Historic Vehicle Plates: Pros/Cons in Ontario, Canada

[chris vickery]

Terry you will want your truck to lose a couple pounds somehow.
The threshold is 4500kg and over....
What is the listed curb weight according to your data plates?

[Jack Innes]

Terry,

The Registered Gross Weight is the combined weight of the truck, trailer & load in the eyes of the MOT.

From the MOT site under Definitions;

Commercial motor vehicle: any motor vehicle with a permanently attached truck or delivery body, including ambulances, hearses, casket wagons, fire apparatus, buses and tractors used for hauling loads.

Gross weight: the combined weight of vehicle and load.

Registered gross weight: the weight for which a permit has been issued under the HTA; the fee for the permit is based upon the weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles and load.

From personal experience, this year I had to reduce the RGW on my diesel 3/4 ton pickup to 4600kg since my CVOR has expired (without notification). This leaves me the capability of carrying about a large motorcycle legally on my tandem flat bed trailer before I am over weight.

[Grant Bowker]

This is a general comment - not aimed at any of the previous posters.

I try to be legal in what I do but find it difficult to understand the complexities of driver and vehicle licensing in Ontario. In extremely general terms, if your combination of towing vehicle, trailer and loads total less than 4500 kg and are operated safely life is fairly simple. Once past the 4500 kg threshold, and in some cases sooner, life gets more complex if you want to be in full compliance.

As with almost all regulations there are complexities.
To use an example from http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/tru...icle-faq.shtml question 16:
"If the trailer weighs more than 2,800 kg (6,171 lb.):

• register the truck for at least the combined weight of the truck and trailer, weights A and B

If the trailer weighs 2,800 kg (6,171 lb.) or less:

• register the truck for at least the weight of the truck (weight A), which includes trailer tongue weight
• weight transmitted directly to the ground by the trailer is not included in the RGW"

In other words, if the trailer is light enough, its weight does not have to be included in the truck's registered gross weight.

For anyone treading the thin line of legality, probably quite a few of us (me included) given the weight capabilities of modern pickups and the solid build of many MVs - please don't take my post or even the MTO website as the definitive answer on what you can or can't do legally. Please check the legislation and regulations listed in Q4 of the same website (not all regulations apply in every case but even that might not be the full list).

Highway Traffic Act:
and
Regulation 629 Accessible Vehicles
Regulation 199/07 Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections
Regulation 424/97 Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators' Information
Regulation 577 Covering of Loads
Regulation 340/94 Drivers' Licences
Regulation 587 Equipment
Regulation 555/06 Hours of Service
Regulation 11/04 International Registration Plan
Regulation 611 Safety Inspections
Regulation 612 School Buses
Regulation 363/04 Security of Loads
Regulation 381/98 Special Permits
Regulation 618 Specifications and Standards for Trailer Couplings
Regulation 628 Vehicle Permits
Regulation 413/05 Vehicle Weights and Dimensions - For Safe Productive and Infrastructure-Friendly Vehicles
Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act
Fuel Tax Act
Public Vehicle Act

[chris vickery]

One must remember that MTO officers can and will do as they like. Armchair lawyers take note. Better to be on the side of compliance, ignorance is not a defence, nor is "I thought..."
Trying to pass off a 1 ton plus military vehicle as a pickup when in fact it is not is only going to lead you into troubled waters.
Furthermore, it does not really matter what your registration says. Too many times the poor MTO lady at the office simply does not really know what you have either. MTO officers can order your vehicle in for an inspection and re-write of your registration if they deem it inaccurate or misleading.
At the very least you are in for a weigh in and likely a mechanical inspection as well at the scales. Remember too that MTO inspection officers are likely not familiar with the weirdness of military vehicle mechanical systems neither and can up the ante by pulling your plates and sending you off for inspection at a certified mechanic station.
Food for thought.

[Jack Innes]

Grant has led us to some very useful information. There is a section that clearly spells out the regulation that is often interpreted differently by different MOT officers. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/tru...-faq.shtml#a16 I have printed a copy to go in each of my trucks for roadside reference if needed. It would seem that a considerable load can be carried legally if carefully placed on the trailer.

It is worth noting as well that, while they do not announce it, most weigh stations leave their scales on when they are not open & do not mind their use. I will be doing so again soon.

[Mike Gray]

Well, I agree with Chris. Ignorance is not a defence. Yet it can, and is, a double edged sword. And we often find ourselves at the mercy of those who do not know any better. Witness Jeff Davis from Maple ridge, B.C., under Coming Events forum,was stopped on the way to Remembrance Parade by R.C.M.P. and almost ticketed for not having doors on his '42 Willys.

[Grant Bowker]

Originally Posted by Jack Innes

It is worth noting as well that, while they do not announce it, most weigh stations leave their scales on when they are not open & do not mind their use. I will be doing so again soon.

Another source of information regarding the weight of your vehicles is the scale at your local gravel pit or garbage dump. Some will give an unofficial weight for free but most I have met will charge if you want an official printed version of the weight ticket.

[chris vickery]

You can also check your local truck stops, many of them have CAT certified scales but will charge you for a scale ticket.