CA camper titles?

[Super_Dave]

We paid off our camper this year and never received a title from either the credit union nor DMV. Is it customary to expect one? When we move next year and I have to register the camper, I'm wondering how to handle this. Any insight would be helpful, thanks.

[starcraft69]

I was pretty sure that is all that was to it!!! Congrats on the base camp!!!!!!

[Super_Dave]

Made contact with Utah DMV and they made is sound too easy. If a certified inspector verifies that the serial number is legit, they register it, likely after doing a quick search to make sure it wasn't reported stolen.

[Super_Dave]

starcraft69 wrote:
What state are you moving to dave?

140 work days or 246 calendar days until my retirement date. We bought a place along the Wasatch Range in Northern Utah for our retirement base camp.

[Bedlam]

In WA, RV registration pays for public dump stations whether your RV has wheels or not.

[rwiegand]

Why does DMV have any say about a TC? I don't register anything else I throw in the back of my truck with them. It doesn't touch the street, don't see that it's any of their business. Trailers are a whole different thing.

[mkirsch]

jmcgsd wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I know that in CA you can make bill of sale on a piece of toilet paper and nobody will care.
I got title for my TC from Michigan, but nobody wanted to see it CA, so if you sell TC in CA you sell it just like bathroom cabinet.
Don't know how the sell of TC from CA to other state would look like, but I did register older, unregistered vehicles in the past and worse case scenario DMV will give you temporary sticker and do title research.
I am pretty skeptic about efficiency of such search. My friend got his contractor's trailer stolen from Bay Area freeway when he left it with flat tire. Even hitch lock did not help.
I heard from several sources that contractor's trailers are getting stole in the state on regular bases, so somebody is finding a way to use them without a title even when registration is needed.

They probably have permanent trailer tags so don't need to be registered every year. As long as the plates never checked then they are good to go.

In states where they do register trailers yearly, all you have to do is put a trailer plate with the correct color sticker on, and the law will not even look twice. They don't care if the plate belongs with the trailer or not because they've got more important things to look for and deal with.

[Tom_Anderson]

FWIW, I bought my camper from a dealer in Oregon, who gave me the MSO (Manufacturer's Statement of Origin) at the time of sale. Since I didn't need it in California, It's sitting in my file cabinet for the day I may need to register it in another state.

[starcraft69]

Your camper has a ID or vin # on it, should be where you LB and capacity are listed. That is what you will need to start a new registration in a new state and will have to take it down to be inspected. It is the same if you have a unregistered trailer and go to register it. They will run the ID/VIN # and if not listed as stolen you are good. What state are you moving to dave?

[jmcgsd]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I know that in CA you can make bill of sale on a piece of toilet paper and nobody will care.
I got title for my TC from Michigan, but nobody wanted to see it CA, so if you sell TC in CA you sell it just like bathroom cabinet.
Don't know how the sell of TC from CA to other state would look like, but I did register older, unregistered vehicles in the past and worse case scenario DMV will give you temporary sticker and do title research.
I am pretty skeptic about efficiency of such search. My friend got his contractor's trailer stolen from Bay Area freeway when he left it with flat tire. Even hitch lock did not help.
I heard from several sources that contractor's trailers are getting stole in the state on regular bases, so somebody is finding a way to use them without a title even when registration is needed.

They probably have permanent trailer tags so don't need to be registered every year. As long as the plates never checked then they are good to go.

[gregchambers]

RZAR66 nailed it! We had to request it but got the Certificate of Origin from our dealer. We then registered with CalHUD so we have a "title" that we can add to our Trust the next time we update it and it also makes it easier for insurance companies to comprehend.

[Kayteg1]

I know that in CA you can make bill of sale on a piece of toilet paper and nobody will care.
I got title for my TC from Michigan, but nobody wanted to see it CA, so if you sell TC in CA you sell it just like bathroom cabinet.
Don't know how the sell of TC from CA to other state would look like, but I did register older, unregistered vehicles in the past and worse case scenario DMV will give you temporary sticker and do title research.
I am pretty skeptic about efficiency of such search. My friend got his contractor's trailer stolen from Bay Area freeway when he left it with flat tire. Even hitch lock did not help.
I heard from several sources that contractor's trailers are getting stole in the state on regular bases, so somebody is finding a way to use them without a title even when registration is needed.

[iwon415]

jmcgsd wrote:

zcookiemonstar wrote:

jmcgsd wrote:
I actually am somewhat surprised that you can get a loan on a TC in a non title state. After all, it's basically a non secured loan. There is nothing to stop you for offering it for sale on Craigslist for example and just writing the purchaser a receipt. Since they don't need to register it in any way it seems as though the trail can disappear in a heartbeat.

Like a stolen computer possibly if the new owner requests service work on it, the loan company could pick up the trail, otherwise it seems to me it would just disappear.

People are able to finance all kinds of things without a title. Financing furniture for a house can be just as much or more than a Truck camper. Not saying I would do it but a lot of people do.

Agreed.

Actually there are some real advantages to the way a TC is treated in California. Don't want to hijack the thread, so maybe I'll just explore some of my thoughts in the future in a new thread.

X2

[jmcgsd]

zcookiemonstar wrote:

jmcgsd wrote:
I actually am somewhat surprised that you can get a loan on a TC in a non title state. After all, it's basically a non secured loan. There is nothing to stop you for offering it for sale on Craigslist for example and just writing the purchaser a receipt. Since they don't need to register it in any way it seems as though the trail can disappear in a heartbeat.

Like a stolen computer possibly if the new owner requests service work on it, the loan company could pick up the trail, otherwise it seems to me it would just disappear.

People are able to finance all kinds of things without a title. Financing furniture for a house can be just as much or more than a Truck camper. Not saying I would do it but a lot of people do.

Agreed.

Actually there are some real advantages to the way a TC is treated in California. Don't want to hijack the thread, so maybe I'll just explore some of my thoughts in the future in a new thread.

[zcookiemonstar]

jmcgsd wrote:
I actually am somewhat surprised that you can get a loan on a TC in a non title state. After all, it's basically a non secured loan. There is nothing to stop you for offering it for sale on Craigslist for example and just writing the purchaser a receipt. Since they don't need to register it in any way it seems as though the trail can disappear in a heartbeat.

Like a stolen computer possibly if the new owner requests service work on it, the loan company could pick up the trail, otherwise it seems to me it would just disappear.

People are able to finance all kinds of things without a title. Financing furniture for a house can be just as much or more than a Truck camper. Not saying I would do it but a lot of people do.