I'm glad I bought a house that does not have an HOA. I feel bad for you guys. Personally IF I WAS A SUPER PICKY GUY< BUT IM NOT... I don't see a problem if somebody has one truck in their driveway and their house is still very well kept up and his property looks nice. That is my angle now at my new house. I keep the area very nice and looking good, I go out of my way to help neighbors because it makes me feel good and they will be more likely to look the other way if I did something noisy at my house for a little bit or something like that (while still trying to be courteous). That was at the top of my list when I was looking for a house.... no HOA. They only seem to be retired old people with nothing else to do except look at what other people are doing and bust them for it.
Not specifically. A lot of HOA's are an attempt to keep a neighborhood nice in appearance, and that is taken to different levels. I have seen it from just dues collection and no HOA requirements, all the way to no siding allowed (house must be brick on all 4 sides), minimum square footage, no washing of vehicles in the sub, and no parking of any vehicles overnight outside of your garage. If everybody takes care of their yard in a respectful manner, it should not be required. I'm also against them, but I can understand how they came about.
Agreed with above, would hate to see you cut an axle and frame section off your truck, and then they still hate and get you anyway. The 10,000lb limit is also a valid point. I know this is a stretch, but is there anyway it can fit in a garage structure at your location? If you have a HOA, you likely are not going to have a pole barn in your yard, so I doubt this can be useful.