The officer says

[Coppertop]

I have three options....

Had a side job on the East side . Cruisin' down route 28 in the heep,I noticed a Ohio Patrolmen behind me . He pulls me over, asked me if I knew my bumper height and if I was legal. I reply (I have no idea)

For those of you that have not seen me and the heep.


It's cold out so the doors were on.

So, he proceeds on a mission to educate me;) First he checks the door decal( Good thang I had doors) for gvw. After several minutes of trying to read it (It's a freakin' 87 decal it's faded beyond reading) He decides to explain the four door specs .. He explains the rear bumper shall be no more than 26in and the front 24in from the ground. So he pulls his fifty foot tape measure out. Damn I'm over.. (28in rear and 27in front )He's asking me at this point. I have a good eye about the jeeps that look like yours. My reply yes sir you do.:p

He says I have three options; Install smaller tires,Find a welder to lower my extisting bumpers,and/or replace my bumpers.

He said he was going to give me a warning. For some reason he changed his mind after running my info.

Guess I better decide on one of those options.

He hee

Nick

Go Bengals! WHO-DEY!!!

[tjjeepjeep]

I know someone who got a ticket for it. I have no doubt when he reads this, you'll hear about it...

[hardluck]

what a ****!

[JeffK5]

Thank god he kept such a hardened criminal from spreading mayhem..

[eighty3bronco]

So what about all thos trucks that I see going up and down 28 that are about 6' off the ground?

I love living in Kentucky

Cop sounds like a douche. Lower your bumpers or dont do anything at all.

[kb9qdi]

Damn Out Law Jeepers

[comanchedude]

Learn it. Live it......... :)

Administrative Code 4501-43-04 - Specifications


(A) The horizontal bumper shall be at least 4.5 inches in vertical height, centered on the vehicle's centerline, and extend no less than the width of the respective wheel track distances. Bumpers shall be horizontal load-bearing bumpers attached to the vehicle frame to effectively transfer impact when engaged.

(B) Maximum bumper heights shall be determined by weight category of gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) measured in terms of the vertical distance between the ground and the bottom of the frame rail or bumper. Maximum bumper heights are as follows:


Vehicle Type Front Rear
Passenger Vehicles 22 inches 22 inches
4,500 lbs. and under GVWR 24 inches 26 inches
4,501 lbs. to 7,500 lbs. GVWR 27 inches 29 inches
7,501 lbs. to 10,000 lbs. GVWR 28 inches 31 inches
(C) If the body and/or truck bed height is altered, the difference in height between the body floor and/or the truck bed floor to the top of the frame ail shall not exceed four inches. (Body Lifts)


(D) For any vehicle with bumpers or attaching components which have been modified or altered from the original manufacturers design in order to conform with the maximum bumper requirements of this rule, the bumper height shall be measured from a level surface to the bottom of the vehicle frame rail at the most forward and rearward points of the frame rail.

(E) The height restriction in this rule applies to the distance from the ground to the bottom of the frame rail under any one or more of the following conditions:

(1) A motor vehicle is not equipped with a front and rear bumper.

(2) The bumper height relative to the frame rails has been altered.

(3) A supplemental bumper has been installed or an addition to the original or replacement has been made.

[Coppertop]

To cool... Looks like he spotted me a few ..

Nick

[BiggDaddy]

So if this is all for safety's sake, is there a minimum distance that the bumper must be from the ground, or are all these trucks that drag their frame rails on the ground ok? That seems to me to be not very safe either.

BiggDaddy

[sarge]

There is also a low limit for suspensions !!!

rant on :

I just want to throw this out there just for FYI !!! I hate Troopers, as do most other city cops ( or should I say real cops ) Troopers are just over paid ticket *****es that got beat up in high school. ;)

Rant off :


You need to ask in court if the measurement was done on level ground and ask for proof the groud was level, if that can not be provided the measurement is out and thus the ticket is out. Just the way I'm reading it !!! may not fly in court so don't blame me if it doesn't work.


I have worked in Trenton for 15 years and have only seen one bumper height ticket written. That was for a Ford f-350 that was so stupid high that the head lights were even with the top of his garage door and he was warned twice to keep it off the road by the officer that wrote him. The officer ( yes a trenton officer , but not me ) was ordered to write him by the Chief. Owner of truck decided to go for a stroll around town and pulled up behind the Chief and burped the throttle a couple times.... not smart !

[GPER]

Looks like this is starting to be wide spread through Ohio. There were a couple of threads on JU about this in Ohio and both threads got closed. So there are two web sites I will boycott now.

I never got what part of the state he was in, but I know we have one in Kettering. I have never been bothered, but he did pester E.

My theory is I have receiver hitches on the front and rear and an extension should work.

I'm 24 in the rear and 28 in the front, but the hitch in the front is 25. Mine weighs 4500 pounds and I'm sure I have gained weight to put me over that.

So if you get pulled over, you get out and pull out all of your valve stems and let your tires go flat.

[Hope Springs Hauler]

Originally Posted by GPER

I'm 24 in the rear and 28 in the front, but the hitch in the front is 25. Mine weighs 4500 pounds and I'm sure I have gained weight to put me over that.
It is not about what you actually weigh, it is about what the registered gvw is.

Big caveat is the "if the bumper is modified, meaure to the frame....." part

You're f'ed if you do and f'ed if you don't.

[GPER]

Originally Posted by Hope Springs Hauler

Big caveat is the "if the bumper is modified, meaure to the frame....." part

You're f'ed if you do and f'ed if you don't.

That should be the standard then since most of us run after market bumpers. I need to and have the room to bring mine down some. What if you don't have a stock frame?? Mine is also a replica of a CJ-7 on my title so what does it weigh???

I guess it doesn't matter for me since I might lower it some anyway.

[blazerbrad]

Just to clarify, the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) is the vehicle's empty weight (curb weight) plus the maximum amount of payload (cargo, etc...) the vehicle can handle as stated by the manufacturer and listed on the tag. The bumper height restrictions don't change for a vehicle based on how much it happens to weigh at the time as the GVW rating is always the same.

Anyway, the bumper height laws in Ohio are pretty restrictive but don't seem to be overly enforced. There are a LOT of vehicles on the road that exceed this. My fullsize Blazer with 4" of lift and 35's and stock bumpers was over height and there are a lot of trucks that are much higher. A guy in our club has been daily driving a YJ with full-width axles, SOA, and 37's around Columbus for years with no issues.

It still sucks when somebody gets pulled over for this, but in general they are pretty lax.

[jmb8813]

what happen to cops liking jeeps

[KargoMaster]

I bet I have seen this guy... seems too coincidental that I saw a Trooper with a CJ pulled over Rte 31/Wolfpen back in June... I actually stopped and asked what the requirement was (after watching him get out the tape measure)... He gave me the same numbers as quoted above... then gave some additional "safety issues" for this particular vehicle like the cracked windshield and the gas tank exposed from the rear because of the lift... I listened intently... said thank you, and drove off.

I said nothing of my plans to have a utility winch front and rear exclusively for "suspension modification."

Originally Posted by GPER

My theory is I have receiver hitches on the front and rear and an extension should work.

Sorry to burst your bubble Tom, but I asked him specifically about that, and he was quite set on "bumper height, not extension" so I think you're thinking is good, but likely will not fly...

[Flxratd]

all i can say is good luck. the law is writin very clearly but there happens to be 2 state troopers dead set on making it difficult for people with a lifted vehicle. my stop was on pershing in hamilton right next to a drug deal and they were trying to steal my wheels while he got out his tape measure but he only writes tickets not solve any real crime. sorry that is all

[GPER]

Are they checking for sway a sway bar too?????

[WrenchMonkey]

Nick, did you guys find a GVWR on your rig?

Mine is 4850#, which gives me 27" front and 29" rear. I'm right at that limit, and apparently you are, too. (As mentioned, it will go by the "frame" height if your bumpers have been modified, which saves me, since mine are actually higher than stock.)

I REALLY need to print out a hard copy of that reg (OAC 4501-43-04 D, the same one Tom posted) for the inevitable day I need it.

By the way, the other half of the argument is proving that the XJ is a "Multipurpose Vehicle" (which goes by the GVWR) vs a "Passenger Vehicle" (which gets a 22" flat limit.)

For that you need:
OAC 4501-43-02 Definitions
(B) Multipurpose vehicle: motor vehicle designed to carry ten or less,
either on a truck frame, or with special features for offroad operation.

We've got plenty of those!

Robert

[Waffle]

Happened last spring on 275 just north of rt 32. It was state highway. Mine was 2 inches over in the back on 36"s. Technically since mine is custom it fails everything. Only 2.5" tall. Doesn't extend to wheel track width. And the height should have been measured to the frame rails.
Guess I'm screwed with the new 40's and D60!!!!!!!Oh I got a warning HA!

[chris_dishmon]

n/m

[blazerbrad]

I know in our club I am only aware of two people getting pulled over and written up for bumper height, and it was at the same time. We were leaving a campground and going to the trails on a holiday weekend and a State Patrol pulled them over in a small town. He was literally parked along side the road waving lifted trucks over, and everybody and their brother drives a lifted truck in that area. The guy was a real jerk and wanted to have the vehicles towed but we finally talked him into letting us go get the trailers. He didn't even actually measure anything, just wrote up tickets.

Both guys protested the tickets and took them to court. Apparently the
State patrol guy didn't normally work in that area and had written up dozens of these types of tickets just over that one weekend. The local judge immediately dismissed the tickets as apparently he had pissed off the whole town and the local cops.

[Coppertop]

Originally Posted by WrenchMonkey

Nick, did you guys find a GVWR on your rig?

Robert

Nope, The decal on the driver's door was faded beyond reading. I'm thinking about calling the dealer to see if I can buy a new one. If I can get a new one ..I'm going to install it in the door jam. In case I'm pulled over with the doors off.

I'll be in the same area this weekend. Will lightin' strike twice??

Nick

Go Bengals! WHO-DEY!!!!

[sarge]

Originally Posted by blazerbrad

Both guys protested the tickets and took them to court. Apparently the
State patrol guy didn't normally work in that area and had written up dozens of these types of tickets just over that one weekend. The local judge immediately dismissed the tickets as apparently he had pissed off the whole town and the local cops.

that right there is the best justice you can get !