Chassis build versus motorhome build
Hi there, I bought an advertised 1998 Georgie Boy in California and brought it back to New York. I took the paperwork to the DMV and they noticed the title says 1997 and the vehicle transfer document ...
Forum Discussion
You have to work your way through the employee chain to find someone who knows the rule, which for most states means use the model year of the motorhome, not the model year of the incomplete chassis.
Problem is not that they were built in different years, that is rarely the case. Most manufacturers do not leave parts inventory sitting out in the weather for months. The problem is RV manufacturers choice of model years, as they are somewhat exempt from DOT rules on this.
Chassis manufacturer can make 1997 MY chassis as early as October 96, can make it through December 97. Can't start 1998 MY until October 97. Georgie Boy starts making 1998 MY in March 1997, maybe some as early as January. So from March through October, every 1998 Georgie Boy is on a 1997 chassis, even if both chassis and completed vehicle were made in the same month.
Problem starts when someone uses the chassis VIN to register or title the vehicle. It also has a finished vehicle VIN that will be encoded with the model year of the finished vehicle. Use that VIN, there is no discrepancy. If a state requires use of the chassis VIN, they need to record both VINs. Not every clerk understands this. Some states may choose to be stubborn, then it is not even a motorhome, it is a Workhorse or Ford bare chassis that you are titling and licensing.
You eventually found the right clerk, I see, in a state that does the right thing. I had to bring the RV to the tag office so the tag office manager (no DMV involvement in Oklahoma) could come out to inspect the finished vehicle VIN.
Problem is not that they were built in different years, that is rarely the case. Most manufacturers do not leave parts inventory sitting out in the weather for months. The problem is RV manufacturers choice of model years, as they are somewhat exempt from DOT rules on this.
Chassis manufacturer can make 1997 MY chassis as early as October 96, can make it through December 97. Can't start 1998 MY until October 97. Georgie Boy starts making 1998 MY in March 1997, maybe some as early as January. So from March through October, every 1998 Georgie Boy is on a 1997 chassis, even if both chassis and completed vehicle were made in the same month.
Problem starts when someone uses the chassis VIN to register or title the vehicle. It also has a finished vehicle VIN that will be encoded with the model year of the finished vehicle. Use that VIN, there is no discrepancy. If a state requires use of the chassis VIN, they need to record both VINs. Not every clerk understands this. Some states may choose to be stubborn, then it is not even a motorhome, it is a Workhorse or Ford bare chassis that you are titling and licensing.
You eventually found the right clerk, I see, in a state that does the right thing. I had to bring the RV to the tag office so the tag office manager (no DMV involvement in Oklahoma) could come out to inspect the finished vehicle VIN.
