Need help understanding fuel permits

MY understanding is it only applies to motor carriers, since three axle recreational vehicles do not need Pa fuel decals. That said, most rvs have House Car plates in Pa and your tractor does not qualify as a motor home in Pa. I would check with the closest DOR office, they should be able to clarify it and issue you a declaration in writing to carry with you. You surely will not need IFTA decals outside of Pa since you do not need IRP (apportioned plates), it is just Pa is a bit backwards with our fuel taxes. I have been a Pennsylvania based motor carrier for almost two decades, have watched our rules change a lot in that time, even our safety inspection rules have changed over that time. The actual Pa code reads something to the effect of "all motor carrier vehicles used in intrastate operations with three or more axles or gross weight in excess of 26,001 pounds shall display a valid Pa Motor Fuels Decal". I will try to find the link to the Pa Code for you, I am paraphrasing that off the top of my head, it has been a while since I have actually read it.

Worst case, you get the $12 decals and keep track of you fuel purchased and miles driven in Pa, as long as you purchase enough Pa fuel to cover the miles driven within Pa you will not owe any additional motor fuel tax, it will just be a burden to to file the quarterly report.

 

Joe- you should be covered for PA since you have a regular license plate there. But when you cross a state line you will need a fuel permit for each state you go through. This is because the truck has three axles...if you only had two axles you wouldn't need a permit. Most of the time you can just stop at the port of entry and buy it. Price varies by state, but I've seen them range from $15 to $55. You could just call the port in a neighboring state and ask them what they would require you to have.. Of course you could play dumb like a fox and not buy any until the day comes that you get questioned about it.

 

Alright, here is your answer straight from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, and it should be the same for all states that participate in the IFTA program. Your truck is not a qualifying vehicle therefore it does not require the display of fuel decals. I would argue it is not a motor carrier vehicle, and as such it should qualify under the pickup truck exemption since Pa does not make a distinction that requires a box be on a pickup truck to qualify for a truck plate.
http://www.revenue.pa.gov/formsandpublications/formsforbusinesses/documents/mcrt-ifta/rev-1026a.pdf

 

I would think he's covered in PA under his current registration. It's crossing a state line that might pose a problem

 

The caveat to being exempt from the decal requirements is even though your truck is a tractor, it is not maintained or used for transporting people (bus) or property (cargo) in a commercial enterprise, so even though it does not qualify for a RV plate it is essentially the same.

 

Pa requires decals for intrastate vehicles if they meet the same definition as the IFTA program requires, we are odd that way.

 

Well...that's going to look out of place on a transformer...

 

Many truckers when faced with a Bobtail retired from commercial work and painted with the magic three words, not for hire.. generally have the aft axle, the bogie for weight removed. The interlock shaft is also removed. The associated suspension is also removed.

The result is a two axle semi (Don't worry, two axles is more than enough for the 16,000 some odd pound bobtail...) and for purposes of state oversight and possibly taxation revenuer, it's a advantage to be a two axle bobtail rather than endure the cost of three that wont quit year after year.

Kudos on your pictures showing the work you have done. I think it's awesome, even though it's a kids cartoon and I pretty much missed out on it from that time period while trucking pretty heavily.

Who knows? I think an idea would be to buy retired bobtails of that kind and convert them to additional Transformers to create or found a new company that might provide new employement to several of you Americans doing something very neat for a good income now and then on the occaisonal sale of these things.

Long ago I thought I would have a tractor to retire on and use it as a RV. I still intend to because the junker yard up the road has a bunch of air breathing rigs not valid for commerce but absolutely valid for Arkansas to use as a RV possibly after a few thousand to buy one, to get fresh batteries etc and convert my license to the required class B RV non CDL which covers that weight class of less than 26,000. Keep in mind we have a Class C CDL for 10,000 and under. My Tahoe is already 8,000 so... eh. So a RV stamp on a non CDL enhanced license that will be mandatory by 2020, optional as of yesterday is availible as well. I hope to use it to get to Canada one of these days for a proper visit to winsdor to spend some money up there in the casino.

 

Well, @JoeF2002 , that's ####ing cool as all hell! #### you censored America!