MA title travel trailer

[chevy0077]

I'm from Massachusetts and currently looking for my first travel trailer. I've found a nice one but the owner has no title. According to the current owner it was never titled and a title is not required in MA for a camper.

From what I can tell a title is required for all trailers over 3k lbs. They insist that registering it as a camper won't be a problem. I saw mention of "auto home" on the RMV website but see nothing that says a camper is exempt.

Does anyone know for sure if travel trailers are exempt from needing a title in MA if registered as a camper instead of as a trailer?

[snowshoe]

NH requires a title for trailers newer than 15 years over 3001 lbs. Then registration cost is assessed by weight.

[boosTT]

In Wisconsin: trailers under 3k lbs do not need to be registered. If the trailer is under 3K: I don't need a title, because I never need to contact the DMV. Maybe MA is similar?

[Thsldo]

Correct, We need titles here in MA. I was saying, if he is buying the trailer in NH, I don't think they require titles.

[hddecker]

Run, don't walk away from anyone that suggests you don't need some sort of documentation.

If it is a legitimate deal, then the seller won't have a problem getting the title registered.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Thsldo wrote:
unless the trailer came from NH. I don't think trailers in NH need a title. Also depends on the age of the camper.

No State with Title requirements cares if a trailer didn't need a Title in some other State- it'll still have to have one in its new State. That's why it's important to get whatever paperwork came from the original manufacturer. (Manufacturer Certificate of Origin). Absent that, it's my opinion that a buyer should insist on seller participation in the rehoming process, in whatever fashion satisfies the requirements of the new State. In this case Massachusetts.

It may be that simple sworn affidavits would do...but I certainly wouldn't hand over any money until I was satisfied that my STATE was satisfied.

[Thsldo]

unless the trailer came from NH. I don't think trailers in NH need a title. Also depends on the age of the camper. Bring the VIN to the police station and they can check to make sure it's not stolen.

[brownieab]

It needs a title. I dragged a trailer out of the woods of Maine that was sold along with the property my wife's Aunt purchased. Because it wasn't registered by the wife's Aunt, only the previous owner, it was a real issue for me to get it registered. Believe me when I say, get a title. And then the registry charged me a fee because it wasn't registered in a timely manner.

Alan
Beverly Mass

[agwill]

Yes best to check with DMV there is a age limit also. Over ten years different. I did not have a title for my trailer when I lived there.

[westend]

Just pass on it, it is only one of thousands for sale in MA. If MA is anything like MN (I'm sure it's similar), you'll be required to do a Title search and anything the DMV doesn't like will send you spinning in circles.

A couple of years ago I got ahold of a reasonably nice cargo trailer. The owner gave me a Title that was never transferred to him but had the previous owner's signing off and all of the other items correct. When I visited the registration center it was like pulling teeth to get an answer to how to accomplish title in my name. The counter clerk actually said, "Well, it's like taking your chances and in this case you lost". I'm only trying to pay the correct licensing and title transfer fees and make this a usable item. It's like they don't want my money, sheesh.

[DHDB]

naturist wrote:
Are you sure it's not "hot?"

Maybe that's what happens to all the stolen trailers taken all over the US: they end up sold sans title in Mass.

Or it was purchased (never registered) and placed on a seasonal lot. Upon you trying to register this TT, MA will want sales tax on the original purchase price.

I would demand that the current owner find the title or go and have the unit titled within their own state prior to you purchasing it. Let it be their headache....

[mhardin]

Tell them to get the title before you'll buy it.

[dadmomh]

Any chance that this is a home-built trailer?? If that's the case, the original owner/builder should have paperwork related to the purchase of the items. Have you checked the tongue of the trailer - likely the street side toward the front - for a series of numbers stamped into the frame? That would be the VIN#. I'd be leery of buying anything like that without a Title, but with the VIN# you could check with the registration office or even the police department to see if there is anything reported as stolen. Not even a Bill of Sale or any purchase documents from where it was bought?? Gotta have some paperwork or I'd steer clear.

[naturist]

Are you sure it's not "hot?"

Maybe that's what happens to all the stolen trailers taken all over the US: they end up sold sans title in Mass.

[loulou57]

This may be a silly question but I hear on here occasionally about someone not having title to an RV. How can that be? When you buy one you get ownership papers and then as it sells the papers get transferred.