Class A-what year is it?

[RAINEYTXX]

So, as most of you probably know, a typical class A has a VIN or chassis number and the house portion of the motor home has a serial number assigned to it by your manufacturer.

What determines the year of a motorhome? Chassis or serial number. So, in this example your coach is a Forest River Georgetown and has a 2012 Ford VIN but was built say in late 2013 by Forest River. So, is your coach a 2012 (VIN) OR A 2013 (house portion) and who decides? If you purchased it as 2013 is it a 2013 or 2012 as indicated by the 10th digit of the Zaza VIN? What would you personally do if you bought it as a 2013 but either your bank or insurance company says it is 2012?

Thoughts?

[dougrainer]

bobkatmsu wrote:
My chassis was built in 2008 the motor home was built in 2009 the manufacturer did not title it until 2010. My registration and title say it is a 2010.

Manufacturers do NOT title any NEW vehicle. The Manufacturer supplies an MSO (Manufacturers Statement of Origin) and the Local Government authority TITLES the vehicle. Same with Autos. Doug

[dougrainer]

JoeH wrote:

way2roll wrote:

rr2254545 wrote:

rdhetrick wrote:
My coach (I bought it used 3 years ago) was built on an 05 chassis, the builder model year on their information was 2006. It has features and components from both their 2005 and 2006 model years which is also not uncommon. The title says 2005.

Not in Minnesota my chassis is 11 but title says it a 12

Mine either, any coach I ever owned (2 in MD and one in NC) was titled the year the house was built, not the chassis.

Not in Florida. We bought a used MH in 2000 from a dealer in Florida. It was previously titled in Indiana as a 1998, the year of the house build. But the VIN had it as a 1999. When I took it to the Florida DMV, they said they went by the VIN and titled it as a 1999. That made me happy as now teh value increased when it came time for resale.

Just because the DMV did not know what they were doing does NOT make it a fact. One glitch does not make one correct. Doug

[JoeH]

way2roll wrote:

rr2254545 wrote:

rdhetrick wrote:
My coach (I bought it used 3 years ago) was built on an 05 chassis, the builder model year on their information was 2006. It has features and components from both their 2005 and 2006 model years which is also not uncommon. The title says 2005.

Not in Minnesota my chassis is 11 but title says it a 12

Mine either, any coach I ever owned (2 in MD and one in NC) was titled the year the house was built, not the chassis.

Not in Florida. We bought a used MH in 2000 from a dealer in Florida. It was previously titled in Indiana as a 1998, the year of the house build. But the VIN had it as a 1999. When I took it to the Florida DMV, they said they went by the VIN and titled it as a 1999. That made me happy as now teh value increased when it came time for resale.

[Dutch_12078]

The final manufacturer determines the model year for title purposes...

From the RVIA:

Split Model Years

[Executive45]

The way to figure out what year your coach is, is simple. If you're buying, it's an 07. If you're selling, it's an 08. :)....Dennis

[RLS7201]

When a new owner takes his paperwork to the DMV for titling and registration, what should happen is the DMV should title the vehicle with the model year specified by the RV manufacturer. Sadly, it appears that not every DMV employee has “read the fine print in the contract,” or maybe they’re just obstinate. In cases where the DMV insists on titling the rig with the chassis model year, you can get help. Grab your phone and call the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association at 703-620-6003 and ask for the Government Affairs Office. Hopefully your stalemate will be resolved in a hurry with their help.

[bobkatmsu]

My chassis was built in 2008 the motor home was built in 2009 the manufacturer did not title it until 2010. My registration and title say it is a 2010.

[dougrainer]

The MOTORHOME manufacturer determines the Year for registration. The CHASSIS is not involved at all in the determination. 35 years ago, they had 1982 model motorhomes on left over 1979 Dodge Class A chassis. A LOT of State and Local DMV and registration people also have no clue as to the correct way to determine model year. Doug

[way2roll]

Johno02 wrote:
Our coach has left over 04, 05, and 06 parts, a 04 chassis, and registered as an 05. That makes it over 10 years old, so we can't get into the resort RV parks that won't have anything over 10 yrs. So we volunteer and the NPS lets us stay for free. And state parks, and COE campgrounds.

Not to get off on a tangent but I think the 10 year rule is so parks can leverage it to keep out run down trashy looking units. I am sure yours is fine.

[Johno02]

Our coach has left over 04, 05, and 06 parts, a 04 chassis, and registered as an 05. That makes it over 10 years old, so we can't get into the resort RV parks that won't have anything over 10 yrs. So we volunteer and the NPS lets us stay for free. And state parks, and COE campgrounds.

[way2roll]

rr2254545 wrote:

rdhetrick wrote:
My coach (I bought it used 3 years ago) was built on an 05 chassis, the builder model year on their information was 2006. It has features and components from both their 2005 and 2006 model years which is also not uncommon. The title says 2005.

Not in Minnesota my chassis is 11 but title says it a 12

Mine either, any coach I ever owned (2 in MD and one in NC) was titled the year the house was built, not the chassis.

[rr2254545]

rdhetrick wrote:
My coach (I bought it used 3 years ago) was built on an 05 chassis, the builder model year on their information was 2006. It has features and components from both their 2005 and 2006 model years which is also not uncommon. The title says 2005.

Not in Minnesota my chassis is 11 but title says it a 12

[rgatijnet1]

Buying a "NEW" motor home on a year old chassis means that the chassis has sat outside, unprotected, for a year. The tires have aged a year. The engine may not have been run for a year. The belts and hoses have aged a year. The chassis has probably started to rust and depending on whether or not the storage was in a field, various critters may have started nibbling on the wiring. I do not know of any RV manufacturer that stored unused Chassis inside their warehouse away from the elements.
But other than that, if the RV house is put on a year later, some salesman may be able to convince you that you just paid a lot of money for a "NEW" RV.

[rdhetrick]

My coach (I bought it used 3 years ago) was built on an 05 chassis, the builder model year on their information was 2006. It has features and components from both their 2005 and 2006 model years which is also not uncommon. The title says 2005.

[way2roll]

Any coach I ever had was based on the House year not the chassis year and they were all registered as such. Chassis is an incomplete vehicle, it doesn't become a MH until the house is built. That's usually a year later but I remember some years when sales were down and production slowed that the chassis were 2 or more years older. Coaches were still titled as the year the house was put on. Even orders for custom coaches take a long time and will have this discrepancy. They are still the year the coach was finished. This method not only makes sense, but is valuable to marketing and getting financing as well as fair market value. Everyone wins. No one wants to buy a brand new MH that's a year old, including the bank. It's the same in just about any industry, heck cars are putting out 2020 models now.