Ready for the road....

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Ready for the road....

Postby tdhombre » Fri Jun 18, 2004 7:50 pm

Today was the day I set aside to deal with the California DMV. All in all, not too bad. Initially, there was more interest in the teardrop itself rather than what was needed to get it registered and licensed. Fairly typical.

Here are some of my observations and experiences:
1. The DMV doesn't inspect for road worthy things like lights, turn signals, etc. They only noted that it was a "camper" trailer and not a "utility" trailer. As it turns out, there isn't much difference other than what is on the registration form. I was advised it was better to register it that way so if ever confronted with a CHP encounter, there would be no descrepacies. They issued me a "VIN" (Vehicle Identification Number) so that I could get it registered and licensed.
2. Lights and such are the domain of the enforcement crowd like local cops and the Highway Patrol. If they note something wrong, they will ticket you on the highway and then you have to get it fixed as well as pay a potential fine. Make sure all lights, turn signals, running lights, etc. are in good working order!
3. I had to provide copies of ALL of my reciepts in order to prove that I had paid sales tax on everything so go prepared. The Govenator wants his piece. :P
4. Registration was completed and I was given a "Permentent Trailer License" for $20 that comes up for renewal every 5 years. What a deal.
5. Insurance coverage was provided by my car insurance company for an additional $32 per year.

Bottom line is that I am good to go! All I need now is to get my wife back from her overseas trip so that we can get gon'in. I don't know that I will be able to resist not going out on my own ---------- she doesn't return for another month.

Unfortunately, all the CA teardrop gatherings are falling on weekends that I have commitments for or I would probably just show up. Oh, well. Patience is always rewarded I am told.

The new avitar is of my rig in front of the big rock (I did say BIG) at the mouth of Morro Bay in Central California - it's a tough life to live the year around where others come to vacation. :lol:
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Postby tdhombre » Fri Jun 18, 2004 8:40 pm

OK - I am just trying something out to see if it works. I have posted a couple of nice picutres in my personal album section of the board. Hopefully the following link to the picture will work so it can be viewed right here. OK - here goes......

Image

Hopefully this will show a nice picture of one of the more spectacular sites along the central coast of California as well and my teardrop rig in the foreground, of course.....
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Postby Nick Taylor » Fri Jun 18, 2004 8:45 pm

Dave,

Good that you got your trailer registered as a camper and not a coach. Both times I registered teardrops I had to hassle to keep them as campers. Once you get into the coach class you have to pay registration every year since they don't qualify for PTI. It can get even trickier if you want to use a personalized plate. I spent over an hour transfering my new trailer into my name and getting an existing personalized plate onto it. She kept wanting to change it from camper to coach.

Morro bay sure is a pretty spot. Last time I was up in San Luis Obispo for a car club meet, a friend and I drove out to the coast to Montana de Oro State Park and enjoyed the view across to Morro Bay. Looked like it would be a neat place to camp.

Nick.
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Postby tdhombre » Sat Jun 19, 2004 2:05 am

Nick Taylor wrote:Once you get into the coach class you have to pay registration every year since they don't qualify for PTI.


Yup, that was mentioned. The key for them is, apparently, to note the SIZE of the camper on the slip they fill out to get the VIN. That came up and was the key as to classifying is as a camper trailer and not a "coach".

They really earned their $20 today. It took interaction of 3 folks to get this done. Ah, well - civil servants at work!

D.
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