NJ "certified weight slip" catch 22

biglarry · 07-05-2016, 11:41 AM

Hey Skoolie people! I've got an International RE200 that I've been converting and have gotten to the point where I need to get the paperwork done. I'm in NJ and i'm stuck at the moment.

NJ requires a "certified weight slip" before flipping the title to an RV title. The nearest CAT Scale is about 30 miles away. I don't currently have plates for the bus and it's still titled as a 72 passenger school bus. So I can't drive the bus there. I guess I could get it towed, but even that is not legal (if it's an unregistered vehicle it's meant to go on a flat bed).

I went to the weigh station to see what's involved. I was surprised to find that there is NO vehicle identification on the weight receipt. So, my current thought is to try and find someone with a bus in NJ to drive their bus to a scale, and sell me the weight slip. Anybody have thoughts about that?

Otherwise i'm not sure what my options are. Anybody in NJ come across this? I saw one post a few years ago, but it seemed like they just got lucky in the end.

Thank you!!

EastCoastCB · 07-05-2016, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biglarry

Hey Skoolie people! I've got an International RE200 that I've been converting and have gotten to the point where I need to get the paperwork done. I'm in NJ and i'm stuck at the moment.

NJ requires a "certified weight slip" before flipping the title to an RV title. The nearest CAT Scale is about 30 miles away. I don't currently have plates for the bus and it's still titled as a 72 passenger school bus. So I can't drive the bus there. I guess I could get it towed, but even that is not legal (if it's an unregistered vehicle it's meant to go on a flat bed).

I went to the weigh station to see what's involved. I was surprised to find that there is NO vehicle identification on the weight receipt. So, my current thought is to try and find someone with a bus in NJ to drive their bus to a scale, and sell me the weight slip. Anybody have thoughts about that?

Otherwise i'm not sure what my options are. Anybody in NJ come across this? I saw one post a few years ago, but it seemed like they just got lucky in the end.

Thank you!!

Im not in nj, but my state requires a certified weight slip for out of state vehicles being registered.
The Cat scale is 5 miles from the bus, so I got my weight slip and like you said- nothing identifying my bus on it. The state was satisfied with the slip though. Best of luck to you.

family wagon · 07-05-2016, 12:15 PM

Ask the state motor vehicle office for a temporary or transport permit. They're often valid for just a few days, fairly nominal fee, etc.

Failing that, buying somebody's weight slip is kind of shady. Driving the bus to the scales unlicensed is too. It's up to you to decide which flavor of shady is more palatable.

Perhaps there would be a place at or near the scales where the bus could park for a day or a few so that you can make the return trip with new license plates.

Brad_SwiftFur · 07-05-2016, 12:23 PM

I would also see about a temp tag for the trip to the scale. Georgia (as far as I am aware) does not require a scale ticket; they would go by whatever the manufacturer rated it. I got a temp tag (valid for like 30 days) with nothing more than insurance and a bill of sale. I can get *one more* temp tag from GA; after which they aren't supposed to issue any more. I guess they figure 60 days is more than enough to get a vehicle wherever it needs to go until you get the title and permanent tag straightened out.

biglarry · 07-05-2016, 03:01 PM

Well, I went to the DMV and they weren't helpful at all about getting any kind of temp plates. He was very nice but ultimately said "yeah, good luck with that." I'm a little desperate because of time (I'm hoping to head to burning man in the bus) in about 45 days. I think I'll probably just arrange a tow if I can't get someone else's weight slip in the next day or so. Or at least get some quotes on a tow. It's got to be super expensive.

Roadrunner · 07-05-2016, 03:26 PM

Do you have a place nearby that sells stone, gravel, mulch, coal, etc.? They all have certified scales. Good luck.

family wagon · 07-05-2016, 04:01 PM

Bummer; the closest thing I see on NJ motor vehicle commission web site is temporary non-resident registration. Obviously you wouldn't qualify for that. Do you happen to be near enough to an adjacent state so as to go get one of their non-resident permits (supposing their requirements are loose enough for you to wiggle through)?

Here in Utah car dealers have a special dealer plate they can display on any vehicle; it's used for customer test drives mainly. If NJ has a similar program and you know somebody in the business maybe you could arrange to borrow one of their plates. If not, maybe you could walk into any car dealer, pick something off the lot, and find out whether they'll allow you to take an "hour-long test drive" alone or whether the salesperson would ride with you....

It's really unfortunate that people often resort to shenanigans as described here simply because the official methods are so inconvenient.

Jolly Roger · 07-05-2016, 05:47 PM

Also go to your local scrap recycling yard. Hand them a 20 and say all I need is a weight ticket.
Or as mentioned find a gravel yard that weighs truck constantly and pull up on the scale to the weigh master.most are big enough they either tell you no to get you out of the way or give you the ticket to get you out of the way (most weigh in before they load and weigh out after) you only need the in ticket.
The other not so desirable option is to find the the DMV weighmaster let him weigh you and give you a ticket for tags take his weigh slip get tags and all is dropped in front of the DA cause the issue was addressed and pay court cost.
Nothing shady just making the systems payroll work for you?
Just some ideas that are cheaper than a tow.

biglarry · 07-05-2016, 08:28 PM

Thanks so much you guys, those are great suggestions. There are two quarrys nearby (about 5 miles). I'll look into them and see if I can get lucky. If so, I'd be willing to risk the 5 mile trip with my car plates on. I'll fins out tomorrow. Thanks again!

EastCoastCB · 07-05-2016, 09:07 PM

Better to have no tag that to fudge one.

biglarry · 07-06-2016, 10:48 AM

I went down to the quarry this morning. Nice guys but they said they're not "certified weighers" and the state will reject the slip. I don't think it's the first time they've been asked. Who knows if that's actually true but anyway.

I've booked a tow for tomorrow to take it to the CAT scale that's 30 miles away. I called a few places and found one that tows for the school districts and hospitals and quoted the lowest price. $125/hr. Which seems incredibly reasonable. Probably 4-5 hours max (taken from the time the wrecker leaves/returns to the yard). I'm happy about that price. I was expecting it to be more like $1k.

Funny thing was when I talked to him, he all but finished my sentences when I mentioned the fact that it was a conversion. I think they've done this a few times before.

Thanks for everyone's help. I'll let you know how it goes. I will be glad to have this behind me.

PepeSilvia · 02-21-2017, 12:15 PM

How did the weighing work out in the end? Did towing there work and did you get a slip? Did you successfully transfer the title to an RV from a school bus? Would like to hear how this turned out!

1olfart · 02-21-2017, 12:40 PM

EC is right....DO NOT try plates from another vehicle. Here in Texas if you are caught, doing that, even with a trailer, they can confiscate the vehicle. That would surely screw up your trip to Burning Man.

Not4longNJ · 04-18-2017, 09:45 PM

Hey, im in the same exact boat right now !! Im fully converted and worried that i wont beable to pull this off ... what did you end up doing ?

You may also like: