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I was watching Extreme 4X4 today on Spike TV and he was custom building a frame for his Suzuki Samurai project, and I had a stroke of inspiration: If I build a frame for the truck, the truck is no longer an MV, its an M37 body on a custom chassis, with aftermarket drivetrain, so, I took a look on the DMV website, and this is what I found pertaining to homade vehicles:

(b) “Homemade vehicle” means any of the following:
1. A motor vehicle that has been constructed or assembled
from new or used parts or both using a body and frame not originating
from and not resembling any previously manufactured
motor vehicle.
2. A motorcycle that is a reproduction of a vehicle originally
made by another manufacturer and that consists of a reproduction
body that is combined with a new, used, or replica frame and
drivetrain.
(c) “Parts car” means a motor vehicle generally in nonoperable
condition which is owned by the hobbyist to furnish parts which
will enable the hobbyist to build, reconstruct, restore, preserve
and maintain a reconstructed, replica, street modified or homemade
vehicle.
(d) “Reconstructed vehicle” means a motor vehicle of any age
which has been substantially altered or modified from original
manufacturers specifications to such an extent that it no longer
resembles the original manufactured vehicle.
(e) “Replica vehicle” means a motor vehicle, other than a
motorcycle, that is a reproduction of a vehicle originally made by
another manufacturer and that consists of a reproduction body that
is combined with a new, used, or replica frame and drivetrain.
(f) “Street modified vehicle” means a motor vehicle of any age
which has been modified from original manufacturers specifications,
but does not include any reconstructed vehicle as defined
under par. (d).

Of interest are sections "C" and "F". If the truck has no frame, its not operable, if its not operable, its a "parts car", if its a parts car, it can donate its parts to build a homade or replica vehicle. And unlike teh MV law, I dont see a clause anywhere in there saying the parts cannot be from an MV. When I get the rig out of storage in the spring, Im going to look and see how difficult it would be to build a new frame from scratch using 2X8 or 3X8 tube. then, bolt my axles, and diesel, and body from the "parts car" into it.

Eat it Madison.

Now that is a great thought As written in the law it would make it harder for them to deny it. The only thing may be when you take it to be inspected, are they going to want to go by the VIN on the cab ....or... if there is no VIN on the cab would it be a case of the Widot issuing a new number. Kind of like what I went through with the rat rod that I am building. When the local police officer looked at the cab and there were no numbers, but I had a pile of receipts and a bill of sale, and the frame is homemade I was issued a new VIN tag. I have done this many times on homebuilt trailers.
Key thing is KEEP your receipts,its a paper trail.
Good Luck

Hope it works out for you! Sure seems a shame to rebuild a perfectly good frame. Good luck!

Tim,

It would be somewhat of a waste, but it would be good too. there are some things about the stock frame that dont lend themselves to swaps very well (2" wide springs,for example) , and I could fix those if I built a new one.

What ever you decide you have my full support!! If this is what it takes to by-pass the DOT in any states we're going in the custom frame business!! 10-4~!

Actually Wisconsin allows you to build a vehicle from spare parts and they will provide the VIN to you when you register it. For legal purposes you are then the manufacturer of the vehicle. You really do not have to use a fabricated frame or deliberately alter its appearance in any way. This will usually require that the vehicle meet more stringent safety rules.

The downside is you loose a significant amount of value as a collector piece with the state assigned VIN. Also I would suspect if you drop any hint of an existing serial plate the state will see through the ruse.

As soon as we finish our project, or campaign if you will against the Iowa DOT we need to find a representative that will carry this issue to Washington DC and resolve this for everyone!

Titling and registration is a State's Rights Issue. Not much help taking any problems with that to the Feds. Highway Motor Vehicle Safety Standards are the Feds territory and the only thing states can do is add to but not detract from the current Federal laws on vehicle safety.

I'm just saying that it's the Government selling these trucks to Civilians that needs to be standardized. The Federal Government spec's the trucks out, this should be taken into consideration when they are sold. If we let this continue as a state by state issue it will never be resolved. If you can buy a Honda in every state you ought to be able to buy American Iron the same way! (my two cents)

Are you saying you want Uncle to standardize it's vehicle procurement specifications to insure the trucks are legal for use on all public highways even after they are surplussed out? That would drive the already ridiculous prices we tax payers pay for them now way up through the roof.

OK, pay attention there is going to be a quiz!
I'm not a lawyer I'm a truckdriver.
What I'm saying is, if the government buys these vehicles and uses them on the roads, it should be ok for a civilian buyer to use them on the same roads as well.
I understand why they don't want us driving a tank on the road. I don't understand why if the Army doesn't need a highway safety sticker why do we??
I'm done talking about this issue. I simply think the states should all have the same regs.
We are enjoying our little victory, I'm hoping you all are as well.

Large volumes of patriotism and emotion have seldom won any battle with city hall.

The states have always had the right to operate municipal/state vehicles and aircraft that do not meet federal public highway standards or FAA flight laws. The Federal government has the same authority. Their vehicles and aircraft are not required to meet federal highway safety or FAA flight standards.

The only obstacle to unlimited approval for civilian use of an MV on any state highway system is that state's motor vehicle laws. There are no federal laws targeting restriction of use of wheeled MV on the US road system by civilians. .

The Wisconsin problems arose when the fine print wording of the law was realized and applied by the State MVD. We MV owners then championed a new law to address the peculiar nature of the MV. Not a perfect new law but a place to start and improve with amendments down the road.

"Large volumes of patriotism and emotion have seldom won any battle with city hall."

But it can't hurt! Good luck up there. I'll most likly be up there next week. Get the snow of the roads will ya!

GOOD LUCK JOSH. SAD TO HEAR THAT YOU STILL FIGHT THE GOVERNMENT HYDRA TO GET PLATES FOR YOUR RIG. AND I THOUGHT WE HAD IT BAD HERE IN GREECE REGARDING SUCH BEAUROCRACY...

Like many, I've followed the Wisconsin DMV nightmare as best I could regarding MV's. From what I can gather, WI. doesn't like MV's because of the lack of safety features, i.e. seat belts, air bags, side impact protection, energy absorbing bumpers, etc.
If that's true then my question is: "Why do older vehicles like '38 Fords, '60 Triumph TR-3's and '49 Oldsmobiles and '65 GTO's get titled and registered in Wisc.? Obviously these vehicles and thousands of other older vehicles like our MV's are in the same boat."
Wes: Am I on the right track here? Just wondering what's the prob. with WI. DMV?