Parking the truck at home??

I contacted the local city office. I was told unless the driveway empties to a class A highway, it is not permitted if over 12,000 lbs. They did tell me that they dont actively seek out violators and that as long as no one complains...they told me to try and get away with it. If someone complains, the 1st offense is a warning from the PD.

I took the liberty of interviewing my neighbors and asking them how they felt about it being parked (weekends usually only) and that I promised I wouldnt fire it up at 3am.
They were all cool with it. Told me they didnt care but appreciated me asking.

So you never know. In the other days, it is parked at a large secure/gated u-store it type lot for $50/mo. I felt that was fair and they have never had any break-ins or damage/theft according to them and the police dept in that town.

 

I park at the house, and anyone who tells me I can't is off their rocker. I pay the mortgage. I pay the property taxes. What I park and where I park it, as long as it is on my property, is none of your concern. Don't like seeing it? Don't look at it!
Then again, I'm stubborn like that. I get it from my dad. His town was tossing around the idea of an ordinance that would only allow 1 car per licensed driver to be parked in the driveway. At the time, there were 6 licensed drivers in the house...my older brother, I was off at college (but was still a legal resident of my parent's house), and my 2 little brothers were 16 and 17...plus my mom & dad. Mom's car got the garage, so it didn't really count. My 2 little brothers didn't have cars yet. If the ordinance had passed, dad would have bought 2 or 3 cheap rust buckets as long as they ran & rolled under their own power. He'd put plates on 'em and insure them to the state minimum so they'd be legal...and then they'd just sit in the driveway being an eyesore. 6 licensed drivers, 6 cars parked in the driveway.

Hell, right now, I don't keep ANYTHING parked in the driveway...it's all in the yard. If it were in the driveway, it would possibly block access to the garage...less shuffling cars around if they are parked in the grass.


You have to look at the specific ordinance. What does a citation cost? How does that compare to the cost of renting a space somewhere else? If it is pretty comparable, chalk it up as another "cost of doing business"...park on your property, and just pay the fine if/when they cite you.

However, if you don't want to pay the citations on principal, know the rules by which you are playing.

If the citation is written to the property owner, if you don't pay the citation a lien will be placed upon the property...which means if you try to sell your house to move to a more "truck friendly" area, the selling price will have to take into account the amount of the lien, so the price won't be likely to attract any buyers. In other words, your neighbors are stuck with you and there isn't a whole heck of a lot they can do about it, other than to sell their own house and move away from you.

If the citation is written to the vehicle, they can place a registration hold on it (meaning you can't renew the plates) if they can identify the vehicle (i.e. VIN). Company name and truck number are not sufficient, as the DMV has no record of that information in regards to vehicle registration...so just remove the tag and don't have your VIN printed on the outside of your truck. Then you run into the OTHER potential problem...that is towing. A vehicle parked in the street with no tags can be towed as an abandoned vehicle. Also, a vehicle which has several unpaid parking tickets can also be towed. Simple solution to that is to park in your driveway, and park another vehicle behind it. They cannot remove a legally parked vehicle to get to an illegally parked vehicle.

So, my advise is to park in your driveway and don't worry about what the neighbors say. If it is "illegal" to park a CMV in your own driveway, remove the tag and park another vehicle between the CMV and the street. Their only option in that situation is to cite the home, in which case their only means of collection if you choose not to pay is to be to place a lien on the property, which they would only be able to collect on IF you ever sell.

Take my advise with a grain of salt, though, as I am stubborn, hard headed, and a bit of a trouble maker. Also, read the specific ordinances involved and know the rules of the game you are playing in order to know whether it is a fight you want to take on, or to possibly find a way to bend them in your favor.

 

I park my truck at my last employers yard. He has a small company and he is like family but I still pay him. Before I lived in the suburbs, I lived in the city. I parked my truck in front of my house. I received a ticket one day for parking a commercial vehicle on a residential street. A 250 dollar ticket at that. I fought it and won, but for only one reason. The area is zoned commercial still even after the factory down the street closed up shop years ago. The judge didn't like it but I had the papers to prove it.

 

First check with the Local Office of Commercial Enforcement, and then maybe your neighbors.

First thing I ask a perspective employer is if the truck goes home with me, if not I don't and won't work for them. I provide there equipment off highway secured parking on my private property.

 

nice. i used to have permission to drop my trailerr at a place i used to work at, which was at the end of a strip mall with a big huge empty parking lot that most of was never used, i parked it over in the corner. GOt a call from safety, someone in another store made it sound like i dropped it in front of the stores or something

I dont see why people have such a ####### problem with trucks.

 

Perhaps the owner or management company of the mall were the ones who called. If it was on asphalt, on a hot day the landing gear can sink into the pavement. This obviously damages the lot.

OTOH, it may have been just as you said. Some screwball who doesn't like to look at a truck. . .

 

It was fully loaded with paper towels. Something around 5000 lb. Landing gear was not going to sink in. Was a cold day also. But it was asphalt.

I had permission from the veterinarian and he had asked for permission from the real estate folks who ran the place, and they said he had full control over the area. I also assume he has full responsibility over landing gear sinking in...

But its the whole "OMFG ITS BLOCKING THE STORE!!!" that pissed me off...

Anyway we're not allowed to drop trailers like that but company was really cool about it. Didnt care. Just said move it.

 

I can tell you why they have a problem, Trucks come in and make turns on their lot and tear up the asphalt, they drop trailers and the gear pokes holes ib thier parking lot, they throw their trash all over, and just becuase they spend 5 bucks in the store they feel entitled to a parking spot. If your employer does not provide secure parking why should the guy that owns the store?

 

There's a couple of things the "park at home" crowd needs to consider here:

1. You assume full responsibility for the rig (we'll assume it's empty) when you do so. Let's just imagine some of the neighborhood punks decide to target your rig; slashed tires, broken lights or windshield or mirrors. Guess who's financially tresponsible for that? Uhhuh, you are.

2. Just suppose you spring a leak in the rad or a fuel line and somebody reports it. You are gonna become real aquainted with your local EPA. Did you know Anti-freeze is a Hazardous Material???

3. Most important, suppose a neighborhood kid decides to climb on your rig, slips,falls and gets hurt. Your fault Bubba. Oh, and your homeowner's insurance will not cover it and neither will your employer's. Guess who that leaves?

Yeah, yeah... I know it shouldn't be and you think that's not fair and all the rest of it. But in today's world everybody's looking to score at someone else's expense. That's the fact Jack.

 

Cause the guy who owns the store told me i could? Cause I used to work for him and asked nicely...

And it was the type of lot that was small enough to keep trucks from tryign to turn around in, i parked there when it was cooold and the gear couldnt poke any holes, and .....I didnt spend a penny in the store either.

It's not like i parked at walmart and complained because they said i couldnt..