California Members Poll/Questions

[Jeffh555]

Another vote for registered and insured for Rubicon, Fordyce, and Shaver Lake trails. Also try to have tail lights and turn signals. I wouldn’t worry about much else.

I think most cops will let you go if you have a chopped up body and little/no tire coverage, especially if you’re clearly between trail and tow rig. Stickies, beadlocks, full hydro are even less likely to raise an eye. There’s some risk you’ll get an a-hole cop, but I personally wouldn’t worry about it.

On the other hand, I think most cops will impound you for driving a green sticker vehicle on the street. Driving across the bridge from the Chevron to Rattlesnake at Fordyce is the exception.

 

[holdmypocket]

My “trail rig” is my 78 F150 reg cab/short bed.. and it passes smog etc but it’s a dog when it comes to horsepower and I haven’t even started the 1-ton & 40’s swap yet.

This year I bought a cheap 2wd 74 f250 (smog exempt) for the frame and title. The bonus is that the cab only needs floors (the f150 cab needs a lot more).

I’ve been given a lot of ideas about splicing the relevant frame rail to the f150 etc but that’s quite a bit of work, seems janky, and is definitely a legal gray-area. Either way people do it, and I suppose it’s an option. I’m too much of a square for that.

Since I already pass smog and am in no rush for exemption/engine swapping my plan is to shorten, box, and figure out the new engine situation in the f250 frame while simultaneously enjoying the f150 and treating it as a “mock-up”.

By the time I get around to the moving things to the f250 frame (effectively building a fully-legal 1974 F250) I might decide to 4 link the rear in that iteration of my build. Who knows.. I have the luxury of not rushing it.

Just my approach..maybe it works for your circumstances.

 

[Clb]

Depends, I've seen some pretty wild stuff over the years but I wouldn't recommend it. On holiday weekends, Shaver is crawling with cops! I'd imagine Tahoe would be similar. We always ran trails both ways though and ended up back at our trailers. Been forever since I've done Dusy because honestly, it's kinda lame. 30 mile trail with maybe a couple miles of actual decent wheeling, the rest is like a winding dirt road with a rock here and there. I'd go either option A or B

Walker hill on this years opening week was worth ALL the rest or the trail.
You might be surprised how awesome it is.

 

[Couchracing]

1. Always. It's about $300 a year to keep it legal, plus the nuggets and dog like rolling to the beach with the top rolled up (89 runner).

 

[Ghetto Fab.]

Mines a 75 and legally registered and insured. I've been considering non-oping it and green stickering it because of the cost of insurance and registration. I've been wanting to put that cost towards a commuter car(thanks biden!), and this rig only gets out once a year anyways.

The shaver trails aren't as bad as some here say. Your not going to drive 168, but there are a lot of other paved routes that are green sticker ok. They even have signs up of an ATV and it says ATV OK. From what I heard they figured out that a lot of green sticker riding areas were cut off from each other and it didn't make a lot of sense to load up the bike or atv and drive a mile down the road to access the next area. I've never had any issues, but again mines legal.

Whenever I look at the requirements for specialty vehicle construction permits to get around smog, I always read that it has to not look like something that was ever offered. Something about not wanting everyone to register whatever project vehicle they have with an engine swap as specialty construction. I'm not sure how things like AC cobra kit cars get around that.

Someone should buy a chunk of land in test only location, then subdivide it out into really small lots for cheap that car guys can buy or rent, to register their rides at. Provide them with some form of utility bills or whatever the dmv needs for proof of residency. Might be risky, but I bet someone could make some money off of that one!

 

[Clb]

Just don't have it online

 

[arse_sidewards]

Do whatever you want. Surprise law-enforcement with overwhelming force if they get uppity.

 

[Meddler1]

pre smog rig registered and insured. I am surprised at some of the comments on the thread If you guy don't think law enforcement aren't using these boards against us you would be wrong. Remember this is a public forum. Re titling switching Vins is a felony. Non smog county reg is a misdemeanor also a good way to not be able to use or insure as well. You gotta pay to play in the damn state. Loose lips sink ships guys.

 

[DesertCJ]

Loose lips sink ships....I agree but this ship has sunk already. It's bobbing upside down in the ocean....I'm wondering if gasoline is even going to be available in 10 years

 

[Meddler1]

While the horizon definitely looks bleak, I can't see Gas going away anytime soon. The world isn't ready for that despite what our lovely administration thinks. I don't think we are at Rock bottom yet, but we are damn close.

 

[2big bronco]

Mines a 75 and legally registered and insured. I've been considering non-oping it and green stickering it because of the cost of insurance and registration. I've been wanting to put that cost towards a commuter car(thanks biden!), and this rig only gets out once a year anyways.

The shaver trails aren't as bad as some here say. Your not going to drive 168, but there are a lot of other paved routes that are green sticker ok. They even have signs up of an ATV and it says ATV OK. From what I heard they figured out that a lot of green sticker riding areas were cut off from each other and it didn't make a lot of sense to load up the bike or atv and drive a mile down the road to access the next area. I've never had any issues, but again mines legal.

Whenever I look at the requirements for specialty vehicle construction permits to get around smog, I always read that it has to not look like something that was ever offered. Something about not wanting everyone to register whatever project vehicle they have with an engine swap as specialty construction. I'm not sure how things like AC cobra kit cars get around that.

Someone should buy a chunk of land in test only location, then subdivide it out into really small lots for cheap that car guys can buy or rent, to register their rides at. Provide them with some form of utility bills or whatever the dmv needs for proof of residency. Might be risky, but I bet someone could make some money off of that one!

Who told you that you need proof of property or an address.... because they are wrong. Mailing adress to your current place.

 

[Jeffh555]

Another loose lips sink ships post.

I’d like to see people deleting posts about the loop holes, because I’d like them to be there in the future.

 

[HYDRODYNAMIC]

I'm wondering if gasoline is even going to be available in 10 years

E85 Flex fuel, brew your own moonshine and you will be able to crawl as fast as lightning as long as you can grow corn. Monsanto will have some super corn that will grow without sunlight, no pest can touch it, and the gov will love it and subsidize it. Probably have special use distillery license for covid sanitation use, if you want to go by the book or sell it to others. No way they are going back to prohibition. Too much money to be taxed.

 

[2big bronco]

Another loose lips sink ships post.

I’d like to see people deleting posts about the loop holes, because I’d like them to be there in the future.

Agree and disagree... Ive been taking advantage of them for as long as we've known each other... and am ok if anyone on Irate, on the "california wheelers" pole, and taking part in this thread know about them. I suppose some pms could be sent but its not like its a top secret thing. If all of the sudden proof of adress was needed then we could still all figure it out.
I was trying to be slightly vague as to not show up in any google searches specifically.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Agree and disagree... ive been taking advantage of them for as long as we've onown eachother... and am ok if anyone on Irate, on the "california wheelers" pole, and taking part in this thread know about them. I suppose some pms could be sent bit its not like its a top secret thing. If all of the sudden proof of adress was needed then we could still all figure it out.

This is one of those things that should really be in the TP so that it can't be indexed and the hordes of idiots can't find it by punching in a few key words.

 

[FordFascist]

Another loose lips sink ships post.

I’d like to see people deleting posts about the loop holes, because I’d like them to be there in the future.

I noted the "range of legality and ease". It's not an unknown thing in CA about titling to a previous year vehicle to avoid smog - that's what Boyd Coddington did and got caught. It's well known to be illegal.

It is illegal to use a false address for your residence. Where you reside and where your vehicle is used do not have to be the same place. In fact it is required that a vehicle be registered where it is "operated" or "stored" and not where the owner resides if the two differ. There are plenty of people on the county line who have had to do this. The CA DMV has allowed for this with the 4 digit county code on your registration - first two are you residence, and the second two are where the vehicle is operated. If the second letters are "00" your operation matches your county. This can only be done on a vehicle with a current smog certification (< 90 days from the date of smog) so using it as a bypass for smog is not going to work anyway. 30.015 Chart 2-County Codes - California DMV

The waters are bit murky on registering a vehicle to a corporation in another state - however if you park something with out of state plates on a street (or visible from the street) for more than 10 days you are likely to get hassled unless you are apportioned.

Sometimes it helps to give people a list of options that aren't really options. Doing a VIN swap on any vehicle that doesn't span the smog cutoff is next to impossible anyway (75 MY vehicles). You'd have to be seriously dumb to put a '66 CJ5 VIN tag on your YJ and try to take it to the DMV or CHP. Almost nobody is cutting up 50 year old stuff anymore so it's somewhat moot these days. If you have a factory EFI vehicle with a mostly factory engine, making it pass smog is pretty easy. It's not even that hard to get an engine swap to pass smog in CA (I have done two of them).

 

[fl0w3n]

Yeah I didn’t mean for this to become a how to thread… I was just curious as to the status of members rigs.

I think I wrongly assumed there were more in the F-it category and ran either non-op’d rigs on the trails or green sticker rigs.

 

[PAE]

So that's why Boyd was killed off.

I noted the "range of legality and ease". It's not an unknown thing in CA about titling to a previous year vehicle to avoid smog - that's what Boyd Coddington did and got caught. It's well known to be illegal.

It is illegal to use a false address for your residence. Where you reside and where your vehicle is used do not have to be the same place. In fact it is required that a vehicle be registered where it is "operated" or "stored" and not where the owner resides if the two differ. There are plenty of people on the county line who have had to do this. The CA DMV has allowed for this with the 4 digit county code on your registration - first two are you residence, and the second two are where the vehicle is operated. If the second letters are "00" your operation matches your county. This can only be done on a vehicle with a current smog certification (< 90 days from the date of smog) so using it as a bypass for smog is not going to work anyway. 30.015 Chart 2-County Codes - California DMV

The waters are bit murky on registering a vehicle to a corporation in another state - however if you park something with out of state plates on a street (or visible from the street) for more than 10 days you are likely to get hassled unless you are apportioned.

Sometimes it helps to give people a list of options that aren't really options. Doing a VIN swap on any vehicle that doesn't span the smog cutoff is next to impossible anyway (75 MY vehicles). You'd have to be seriously dumb to put a '66 CJ5 VIN tag on your YJ and try to take it to the DMV or CHP. Almost nobody is cutting up 50 year old stuff anymore so it's somewhat moot these days. If you have a factory EFI vehicle with a mostly factory engine, making it pass smog is pretty easy. It's not even that hard to get an engine swap to pass smog in CA (I have done two of them).

 

[Clb]

pre smog rig registered and insured. I am surprised at some of the comments on the thread If you guy don't think law enforcement aren't using these boards against us you would be wrong. Remember this is a public forum. Re titling switching Vins is a felony. Non smog county reg is a misdemeanor also a good way to not be able to use or insure as well. You gotta pay to play in the damn state. Loose lips sink ships guys.

In before
The first snoflake....









How'd I do?

 

[Clb]

I was trying to be slightly vague as to not show up in any google searches spspecifically.

Does this stop the search bots??


I w a s t r y i n g t o b e s l i g h t l y v a u g e....
Spacing the w o r d out stops the BanBots

 

[holdmypocket]

Re-titling doesn't have to be an illegal practice, it depends on how you go about it. A legitimate way is: get a smog-exempt frame/title version of a similar vehicle to yours, get it registered, and move all of your shit to that pre-smog frame. Nothing illegal or shady about that if you do it right. It's a lot of work but in my mind it's worth it as you're now able to play with modern drivetrains. When you start tampering with the VIN numbers is when you're playing with fire which in my opinion is simply not worth the potential consequences. For the amount of time and money we spend on these things why not maximize your ability to resale?

 

[DesertCJ]

Yeah I didn’t mean for this to become a how to thread… I was just curious as to the status of members rigs.

I think I wrongly assumed there were more in the F-it category and ran either non-op’d rigs on the trails or green sticker rigs.

Running a green stickered vehicle on a trail isn't a problem at all? Just don't drive it on the road where OHVs aren't allowed. If it's non-oped, it needs to be green stickered. This really isn't complicated

 

[fl0w3n]

Running a green stickered vehicle on a trail isn't a problem at all? Just don't drive it on the road where OHVs aren't allowed. If it's non-oped, it needs to be green stickered. This really isn't complicated

When you strip it down and state it like that, yeah it’s not complicated.

But that’s not what I asked.

 

[TheeCaseyH]

My wheeler is registered and smogged. I moved to a biannual smog county and had the smog nazi sign off on an engine swap just to keep the truck road legal. There was no way to get the old 22r to pass smog since I had removed all the smog equipment and threw it away.

 

[TrailTamer]

How legal, or illegal, is it if I put tow bar on on my Jeep to be pulled by a street legal 4x4er to the next trail or to/from the trail?

Modify one of them to attach to tow points up front and easily stowed away after use.

5000 lb. Capacity Adjustable Tow Bar

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www.harborfreight.com

 

[2big bronco]

How legal, or illegal, is it if I put tow bar on on my Jeep to be pulled by a street legal 4x4er to the next trail or to/from the trail?

Modify one of them to attach to tow points up front and easily stowed away after use.

5000 lb. Capacity Adjustable Tow Bar

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Capacity Adjustable Tow Bar at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Technically if the tires are touching the ground it needs to be registered. Id imagine you have a much better shot of being let go with a warning though.

 

[TrailTamer]

Technically if the tires are touching the ground it needs to be registered. Id imagine you have a much better shot of being let go with a warning though.

green stickered = "registered"?

(I don't know much about CA, but wants to visit/wheel there someday)

 

[Clb]

"One newb D.0.T. Officer" yer gunna get written...
+1 on2 big b's post
Now the crapshoot is getting spotted or not.

 

[Lilyota]

When I was in CA I was always registered and insured but never smogged.


I did a family transfer initially and lived in a no smog county.

I also never got pulled over. Now if I had it probably would have all been down hill seeing as it was a Chevy powered Toyota with absolutely no smog stuff on it anywhere.

 

[PAE]

Would just require a moving permit = temp registration from DMV and or maybe CHP.

This only covers moving / towing it on the road not any need for the green stickers, use to get these blue forms when moved trailers from rail yard to terminal I worked out of, at the time mid 80's to mid 90's they were $5.00 each.

How legal, or illegal, is it if I put tow bar on on my Jeep to be pulled by a street legal 4x4er to the next trail or to/from the trail?

Modify one of them to attach to tow points up front and easily stowed away after use.

5000 lb. Capacity Adjustable Tow Bar

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Capacity Adjustable Tow Bar at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com