Hard time with the CA DMV- how to reg as non commercial

They make recycle krappers that require no water, and a sink with a hand pump should be very easy to setup...but, what a pain in the ass....if you only have to do this for the initial inspection, the $80 yearly savings will add up over time....

I am moving back to California for work, not looking forward to the high cost of living, got to go where the work is....

 

Make friends in Nevada or Arizona and use their address to register your vehicle in one of those states. It's got to be cheaper. Possibly illegal but cheaper if you don't get caught. I had California tags on my truck, car and motorcycle until last week. All three were costing me over $500 a year to register. I switched to Kansas and I pay about $200 for all three. Just one of the perks to being in the military.

 

Just to add, here in Virginia, registration is fairly cheap, but, they make up for it with a personal property tax assessment that is paid yearly...so, even for my older truck, I pay about $180 per year to the state to keep her on the road...not sure what California is now, been 5 years since I last lived there, but I doubt the yearly fees are much different than here in Va.....just checked, fees for California are around $150.....so about the same, give or take..

 

These trucks weight in around 4000LBS or something like that? I have not seen many tacos pulling trailers and even if they do, they are small ones. Perhaps, two dirt bikes on bed? that is additional 600LBs? that is still around 5000LBS. It is very annoying to pay for weight fee that applies to commercial trucks...Any full size or mid size SUV probably weight more and will haul the same capacity. I was looking at Ford Excursion to buy and it had all things I was looking for, it weighed around 7200LBS( 7.3 Diesel). However is that exempt of weight fee???! GMC Yukon, Chevy SUVs exempt?? Even Acura MDX(mid size) is around 4400LBs.

 

Unfortunately, SUV's in CA regardless of weight and possible uses are classified as personal vehicles by the DMV. It was just less than a year ago when I got my truck titled as a personal vehicle. I guess I got lucky then.

 

I can understand that more weight equals more wear and tear but a Tacoma does not weight anymore than any vehicle with similar dimensions. If anything it probably weights less because it's a tin can bed with a plastic bed vs a 3rd row of seating. A low end dump truck is capable of hauling 2 tacomas in it's bed (8000 pounds) so it's designed for commercial use but NOT the tacoma.

 

^This plus no one knows where the extra revenue they generate is actually going. They definitely are not doing squat to fix or improve our infrastructures any.

 

I've done it. I have saved $240 total since re-registering my truck in California, and come May 2016, I'll save another $80. F*** YOU, STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

See this thread here for details on how I did it.

 

Chill! It's not about the money "saved" but money "lost-for-no-cause" or just because someone decided to use a pick up for business without registering as commercial. My topper was around $1345 and I have use and need for it. This truck bed is not usable for any of my "truck needs" (ATV, Rhino and few British Motorcycles). However it perfectly isolates the storage area(sports and camping gears) from driving area with camper shell. Last truck I bought(which I still have) is a 2000 Ford Dually....At this rate, this truck will stay with me for another 20 years before it becomes a weekender($1600 and counting by this time). It's not about the money, it is about not getting any use for the money that is spent.

 

Thanks. I was not able to do this. The DMV rep stated he cannot do this as there was no running water and rest room!

 

I know the state is turning into a motherf***er, but I'm thinking that DMV rep is a bad one on top of that. And *maybe* if I were you were to try again at a different DMV you might succeed. Read this memo. When I did mine, I signed a form, and no inspection was required.

 

Thank you! I will give it another try...I have an appt scheduled for next week.

 

Be persistent. I think you'll win. Reading the memo carefully, the first sentence defines the only requirement, that the owner completes form 256A. The rest is B.S. Post back how it goes...

 

I think you just got the wrong info from a DMV rep. All you have to do is get passed the desk and the person doing the inspection should approve your request. Like I said when I had mine done, the rep at the counter didn't even know what I was talking about. I got mine done at the Whittier DMV if that helps.

 

This was advice from a DMV counter staffer, so take it with a grain of salt. They said that my topper would push me into the next weight category, which would erase some of the $$ gains. The big thing that stopped me was the restriction on hauling stuff outside the bed (which I interpreted as lumber sticking out the back).

 

It amazes me, the amount of misinformation that is spewed from idiots who don't understand. Everything you were told by the staffer was wrong.

 

My weight fee on my 2003 double cab is only $24. I wonder if all of the fees are slightly less when it's non-commercial, which would add up to a more significant savings.

I am pursuing this before my registration is due in a month.

 

$24 is a bargain. As I remember it, registering as passenger vehicle removes the weight fee which was $80 when I did it for my 2009 and 2011.

 

I wonder if the 2nd Gens are in a different class since they can tow more or something.

 

What about the fact that being registered commercial let's you park on yellow curbs for short periods of time? This is real handy when living in the city and well worth what I pay on registration.