Here in Wa state all Pickup trucks regardless of size have a commercial style plate but no annual inspection required but you can have vanity plates on personal trucks. As for stopping at scales the signage on the highway or rural roads state all vehicles over 10000lbs or 16000lbs depending on road or municipality must stop a scales.

 

As clearly pointed out here, it depends on states just as tandem pulling (2 trailer 1 behind the other) with an RV depends on the state. You have to know what is being refereneced. Severalk have stated 10000lbs, however in some states is says registered GVWR in others it states vehicels over 10K. If you see a sign saying vehicels over 10K must weigh then you had best stop if you are pulling at trailer over 5k lbs (i.e. Trucks actual weight minus 10000, in my case it would be anything over 4K as I roll regularly around 6K), because you just do not know what they mean by vehicel. Vehicel to some would be the rolling combo of truck and trailer and in other states it may be just one or the others GVWR or it could be the actual weight of one or the other. I do know PA is about the strictest when it comes to RVs be it a motorhome or truck pulling a trailer. As most have said, the actual enforcement is at best minimal, and for the most part any accident, of which there are far fewer accidents in which an RV trailer is involved then regular car, the weight of you unit will not even come up. But it is still a very big risk, if you should get in an accident and someone is injured your weight will become a factor, particularly in a law suit as you would be negligent. Should someone be killed you could face far worst for the same reason.

 

You are correct about about the RV's. motorhomes etc... Not required to get an annual inspection.
As for registering commercial or not, your black lettered licence plate is a commercial licence plate whether you ask for it or not. When registered in Ontario, you will get a red sticker to go on the front plate opposite (top left corner) of your annual sticker that indicates the vehicle is used for personal use.
The only exception to these black plates is when you will see a personalized plate on a pick up, they will be blue lettered.
Registration as Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) in Ontario is determined by both vehicle type and vehicle weight. By definition all personal use pick up trucks are CMV's but are not required to submit to annual inspections unless registered over 4500kg.
As for trailers, if they are transmitting 2800kg of weight to the pavement they will need an annual inspection. If you are pulling a trailer that has an annual inspection, even if you don't own it, your truck will require an annual inspection and you are required to stop for an inspections. If either vehicle in the combination requires it, they both do while being operated together. As for trailers, the only exception here is the daily rentals that are leased for less than 30 days at a time, such as UHaul or Ryder.
My best suggestion is to stay out of the CMV game if at all possible if you do not know what the requirements are. I hope this helps a little and please note I am only speaking to the laws in Ontario Canada. I cannot comment on the U.S. states or other provinces as I don't live there.

 

So Motorhomes (RV) don't need annual inspection but travel trailers (not RVs?) with axle weight over 2800kg do?

Think I'll just deal with it if I ever get pulled over.

 

No

RVs of a personal nature are excepted, regardless of size/weight.

However if you pull it with a commercially registered vehicle it then becomes subject to the same commercial rules. Although this is rarely enforced around my area.

 

OK, but pickups are registered as a CMV, so commercial rules apply. Do they have to be registered as CMV?

Like I said earlier, maybe I should switch my truck to a Passenger Vehicle registration if possible. I'm not using it for any business.

 

Yes you should. Why did you register it CMV in the first place?

 

I bought it new. The dealer registered it CMV. Vaguely recall him asking me about it and my saying just do "whatever's best." Not aware of these issues at the time ...

Also he registered the weight as way below the truck's GVWR, maybe to save money? Dunno.

I'll look into switching when it comes up for re-registration. Thanks all.

 

He registered it low because with CMV you pay for registration based on weight. This is not the same with personal.

 

Here's the note straight from Alberta MOT as well. I emailed an inquiry in.

Thank you for your inquiry concerning vehicles over 4,500 kilograms reporting to Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch, Vehicle Inspection Stations (VIS).

Only commercial vehicles and non-scheduled buses are required to report to the VIS. On the bottom portion of the signs stating vehicles over 4,500 kg to report, there are “recreational vehicles exempt” signs. These signs are standard at all VIS throughout the Province.