Wisconsin - Heavy Truck Registration?

[thebwk]

I am communicating with my guide for my R1S delivery next Saturday and he is informing me that I cannot transfer my Road America plates because they are not approved for 'heavy trucks' in Wisconsin. Can anyone else in this group confirm this is true? I swear I've seen a R1T in the Brookfield area that has RA plates, and I really want to keep mine!

Thanks,
Ben

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[mrodriguez]

I've seen a few R1T's and one R1S in the Milwaukee area, but I never thought to pay attention to the license plates on them. It looks like WISDOT considers heavy truck at 8,000lbs and I think the R1S is just over that. I actually don't know if any WI special plate, including personalized plates, can carry over since the requirements on RA plates are the same generally as every other special plate, including personalized. I'm actually very interest as I have a set of personalized plates I would like to keep. Please do share whatever else you find out.

 

[Rivian-WI]

Because of the weight, it has to be registered under Class "C". As a comparison, a Ford F150 would be a Class B.

 

[Rivian-WI]

The Guide might be wrong... Mine is registered as Class C and according to the DMV website, is allowed for those plates. But what Class are they currently registered under? If it is B, that might be the issue.

https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/vehicles/title-plates/RAM.aspx
https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/formdocs/mv2998.pdf

https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/vehicles/title-plates/light-truck.aspx

 

[mrodriguez]

I actually messaged WISDOT generally asking them if a "Heavy Truck" could have specialized plates. They indicated any truck classified as a "heavy truck" (>8,000 lbs) is not eligible for any special plates in WI. I think @Rivian-WI is right in that somehow it needs to be classified as Class C. I'm not sure how to get that done or how anyone else did so already.

EDIT: Upon further review a "regular automobile" is "Issued to autos, including vans and sport utility vehicles, when more than 50% of the internal capacity is dedicated to seating..." It doesn't actually talk about weight on the automobile section and the R1S is a "sport utility vehicle" so maybe there is a simple way around it or take over the process yourself?

 

[mrodriguez]

I am communicating with my guide for my R1S delivery next Saturday and he is informing me that I cannot transfer my Road America plates because they are not approved for 'heavy trucks' in Wisconsin. Can anyone else in this group confirm this is true? I swear I've seen a R1T in the Brookfield area that has RA plates, and I really want to keep mine!

Thanks,
Ben

Did you ever get this resolved? If so how? Curious so I know what to do when my time comes up. Lol.

 

[thebwk]

Did you ever get this resolved? If so how? Curious so I know what to do when my time comes up. Lol.

Honestly I didn’t want to risk impacting my delivery, so I let it be. Rivian handled the registration process and the paperwork has been submitted to the Wisconsin DMV. I believe it was submitted as a heavy truck. I figure I can try and switch it around once I get my plates.

 

[bd5400]

I have personalized RA plates on my R1T. Rivian (well, their third party company that does registration) ignored my request to transfer plates and registered me with WI “truck” plates.

It took some work, but I was able to transfer my RA plates eventually. The DMV centers do not deal with personalized plates so it all had to be done through mail and email with the Special Plates Unit. You can get specialized/personalized plates on trucks registered at up to 8000 pounds gross weight.

 

[Vivian.A.Rivian]

my guide refused to transfer my plates too, and did the new registration process with heavy truck. I didn't have custom plates thankfully, but I might try to get custom (VIVRIV) in the future. Those RA plates are so cool! Let's plan a Rivian day at Road America!!

 

[mrodriguez]

So I have no idea what I'm going to end up with but I did convince my guide to at least tell me they are transferring plates for my R1S vs. a HT registration. I pointed out that in WI they define Automobile including "Sport Utility Vehicles" which are defined as 50% or more of the cabin dedicated to seating. Under automobile there is no weight definition either. The weight classification comes under the definition of "truck". After explaining that the R1S is an SUV by definition in WI and pointing everything else out, they agreed to transfer plates. Now, whether that is what really happens in the end I have no idea, but that's the route I'll continue to go down if it doesn't work.

 

[mrodriguez]

Just a quick follow up. I picked up on 4/1 and was given temp drive away plates from IL. Today I received my registration in the mail. They successfully registered it under AUT plates and transferred my personalized plates. For anyone else in WI getting a R1S point out the SUV definition for AUT and push them. It can and should be done that way. R1T might be a different matter, but R1S should be an AUT plate and any of the specialized plates should be fine.

 

[thebwk]

Quick update - I emailed the Wisconsin DMV shortly after taking delivery and pleaded my case. They were able to transfer my RA plates to my R1S.

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