mobiltec
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I make mistakes so you don't have to...
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Post by mobiltec on Oct 18, 2013 18:08:06 GMT -8
OK folks. I tell everyone to stay away from a trailer with no paper work other than a bill of sale. Well guess what. I sold a trailer today. It was that beater and I didn't want to bother with going through getting it registered in my name and then having to transfer it to someone elses name because I lost the title YEARS and YEARS ago. This trailer has been sitting here for over 20 years.
Well I sold it with a real bill of sale and put all my info on it including my phone number and the guy who bought it took it right to the DMV. But the one by his house and not the one by my house. They would NOT register it because they said it had last been registered in 2005 and then junked.... Now how could that possibly be if it's been sitting here for over 20 years? Well I will tell you how. Someone got ahold of my pink slip and used it on something else. Then it probably got wrecked and sold to a junk yard for scrap with the pink back in 2005.
Now if I was a complete ass I could have just told the guy that he bought it as is and it's his problem. Couldn't do that to him because I don't roll that way. He brought it back and I gave him his cash back and told him how sorry I was for his waste of time and gas money. To make it up to him I will now spend the time and money myself to get it registered and then turn it over to him at the same price he bought it from me from in the first place. He agreed and said he would come back and re-purchase it when I get all that done.
But see folks? Even if you trust the guy you are buying from it can be a complete waste of time and gas money and everything else. He could have just as easily been screwed if I were not the kind of person I am....
So NEVER EVER buy a trailer with no paper work. It's OK if it is not currently registered. But without a pink slip, unless you live in one of those states that don't require them on trailers, stay far, far away from it.
My lesson learned on this? Never SELL a trailer with just a bill of sale. Not in California anyways.
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shastabear
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'66 Model 1500 Shasta
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Post by shastabear on Oct 18, 2013 19:54:57 GMT -8
I bought my 68 Compact from a guy around the corner with the assurance that he had the title. Welp, after 2 months of searching (so he claims), I still had no title. So, I went and saw a lawyer who said he could go to court and get me the grant for a title for it (provided a background check came back good). I paid $200 for the camper. The lawyer told me it would cost me $750 to get it titled, and that's not including reggie, state taxes, notory fees, etc. I said heck with that and gave it away. I'd later found out I could have stripped the camper of all its Shastaness and had it titled, weighed, reggied, tagged as a home built for about $250....damn! I'll never buy again without a title UNLESS it came from a state that doesn't require one.
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coldham
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1954 Terry
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Post by coldham on Oct 18, 2013 21:30:37 GMT -8
I learned that lesson the hard way.
I bought a Shasta two years ago off craigslist in Idaho. The add read something like this "estate sale lots of items including old trailer". The sale was being held by the daughter of a guy who passed away. She didn't have the title but it was a Shasta in ok shape for five hundred bucks so I bought it. I called the DMV and they said I needed a death certificate, proof that the daughter was in charge of the estate, and notarized bill of sale from the daughter and I could possibly get a title. I felt like a jerk asking for her to do all that but she agreed. I took all my paperwork to the DMV in Washington with the vin number and was informed that the trailer was not in the dads name and it had lien against it from someone else! The lady at the "DMV" laughed at me and said "Never Ever buy anything without a title". I called the daughter and she said "yeah that sounds like dad".
Like Mobletec she was also nice enough to give me my money back.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Oct 18, 2013 21:45:06 GMT -8
I make mistakes so you don't have to.... Geeesh that's gonna be my epitaph LOL...  |
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swirlygirls
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Post by swirlygirls on Oct 19, 2013 4:32:25 GMT -8
After reading your horror stories I feel so very, very lucky. Being somewhat, OK a LOT stupid, I bought my trailer with no title. I took myself to the DMV and they gave me the name of the last titled owner. Turns out that was many years back and not the person I bought it from. I wrote them a letter and almost immediately had a long and wonderful letter back from the woman who had salvaged the trailer from a field years ago, it had blackberries growing over and into it, and she fixed it up (including pink paint). She described how she and her husband spent 10 years camping in it and only sold it when their age necessitated bigger sleeping accommodations. She also described how hard it had been for her to get it titled in the first place. She happily signed the paperwork which I took back to the DMV and it was over. But I now know just how lucky I was!  |
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Post by bigbill on Oct 19, 2013 8:45:46 GMT -8
Yes and even if you are willing to take a chance on getting it titled don't do anything to it until you acquire the proper title. Regardless if it is the proper title, a salvage title, or a home built/ self assembled title make sure you have one. If you are going for a self assembled/Home built you will most likly have to complete it first but make sure if your state does that and what is required to get it. Almost all states are different so just because some did it that way in their state that doesn't mean it will work in your state. If you are going for a home built title make sure all original serial numbers are completely removed.
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mobiltec
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I make mistakes so you don't have to...
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Post by mobiltec on Oct 19, 2013 11:17:34 GMT -8
It's going to be stripped for parts. I'm done with it.
See sig line below...
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Oct 19, 2013 20:21:34 GMT -8
Stuff like that is why I think it's a bad idea to publish whole VINs on a public forum...
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Post by kto17 on Oct 20, 2013 5:45:18 GMT -8
Also beware of replacement VINs. It's easier to get a new title in some states when you can't read or find the VIN. In most states that means a salvage title. Learned that lesson.
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Post by bigbill on Oct 20, 2013 6:17:21 GMT -8
Doug do think a salvage title effects the resale value or insurance on a rebuilt trailer? I know it does on a car but not sure on a trailer. I would think it might effect insurance more than anything else and that might be helped by a professional appraisal. It sounds like maybe you have been there done that, what is your experience?
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Oct 20, 2013 6:52:28 GMT -8
What is funny about all this is that I can actually prove that this trailer was never salvaged. Using Google Earth I can actually prove where this trailer has been sitting since 1985.... I also have 3 live witnesses as to the fact that this trailer never moved since then and before that they could testify as to it's where abouts and ownership for 5 years prior. The title was stolen somewhere along the line and used on another trailer. Then I inherited this trailer along with the estate I purchased from the daughter. I've used it for storage until now when my land lord said I have to start getting rid of trailers. And that's the whole reason I am moving now. I kinda figured I would be living out my life here but not now.
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Post by campercatnip on Feb 19, 2014 6:56:49 GMT -8
Newbie here. Anyone know which states don't require a title? I've been stunned by how many trailers and campers are for sale without titles...I never realized they were so critical. I have to wonder why since cars and boats of a certain age don't require titles.
Anyway...I'm in Maine...ad I'm guessing when I finally find my little am, I'd better have a title.
maybe a stupid question but if you don't have one, what happens? Can't I just park it on my property as a guest cottage?
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Post by vikx on Feb 19, 2014 22:12:45 GMT -8
Most States require a title. You could research your state or the state of origin...
Titles are important because you can prove ownership. To tow a trailer on a public road or highway, it must be licensed. Most States require proof of ownership to do that.
Check out your State's requirements on a lost/missing title. Some are much easier than others... In Washington, if you register the trailer for 3 years and no "owner" shows up out of the woods, you can then apply for a title in your name.
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pirateslife
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Post by pirateslife on Feb 20, 2014 19:27:49 GMT -8
I will say in Tennessee we are pretty fortunate. No tags are required on a trailer nor a title. The only downfall is, if you pull outta state you have to have a tag. But there is a form online to fill out for vehicles, including cars over 30 years old to get a replacement title and then an 80$ permanent tag.
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dsadki
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Post by dsadki on Feb 21, 2014 8:41:58 GMT -8
I will say in Tennessee we are pretty fortunate. No tags are required on a trailer nor a title. The only downfall is, if you pull outta state you have to have a tag. But there is a form online to fill out for vehicles, including cars over 30 years old to get a replacement title and then an 80$ permanent tag. pirateslife, We live in Tennessee and you do have to have a title for travel trailers. Popup are the only campers that do not need titled in TN. We went through all this when we bought our 62 Shasta. We had a popup before and did not have to tag it but we did have to the Shasta. We had to fill out the form for 25 and older vehicles to get it titled and then we could tag it.
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