# Mass RMV Law about removing plow frames



## plowguy01886 (Oct 20, 2003)

Hi Gang,

Anyone from Mass know what law requires me to remove my (HD) plow frame from my vehicle outside of the normal plowing season? For the first time in 7 years of plowing, I was refused an inspection (2 different garages). They both said that I have to pull the frame off between something like April and October, and they can not inspect the vehicle with the frame mounted!

Is this something new that I just haven't heard about?

Thanks!


----------



## PLOWMAN45 (Jul 2, 2003)

someone sued because they waled into the headgear on a truck its stupid i dont take mine off im in ct


----------



## Guest (Jul 14, 2004)

My uncle has a plow frame on his Dodge and he got his truck's inspection (he's in Massachusetts too)


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

This inspection thing had to be an isolated incident at a particular garage. Every truck that i see that plows drives around with its truckside mount on year round. I literally see at least 150 trucks with mounts everyday and presumeabely they have not been asked to take them off. Many people who plow probley don't own the kinds of tools necessary to unbolt their mounts so that means that they would have to pay a dealer to do it which would make alot of people mad. Also even if you know what your doing it probley takes about a half hour to unbolt the damn thing, no one wants to go through that trouble. I have not been denied a sticker and i just went 2 weeks ago. 
*Iam referring to "new style" plow mounts not old conventional plow frames. Iam sure everyone knew that


----------



## Mick (May 19, 2001)

A new law in Mass requires the headgear to be removed during the off-season:

http://www.snowbusinessonline.com/news/news.asp?ID=61


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

after reading the link that mick so nicely provided for us i agree with the law 100%, Conventional mounts are ugly and have no place on pickup trucks that are driven daily, todays style mounts came out fifteen+ years ago


----------



## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

Personally I like how the old style mounts look. While our older truck is not driven daily it does run most of the summer and we keep the frame on it.

Come fall the leaf vac hangs off of it.


----------



## '76cj5 (Dec 12, 2003)

It doesn't sound like the whole frame hase to come off just the arm and hudralic lift.



> According to the Lowell Sun: "The hitching mechanism is described as the lift cylinder and the lift arm of the plow..."


2 bolts and 5 electrical connections and all that comes off in 10 min.


----------



## bgingras (Jan 16, 2004)

the article also states that vehincles that had the equipment installed before the effective date of the law would be exempt. From that I assume that my 1986 truck that's been equiped since day one, would not be required to have it removed?


----------



## Mick (May 19, 2001)

From the article - "...the law doesn't apply to hitching mechanisms that were permanently affixed to the vehicle before the effective date of the law"

The key is "permanently affixed".


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

I know they said the law excluded large trucks over 26,000 LBS which is good since it would be very hard to remove all the mounts for wing(s) in the summer months. It seems (someone tell me more if you know) that on the new dump trucks that you see, the headgear (hydraulic components, lift cylinder) can easily be removed from the front of the vehicle wish i had some pics but you see two rows of holes one higher up on the front of the vehicle than the other making 90 degree angles with the grill. You can tell these trucks plow by the undercarriage mounts. The setup is hard to explain but maybe someone will know what i mean. Its not as complicated as i make it sound. I think more stipulations should be put in place for people who have legitiment use for plow mounts in the off season. In retrospect i think it is a good law that will make the fronts of trucks look much nicer IMO. There is really no need as everyone found out to have a big plow mount on a personal pick up truck.


----------



## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

A lot of the bigger trucks need to have the headgear removable or at least tilt forward just for maintenance. The hoods on these bigger trucks tilt forward with the grill.


----------



## SIPLOWGUY (Mar 21, 2002)

I read somewhere a while back that the idea behind the headgear staying with the plow was for safety reasons. It does make sense. I had an "old style" plow on my Bronco II. I got rear ended and pushed into the car ahead of me. The arm on my plow headgear pierced the trunk on the Cadillac I hit. It was plow season so I had the pump mounted. I always removed the pump in the off season. I like the way my trucks looked with the headgear on but I have to admit, it could be deadly in a crash.


----------



## bgingras (Jan 16, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Mick _
> *From the article - "...the law doesn't apply to hitching mechanisms that were permanently affixed to the vehicle before the effective date of the law"
> 
> The key is "permanently affixed". *


I would like to know what the definition of perminently affixed is, since my gear is bolted and welded. This seems to be a vague area. My truck is out everyday, I am behind cops, pass cops, park next to them and none have said or done a thing.


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

I think it means if its bolted than it should come off, on a fisher i think the upper gear is bolted (only?) and not welded to the lower gear. I think the lower gear is bolted and welded to the frame of the truck. I see a few people who remove (unbolt?) the upper gear from the lower gear. Iam with bgnras on the cop situation, you still see tons of people driving around with headgear, the law was passsed in june and i guess nobody has really heard about it yet. Not many on this site knew about it and we pay attention to plow related info much more than the cops do.


----------



## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

No plow manufacturer welds anypart of their frame to the truck and to mt knowledge, never has. You need to have the "give" of a bolted assembly.

I think they want the modern "minute mount" parts to come off. Remember the original Diamond/Meyer quick mount system let you remove the plow and leave the headgear. The ides is to provide safety in an accident and allow the sensor to properly trigger the airbag.

Older style permanent mounts would be exempt.


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

I have seen fisher conventional mounts removed like this, yellow (upper gear) comes off, red (lower gear) stays, blue is where it unbolts.


----------



## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

Yes but I would think that is considered permanent mount. You could take the old Western fram off as well, just had to take off the bumper first. I think the law addresses the "quick mounts" only. Not everyone has the means to take the older styles off. Especially with the belt drive hydros. Are you just going to leave an open lift cylinder hose hanging off the front of the truck?

I used to unbolt those mounts every year. Even the lower part.


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

Iam sure this law was made with out any input from plowers or anyone who knew as much as people on this site do about plows. It is a tall order to have everyone remove their conventional mounts but they way i interpert this is that unless its inpossible to remove the liftarm and cylinder then they want it removed. I don't think enough people leave their minuite mount or other easily removeable headgear on all summer for them to make a law exclusively for that. If its a minuite mount or other quick mount who would be dumb enough to leave it on when you don't need it and make it vulnerable to damage in an accident. The hydraulic problem is easily solved using hydraulic quick disconnects, which is going to be a PITA for people to have to get them. Last april me and a friend converted a conventional mount fisher with underhood belt driven hydraulics to a minuite mount with belt driven hydraulics. We used quick disconnects. The old mount was completely removed, we got a truckside minuite mount and the mount itself from a fisher dealer, installed the truckside mount and that was it. The only thing that stayed the same was the plow, A-frame, and hydraulics (under hood). Kept the same lights too. I would recommend this conversion if you so desire it was easy and did not cost as much as getting a brand new plow. That said nobody really wants to go through that especially if they are used to and don't mind the headgear being on the front of the truck.


----------



## 84deisel (Dec 2, 2003)

I think most of missed the point where it stated that the law only applied to vehicles manufactured after the law took effect. Therefore unless plow manufacturers go back to conventional mounts nobody has to worry unless they install a heavyweight plow (26000 gvw &up ) on a chassis under 26000 gvw.Most of the big truck plow mounts still have the lift arm and mechanism on them although on my 04 pete they did put a quickdisconect on the lift hose . The hood by the way was modified so the grill stays with the radiator not on the hood.


----------



## Mick (May 19, 2001)

> _Originally posted by 84deisel _
> *I think most of missed the point where it stated that the law only applied to vehicles manufactured after the law took effect. *


I think the exception is for plows that were permanently affixed before (rather than applying to vehicles that were manufactured after) the effective date of the law (June 25, 2004). Also excepted are vehicles 26,000 GVW or more. The third exception is that if it snows BETWEEN October and May, operators may re-requip their vehicles for the purposes of plowing.

Since we're analyzing the meaning of the language of the law, I'll throw in my two cents. I'd suggest that "permanently affixed" means it wasn't intended to be able to be removed. If it is welded, it is "permanent". If it is bolted or screwed, it's not permanent. Quick disconnects and spring-loaded pins could not be considered permanent.

Another interesting point is the word "between". This would mean that you could not put your headgear on during October or May. Also, it would seem that the intent is that you could only have it on the truck while plowing or traveling directly to or from a plowing job. But that is not what it states. Once it snows in November to April, you could re-equip your truck, but it doesn't specifically state that you have to take it back off once you're done plowing.


----------



## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

All I have to say is I am happy to live in CT.


----------



## 84deisel (Dec 2, 2003)

My question is , if you bought a new truck why would you put an obsolete piece of equipment on your truck? Western stopped producing conventional mounts years ago and Meyer finally has gone over to their quick mount as has all other well known brands.


----------



## QMVA (Oct 9, 2003)

My question is why was this law even passed. Only one person died 11 years ago. Yes there is a possability of someone getting hurt from the plow frame but tell me how its different from a grill guard or cattle catcher. As for the air bag thing i dont see how it even pertains to the reason. The law is intendid to help the car not the truck and it brings me right back to my point of the grill gaurd. Finnally wouldnt the frame help by catching the car and stopping the truck from going over it. JMO


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

It has become obvious to me that nobody knows about this law and its not agressively enforced. All the older 3/4 and 1 ton plow trucks that my town owns sitll have the fisher headgear on them. If the law was being enforced the first thing they would do is make all the towns remove the headgear from their trucks that still have conventional mounts. I'd bet that there is not one cop in MA that knows about this law.


----------



## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

I got pulled over by a cop once who told me I needed to move my rear plate because the spreader was blocking it. I told him I would as soon as the town moved all theirs. He shut up pretty fast. No ticket.


----------



## 84deisel (Dec 2, 2003)

Municipalitys and gov vehicles are exempt so that law will not apply to them


----------



## Flipper (Nov 1, 2001)

That's a gray area. If a muni gets into an accident with a private party and causes injury you can bet they will be paying. Legally they might not et a fine, but if the law was made to protect people in accidents then it is a potential payday for the first accident.


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

If its for safety purposes then nobody should be above the law. No regular people have taken off their headgear either. This is a law thats not going to be enforced, it would be very hard to enfoce it.


----------



## jonw440 (Dec 26, 2002)

Oh what is this state coming to. First a new law banning smoking indoors(at work,bar,restaurant,etc.) now we cant have our headgear on during the summer. BUT It's perfectly ok AND legal to marry your Boyfriend????   I wish my Wife hated this state as much as I do......


----------



## 66Construction (Jan 26, 2001)

I wouldnt be surprised to see more laws like this. 

I sold the entire front cut off of an 84 chevy 1/2 ton to a lawyer. My mechanic mounted the frame to an engine stand. You had the frame from about where the front axel is, the steering box and the bumper which he rolled into the court room next to another one which had a conventional fisher snowplow frame on it to show how the plow frame strengthens the truck frame making it more of a battering ram and also takes away the factory crumple zones etc. I believe the people he was working for were hit by a truck with a conventional mount plow and the triangle lift frame went through the passenger window and the passenger died of severe head trauma. He won the case too...big$$$$

I Prefer the traditioonal mount fishers...plow by belt not by wire, if the motor is running and the belt is turning the plow works, I have sevral and they're all on all year round and inspected. 
Casey


----------



## PSDF350 (Jul 30, 2004)

> _Originally posted by jonw440 _
> *Oh what is this state coming to. First a new law banning smoking indoors(at work,bar,restaurant,etc.) now we cant have our headgear on during the summer. BUT It's perfectly ok AND legal to marry your Boyfriend????   I wish my Wife hated this state as much as I do...... *


mine didn't but that didn't stop us from move to NH 5 years ago she had no choice i wasn't staying in mass any longer with all there stupid laws.*Live Free Or Die*


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

The best were the belt drive fisher Minuite Mounts, I cant see why any one would like conventional mounts on their trucks especially if their driven all year round. 

Everyone is moving to NH from MA whats in NH thats so much better then MA. Are the laws really that bad? I don't think so! The only benefit of going to NH would be more snow in some cases. IMO


----------



## PSDF350 (Jul 30, 2004)

i like to hunt and mass is just to dang anti everything. plus no salestax in nh gotta love that. i have allways hated mass nh is great. dont much like the area i'm in but in the next few years we wil be moving but will stay in nh.


----------

