tracked vehicle question?

[David Dunlop]

As Rob Love mentioned, here in Manitoba tracked vehicles are a " no no" unless it is a major construction vehicle 'helping to improve the local economy', in which case they turn a complete blind eye to it's presence on the roads and the damage done.

The law came into effect around World War One when roads were starting to improve and was initially geared to Agricultural Steam Engines with their huge cast steel wheels with heavy steel lugs. With the arrival of the tank in the war, a lot of attempts were made to convert farm equipment to tracks, but they still tore up the roads badly, so tracked vehicles were banned. This was the result of enough municipalities bitching up to the provincial government, who writes the rules via the Highway Traffic Act. Fast forward 30 years and a whole new family of vehicles arrive on the scene with fully rubber tracks (US Halftracks for example). You try to register one and the guy at the counter hears 'track' and automatically goes into rejection mode. And technically he is correct. The original law never differentiated steel versus rubber because there was no need to 100 years ago.

So what do you think the odds will be for the first Halftrack owner in Manitoba to get his vehicle registered? He's at the bottom of the latrine looking wayyy up at that shadowy government body looming overhead.

[rob love]

Actually David, Agricultural vehicles are exempt from registration and can operate on Manitoba roads and highways if they are performing agricultural functions. So if it was an attempt to restrict those vehicles, then it will have failed.

If the new halftrack owner is an ag-operator, then a few bales of hay in the back heading to a waiting customer should suffice. The vehicle will be insured under his farm insurance.

[charlie fitton]

" ag-operator, then a few bales of hay in the back heading to a waiting customer should suffice. "

And as soon as an accident happens, the police and the insurance company see right through this and walk away laughing...and jack up your rates.

No sense trying to con anyone...carriers are not ATV's, not snowmobiles, not tractors, not anything but what they are.

f

[jeff davis]

I talked with Insurance Corperation of B.C employee today and they have not heard of anything to disallow us to drive are Tracked Vehicles or to not allow the Registration of future Bren Carriers on road.
Possibly just fear mongering to drive up the price of Registered Tracked Vehicles
Regards
Jeff

[cletrac (RIP)]

I had a trucker in Alberta complaining about something I was going to tow home with my farm pickup. I pointed to the F on the license plate and said "See that? That means I can do any "f"ing thing I want!" He walked away in disgust.

[jeff davis]

Farmers Rule

[DanJahn]

That's good to hear that the rumors about it getting harder or impossible to get tracked vehicles registered here in BC may be false. Speaking for myself I met a lot of resistance trying to get two halftrack projects registered and that was at the head office level. So I gave up. I know of another person ( no names ) that had a hard time just trying to transfer an already registered tracked vehicle. So it is good to hear that it may only be fear mongering.I guess we won't know for sure until someone gives it a try.

Thank you for everyone's input.


Dan