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trailer registration woes. Please Help!

jimmyenglish

By jimmyenglish
in Watering Hole

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jimmyenglish

jimmyenglish

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In Oct 2008my wife and I bought a 86' Venture and a small, color matched trailer to tow behind the bike. It was a package deal. We bought it from a guy in Long Island and at the time we lived in SC. The trailer has no title. This wasn't an issue in SC because there's no registering/titling trailers there. However, we've since moved to NV and here it needs to be registered. I've looked all over the thing and the only thing I could find is a Coleman stamp on the bottom of the fiberglass shell. I took it to the NV inspection and they looked and looked for a vin to no avail. They basically said there was nothing I could do without a vin or title. I've tried to contact the guy I bought it from but he is long gone and I'm certain that even if I could get a hold of him he wouldn't have anything. I got a form from the DMV about applying for a title if it's homemade but this thing totally does not look homemade. I've thought about dismantling it and building a wood frame to make it look homemade and then put it back together later but that seems ridiculous. I don't know what to do? Please help!

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Condor

Condor

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I don't know what to do? Please help!

 

Register it as a homemade. Every state is different, and I think in Nevada you own the plates and they stay with you when you sell the vehicle. At least that's the way it is with cars...maybe trailers are different??? If they gave you the paper work to register as a homemade, go for it. Have a freind give you a bill of sale for used tires, and lights for $50 bucks. Take that with the form an get a plate. They may issue you a new VIN number to be stamped in the frame....

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Dano

Dano

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Here in Indiana you have to have a Sherriff come out and look at it, he will approve and give you documentation to send in for a VIN #. Then take pics of it and the VIN plate you have made up and attached to the trailer, send those to the BMV with a bunch of cash and voila! they'll send you a title and plates. At least that's how it works for us.

 

Good luck!

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Venturous Randy

Venturous Randy

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The more I hear these horror stories, the more I like living in Tennessee. We do not have to put tags on a trailer if it does not exceed 16 feet. We can register it if we want. We also do not have an automobile state inspection where you get ripped off coming and going and we also do not have a state income tax.

We are just a bunch of rednecks that don't know we need these things:cool10:

RandyA

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skydoc_17

skydoc_17

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Every trailer that is sold at Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowe's or any small trailer fab shop is registered as a "Home Made" trailer. Don't even think twice about it, fill in the paperwork, follow the instructions, get the plates. It's just that simple. I think you might be getting "hung up" on the "home made" part of the verbiage. It's just the term DMV uses to describe one off, small production run, and custom trailers. :thumbsup2:

Earl

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emtdouggood

emtdouggood

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Here in Indiana you have to have a Sherriff come out and look at it, he will approve and give you documentation to send in for a VIN #. Then take pics of it and the VIN plate you have made up and attached to the trailer, send those to the BMV with a bunch of cash and voila! they'll send you a title and plates. At least that's how it works for us.

 

Good luck!

you forgot about the hour wait in line

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jimmyenglish

jimmyenglish

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Thanks for all the info fellas. Perhaps I am getting hung up on the "homemade" thing. It's just that I was told by 2 people at the DMV I was screwed and then the nazi inspectors, whom you have to see first in NV, said the same thing. I'll just pull it to a different DMV inspector and tell them it's homemade.

 

Thanks again!

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Kross Kountry

Kross Kountry

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Just pull it. I've never heard of a cop pulling over a biker for no trailer tag. If they do stop you just tell them that it is a loaner from your good friend in South Caralina, and that they don't tag trailers. It's not a crime to pull a barrowed trailer.

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :missingtooth:

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Dano

Dano

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At the Carmel branch, a long wait anymore is about 5 minutes. It used to be a huge problem.

 

Good info. Dano as I am looking to buy a H.F. trailer from a board member here in about a month.

 

 

 

Check on that Jerry, HF trailers may have an ID #on them. The one I bought from a local guy had a manufacturers tag already on there. If your buddy already has it tagged, he'll already have a title for you.

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kbert777

kbert777

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Well, unfortunately NV has very complicated license requirements, pulling a trailer without a plate gets you a citation in a heart beat.

It took me a good week just to register a Harborfreight trailer with certificate of origin, and that one came with a certified VIN plate on the tongue.

 

There are 4 different scenarios for trailer registration without VIN plate in NV:

  1. Trailer built from materials at hand: This works for a utility trailer that clearly looks like it is built from scrap metal, I don't think you can convince the inspector in this particular case
  2. Trailer built from purchased materials: This requires fairly recent, identifiable receipts for materials and parts. You could get creative that way...
  3. Trailer was purchased "as is" from builder: I have never tried that option, but after removal of the "Coleman" plate you might be in luck if you can produce a Bill of Sale
  4. Trailer was assembled from a manufactured kit: This requires a receipt for the kit, with identifiable features who the manufacturer was.

If it would be me, I would contact somebody in a more licensing friendlier state like Arizona and take a little trip, have a AZ title and VIN plate created and then transfer the title into NV with a simple VIN inspection.

 

BTW, welcome to NV...

 

Klaus

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Dano

Dano

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If it would be me, I would contact somebody in a more licensing friendlier state like Arizona and take a little trip, have a AZ title and VIN plate created and then transfer the title into NV with a simple VIN inspection.

 

Klaus

 

 

Sounds like the answer right there

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KB2RWW

KB2RWW

Posted
Posted
In Oct 2008my wife and I bought a 86' Venture and a small, color matched trailer to tow behind the bike. It was a package deal. We bought it from a guy in Long Island and at the time we lived in SC. The trailer has no title. This wasn't an issue in SC because there's no registering/titling trailers there. However, we've since moved to NV and here it needs to be registered. I've looked all over the thing and the only thing I could find is a Coleman stamp on the bottom of the fiberglass shell. I took it to the NV inspection and they looked and looked for a Vin to no avail. I don't know what to do? Please help!

 

If it was registered in NY you would have gotten a transferable registration there is no title but since you cannot find a Vin number it means he never registered it and if he was going to he would do it as home-made.

hear in NY you just need a bill of sale for the traler or parts and a way slip from a certified scale. if the traler ways under 999# you just fill out the paper work and take it to DMV and they will register it and issue a Vin# for the traler that you weld or stamp into the frame with in 10 day's. if the traler is over 999# it must go to an inspector, if he OKs the traler a Vin# will be assigned to it then it can be registered.

I have built or registered many homemade trailers under 999# with no problems.

It may be possible for me to do it hear in NY but that must be discussed further in private.

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tazmocycle

tazmocycle

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my brother and me use to build trailers and all we did was stamp a set of numbers on it and apply for a home-made trailer title.. i've done it in sc, al and tn with out any problems. i never have got tags for personal use trailers in any of the states i've lived in. never be pulled for towing a trailer in over 30 states i traveled in. if you have friends in sc, they maybe able to register it there with the coleman tag numbers and then write a bill of sale to you. all you have to show is a dollar on the bill of sale to keep from pay a lot of taxes on the sale.

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Squidley

Squidley

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Question:

 

If you ship your bike to the states, then purchase a trailer to carry your "stuff" for 3 months--how do you go in all the states you will visit in regard to tags for that trailer????

Ohh, forgot bike comes in at OREGON so trailer purchased there.:confused24::confused24::think::think:

 

 

Depending upon the state that you come into, you would have to plate the trailer according to their laws. Some states dont have plates on small trailers, others do. You would just have to jump through the states hoops and then you can go wherever your heart desires

:)

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  • 1 month later...
jimmyenglish

jimmyenglish

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Today I went to the DMV to get my trailer inspected so I could register it . I handed the guy the "Affidavit of Trailer Construction" form that had the "Specially Constructed Trailer" box checked. He looked at it and the first thing he said was, "This is a manufactured trailer." I lied and told him the shell was built by some hick in SC and I just added the parts. I added how we don't title trailers in SC. He looked it over shaking his head. "You built this?", he said with a tone that said he totally didn't believe me. He asked if I had a bill of sale for any of the parts. I said no, it was a long time ago. He probably asked me 5 times, "When exactly did you build this?" He looked all over for a VIN. I told him there wasn't one anywhere and of course he never found one. He checked the lights and shortly thereafter came out with this super cool robotic, punch/etching tool that stamped the date and a NV DMV VIN# on the main tongue part of the trailer. So the homemade thing worked! Thanks for all the info guys! Great forum!http://www.kilik.com/vinapplying.jpg

Edited by jimmyenglish
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