Pawel Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hello everybody!I have a question for you which may seem dumb, but been bothering me and my fellow modellers for some time - you see in Europe, where I come from, a truck only carries one set of licence plates (one forward, one on the rear), another licence plate is put on the rear of the trailer. It was always very curious/odd to me, to see american trucks literally peppered with licence plates. What are the general rules governing that? Do you need licence plates on the rear of the tractor? Do you licence the rig as a whole, or tractor separately and the trailer separately? Why more than one plate on the front bumper? Any info here would be a great help in modelling, but also interesting to hear. Thanks a lot in advance, have a nice dayPaweł Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Maney Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Licensing has changed over the years. Nowadays trucks are tagged with apportioned plates on the front if the truck is run through different states or just a truck tag if a truck is run within one state. Trailers tags are located on the rear and are for the trailer only. For the most part multiple tags are obsolete, licensing back in the day was not federally regulated and each state had it's own rules. Quote Interested in Old Trucks? Check out: www.antiquetruckclubofamerica.org Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88426 Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Licensing has changed over the years. Nowadays trucks are tagged with apportioned plates on the front if the truck is run through different states or just a truck tag if a truck is run within one state. Trailers tags are located on the rear and are for the trailer only. For the most part multiple tags are obsolete, licensing back in the day was not federally regulated and each state had it's own rules.that's right, no more multiple tags or "bingo cards", just need an IFTA sticker now-you can display them old tags on the wall. Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88430 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Very interesting! Thanks a lot for the info! So when did it all change? If I wanted to model my truck, say mid-eighties, what would I have to look for? From what I understand - no tags on the rear on the rear of the truck, tags on the front bumper don't have to match tags on the rear of the trailer and basically you need a tag from every state you're passing through? Would that be roughly correct? Thanks in advance for your help, have a nice dayPaweł Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88456 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtywhiteboy Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Very interesting! Thanks a lot for the info! So when did it all change? If I wanted to model my truck, say mid-eighties, what would I have to look for? From what I understand - no tags on the rear on the rear of the truck, tags on the front bumper don't have to match tags on the rear of the trailer and basically you need a tag from every state you're passing through? Would that be roughly correct? Thanks in advance for your help, have a nice dayPawełby the mid 80's 1 to 3 tags on front bumper,..no tag on rear of truck,...an one tag on rear of trailer,...muti number of fuel permits on side of cab,..most time side box door,...one permit per state operated in,..an thay varied in size most were square an some rec tangled,..colors changed every year,.....ohio was white always an on right windshield bottom right corner,...new york was on front bumper an was yellow/orngish an dark blue,..most these were bout 4 to 5 inches by 4 to 5 inches an were mostly 2 colored,..a base color an shape of state in a contrasting color....love building model trucks but hard to find kits now an are overly expensive! got a gmc astro,...a w900a a 352 pete,..a 73 diamond reo,...a 68 fraightliner.,...a dubble wide k100 an a 4070 I-H i ant finished,..most were rebuilds from a collection that was dumped in a box as thay fell apart an built to replica's of trucks i grew up with.....an great dane spread axle reefer ive been rooster cruzin since i was 8,..in 1978!! Edited October 17, 2011 by dirtywhiteboy Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88657 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaysm35a2 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Ebay is a good place to get the Macks we like but my god thats pricey for a peice of plastic. Id buy one but im too nervous id mess it up. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88658 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtywhiteboy Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Ebay is a good place to get the Macks we like but my god thats pricey for a peice of plastic. Id buy one but im too nervous id mess it up.take your time,...an a trick ive lernt,..use super glue!! faster drying less chance of it moveing before glue sets an saves a ton of waiting to dry!! an only use plastic model paint!! never know how other paint will react with it an have had some bodys melt into a puddle!! but added lotta bling to my spare parts box!! paint takes 3 days to a week to dry,....an a clear coat helps apperance of paint an how itll look over time!! small parts take lotta time to hand paint an even longer to dry!! Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88659 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 dirtywhiteboy, jaysm35a2 - thanks a lot for the comments and for your help. I'm asking, because I need the info for my model, I write about it here:http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/19052-mack-rw-superliner-scale-model/It would also interest my fellow modellers in Europe, since our regulations are so much different. I'd love to hear more about how it's arranged in the States, so if anybody has more comments, please post them. Thanks in advance, have a nice dayPaweł Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88706 Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfesting Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 ...muti number of fuel permits on side of cab,..most time side box door,...one permit per state operated in,..an thay varied in size most were square an some rec tangled,..colors changed every year,....most these were bout 4 to 5 inches by 4 to 5 inches an were mostly 2 colored...dirtywhiteboy, jaysm35a2 - thanks a lot for the comments and for your help. I'm asking, because I need the info for my model, I write about it here:http://www.bigmacktr...er-scale-model/It would also interest my fellow modellers in Europe, since our regulations are so much different. I'd love to hear more about how it's arranged in the States, so if anybody has more comments, please post them. Thanks in advance, have a nice dayPawełHey, PawełIf you look at the red superliner "J274" that was posted to your model thread, above, you can see the fuel stickers that whiteboy is talking about. On the red superliner, the stickers are on a flat piece of metal attached to the fuel tank step. That was a common location. Most truck stops sold chromed or shiny long flat pieces of metal (about the size of a European license plate?) that were attached to steps. They were usually hinged, but I'm not sure why. I guess so you could hear "squeak squeak" when you hit a bump - or maybe so they'd give way if you kicked them.It looks like the superliner's stickers are old and faded. I want to say the single state fuel sticker setup pretty much went into effect around 1995, and that's when the rows of stickers went away. Maybe someone else can confirm the date. I still have most of my old paperwork, but I wish I still had that piece of metal with all of the stickers. Something to hang on the wall of the garage. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88710 Share on other sites More sharing options...
vision386 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 It seems to me that multiple plates on trucks went away in the late eighties early nineties,and the individual state fuel permits about the same time,i remember the first IFTA sticker on my truck was 1995 when i still had my MH. But up till then,trucks were still required to display plates or permits from each state travelled in. But as far as modelling a "period" U.S truck they would still be on any truck from the 1950's up to the 1970's,if you look up some pictures of an over the road truck from the 50's the front bumper is littered with plates of all shapes and sizes! but a modern truck would only have one plate from its state of registration,and a single IFTA sticker (international fuel tax agreement) that covers all the states travelled in instead of multiple ones all over the side of the truck,same thing with the outdated ICC,MC,and state registration numbers that used to be reqiured on both sides of the truck. hope this is of some help....................Mark Quote Mack Truck literate. Computer illiterate. Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/21056-licence-plates-a-question-from-abroad/#findComment-88714 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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