New RV Texas Registration

I want to thank all of you for your great posts. This has answered all my questions concerning registering my new rig. I can now see that this forum is going to be one of the best resources I have...Be safe all!

Can't wait to visit the Escapees RV park!!

When you go to Livingston be sure to stay at the Escapee RV park and take a tour of the huge mail forwarding service. It's like a post office with comparable equipment.

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
Your vehicles will be registered in Polk County where the Escapees Rainbow Park / HQ is located.

Since you are bringing in near new vehicles from another state there will be some taxes due. Though Texas has an 8.25% sales tax almost everywhere the, the vehicle sales tax is 6.5%.

Over half the vehicles in Polk County are registered to addresses on Rainbow Drive, I.e. Escapees. As mentioned above, the Polk County DMV Office and Tax Office do this everyday of the work week.

Call the Escapees office and talk to them. They can answer almost all your questions or refer you to the person with answers.

Being members of Escapees and resident in Polk County make dealing with such items as you mentioned the easiest I've experienced in my life.

When you get to Livingston, Escapees has a checklist with places to go in which order to get things done. Takes less than 1/2 day to visit the offices and get everything completed.

X-2

Painless and completed easily.

I just bought a used 5th wheel in Kansas and brought it home to Texas. I did the title transfer, paid the sales tax, and registered it this past Thursday.
most of what has been said here is correct. Here is the way it worked on Thursday, and what I learned that day.
1. You can pay tax and get title in any county tax office in Texas
2. You must REGISTER it in the county you reside in.
3. Sales tax is 6.25% based on the price, less any trade-in
4. If you have an empty weight on the out-of-state title, you do not need to have trailer weighed. If no weight listed, you must have a weight ticket to show. Note: some tax office clerks think a new weight ticket is always required. That info is incorrect. Kindly suggest they call Austin for clarification if they demand to see a weight ticket and the weight is on your title already.
5. You need a bill of sale, the title, and any dealer paperwork showing pricing, trade in, etc.
6. You need to have the trailer inspected and a copy of the state inspection form showing it passed the safety inspection
7. You do NOT have to show any type of "proof of insurance". Some tax office workers do not know this, so as a precaution, take a copy of the insurance for your tow vehicle.
8. Fill out a Tx. DMV form #130u. This is the form for title application. It is avail online.
9. Pray you get a knowledgeable tax office clerk, and pray that they are in a good mood.
10. Be polite, no matter what, but be firm if you know you are right and they are wrong.
Good luck.

carlrcombs wrote:
I am opening this topic because I have just purchased a 5th wheel in Ohio. My wife and I are full-timing. I Belong to Escapees RV Club and have an address in Livingston Texas. We are moving our residence from Nevada to Texas. We are heading down to Texas to Register our 5th wheel and truck and to get our drivers licenses changed over to Texas. I am wondering if anyone has done this and has any advice to send our way on the best place to register in Texas. I can imagine not all DMV registration places are equal. Some are friendly and some may not be. Some may be busy and some not. Since we can choose I would like to choose the one that would be the least hassle.

Just a couple of things. You can register your rig out-of-state. Just give the Assessor's office a call and they will walk you through the processes, assuming you've already set up your address. Once done, you can get your DL at any DMV, so if you are looking to go into just Amarillo or some other town just into Texas, that is no problem. However, you do need to be aware of the Class A exempt license and make sure that (1) your combined weighed is less than 26,000# and the 5th wheel is less than 10,000#.

Is the Vehicle a Motorhome or Truck?

Motorhome
…… Is the GVWR > 26,000#?
………….Yes, do you pull a car/trailer >10,000#?
……………...Yes , Class A
………………No , Class B
………….No, do you pull a car/trailer >10,000#?
………………Yes, Class A
………………No, Class C

Truck/Trailer Combo
…..Is the GCWR > 26,000#
…………Yes, Is the trailer > 10,000#?
………………Yes, Class A
………………No, Class C

Your vehicles will be registered in Polk County where the Escapees Rainbow Park / HQ is located.

Since you are bringing in near new vehicles from another state there will be some taxes due. Though Texas has an 8.25% sales tax almost everywhere the, the vehicle sales tax is 6.5%.

Over half the vehicles in Polk County are registered to addresses on Rainbow Drive, I.e. Escapees. As mentioned above, the Polk County DMV Office and Tax Office do this everyday of the work week.

Call the Escapees office and talk to them. They can answer almost all your questions or refer you to the person with answers.

Being members of Escapees and resident in Polk County make dealing with such items as you mentioned the easiest I've experienced in my life.

When you get to Livingston, Escapees has a checklist with places to go in which order to get things done. Takes less than 1/2 day to visit the offices and get everything completed.

Nice thing about the drivers license, you only have to go to the DMV once every 12 years. License gets renewed every 6 years, every other renewal can be done on-line, picture needed every other time. So, get your license at DMV with picture taken, 6 years later renew on-line (no picture needed), next renewal 6 years later go to DMV for picture and renewal.

I'm also a Escapee member. I choose not to make my home residency in Livingston because of higher insurance cost being so close to Houston area. Instead what I did was as already being a resident of the state I claim my residency at my son's home address in a much smaller town. And I have all my vehicles registered in the same county. And there's where I have my banking done too. Now as far as getting your drivers license renewed that can be done at any DMV office.

Thank you for your post guidry. This is very good information. Did not know they were separate. Also helps knowing I need to get my drivers license first then register our vehicles.

You will need to register your vehicle(s) in the county your'e address will be. In Texas it is a county tax office that handles your registration, not the DMV (which handles drivers licenses only), and the tax office will need insurance, Texas inspection report, prior registration (and title if you have it) along with drives license and proof of residency. Good luck, we just did all this.