Wasn't sure where to post this..... so I will try here.

Last weekend, was out at Ocotillo with my ARIZONA Street legal Rhino.
We decided to do a few rides over the course of the weekend that were "street legal only" trails. I thought that it included me.

I have:
windshield
license plate light
horn
turn signals
emergency flashers
mirrors
etc

So they told me that the AZ plate does not "hold up" out here, something about "the CA judges are catching on to this" & AZ "let's you get away with anything".
I was fortunate enough to be only given a warning, but still wonder WHY if I am street legal, why can't I ride in the street legal areas?? Those are some of the NICEST trails!

And yes I do have a residence in AZ as well. (Lake Havasu)..... I just use the thing more here in CA where our "main" residence is.

Anyone have similar experience??

Well that leads me to Believe that you can't drive a car reg. in Az. to Cali without getting a tickett.

I would think You could drive it down the Fwy as long as you were visiting and not staying for longer than a mounth or so.

your AZ street vehicle does not meet air standards for road use for starters..your license is in what state? That becomes your primary residence. You were lucky to get warned. CHP can impound your off road toy with an AZ plate if caught on the road, cops decision.
I researched this a lot, and what i found was-
anyone who has an OHV toy with a CA plate is fraud in DMV inspectors eyes, and they have been back logging their books and revoking these licenses.
I asked what the problem was, and was told that first and foremost they have no CARB approval, they do not meet safety and required equipment standards, and they are not licensed by the manufacturer for road worthy use, and the list went on and on and on....
I dont see what the big deal is, and so many will disagree..i am not here to argue against street licensing..but according to the CHP, they laughed when I asked if I could get a licensable UTV in Ca..and told me anyone can get anything..but we can impound it, and we haven't lost a case in court yet!

You Can't WIN in California!!!!!!
Just Bring your Check Book and prepair to use it!!!

They dont have the same air quality as Cali on regular cars and trucks, do they. That meens the CHP should start impounding every out of state Vehical driving in California.

Vehicle code 38006 (c.)

O, and they could have a ball on the out of country cars. in my town they almost out number cali cars.
And they have NO smog at all!!!

seen it in glamis on gecko rd. they told my buddy "what state are you in?" in a very a-holish tone of voice.

I have an AZ legal CRF450X that I ride during the summer on the street, and on all those highway vehicle only trails as well.

EDIT... 38006 © looks like it only applied if you are not a resident of CA. What I have is a CDL, AZ registration, AZ ID card with an address, and Insurance. They have never said a word about my OHV being on the road, in fact ive been stopped twice once for plate being vertical. The guy gives me a warning and says your plate should be horizontal or else your gonna get pulled over by the CHP, nothing about no blinkers, no horn, no speedo etc.

BUT you do have a Rhino, I would think that a rhino thats street legal in AZ is fine to OFF ROAD here in CA on Plate trails only. I can see a problem with it being on the road because thats just asking for it. But I see it as someone from AZ bringing their 383 V8 Jeep with AZ plate to ocotillo on that road. The rangers would say nothing, but essentially its the same thing.

Just food for thought

I have CDL, AZ title, & insurance for this thing.

And.... that's the thing. GEEZ I don't want to drive my Rhino to the mall or the grocery store, I just want to be able to take it on some of the street legal only trails. I have a Jeep too, but I want the option of one or the other with no discrimination.

When the cop stopped me he started rattling off about the things I needed (turn signals, plate, insurance, etc) when in fact he finally noticed I have all of that. So then when he saw that I had all the required equipment/documentation THEN he goes...."Oh! Well your tires are too aggressive" C'mon! The tires on my Jeep are just as aggressive!

I don't know.

Is this worth fighting for???

Is what worth fighting for? I thought you got a warning? You'll probably never even be bothered again.

They realized that you are legal, and thats the reason they didnt give you the ticket. The fact that the law is very vague and you being in the dirt really makes it not that big of a deal.

What I mean is... I basically got told "we better not see you in these areas anymore". So, to me, I think that my instinct is to not go on those trails with my Rhino anymore. But also that is like "throwing my hands up" and saying OK when they are possibly wrong.

I don't like a hassle, I am not out to cause trouble, just if I have a right to go on those trails...... then they WILL see me out there again, but next time they MAY want to cite me. If so, is THAT worth fighting for.

Thanx to everyone for the information and insight by the way!

my friend rides an AZ plated AF500 on the street all the time he's been pulled over a few times too, says he only get hassled that the plate is AZ and his license in CALI. like a 120$ ticket if you dont change plates is all he's been given. He even got pulled over on the 805, we're talking a 2-stroke CR500 sooo..... gotta remember though the BLM seems to be able to make up rules as they go

gotta remember though the BLM seems to be able to make up rules as they go thats what it seems like

Does he have a AZ ID? That really seals the deal with me. Since you can't have dual licenses (to my knowledge).

And sure its worth fighting if you have the time.

PS thats badass! to have a streetable CR500 SWEEEET!

no he has a cali ID, no AZ ID, bike is AZ plated....

bad (_|_) thing of all.its a service honda aluminum frame cr500 fully motarded out. bike is sweet.

the law is not vague..read up about your residence ID..and the fact that a road is not paved has nothing to do with wether or not it is a street as defined by the law. A dirt road can also be a street byway or highway..with all applications of the county/state laws in effect.
I would not chance it, thats me though.
They may give you the benefit of the doubt and warn you since you may be confused on Cali laws, but they dont have to.
You can test my theory, drive it on the street and when your stopped have an attitude and tell the cop how wrong he is...he'll go to his book and find a relevant section to impound your stuff, guaranteed...

At the Az. ASA question and answer meeting last year this was brought up by local residents and answered by the Ca. LEO's on hand they consider a Rhino the same thing as a golf cart and while Az. lets golf carts be street legal Ca. does not. The best they could come up with was that it was a loop hole and they were going to use it.

While I agree it sucks I think I can see the Ranger's point of view. Sure, your Rhino is street legal (in AZ) but most Rhino's are not street legal. So if other people see you driving your Rhino down that street-vehicle-only dirt road they will want to drive that road too in their Rhino. Pretty soon everyone is using that "road" as another OHV trail. Which doesn't bother me but the Ranger has his job to do.

Again, not defending the Ranger, just looking for possible reasons for his actions.

cali is a country not a state, with lots of laws to cut down on your freedoms

It sure does seem like they keep taking more & more away from us.

Actually.... does anyone know if I can get a CA green sticker for it and still keep the AZ plate?

Most rangers aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. My last buggy was street plated (big plate) but I never got a chance to screem it around Imperial so I can't say I got away with it. Educate yourself and know the laws. California Highway Patrol would be the guys to talk to for answers. They know vehicle code in and out and could probably write a citation on a brand new car. Probably one on the board?

Are your Rhino tires DOT approved? That was one of the things the LEO said as he wrote Jerry a ticket...he also said something about AZ being the 'wild wild west'

California is run by a bunch of liberial POS's. The LO's are caught in the middle. Most of them are probably on your side, and they know your a person of substance. They warn you, hopeful, that you will just go away and they will not have to deal with you again.

I have the same type of issue but haven't been pulled over yet. We have a summer place in Truckee CA. I ride a Suzuki DRZ 400 dual sport bike and I put a Baha Design street kit on it, legal in Nevada. I ride the forest trails and sometimes end up wanting to ride back to the summer house on the road as the sun disappears into the Pacific Ocean. Don't want to miss daffyducktail hour at the firering.

California is such an incredible state, there are just a bunch of people who live there that seem to think they can do all the thinking for everyone esle who live there.

So sad.

I could not agree more..Cali is full of do gooders who don't care abut your rights, but protest/riot for theirs..effing cali liberal nazie jerks...born and raised here..and makes me sick Frankenstein and muff boxer are in office... POS in my eyes...

In Az,you can get a Az Title/Plate /registration with your california address on it. See what they say then!

OK..... so my next question is this.
Should I / Could I get a CA green sticker for this thing? But also still keep the AZ title?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

That's what I have. I use my CA address as the "mailing" address. Got it in the mail no problems.

That's what I would do.....but no matter what you do, Rhino's are NOT street legal in California. There are loopholes for sure but it's just a matter of time before you run into some LEO that knows the proper sections to enforce (most don't.....I know because I'm one of those that don't have a clue). I know we have AZ residents that bring them to San Diego and I've seen more than one being towed away by motor officers (who actually know those obscure vehcile code sections).

I live in Cali and I have a couple of golf carts, one is registered STREET LEGAL and has full size plates. Never had a problem here or in AZ (at the river). They have started to bust you for tires that are not street legal though. The golf cart has had ca reg for about 8 years now. No ticket. I've even had girls/women take it down the street and have gone though Wendys' drive through. I did put turn signals and brake lights, horn etc..... But there is no windshield and seatbelts. I have been working on a CHP inspection building and they have an electric car/golfcart there with ca plates and they drive it around. I'll ask the sargent what "they" say about the ca/az reg.

No need. A green sticker won't allow you to use the street legal vehicle area either. The AZ plate will allow you to use it in OW just not on the street legal only paths. You will have to stay in the area with all the other OHV whether you have a green sticker or not. If you get the green sticker, you are just double registering it.

CALIFORNIA IS THE BIGGEST JOKE FOR A STATE!! ABSOLUTLEY REDICULOUS!! Sounds like a place i would want to move to!!! WHY DO THEY NOT UNDERSTAND THAT LESS PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GO THERE/LIVE THERE THE LESS MONEY THEY MAKE!!! SHOCKING THAT THAT STATE IS BROKE AS A JOKE!!!

He is totaly right about the green sticker part, when they say street legal only they mean it. I asked the guys at the chp inspection station I'm working on today about a few things. About the rhino, there answer was just because AZ gave you the plates doesnt make it legal in CA. So it is mostly up to how big of an (_|_) the person is that sees you. I also asked them a few questions about some of my trailers while I was at it. I had heard that the officers were pulling over triple axle toyhaulers over to see if the driver had a class A. They told me that it doesnt matter how many axles the trailer has, only the weight that it can handle and the truck pulling it. A toyhauler is a recreation trailer and it does not count because you can live in it. BUT one of my other trailers they can screw me on. The weight on one of my gooseneck trailers is 10,500 and all the other trailers that are 10,100 lbs is considered commercial, just like a semi trailer and they can get you for that. I know this isnt the topic but I thought I would add what I found out from the chp.

Ya, the 35'+ "Toy-majals" that are maxed on toys, water and gas that are being towed by groaning 3/4 ton pickups are getting stopped on occasion and folks are getting zapped with cites when the trailer/truck weight is over the max allowed by the truck manufacturer. I know, I know, the toyhauler dealer said your rig can tow it, but the proof is in the owner's manual. If you're over the limit it's a big deal, especially in a wreck.

As for "Class A licenses", there is a "Type 41 restriction" license to go with a class C license that allows the driver to pull a 5th wheel that weighs between 10,001 and 15,000 pounds GVWR.. and it doesn't require the towing "road test" that a non-commercial Class A requires. All I had to do to get a type 41 was go to DMV (Thank GOD for the Needles DMV, no one in line) and tell the clerk I want a type 41 license restriction. They'll be confused and look in the manual, then they gave me the commercial driver test to take. (Easy test, I missed one question with 10 minutes of study time) then I paid a renewal fee and posed for a new license photo. Of course, if the trailer is over the weight limit of the truck you're back to square one....

You can't get a CA sticker if you have an AZ plate/registration.
I tried...they told me you have to pick one state or the other.
But an AZ plate allows you to ride in CA OHV areas.

An Arizona "MC" plate is registration and is accepted for off-highway operation in California. A vehicle with an Arizona "MC" plate may or may not be street legal in California. In order to be street legal, a vehicle must be designed and tested by the manufacturer for highway use consistent with federal regulations (e.g., legally equipped dual-sport motorcycle).

All the details here:
CA OHV Website