spoon059 wrote:
DownTheAvenue wrote:
phillyg wrote:
Vehicles are generally titled and registered in the state where they're garaged.
As an attorney, I can tell you this is an incorrect statement. Vehicles are titled where the owner maintains a legal residence.
Correct. The registration address must correspond with the address of the primary registered owner. Otherwise everyone would title their vehicles in the cheapest state, regardless of where they live.
As an attorney I am surprised you didn't use the weasel word "generally" as I did. The OP indicated he was keeping the RV in MT, in other words, he was not looking to get one over on CA using, for example, a MT LLC. I know you know a person can own properties in multiple states, and live at those properties for various periods of time during the year, but remains a legal resident in only one state, in this case, CA. I'm presuming the OP is there most of the year unless he's travelling, receives his mail, pays taxes, is licensed to drive, has bank accounts, doctors, etc.
Now, that's not to say he should be cavalier and ignore states' laws. If he were to bring that RV into CA, and garage it there for more than X days, or camp in it in CA for more than X days, he may well have CA come after him.
WRT insurance, the OP should be upfront with his insurance company because they set their rates based on where the vehicle is titled and registered.
WRT the "two out of three" rule, my recollection is that may have been correct years ago. I'd like to hear from just one person who's ever been arrested or charged because they're licensed in one state, stopped in another state, driving a vehicle registered in a third state.