Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual

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Section 14 of 38

Chapter 13: Commercial Vehicles

13.140 Unladen Weight Exclusions (VC §661)

The unladen weight does not include:

  • Any load, such as sand, gravel, water, etc. A load is usually a product being transported from one place to another.
  • Any machinery, equipment, or attachment specifically excluded from unladen weight by VC §661. Statute specifically excludes the following equipment, which is necessary for the efficient operation of the body or vehicle to which it is attached, from the unladen weight of the vehicle:
    • Any camper unit temporarily attached to a vehicle.
    • Equipment used for loading, compacting, or unloading of refuse.
    • Temporary equipment used to contain or support the load which does not change the body classification. For example, side stakes on a truck used to contain the load or chains used to tie down a load.
    • Concrete transit-mixer—Only the machinery or equipment that mixes and dispenses the mixed cement is exempt, such as the drum, the motor that turns the drum, the mixing blades, and the motor reduction gear.
    • Refrigeration equipment—Only the refrigeration equipment is exempt. Refrigeration equipment includes the compressor, compressor motor, condenser, and cover enclosing the unit. The exemption does not extend to the van body.
  • Any machinery, equipment, or attachment which is not necessary for the efficient operation of the body or vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to:
    • Equipment for loading, compacting, or unloading garbage/refuse may be excluded from the unladen weight of the vehicle to which they are mounted and should be body type model (BTM) GG (VC §661(a)).
    • Dump trucks—Used to carry garbage/refuse are not excluded from the unladen weight and should be BTM DP.
      The weight fee exemption cannot be granted for vehicles used to haul waste materials that have a value at the point at which the material is loaded (for example, tallow and meat scraps to be rendered into a marketable product).
    • Grinding equipment—Only the grinder and equipment to operate it are exempt.
    • Spray apparatus—Only the tank is exempt.
    • Tow truck—A motor vehicle which has been altered or designed and equipped for, and primarily used in the business of transporting vehicles by means of a crane, hoist, tow bar, tow line, or dolly, or is otherwise primarily used to render assistance to other vehicles. Tow truck does not include a tow vehicle registered to a licensed dismantler and used exclusively to tow vehicles owned by that dismantler in the course of the auto dismantling business (VC §615).
      The roll-back equipment on a tow truck is not exempt from weight fees.
       
    • Tow truck crane—Only the weight of the crane and equipment to operate the crane are exempt. Exempt equipment may include the motor, gears, hydraulic pumps, levers, and attachments to the vehicle which are directly involved in the operation of the crane.
      Roll-back and wheel-lift wreckers do not have tow crane equipment installed and are not eligible for the weight fee exemption in VC §§660 and 661.
    • Wood saws—Only the saw and motor that runs the saw are exempt.
    • Well-drilling machines—Only the boom is exempt.

Weight Certificate Includes The Weight of Excluded Equipment—If a request for the weight fee exemption is received on an application that includes a weight certificate for a complete vehicle, the registered owner must complete a Statement of Facts (REG 256) form showing the:

  • Unladen weight of the vehicle with the excluded equipment.
  • Estimated weight of the equipment that should be excluded from the total weight of the vehicle.
  • Unladen weight of the vehicle without the excluded equipment.