OK folks, I am a little desperate here... I took my recently purchased USED 98 Tacoma to the Washington DC DMV, and was told that I failed inspection because the tires extruded beyond the side of the vehicle.
Now, I have looked, and the tires I have, are optional equipment at time of purchase (31x10 .5R15LT). So I don't really think I should have to go out and buy a new set.
Has anybody had this problem in their locale? Can I buy wheel well thingamabobbers that make them stick out? I have seen trucks with these plastic things around the wells.
Any sort of info/commiseration would go a long way for me today.
Thanks. I am trying to find the right Fender Flares...seems that they are about $300(?). The problem with checking the local laws is that I can't find anywhere that says the tires cannot extrude beyond side of vehicle. Maybe I am not looking at the right law, but this is the only thing I can find:
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they claimed on the inspection that I had "Mixed Tire Types" which is untrue...
For what it's worth, Jeep wasn't able to sell brand new Libertys with the overhead light option in certain states because the lights were too high from the pavement.
That said, almost every state I've been in has a law requiring the tires to be enclosed by fenders, and/or flares. Some enforce it, most don't.
Do you have any information about previous registrations on the truck? Are you lucky enough to have the original window sticker?
If you're a lucky and polite enough to get a reasonable inspector, maybe you can convince them that the state has registered the vehicle.
Barry, Thanks also. I did a carfax report, and unfortunately the vehicle was registered in NJ and VA before, not DC. I've worked with DC people before, and think that I am going to have to suck it up and buy flares.
Man....a $7500 truck with 150K miles on it is going to end up costing me closer to 10K with taxes/flares/brake-tranny work that it needs and I didn't uncover.
Take the advice of the experts and have vehicles inspected/reviewed before buying them. No MATTER how much you want it. Thanks again!
just go to a garden supply store and get the rubber border that people put between their garden and the lawn. it's a 2-3" wide piece of rubber that's something like 30-50 cents per foot. then just screw that to your fenders. it's a cheap way to get fender flares. i've seen some people do it so nicely it looks factory.
First, realize there are some people working as 'Official Government Inspectors' that get their rocks off by making trouble for the people they interact with, some quite literally. Getting the job as a City Code Enforcement Officer is probably why the BTK Killer stopped killing for many years - he could make trouble for them much easier.
First thing I would have done is demanded a printed hard-copy of the regulation they claim you are in violation of, or failing that an exact code title and section number that you can research yourself down at the local library. They can't just invent new rules on the fly, they have to follow the Vehicle Code or other codified inspection criteria. There might even be a book with charts and photographic examples of what passes and fails.
"Mixed tire types" is a rather ambiguous term that implies you have Super Swamper 31x10.50-15 bias-ply on the rear and P235-15 LTX radials on the front...
Are all four tires the same size, brand and model? That might be what they are complaining about, because there can be severe handling problems if there are different tires either front to back or side to side - if one end has performance tires that want to stick during vigorous cornering and the other end has cheapies that want to skid, and you aren't ready to deal with a car going sideways, you can end up in a heap of trouble.
If you change tires to get around this one, save the old ones at home rather than throw out good tires - once you get it registered, you might be able to swap them back on to the car and get the rest of the wear out of them. Put the best or "stickiest" tires on the front axle, it does most of the work in steering and stopping.
If the back end gets happy in a turn, most experienced drivers can handle it without breaking a sweat. And if you aren't experienced in skid control yet you know it can happen, and at least you can be ready for a learning experience to happen... ;-)
They can do anything they want - until they get caught. Other government agencies like the police have done this, prompting changes in state laws. An example is a citizen requesting approval and passing all of the requirements to carry a concealed handgun - and being denied for no reason. This included former police officer and judges who have very good reasons to continue carrying a handgun. Most states modified the laws to require the police department to explicitly explain what part of the requirements the applicant failed to pass. Now, if you think a police department has to be forced by state law to stop messing with their former buddies, do you think a DMV is going to be any better to someone they don't know?
"" wrote: > ryegrove wrote: > > Thanks. I am trying to find the right Fender Flares...seems > that they > > are about $300(?). > > just go to a garden supply store and get the rubber border > that people > put between their garden and the lawn. it's a 2-3" wide piece > of > rubber that's something like 30-50 cents per foot. then just > screw > that to your fenders. it's a cheap way to get fender flares. > i've > seen some people do it so nicely it looks factory.
find a friend with smaller tires, put them on, run through inspection, then put you orignal ones back on. you risk a ticket, but most states really never enforce it aslong as its not to over the top.
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