newbie
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Post by newbie on Aug 4, 2016 13:06:10 GMT -8
Hi All,
Last week we purchased an early Silver streak from a person in central California. It is a rolling shell that is gutted. It will need frame work, which I can do. For the time being I am going to use it as storage in my rear yard. It is sitting on the back of the rear concrete patio. Plenty of room.
I have never owned a trailer. I have however had several dozen classic cars over the decades. I have titled and registered some with nothing but a hand written bill of sale.
In this case however, I was a little squeamish on this deal. The CA title was for a person other then the seller. The person I purchased it from never transferred it and it was not currently registered.
The previous owner had singed the title, but not dated it. I have a CA-DMV bill of sale from the guy I paid the money to.
What I did was tell the seller I would pay him his price on delivery. I gave the seller a $500 deposit up front and to deliver it about 150 miles. I did not want to tow it in the shape it was in. The tires suck.
The next day I called the CA highway patrol and asked them to run the vin and the plate on the title. The CHP told me that it was not on a hot sheet.
The trailer got delivered, the person selling it got a movement permit from the DMV. I paid him.
Yesterday I went to the DMV and handed them all the paperwork. I told them up front that the seller was not the person on the title, that I had checked with the CHP and it is not on a hot sheet. I told the clerk it was a vintage travel trailer.
They processed the paperwork. What I did not expect was that they gave me the Permanent Trailer Identification Plate and paperwork. I paid the small fees and the sales tax and walked out.
Now this trailer is 22 feet long. I said so on the paperwork. I gave them the DMV form Application for Title or Registration and it clearly shows 22 feet.
I will sit back and see if it makes it through the system and I get a title in the mail without any issue.
I thought about doing a YOM, as I have on several of my cars over the years...but if they let me pay them every 5 years, I will stick with the PTI plate!
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Aug 4, 2016 19:50:38 GMT -8
Welcome!
A bold move in CA. That state has rules about the rules that can only be explained by a rule book that nobody has ever seen.
Sounds like you had a good start. Best of luck.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Aug 8, 2016 14:27:25 GMT -8
I can tell you that in CA. a trailer over 15 feet is not eligible for permanent plate. Also if it has a bath room it is not eligible. That being said, obviously the person at the DMV did not know what he or she was doing. This happens all the time. As long as you don't let it go out of date, meaning that you must pay the fees every 5 years ($10 or $15 it seems to change a lot) then you should have no problem. I registered a 17 foot trailer a month ago and the lady at the DMV measured the trailer herself and she only measured the box which is 15 feet. The tongue adds 2 more feet to the real length but I guess she did not know that and I wasn't going to argue the point. Another trailer that I registered was an 18 foot Kenskill WITH A BATH ROOM and they also registered that one with a permanent title and again I did not argue the point. So yes. You got lucky. On the bad side, it just shows how badly our government workers are trained and they are running the state.
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newbie
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Post by newbie on Aug 14, 2016 7:31:09 GMT -8
Well, I got lucky. My title showed up and all looks good. Permanent plate on the title.
I did a walk in at DMV. I had the Bill of Sale, the title, signed, by two owners back, and the form requesting a new title/registration. On that form is the length of the trailer.
The person at the front desk who screens you took it all and had me fill out yet another form. He then said they did not need the form for the new title/registration that has the length of the trailer on it. He handed me back the Bill of Sale, the Title, the form he had me fill out and then I waited for my number to come up.
When I got to the counter, I told the man that is was an antique travel trailer, that the title was from one owner back, and handed him the paperwork that their screener told me to give him.
Now I have a permanent title on a 22 foot 1950 Silver Streak. Cool!
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Aug 14, 2016 10:29:30 GMT -8
Well, I got lucky. My title showed up and all looks good. Permanent plate on the title. I did a walk in at DMV. I had the Bill of Sale, the title, signed, by two owners back, and the form requesting a new title/registration. On that form is the length of the trailer. The person at the front desk who screens you took it all and had me fill out yet another form. He then said they did not need the form for the new title/registration that has the length of the trailer on it. He handed me back the Bill of Sale, the Title, the form he had me fill out and then I waited for my number to come up. When I got to the counter, I told the man that is was an antique travel trailer, that the title was from one owner back, and handed him the paperwork that their screener told me to give him. Now I have a permanent title on a 22 foot 1950 Silver Streak. Cool! Sometimes the fact that government employees have no idea what they are doing can turn out to be a good thing.  |
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pilcrowlit
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Post by pilcrowlit on Aug 14, 2016 11:03:13 GMT -8
My tale is a little different. Signed CA title, from two owners back, bill of sale from owner who never completed the transfer. Three years' registration due. This is a 1955 Shasta 1500 -- 14'8"-- and the title lists it as "coach". Back registration was nearly $600, with fees and penalties. I asked if I could register it for a PTI plate, and the counter person, after checking with her manager, said it wasn't eligible.
I checked the relevant code sections and found all the errors here (it should have been registered as a camp trailer from the beginning, and is not eligible to be called a coach, among others). So, I'm waiting for the title to arrive and then will take on the battle with Sacramento to get it reclassified without having to surrender the original 1955 plate, and get a refund of the excess penalties I paid. I want the title in my hand first, though.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2016 11:49:38 GMT -8
Not with trailers, but I have been fortunate to run into that situation with a couple of cheap junk cars. My mom wrecked her old Toyota and I was able to find a running similar 85 Camry for $450 as a parts car for the body parts, and the title he had was signed over by previous owner. But the guy I bought from didn't touch it yet. Score. Got the parts off and sold it as scrap. No registering headache. So, this is what popped in my head when reading your account.. haha. It is rare that someone's procrastination benefits us. Congrats on your find and success, your camper is older than most of ours on here!
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Aug 14, 2016 19:12:56 GMT -8
I've heard from several people that if you get a DMV employee who says your camper can't be titled, politely go away and come back the next day making sure you get another person. Sooner or later you get the right person who will issue your title.
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