Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

rmcrist wrote:After calling numerous companies I've learned that Texas has very strict and specific rules for self-built campers. It has to be done by a licensed professional In order to be insured. For those of you who insured it as commercial, do you own a business that it is tied to?


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I too am curious to see what you find out. I have my teardrop trailer insured as a utility trailer.

aggie79 wrote:

rmcrist wrote:After calling numerous companies I've learned that Texas has very strict and specific rules for self-built campers. It has to be done by a licensed professional In order to be insured. For those of you who insured it as commercial, do you own a business that it is tied to?


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I too am curious to see what you find out. I have my teardrop trailer insured as a utility trailer.

You've probably already read these, but here is an example of a tiny house built on a flat bed trailer was ultimately registered as a travel trailer in Texas:

https://tinyhouse43.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/registering-your-tiny-house-trailer-in-texas/
https://tinyhouse43.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/tinyhouse43-is-officially-a-tiny-house-travel-trailer-in-texas/

Some other random thoughts:
1. Regarding "professionals", in Texas a homeowner can do electrical and plumbing work on their own home and don't have to have the appropriate licenses. Maybe this could be "stretched" to say your trailer is your home away from home if you need to prove up your build.
2. I oversee planning, building, and health codes for a small city in Denton County. We can't afford to have our own inspectors, so we contract our building and health inspections to a third-party company. It may be worth it to have a third-party inspector "inspect" your work on your next cargo trailer conversion. I don't know if they'll do this, but if you would like the name of the company that we use, please let me know by PM. Typically, companies like these are pretty reasonable on their rates.
3. As you are aware, the tax assessor offices in Texas are overloaded most times of the day. Clerks can get stressed from backlog of work. I once had a crazy car title transfer situation - father passed away, mother inherited car, mother gifted car to me. Not expecting much luck navigating that bureaucratic jungle, I went to the assessors office in Southlake during an off-peak time to get guidance. While I didn't get the title transferred on my initial visit, a very helpful clerk gathered the forms I needed and highlighted the various sections to complete (similar to the tiny house example above.) The next time I returned, the transfer sailed through.

If and when I build a CT conversion, I will register it as a cargo trailer if the bureaucracy seems insurmountable,

Dealt with all of this recently when mine was stolen. U had my trailer insured through my auto policy (Geico). The value of the CARGO trailer was covered by Geico, they did not pay for any "improvements". My homeowners insurance (Liberty Mutual) covered the contents, minus the four wheeler. I managed to include most of my improvements to the trailer as contents....

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I just called my insurance company Farm Bureau and for it to be covered for 6500 I don't know what I'm going to put into it yet I'm spending 4500 from Factory anyway it's $30 every 6 months does that sound right you girls and guys???

By the way I am in Tennessee and insurance agent said if it was a plane cargo trailer or converted into camper it is the same price

I have just been going through this process.. my insurance is with State farm, my auto liability covers me when I'm towing, I had to buy a comprehensive plan for the teardrop. I had to submit my Vin number used to register the teardrop, photos inside and outside of of the teardrop, and an itemized general bill of materials. They will then be able to cover me (less 1000$ deductible) for around 12$ a month in my case.

We have our auto policies through Horace Mann Insurance. I called our agent, explained what we'd done, and how much coverage we wanted. He had no problem with any of it. He just tacked it on to our auto policies.

We just went through this with our teardrop build. We called everyone. No one would touch it at any value. We heard people had theirs cover with company A and we would call and hear “We don’t do home built campers”. The best we can tell is different states might have rules on what coverage a company must cover to do business in that state. Because we know at least 4 people that have their teardrop insured and those company’s will would not cover us.

But we did find Liberty mutual would cover our tear for the value we wanted $20,000. We did need to change our cars and house to get a good price.

Todd

In my case, the CTC is a rider on existing Auto Policy with Allstate. It is listed as a Lark since that is what it is. You tell them how much $ you want to insure it for and they charge accordingly.

I obviously have alot of pics to substantiate the value if ever needed.

I can see where it may be an issue if the trailer is 100% home built, but CTC is a legit trailer standalone with a MSO and title to which you are adding value. Insure it for the value you want and pay accordingly, otherwise it will be valued as a utility trailer by default.


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flboy wrote:I told them I converted it to a RV trailer. They didn't seem to care other than wanting to know how much coverage I wanted. Maybe that is how they see it? A cargo trailer with a lot of contents. I'll read the details later this week and let you know.

I've run across that attitude before when insuring a boat that was extensively home rigged. It's easy to add 50% to the replacement value of a basic boat and motor with add-ons like electronics, custom canvas, etc.
I think at least some companies will just consider the risk (to them) based on what the item is and what it's used for. If there isn't a clear replacement value, it's up to you to determine what you want that value to be, weighed against what you're willing to pay in premiums.

My trailer is covered under my auto policy. My camping pod which is bolted on my trailer is covered under my homeowner policy along with my camping gear and personal property. My trailer as well as my camping pod were photographed separately and presented to the insurance agent along with an inventory of personal items if the need should arise to file a claim.