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[Somewhat longish...]
"Eugene PANTANO" <snoshu@market1.com> wrote:
> Here is what I do for the rear plate.....
> I take a horseshoe.....weld a 1" piece of 1/8" flat stock across the two
> ends of the shoe....long enough to drill two holes for the plate...Attach
> the plate with two bolts..then I open the pintel and drop the horseshoe
> on...close the pintle...Plate is affixed to the vehicle..TOP
I checked into the Vehicle Code for my state (currently California,
grumble :-)
Section 5201 says:
5201. License plates shall at all times be securely fastened to
the vehicle for which they are issued so as to prevent the plates
from swinging and shall be mounted in a position to be clearly
visible, and shall be maintained in a condition so as to be
clearly legible. The rear license plate shall be mounted not less
than 12 inches nor more than 60 inches from the ground, and the
front license plate shall be mounted not more than 60 inches from
the ground, except as follows: [...]
The section then continues to describe alternate mounting locations
for specific types of vehicles. Because of the "swingin' in the wind"
clause, I guess I can't use the horseshoe option here. Bummer, I liked
that one.
Section 5204 says:
5204. (a) Except as provided by subdivisions (b) and (c), a tab
shall indicate the year of expiration and a tab shall indicate the
month of expiration. Current month and year tabs shall be attached
to the rear license plate assigned to the vehicle for the last
preceding registration year in which license plates were issued,
and, when so attached, the license plate with the tabs shall, for
the purposes of this code, be deemed to be the license plate,
except that truck tractors, and commercial motor vehicles having
an unladen weight of 10,000 pounds or more, shall display the
current month and year tabs upon the front license plate assigned
to the truck tractor or commercial motor vehicle. Vehicles that
fail to display current month and year tabs or display expired
tabs are in violation of this section.
[...]
(d) This section is enforceable against any motor vehicle that is
driven, moved, or left standing upon a highway, or in an offstreet
public parking facility, in the same manner as provided in
subdivision (a) of Section 4000.
Hmm, since California considers my M109A3 to be a commerical vehicle
(because it has three axles and a GVW over 6,000 pounds, despite its
non-commercial use and the fact tat I'm registering it with historical
plates... grr), I guess I need to put the plate with the renewal
sticker on the front, rather than on the back. Maybe I should double
check that one with CHP.
Part (d) implies that I'd have to be careful about where I removed the
plates, since a liberal interpretation of "public parking facility"
plus a cop who had a bad day could equal an annoying situation for
Mark...
Section 24601 describes the requirement for lighting the rear plate:
24601. Either the taillamp or a separate lamp shall be so
constructed and placed as to illuminate with a white light the
rear license plate during darkness and render it clearly legible
from a distance of 50 feet to the rear. When the rear license
plate is illuminated by a lamp other than a required taillamp, the
two lamps shall be turned on or off only by the same control
switch at all times.
In fact, it requires that the light be turned on by the combination
switch. No problem, I should be able to buy or make a "Y" adapter
(once I find a source for the plugs... working on it...) for each
truck which splices into the tail light, without modifying the wiring
harness or un-sealing it.
Now, here's the annoying section:
24606. (a) Every motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, of a type
subject to registration and manufactured on and after January 1,
1969, shall be equipped with one or more backup lamps either
separately or in combination with another lamp. Any vehicle may be
equipped with backup lamps.
(b) Backup lamps shall be so directed as to project a white light
illuminating the highway to the rear of the vehicle for a distance
not to exceed 75 feet. [...]
I'm not sure how to deal with that one. Some versions of the HMMWV had
backup lamps, and there's a place to mount the switch in the shift
lever box, but regular M998 trucks didn't have them. I'm not aware of
any provision for backup lamps in my shop van. Any ideas?
Well, I've beaten this dead horse to death. I'll try to remember to
let y'all know how I eventually end up mounting my plates.
-- Mark J. Blair, KE6MYK <mblair1@home.net> PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://pgp.ai.mit.edu/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/ DO NOT SEND ANY UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL TO THIS SITE
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