getting close to having to chose. HELP

I think there is only one month you can't drive on the roads. That's the last time you pay for registration.

I have Hagerty with agreed value.

Yea I do worry about the plate getting messed up. I have the plates that were on CHUG when I drove it like it was a rental back in High school and they are still in pretty good shape. One of them has corner missing. I actually most worried about how/where to mount the front plate. With the Fog lights mounted where they are the CJ3A/CJ5 style of mount with the little T stand on the right Frame horn most likely won't work out. And as I want to put a Winch on CHUG later a bumper mount might be a problem. I'll get to that when I get there I guess.

BW 

Good Evening folks:

Here in Pennsylvania you can go several different ways.  Some times it is just easier, simpler and faster to put regular license plates on them.  You do have to install seat belts and turn signals if you want to go that way.  If you go that route, there aren't any official restrictions.  Drive it wherever and whenever you like.  You can also go Classic or Antique.  In these two cases there are varying restrictions. 

The Antique category has two options.  For a one time $81 fee you get a permanent registration with a current, state issued Antique plate.  For another, one time $81 fee, an original, regular plate from the year shown on the title can be permanently re-registered as well.  While PA has the typical, can only be driven in parades or to and from shows/events, it also includes a provision for "occasional use"  When you ask PA's finest what "occasional use" means, I have always been told driving it once a week, to or from work, church, shopping, etc.  So there is some flexibility here.  The point of occasional use is to allow them to be driven as a part of the maintenance and upkeep of the vehicle.  As we all know, if you dont use it from time to time you eventually loose it.  While I dont have any specific knowledge about other states, I would suspect that the other states might have similar allowances if you dig deeper into the regulations.

We have been members of a camp located in the Susquehanock State Forest in Clinton and Potter Counties in North Central PA for the past 30 years.  One of our "occasional uses" is to take one or more rigs to camp 4-5 weekends per year for some trail riding down the Forest Service back roads -- tops off, uh thats vehicle canvastops, that is, and windshields down!!!  Our mantra for those weekends is: Sleep-Eat-jeep-Sleep(afternoon nap!)-Eat-Sleep-Eat-jeep-ad infanauseum!  Hey -- I mean that is real R & R!!!

 

Although there is a restriction on night driving with Antique plates or registrations, for some events my wife and I attend this is somewhat problematic.  Some events are a wee bit longer than others.  A 3,000 mile trek across the country is often the event.  We are also active participants in the MVPA's Cross Country - History In Motion program, having participated in 4 or 5 of these long distance convoys.  Due to the nature of these events there are times when getting to and from the daily rally points occasionally requires driving after dark.

Through out the past 30 years I have never been stopped and challenged on my use of any of the jeeps and WC's we have driven over the years.  On the few times where I went through various law enforcement checkpoints they were more interested in how cool the rigs were and wanted to know information about the vehicles than they were about anything else.  Some time ago, obviously during better times, I actually had the pleasure of hosting 4 of Pennsylvania's finest, in uniform, for a short briefing and tour of my shop.   

What my law enforcement friends have told me in the past was that they were mostly interested in people abusing the antique plate privileges.  They could really care less about someone driving an antique registered vehicle a couple of times a month around the community.  On the other hand someone using it as a daily driver taking it to work every day, would eventually draw their attention and probably cause them to force the issue.  I realize that each community may have a differing philosophies about this, but the folks in this area seem to like having and seeing these vehicles out and about within limits.

Regards,

Walter