[Arch]

Saw this today on the Van Wyck

 

[makevx73]

Hey it's all good!

AND cheaper than getting a "wrap" done... >>>

 

[proeddie]

That, plus the fact that you can't take your PM on any NY road that's named "... Parkway", makes NY a good place for me to get in and get out of - FAST! Problem is that every trip from CT involves a trip through NY to get where you're going.

Ed

 

[keithwwalker]

Score +1 for dark paint, but then any graffiti artist worth his salt will have white spray paint handy...

 

[Jumper]

Presume this is the Van Wyck Expressway, also known as I-678. Used to take this to Grandparent's house. Lots of interstate commercial traffic use it to get to JFK.

Most parkways in NY, CT & NJ don't restrict personal vans. Many say no commercial vehicles, so it technically comes down to how a van is registered &/or used. You see a lot of commercial plates & vans w/commercial advertising plastered all over them. Also commercial pickups & even small straight trucks.

Have driven Econoline Club Wagons on Taconic (NY), Merritt (CT) & Garden State (NJ) Parkways for decades w/o ever having an issue.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Once got a ticket for my tiny Datsun pickup on the Taconic because it had VT plates with TRK, the only way a pickup could be registered in VT.

 

[proeddie]

Presume this is the Van Wyck Expressway, also known as I-678. Used to take this to Grandparent's house. Lots of interstate commercial traffic use it to get to JFK.

Most parkways in NY, CT & NJ don't restrict personal vans. Many say no commercial vehicles, so it technically comes down to how a van is registered &/or used. You see a lot of commercial plates & vans w/commercial advertising plastered all over them. Also commercial pickups & even small straight trucks.

Have driven Econoline Club Wagons on Taconic (NY), Merritt (CT) & Garden State (NJ) Parkways for decades w/o ever having an issue.

Just to clarify, in NY you can't take a truck on any road with "parkway" in its name, only passenger cars allowed. The problem is that in CT you can't get passenger plates on a Promaster! In CT, you get "combination" plates, which can be used for personal or commercial use. But, NY does not recognize CT combination plates for passenger use, so....you can't take a CT registered PM on a parkway in NY legally!

For some reason, you can get a passenger plate for a two seat pickup truck in CT, but not for a two seat Promaster, or any other two seat cargo van. Adding non-factory seats in your cargo van will not get you a passenger plate for your cargo van in CT either.

In NJ, you can only take a PM on the Garden State between certain allowed exits, not for the whole length of the parkway.

Arrrgggghhh!
Ed

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

So my van with NH car plates is OK? If so I plan to drive through New Amsterdam NY on the Taconic and thumb my nose!

 

[proeddie]

RD,

It depends...

NY definitions

House coach. Any vehicle motivated by a power connected therewith or propelled by a power within itself, which is or can be used as the home or living abode or habitation of one or more persons, either temporarily or permanently.

Truck. Every motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property; provided, however, that a pickup truck or a van which is legally registered as a passenger vehicle and which has passenger license plates shall not be deemed to be a truck.

Is your PM a House Coach or a Truck? If the officer deems it a House Coach, you're in trouble! If they decide it's a truck with VT passenger plates, you're OK!

Welcome to the world of Arrrrgggghhh!

Ed

Ps. When in doubt, I take an interstate...I-95, I-287, Tappan Zee, GWB

 

[Arch]

I have passenger plates on my 136 high roof. I have a ladder rack with 2 extension ladders on it. I also have windows and and 3 seats in the back. I drive it on the Belt parkway and the Grand Central without a problem. The real issue is when I took it on the Hutch.......some of the overpasses have a puny 7'8" max height!!!
Thank God I was able to find an exit before hand. Would have turned my high roof PM into a low roof!

 

[proeddie]

Arch,

What state are you registered in? If they issue passenger plates to vans, you're OK in NY on the parkways.

Meanwhile on the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways here in CT, a high roof PM is not allowed (technically) because it exceeds the height rule of 8' max by about 3". OTOH, I have seen many high roof PMs on these roads, along with high roof Sprinters and Transits, both of which are even higher than the PM. The lowest bridge underpass is about 9' - 6", so it's not a fit issue, and the police don't seem to make van height a high priority issue. Commercial plated vehicles are not allowed on these roads, but combination plates are OK.

Ed

This article in the New York Times from 2007 tries to bring it all together...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/automobiles/07PARKWAYS.html

 

[Poppa53]

I would not do well up north. Here in the south, our only limitation with the ProMaster is height. The plate on it goes by gvw, and has nothing to do with where you dan drive it. Drove Passenger plates on my E-350 diesel for years.

 

[keeponvaning]

I refuse to ever take I 95 thru NY or NJ. I always take I 84 from Hartford to Scranton then South on I 81 when leaving NE no matter where I'm going (South, obviously). I's longer, sure, but no problems with parkways, toll roads, police, etc. It's well worth an extra hour of my time, if that, to not drive anywhere NYC and its environs

 

[Arch]

I live, breath, and register my vehicles in the city of New York. Although I'm seriously considering moving to Texas. Anywhere in Texas.
I hate snow.

 

[Arch]

NYdmv will issue passenger plates to any van or pickup regardless of seats or windows. If you get pulled over, you better have a window on the drivers side (porthole window is fine) rear glass, and at least 1 seat with a seatbelt.

 

[proeddie]

I refuse to ever take I 95 thru NY or NJ. I always take I 84 from Hartford to Scranton then South on I 81 when leaving NE no matter where I'm going (South, obviously). I's longer, sure, but no problems with parkways, toll roads, police, etc. It's well worth an extra hour of my time, if that, to not drive anywhere NYC and its environs

I've done the GWB a few times.... it's not bad, aside from potholes that will shake the van apart!

Our usual route is I-95 S in CT, at the first exit in NY we go up I-287 then across the Tappan Zee... much better way to go, about 10 minutes longer than GWB (if the GWB has no traffic) If we were closer to I-84, your route would work well.

Arch,

Typical CT/NY conflict.... NY says a passenger van is OK, CT says a van can't use passenger plates, just use combo plates. NY says CT combo plates (which, in CT, are used on cars/vans/RVs/pickups) are not OK!

Therein lies the Arrrggghhhh !

Ed

I like NY rules....

Vans (Part 106.3 (d)) - you can register it in the 'Passenger' class if the van has

• • at least one side window behind the driver, and
  • at least one seat or set of seat fittings that is installed behind the driver, or
  • camping equipment that is installed behind the driver.

• • • 'camping equipment' indicates that you have a permanent bed, a permanent stove, or a permanent refrigerator in the vehicle
    • if this equipment is removed and you use the van, you must register the van as a commercial vehicle.

A camper is as simple as a bed in the back!

 

[GuyT]

What I find upsetting about the picture is the graffiti.

It never crossed my mind until my son's first reaction when he saw my van. "Aren't you afraid of graffitis? Huge white surface, you got there." I tough it was a pretty mean comment, my son should know I am the worry type person. No heritage for the kid, I tell you

Seriously, do you often see vans that have been vandalized with graffitis? So far, I saw one in Montreal so far.

 

[Jumper]

NYSDOT's definitions clarify a lot.

http://www.hudsonvalleytraveler.com/perl/ParkwaysOverview.pl

http://www.hudsonvalleytraveler.com/perl/ParkwaysDefinitions.pl

"Truck. Every motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property; provided, however, that a pickup truck or a van which is legally registered as a passenger vehicle and which has passenger license plates shall not be deemed to be a truck."

Moved from FL to CT the year FL closed its vehicle inspection stations & just before CT started their torturous emissions tests. Because of CT's regressive vehicle taxes, high insurance rates & miserable registration system - I simply renewed my van's FL registration by mail for years. Drove van on Merritt, Taconic & Garden State Parkways frequently w/o issue & saw countless other vans.

Haven't inquired if a ProMaster must be registered as a commercial vehicle here in FL & have no intention of ever registering anything in CT.

In any event, the Van Wyck Expressway is an interstate highway & open to commercial trucks, NOT a Parkway.

 

[Pete's PM Plumbing]

I would not do well up north. Here in the south, our only limitation with the ProMaster is height. The plate on it goes by gvw, and has nothing to do with where you dan drive it. Drove Passenger plates on my E-350 diesel for years.

I think its a coastal issue. Can't get a lot more north than WI. We don't have any of this anti-commerce foolishness.