Deuces and 5 tons in AZ ?

[gatewaysysop]

Hi everyone!

I've been reading up the last couple days, old posts and stickies and the like and I have to say that it's a tremendous amount of content to go through. It's great that there's a place like this for people to come to for information and to exchange ideas.

I stumbled on this site because I was originally looking for information about deuces and 5 tons because it may be feasible in the not so distant future to own one. While I'm still just toying with the idea, the chief concern I have is the legality of driving these trucks in AZ.

I did see one member that was from PHX like myself, but if I understand correctly they are on hiatus now? (It was Deuce_Bigalow I believe). Anyway, my first question to this amazing group is whether anyone else has experience with Arizona and the laws here regarding the operation of deuces and 5 tons. If I ever purchased one of these trucks it would be with the intent of using it for play as well as some work, so it would really be a shame to get too involved only to find out it's not a legal option without a CDL or something.

If anyone has any info I would certainly appreciate it.

Thanks much in advance, and thanks for all the great reading and info that I've found here in the last few days!

 

[SasquatchSanta]

Minnesota is a long long way from Arizona but I had the same concerns last year when I purchased my Deuce.

I simply picked up the phone and called the highway patrol. They patched me through to the Diesel Bears and after telling me that they were going to have a lot of fun when they stopped me and the whole department would probably be able to afford to go on vacation after they finished writing me up the convrsation setteled down to a serious note.

I can't say about a 5-ton but a deuce isn't heavy enough to mandate having a CDL. When they asked me what I planned to use it for I told them I was going to use it to go to Wall-Mart. No problem.

Insurance can be another thing. My Farmers agent had trouble breathing through his nose when I told him what I was doing to I went to Continental Western.

 

[Djfreema]

Send Desert duece a PM. He lives in Arizona and has a couple of dueces. As far as I know he hasnt had any problems registering and driving them there.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Re: RE: Deuces and 5 tons in AZ ?

Send Desert duece a PM. He lives in Arizona and has a couple of dueces. As far as I know he hasnt had any problems registering and driving them there.

I have gone ahead and sent him a PM, hopefully I'll hear back. Doesn't look like he's posted in a while though, at least according to what I found. Hopefully he isn't on hiatus as well? Are there any other members in AZ by chance?

Thanks so much for the information guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[Recovry4x4]

RE: Re: RE: Deuces and 5 tons in AZ ?

G744 is in AZ and he's got the diesel M37 and the MACK powered 5 ton. He's been driving them for a long time so I don't see a problem.

 

[gatewaysysop]

RE: Re: RE: Deuces and 5 tons in AZ ?

That's definitely good to hear. I've also seen something about having fewer problems regsistering a 5 ton if it is 25+ years old, and that sounds like it shouldn't be a problem (I hope).

I don't suppose anyone has any leads on bone yards anywhere in AZ that might have some trucks to look at if I ever get to that point? The only place I ever knew of was just outside of Tucson and only had two or three trucks, none of which were worth what they were asking (I was broke anyway, so it mattered little. LOL).

 

[Desert Deuce]

Hi Gatewaysyop,

I'm here at least once a day, just been veeeery busy! I just registered my M35A2 yesterday with the MVD, no problem. Both my M275A2 and my M35A2 are registered as Historic Commercial vehicles. The MVD zeros out the weight when registering and as such I don't need a CDL to drive my tractor trailer. I also obtained some documents from the US Dept of Ttransportation and the AZ Dept of Transportation that state, if the historic vehicle is not used for commercial purposes, it is not subject to weight and commercial registration fees. The AZ document is an MVD internal policy memo that gives registration intructions to the clerk:

The customer service representative will make the following changes to the qualified vehicle record.

1) Vehicle caregory is classified as "A"
2) GVW is entered as "000000"
3) Enter status code 21 on vehicle record (clerk told me that there was a new code, sorry don't have it).
4) Enter comments "Not To Be Used For Commercial Purposes"

I'd be happy to fax these documents to you. They were very helpfull and were used at 2 different MVD offices.

So, 2.5 ton, 5 ton or larger does not matter in AZ as long they are registered as Historic Commercial.

BTW, Historic Plates in AZ are very nice and heavy, made of solid copper. AZ is the "Copper State".

I was also able to register both for 2 years. I will respond to your PM as well. This is a great hobby. Welcome!

Best regards,

 

[gatewaysysop]

Hi Gatewaysyop,

I'm here at least once a day, just been veeeery busy! I just registered my M35A2 yesterday with the MVD, no problem. Both my M275A2 and my M35A2 are registered as Historic Commercial vehicles. The MVD zeros out the weight when registering and as such I don't need a CDL to drive my tractor trailer. I also obtained some documents from the US Dept of Ttransportation and the AZ Dept of Transportation that state, if the historic vehicle is not used for commercial purposes, it is not subject to weight and commercial registration fees. The AZ document is an MVD internal policy memo that gives registration intructions to the clerk:

Wow, nice!

Thanks so much for the response and your offer to fax the documents. I'll definitely have to take you up on that sometime soon when I'm near a fax machine at work (don't even have the number on me!). I am relieved to hear that registration is not the nightmare I had envisioned it would be. That gives me a lot of confidence. I'm also glad there are some knowledgable people in my general vicinity, that's definitely a plus.

Thanks again, I'll keep an eye out for the PM!

 

[gatewaysysop]

Just as an update, I haven't gotten PMs from anyone yet. I thought I saw a few postings about people having problems with PMs and I know I had some odd issues trying to log into the site before, so if someone is having trouble contacting me that way, I can provide an email address instead.

Of course I presume at this point everyone has been busy (I sure have, ugh.. ) but just in case I thought I'd follow up.

Thanks again to everyone that's responded and for their suggestions and the information so far. This place is truly amazing.

 

[kurtb]

Try Jack's Government surplus South East of Tucson. Last Time I checked a few weeks he had at least 15 or so deuces + some 5 tons. Lots of other MV's and Helicopters!!

 

[kurtb]

Desert Deuce

Did you already have titles for the MV's you registered in AZ?

 

[Desert Deuce]

Kurtb,

I did have titles, I bought the M275A2 up in Heber AZ from a private seller, he had a clear title. I bought the M35A2 from Idaho Motor Pool, he sent me a clear title. He and I had bid on the same truck at Port Hueneme. He won and I ended up buying it from him.

BTW, I had Jack there in Tucson do the work on the M275A2 to make it road worthy, It needed alot of help, it hadn't moved in over 7 years.His shop rate is $40 per hr. He and his sons know what they doing, they did very good work for me.