New Base Plate

Weave · Oct 30, 2003

I have an OK base plate, and it looks like Fern Bennett has gone out of business as OK is no longer allowing trucks to be base plated there unless one has an established place of business there. I found a website, for Oklahoma Fleet Services that looks as though they are still in business and will register trucks in OK, but the site was old. Does anyone know if they are still in business?
As an alternative, I looked to base plating in NY where I live. Forget it- I would rather get all my teeth pulled than try to get an IRP here. They won't even pick up their phone to answer questions, the DMV offices don't deal with it, and they want a bunch of things I simply don't have such as a certificate of incorporation and such.
Does anyone know where I could get a new base plate other than NY that is easy to deal with? AQny help will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
-Weave-

Weave · Oct 30, 2003

If any of you out there still have your trucks registered in OK, better read this- It is no more unless you live there or your company has an establishment there. I still see a lot of trucks with OK plates, and have a funny feeling a lot of guys are going to be crying in a couple of months when their trucks are sitting down as they are waiting to get new IRP's in their home states, many of which do not process the applications immidiately. I was informed that unless I move, I must register my truck in NY. I found an agent to do the application for me for $175, money well spent. I am thankfully sales tax exempt still, as I have OK title in my name. If you have OK plates, better start looking into making the change now.
-Weave-

teacel · Oct 31, 2003

What is it like in PA, Mark, getting a plate that is? I never had to register anything bigger than a van. The reason I ask is: I have a spare room that I can rent you for $1 buck a year. Get the picture?

Weave · Oct 31, 2003

IRP registration is kind of a pain anywhere, and each state requires different forms, proofs, etc. This agency I talked to should be able to take care of the situation for me, and I won't have to worry about it again. The first time around is always the hardest. Once I see how it gets done and what is needed, I should be able to handle the renewals on my own without paying the agent. Thanks for the offer for office space!
-Weave-

mcbride · Oct 31, 2003

Weave,
My heart goes out to you....we had Fern Bennett and lost our money. What a mess. I would have sued her if it wouldn't cost more than she owed us. We also lived in NY..the key here is lived. We rented an apartment in Va in order to avoid the hassle and taxes imposed by NY. I changed my residency and license too. The cost was $700 and some change this included my new license. NY has a requirement that all IRP's accounts are done in Albany, NY. I have the address if you need it. You can look at the NYS DMV web site too. In addition, you will be required to pay NYS sales tax on your truck....this is what changed our minds. Oh, if you drive a big truck you don't have to pay sales tax you can apply for an exemption...go figure. (that is a tractor/trailer combo) If you drive a d unit for example with a centruy class cab you still have to pay sales tax. If you need additional info email me-
mcbride

rob · Oct 31, 2003

did my irp in ny in 2000 did not pay sales tax, truck was a fl70, was easy to do.

cat can do · Oct 31, 2003

Hey just a thought could you still use OK if you had a mailing address like from a mail boxes ect or one of those kind of places I think they are all called UPS stores now, but it may be able to serve as a business address.

mcbride · Oct 31, 2003

Wow rob! That is great. We attempted to do ours this past year and were told that we would have to pay almost $6,000. So, I guess it is who you talk with. We went to Albany directly and because we had purchased our truck outside of New York they indicated that we had to pay sales tax on it. (Because we had not done so in any other state) She told us they would exempt our truck from sales tax if it was a tractor/trailer combo as we drive a class 8 2001 truck. We register for 54,000 gross because of tag axle so maybe this was the problem. We just figured we would be purchasing another truck and didn't want to have to pay sales tax again on another $100,000 or so.
I guess people just have to call...mcbride-

Weave · Oct 31, 2003

From the info I gathered off the NYS DMV website, I shouldn't have to pay the sales tax, at least I hope I don't. As long as the OK title is in my name and same name will be on NY title, it there is no tranfer of ownership so thus no sale for sales tax to be imposed- I asked the agent to be sure, and she is checking into it for me. Truck is 33k gross D unit.
Thanks!
-Weave-

Weave · Oct 31, 2003

The rules on "established place of business" go like this now. You must present a copy of a utility bill with your name on it to prove the establishment. So a mailbox will not work. You now HAVE to IRP register where you have an established place of business or at your home address. This is not affecting just O/O's, a lot of big Co's have their trucks registered in OK and have no terminals there. But they can afford to build pole barns in OK and hook a phone line up to an answering machine in them

-Weave-

teacel · Nov 1, 2003

A Lease stating you are the renter and all utilities are included in the rent will also work. Take a situation, of someone living with their parents, and not having any utility bills or even a proper lease, then a written letter from the home owner stating that the person getting the plate lives there will also work.

Weave · Nov 1, 2003

I have to use a cell phone bill addressed to my name at my "place of residence" where I have resided most of my life as it is my father's house and he pays the utilities. I am the littlest of little owner operators of what is needed to be an IRP registered "big" truck. These laws now do not regognize every case that exists, which makes having an agent on your side important in the case of IRP's. The agent, not me, deals with the state laws in question and my personal or business applications to the laws which are, well in the case of NY, vague. That allows me to keep going to work and making money, and straightening out the legal BS later.
-Weave-

Weave · Nov 4, 2003

Turns out Rob was lucky mcbride. Exemption laws have changed since 2000 in NY, and next time around if he gets another straight truck Rob will have to pay the sales tax to register his truck in NY. They weren't too bad in my case- they allowed my trade equity to be subtracted from the price of my "new" truck I have had for a year and a half, and at the tax rate of the time when I bought it. So on the $56k truck I had to fork over $3500. Sucks, but I'll live. (X-mas presents will consist of cat terds :7 )
If my OK title had an OK address on it I could have been exempt, or tractor/trailer combinations are exempt. Stupid. NY can squeeze blood out of granite.
-Weave-

RichM · Nov 4, 2003

I went through the same BS in February of this year. Fortunately I only lost tthe application fee with Fern Bennett which she refused to send back. I did my IRP in Florida,due to the age of the truck I did not have to pay sales tax and the whole experience went one,two,three. I drove to the main building in Talahassee FL,I thought t would take about a day and a half. It took only 3 hours and the people I dealt with were very nice and helpful.
You know this could be an interestering businees,set up a sysytem in your home or some place like those storage unit places that have electricity. Then you could rent the the location to a trucker and he or she could then show a utility bill. Hmmm

mcbride · Nov 7, 2003

Rich,

I am glad you posted this last message. I thought to myself, geesh, we could have kept everything in NY. We lost our $ too with Fern Bennett. We attempted to call her office in OK for 8 days straight last February into March and they never answered the telephone. I finally called the tax commissioner to find out what had been going on with our paperwork and that office told us our application had been denied in November! They were the ones who informed me to move our IRP to our own state.
When attempting to find out how to register in NY, I felt like it was "Let's Make a Deal". One agent said it was going to be almost $10,000 to register the truck another said $6,000. We have an apartment lease in Virginia so we did it there. No sales tax on the truck we have now and NO sales tax on a new one either.

Regards-mcbride

teacel · Nov 7, 2003

Rich, Isn’t here something you can do to get your money back? You belong to OOIDA did you call them? Wonder how many others F. B. robbed? Maybe all of you can get together and have something done about getting your monies back.

RichM · Nov 7, 2003

I lost $80.00 which isn!t too bad.They said they would not refund the money as they did their job which was to prepare the Irp renewal but OK wouldn!t go along. What is this business that the Tri State guy is talking about ,that we need to have our own DOT number before we renew. This was in the news bulletin on EO published today. Anybody have any info on that. I am sure if we all needed seperate DOT numbers our carriers would have been pushing hard to have every one set up..

teacel · Nov 7, 2003

Van owners don’t need a US DOT#unless you run Hazmat that requires placarding!!!

Who is required to have a US DOT number, and where can it be obtained?

Every self-propelled commercial motor vehicle operated in interstate commerce and meets at least one of the following criteria is required to have a USDOT number:
· has a gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle or combination weight of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater
· is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation
· is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and not used to transport passengers for compensation
· is used in transporting a quantity of Hazardous Materials requiring placarding

A US DOT number can obtained from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration by calling (800) 832-5660 or from FMCSA's web site at: http://www.safersys.org

Registrant: A company who registers commercial motor vehicles with a State office participating in the Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) Program, but who is not a motor carrier; for example, a company that only rents/leases vehicles, or an owner operator that always operates under another company's Operating Authority.

A "Registrant USDOT Number " does not allow you to operate as a motor carrier and cannot, under any circumstances, be marked on the side of commercial motor vehicles!

Registering as a Registrant
NOTE! You are about to apply for a USDOT number as a vehicle registrant and you will be classified as a vehicle registrant only.

A "REGISTRANT USDOT NUMBER" only allows individuals or entities to register commercial motor vehicles with a State agency participating in the Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) Program.

If you register a commercial motor vehicle(s) through the International Registration Program (IRP) in a PRISM State, you must supply your USDOT number. In some instances, even though you are a "registrant" (IRP account holder), you may not be a motor carrier and therefore may not have an existing USDOT number. In these instances, you must obtain a USDOT number for the sole purpose of registering commercial motor vehicles. A "registrant" USDOT number simply serves as a record for FMCSA and PRISM States to identify you as an individual or entity that registers commercial motor vehicles for use in interstate commerce. Common applicants for "Registrant USDOT Numbers" include owner operators who lease to motor carriers and do not operate under their own authority and truck leasing companies that do not operate as motor carriers.

A "Registrant USDOT Number " does not allow you to operate as a motor carrier and cannot, under any circumstances, be marked on the side of commercial motor vehicles!

There it is Rich!!! I guess all States don't require it, or am I reading that wrong? The state must participate in (PRISM)
This was sent to me by the US DOT Librarian, Thank you, US DOT!

Weave · Nov 8, 2003

If leased to a carrier, you still use you carrier's DOT number on the IRP application. But as the owner of the truck, you are the one responsible for the IRP. The residency requirement calls for a UTILITY bill in your name to be shown. If you ran a mock agency, you could make up fake phone bills or etc but very risky business. If you have rental residency somewhere other than your home state that is fine if you pay utility bills there, which must have been Mcbride's case, which worked out perfectly for him to get out of paying NYS sales tax on his trucks. Made that rental property worth it!
-Weave-