the bill after I called, stated it wasn't commercial etc.

[gitane59]

Ok I think I have seen the most ridiculous example of pickup truck commercial licensing yet. I saw a commercial black lettering on white background license plate affixed to a Volkswagen Rabbit pickup truck.
I am at a lose to understand the logic behind a regulation that would classify a Volkswagen pickup as a commercial vehicle.

[CoMoCo]

Kidoo wrote:
I see in the link that you have to do a daily inspection and record it. Do you have to follow the hours of service?

Only drivers who require a Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration (CVOR) are required to do the daily inspection and follow the hours of service.

RVers typically fall into the personal-use exemption and do not have to complete the daily inspection and do not have to follow the hours of service.

[Kidoo]

I see in the link that you have to do a daily inspection and record it. Do you have to follow the hours of service?

[portliz]

X2 My hubby got the yellow sticker. Annual inspection not expensive and gives us some peace of mind. We don't have a dually but a 3500. The correct RGW is when we are towing which is often. We don't bother to reduce it. Rig does not need an inspection.

[CoMoCo]

People need to get over the word "commercial". It is just a word. It is not the best word when it comes to RVers with pick up trucks because we see the word "commercial" and automatically assume that it means it is being used for business purposes. That is why there are those sections that state "personal use" as JaxDad mentions.

Shum - in this conversation it doesn't matter what my truck's RGW is on my ownership. Law enforcement knows that a dually pick up meets the legal definition of a commercial vehicle and must have an yellow inspection sticker on it. When I was pulled over in Kitchener, I did not have a yellow sticker on my trucks up til then. The officer told me he pulled me over because he did not see the yellow sticker that he knew I needed to have. I have the yellow sticker now. I have decided that it is better to have the sticker than not have the sticker and that means paying for an annual inspection. Who knows, maybe during the inspection they will find a potential issue, advise me of it, I get it fixed, it saves my life or my wife's life. A happy ending. A small price to pay in my opinion.

You can choose to do what you want with respect to the sticker. But regardless of what you do, keep in mind that the law requires the yellow sticker if the "total gross weight, registered gross weight or manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of more than 4,500 kg require an annual inspection."

Here is a link to the page where you can read about inspections.

[JaxDad]

camp-n-family wrote:
Just another government money grab. Curious though, if trucks are all considered commercial vehicles and those over certain weights need the commercial stickers and inspections even for personal use, are they required to pull into the weigh scales when the lights are flashing? I had read no, only if it was for commercial use. Seems like a double standard. Register it commercial to pay the higher fees but don't need to follow the commercial regulations?

As stated several times previously, there are exemptions for personal use of commercial vehicles. Weigh scales are another one of them, the MTO says certain commercial vehicles do or need to enter scale stations when the 'all trucks enter scales' lights are flashing, amongst them;

"- a motor home and a truck carrying a slide-in camper when being used for personal or recreational purposes.

-a personal-use pickup truck operated singularly or in combination with a personal-use trailer, including a house or camper trailer. This applies regardless of the pickup's registered gross weight, actual weight or trailer weight."

However, they go on to say;

"The driver of a vehicle of any size, weight or type can be required to enter a scale if requested by an officer in person or in a cruiser."

So if stopped or so directed by an officer, yes, you are subject to being weighed, on the roadside or by returning to the scales.

[JaxDad]

gitane59 wrote:

JaxDad wrote:


A friend of the family got nailed this way in Georgia, had to leave the trailer there in a storage yard and drive back to Ontario to up his RGW and get an A drivers licence. His 5'er was over the 4,600 kg limit for a class G license.

JaxDad please do not spread old outdated information in a way to suggest that it is current. The 4600kg limit for a 5'er on a G license in Ontario was removed back in 2011. The limit is now a combined limit of 11000kg for a 5'ver and standard pickup with a OEM box under 6000kg and no triple tow allowed in Ontario.

There is already enough legalist fear mongering with these reg's that even the people charged with enforcement don't fully understand or apply consistently to be spreading false information.

I never said it was current, this did in fact (obviously) happen pre-2011.

I was merely pointing out that a LEO cannot and will not allow you to continue on your way if you're not legal.

[shum02]

camp-n-family wrote:
Just another government money grab. Curious though, if trucks are all considered commercial vehicles and those over certain weights need the commercial stickers and inspections even for personal use, are they required to pull into the weigh scales when the lights are flashing? I had read no, only if it was for commercial use. Seems like a double standard. Register it commercial to pay the higher fees but don't need to follow the commercial regulations?

Correct. RV's are not to be pulled through MTO weigh stations when the flashing lights are on. They/we are not "commercial".

As noted though I have used the stations to weigh my rig - the scales are always on - and friends have told me that Ministry staff have actually come out and helped them spot their rigs on the pads to do the same thing.

[camp-n-family]

Just another government money grab. Curious though, if trucks are all considered commercial vehicles and those over certain weights need the commercial stickers and inspections even for personal use, are they required to pull into the weigh scales when the lights are flashing? I had read no, only if it was for commercial use. Seems like a double standard. Register it commercial to pay the higher fees but don't need to follow the commercial regulations?

[shum02]

gitane59 wrote:

JaxDad wrote:


A friend of the family got nailed this way in Georgia, had to leave the trailer there in a storage yard and drive back to Ontario to up his RGW and get an A drivers licence. His 5'er was over the 4,600 kg limit for a class G license.

JaxDad please do not spread old outdated information in a way to suggest that it is current. The 4600kg limit for a 5'er on a G license in Ontario was removed back in 2011. The limit is now a combined limit of 11000kg for a 5'ver and standard pickup with a OEM box under 6000kg and no triple tow allowed in Ontario.

There is already enough legalist fear mongering with these reg's that even the people charged with enforcement don't fully understand or apply consistently to be spreading false information.

As I often say...."I'll see you in court."

CoMoCo wrote:
Posted By: CoMoCo on 11/22/16 08:29am

I used to think like Shum until I was pulled over in Kitchener by their regional police a couple of years ago. I was always under the impression that my personal vehicle (a 3500 dually diesel) was not a commercial vehicle. The officer and I had a very nice conversation and he gave me a warning and strongly encouraged me to get the "yellow" Commercial Vehicle Annual Safety Inspection sticker as soon as possible. He told me if I was pulled over again in their safety blitz that there would not be any leniency given.

As I've said and keep saying what did you have your truck registered for? You had nothing in your truck, where not towing anything, not using it to make money, not a company truck and where basically threatened to get your commercial sticker> Why? If I was under the RGW of my truck - which I am - I'd have called him on it. Weight it, inspect it.

It's amazing how many are willing to give .gov.on their money without questioning why.

Here I am again on year 20 something with again another overloaded pickup according to the masses. Have not owned a pickup from my Ranger to my SD that did not exceed the RGW on my ownership even with just passengers in it. My '07 F150 weighed 6000lbs(2700kgs) over the scales with a RGW of 7200lb(3200kgs) and would be routinely over weight with just passengers and a few items in the bed. Always seriously overweight with the trailer on always hitting the GAWR of 7600lbs with a GCVWR of over 14500lbs(6600kgs) which is nothing compared to some of the RV's half ton trucks are pulling around these days. If the MTO wanted a cash cow they could on any long weekend in Ontario open up a weigh station on the 401/400/402 and pull in every vehicle pulling a RV. I can pretty much absolutely guarantee you that from the mini van towing the popup to the Class A DP pulling the toad every single one of them would be over weight and under reported. I drive the 401/QEW every day past 4 of the busiest weigh stations in the Province and never over 30 years have I seen any of them with RV's being pulled through them, although I have used them to weigh my set up.

Why don't they then? Because that is exactly what they know they will find. And that is why it is not done.

Do what ever makes you feel good......If I ever get pulled into one of these road side inspections and I don't know why I would, I won't blindly pay a fine, I'll see them in court.

[gitane59]

JaxDad wrote:


A friend of the family got nailed this way in Georgia, had to leave the trailer there in a storage yard and drive back to Ontario to up his RGW and get an A drivers licence. His 5'er was over the 4,600 kg limit for a class G license.

JaxDad please do not spread old outdated information in a way to suggest that it is current. The 4600kg limit for a 5'er on a G license in Ontario was removed back in 2011. The limit is now a combined limit of 11000kg for a 5'ver and standard pickup with a OEM box under 6000kg and no triple tow allowed in Ontario.

There is already enough legalist fear mongering with these reg's that even the people charged with enforcement don't fully understand or apply consistently to be spreading false information.