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Post by redheadkara on Oct 30, 2014 12:33:49 GMT -8
Hi Folks,
Great news, the title for our camper is now in hand (was holding off on any serious work until I was sure this existed). It's confirmed as a 1964 Teardrop (manufacturer, not style). The camper was a gift from a (distant) relative, and it appears the camper was last registered in 1997. The title is from CA, signed over by the previous owner, and it looks as though he turned in the release of liability form. The relative did not fill in the buyer part of the title or ever register it to himself.
Top priority is not to cause any trouble for the kind person who gave us this nifty trailer. I ran the plate and VIN (just 3 digits? Is this possible? Haven't found it on the trailer yet) from the title on the DMV site and it came back with a no info/doesn't exist in the system type message.
Would I be better off to complete the title as though I bought this in '97 and left it to sit for 17 years before I did the paperwork? Or take a Bill of Sale/gift documentation from the relative along to the DMV? Does this cause him any bother for not having registered it for years? They live in Nevada, not California, where both the previous owner and I live, if that helps. The camper has been in Nevada all the intervening time.
As this was a gift we have some flexibility on fees, plus CA has permanent plates with fees only every 5 years, so I'm hoping it won't be horrific. I just want to make sure if CA gets the relative's details they don't send him a bill for some sort of fine for not registering a vehicle within 10 days. CA has gone a bit fee-mad, particularly at the DMV, since we went broke in the financial crisis.
Any Californians with input on this? Thanks! Kara
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Post by bigbill on Oct 30, 2014 14:01:05 GMT -8
If you live in Nevada you should go to the Nevada DMV and get everything put in your name or you could go to AAA in California and see if they will issue you a California Title at a reasonable cost if not tell them you will have to come back because you don't have that much money with you, then go to Nevada. If you get a new California title in your name then take it to Nevada and get a Nevada title. Just my opinion I don't live in either state but it sounds like those are your options or a third option is pay someone to straighten it out. GOOD LUCK
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Post by rogerthedodger on May 13, 2015 6:31:02 GMT -8
AAA cannot help you. If you are a California resident, you will need to go to the DMV with your owners certificate. They will go back 7 years in their system. If the trailer is not in the system, they will charge you with back fees and late fees for those years, and this is very costly, $300-$1100. If you are a Nevada resident, take the ownership cert to them. I don't know Nevada laws, but Cali will rip you a new one, because the state is broke. I am a Cali resident, don't ask how I know. Roger
PS Old thread but Cali residents need to be aware of current DMV practices for old unregistered trailers.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on May 22, 2015 14:07:38 GMT -8
As far as I know there is no such thing as a three digit VIN. But I have been wrong in the past.
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on May 22, 2015 14:58:58 GMT -8
If the trailer is not in the system, they will charge you with back fees and late fees for those years, and this is very costly, $300-$1100. I'm confused!
If the trailer in question is NOT in the California DMV system, how would the charge you for any "back fees"? If it out of their system, it's OUT of the system, and has NO HISTORY to base the penalties. This is like the perfect trailer to buy. As long as you can establish (document) the correct year of manufacture.
If the VIN# is still IN the DMV system (up to seven years history), and the plates have not been kept current, you have a BIG problem buying an old trailer in California. It's also my understanding that trailers cannot be put on Non-Op status like we do with motor vehicles to save money when they are not used for extended periods.
I recently purchased a 1956 Dalton, California Title signed over, Bill of Sale signed from the owner of record, basically every thing was in order except the registration was one year, and twenty days late. It cost me $302 in DMV and CHP late fees and penalties to bring this $300 valued trailer, back to current registration status. What tick's me off was that it was originally incorrectly classified as a CCH "coach" which has a plate that expires every year. The correct classification should be CMP (camper) which is a PTI (Permanent Trailer Identification) which is like $25, and good for five years! But the trailer needs to be inspected, verified, and reclassified, about a days worth of time wasted at DMV, and this type of transaction cannot be done by AAA.
All you need is a receipt for the parts used/purchased to build the trailer. And a signed DMV "Statement of Facts" form stating how the trailer in question came into existence, and they will happily issue you a new "Assigned VIN#", which is nothing more than a little blue sticker you attach to the frame rail.
It's really not hard to establish the registration on a California Trailer, after you get over the fact that they are going to get your hard earned money one way or the other.
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on May 22, 2015 15:14:57 GMT -8
As far as I know there is no such thing as a three digit VIN. But I have been wrong in the past. The modern VIN# system started sometime in the 1970's? Every vehicle sold in this country now has a seventeen digit VIN# that identifies the vehicle with lots of detailed information coded into the VIN#.
VIN#'s before this date were very basic, which creates problems for the state DMV departments because the fewer the digits, the greater the chance that two vehicles, or in our case trailers will have the exact same VIN#. I sold a 1932 Ford that I registered in California for many years, but when the new owner went to register it in Arizona, he was informed that the same VIN# was on a car registered in another state. It was a mess, and in the end Arizona DMV voided the VIN# of the car back east, because his paperwork showed the car was always registered in California for the previous 12 years, and the original California registration was years before the car back east.
My 1967 Boles Aero trailer, did not have a Boles Aero VIN#, because the Boles company bought the frames from a trailer frame builder called Zieman Trailer's. So the VIN# "started with a Z".
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on May 22, 2015 17:46:11 GMT -8
Kenskill did the same thing. They purchased their frames from Zieman. But I remember reading that when VINs were established, they started with 4 digits and grew from there due to numbers and need. There never was a 3 digit VIN as far as I know.
Also... Some trailer manufacturers like Deville added numbers to the VIN to denote the year made and the number off the line and sometimes even the length.
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John Palmer
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Post by John Palmer on May 22, 2015 18:01:40 GMT -8
Kenskill did the same thing. They purchased their frames from Zieman. But I remember reading that when VINs were established, they started with 4 digits and grew from there due to numbers and need. There never was a 3 digit VIN as far as I know. Also... Some trailer manufacturers like Deville added numbers to the VIN to denote the year made and the number off the line and sometimes even the length. Makes sense.
My Deville is Vin# is DV5715201317.
It's manufactured by Deville = DV
It was built in 1957 = 57
It's size is 15 feet = 15
Not sure about the rest of the numbers, as I doubt the 201,317 were built, but I'm sure it had something to do with the consecutive units built.
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