NY Rookie with lots of questions

[HFolb23]

Hello all,

New guy to the forums and I apologize in advance if this is the wrong sub forum for this.

Im interested in purchasing my first ex-military vehicle. I have experience with LMTVs and FMTVs, HEMTTs, HMMVs, M915s and other current vehicles but the vehicle that im looking at is a M923A2 which I've never driven before.

I live in NY and want to be able to register and insure the truck to be able to drive when I want to. I have an unrestricted Class A CDL and a current DOT medical card.

Im posting in this forum because I'd like to know the process that it takes to put one of these trucks on the road. What paperwork should I be looking for the seller to have? I've never had to register or insure a CMV let alone an ex-military truck. Can anyone in NY give me a ballpark number on what to expect to pay for insurance and the cost of getting DMV to let me run it on the road? I'm sure there's special insurance companies for purchases like this?

I had planned on renting a tractor and flat bed trailer to bring the truck back home, has anyone done this before and can recommend any companies to rent from in the Northeast?

Thanks in advance,
HF

 

[Lukes_deuce]

Hey there HF,

Since no one has responded yet, Ill give you my experiences being from NY. First off, it sounds like you are on the right path. One big hurdle to overcome is you have your class A license already. Definitely a plus when it comes to these bigger vehicles. I have the a 813, so I dont have experience specifically with a 923 truck your looking at but the NYS DMV situations are very similar.

Now moving on to how to register and insure your vehicle. It depends on how you want to use your vehicle. If its for fun and pleasure, suchs as weekend joy rides, parades and a show/rally, then you can register is as historical and have cheap registration and inspections. My truck is right at 100 a year for both registration and inspection. Now if you want to use your truck on a frequent basis for hauling and/or towing, I would suggest going the commerical route. The 923 has full air brakes and can get tricky with how the rules play out in NY with a historical vehicle. Some peope will get away with not having a CDL since its historical but some times there are issues. But you dont have to worry about that. I got my class B CDL just in case. Since you have your CDL and familiar with bigger trucks, you have an idea of commerical registrations and their costs and other associatied costs. That is your choice, you have the CDL and air brake endorsements, so you are covered either way you go. Insurances will also vary depending on your registration class, weight and age. My insurance per year is 225. It is for a personal use antqiue vehicle with a mileage limit of 5000 miles a year. This is perfect for me and I cant complain with the coverage costs. There are a few well know historical or custom car insurance companies. Do a search on here for some names. If you go the antique/classic car route, it is much cheaper but you have restrictions. If you go the commerical route, then it will be a quite expensive. Your choice based on how you use your truck.

As for paper work and DMV, you will need a title and bill of sale to register the truck in NY just as any other vehicle. Or if your buying it from government auction, get a SF-97 document, which is a statement from the auction to receive a title. Other than that, its the usual MV-82, insurance, title, bill of sale, sales tax and registration fees. You might have to get creative with the make and model, most clerks at DMV never heard of a 5 ton cargo truck. I suggest keeping the nomenclature with pick up truck or flat bed depending on the route you take, especially if your doing the historical/antique route. Anything with cargo or tractor will set th DMV personel off. My truck is an 1971 AM General Pick up. Little do they know its a big pick up truck

As for the recovery, some people hire a company to retreave their new vehicle. Some people perfer to drive their new vehicle home. It depends on the shape and condition. You cant go wrong with trailering the truck home. Most folks dont have a class A and a tractor trailer combo to recover 5 tons. Personally, if the truck is in good shape, you can drive it home. Its the fun part! I drove my 5 ton 300 miles to get it home. That was a trip and a half but would do it again in a heart beat!

Welcome to SS and be careful of the green disease!

 

[bhasbrou]

I think Luke covered it pretty well. I went ahead and got my CDL-B license as well. I didn't go the historical route. Too many restrictions for me. I wanted to use mine for actually hauling stuff once and awhile. I have regular commercial insurance and it's pretty reasonable at somewhere around $600 per year. I bought mine from a private owner in NJ so the registration was fairly straight forward since I had his title to give to NYS DMS. They did need to add a letter to the VIN. Typically they add a Z at the end of the truck serial number. It's also listed as a stake body on the title.

Best of luck! They are lots of fun.