Pennsylvania PennDOT Snafu

[Dee Bee]

All you PA TD Builders! Read your trailer title application bboklet carefully before you send it in! I missed that I needed an ticket of empty trailer weight attached to the application.

I have no one except myself to blame since in the end I am responsible for compliance with the law.... But I paid my mechanic and Runkles title service to help me complete the application. At the title service I asked them repeatedly if the application was complete and if I had included everything. It turned out that their double check was not worth the money I paid them. Penn DOT returned the application stating that MV1 application was not signed, a copy of the kit assembly instructions were not included (even though Runkles said not to include them) and the empty weight ticket was not included.

Live and learn. I hope my expereicen can help another TD builder in PA IMHO I can't recommend Runkles Title and Tag Service in the York area. Go to AAA instead.

Now I can go and take my Zephyr body off the trailer to get it weighed as an empty trailer. Thank goodness I designed it so I could do this. But I expect it will be a job!

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better. I think... May be I should have posted this in the Counseling Forum? What dya think Mike?

God bless the beaurecrats and help those who must deal with them.


DEE

[mikeschn]

I think this was a perfectly good place to post it! (The counseling section doesn't exist any more!)

Mike...

[toypusher]

Dee,

The same thing (almost) happened to me. I used Runkle's and they did not want me to send the weight ticket with the application. They put the weight (216) lbs from the Certificate of Manufacture that came with the trailer, but the mechanic signed off that the weight was 260 (what it weighs with the tongue jack and a sheet of plywood on it). I gave Runkle's a copy of the weight ticket and they sent it back. So, I am still waiting for my registration.

The biggest problem that I see at this point is that the people at PennDot only look at the application until they find a mistake. They then send it back for correction without checking the rest of the applicaiton for more mistakes or omissions. So, if you fix a mistake and resubmit, then they find another and send it back again. So on and So forth. Someone in another post said they went back and forth with Penn Dot for 6 months and finally gave up and used a tag from an old travel trailer.

I'm pulling or you (and me too)!!!

Kerry

[len19070]

Dee my heart goes out to you.

Kerry

That was me who finally gave up on them. And your right, they only go through the application until they find a mistake and stop. If there's another mistake,..huh uh your scr#$ed. you have to wait till the next time. I really think that they think derailing applications is there job. I'm perfectly happy pulling my 1981 Palomino Pop-up trailer, even if it does look like a Teardrop.


http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/len19070/ ... /my_photos

I sell Teardrops

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/len19070/ ... /my_photos

and some of the stories of how easy it is to register a trailer in other states really frustrates me when I hear folks in my own state with these problems.


Old Post;

I've never had so much trouble trying to give somebody money for nothing in my life. On my trailer photos for Harrisburg I put a Pa. tag on the trailer to show where tag goes.


6 weeks later I was told I couldn't have a Pa tag on an un licensed trailer to take it off and resubmit. Took the tag off and photographed it & resubmitted.


6 weeks later I was asked where the tag goes. I put a piece of paper where the tag goes that said "TAG" photographed it and resubmitted.


6 weeks later I was told that was not a legitimate tag. Then I stood next to the trailer with a sign that pointed to where the tag goes that said "Tag goes here" photographed it and resubmitted.


6 weeks later I was told the person in the photo holding the sign that said "Tag goes here" had his/her left foot blocking a portion of the tire. To take another photo and resubmit.


Then I went over to an old Pop-up I had, took the tag off of it. Put it on the teardrop. Junked the pop-up and I was done. Its a game with them.

Good Luck

Len

[anonymous2]

Hi all,

Hey, I bought a manufactured teardrop,and PennDot even messed that up,and took 4 months to get a title. Don't even get me started! Good luck to you guys & girls.

pateardropper

[Dee Bee]

Well I just took another ride on the PennDot merrigo round. Found out from Runkles that Penn Dot wanted a weigh ticket of the trailer empty. Even though the HF certificate of origin gave the shipping weight of all the parts, they wouldn't accenpt that. I guess things get significantly heavier when they are bolted to gether and you add all that air.

So I asked Runkles how do you take a trialer on the road to get it weighed without a tag inorder to get a tag? You wouldn't beileve what this professional business told me to do. Just let me say law enforcement wouldn't have agreed.

Anyway I was creative, got the trailer weighed. I had to pay $10.00 for the weight ticked.

Went back to Runkles made sure MV 1 was signed, took copies of all the trailer assembly instructions, and turned in the weigh ticket. I asked them if there was anything else I needed to do , was the application complete etc. They basically said who knows!

So I wait 4-6 wks for this ride to spin and see if it will stop or if I need to hop on the PennDot ride again.

God bless those who must deal with bureaucrats.

DEE

[toypusher]

Dee,

Hang in there. I 'm with you all the way.

Kerry

[An Ol Timer]

Here in NY they also require the empty trailer to be weighed but it also specifies in their instructions that you have the right to move it to and from the weigh station without plates.

[jlrelp]

The only thing I can say guys is to move to Texas.

Don't hate me for this, just went down with HF information the emtpy weight and the loaded weight. Took almost 15 minutes. that was because I was doing another trailer to.


The best of luck with that merry go round.

[toypusher]

WHOO HOOO!!

Runkle's just called and said the they have my Pennsylvania state registration and plate for the HF trailer. There will be celebrating in this household tonight.

Bummer that I am in the middle of repainting th entire inside of my house and replacing my back porch (strat that tomorrow). Hope to be finished with house (putting up for sale) by the end of next week and work full time on the tear.

Kerry

[IraRat]

Dee, thanks for starting this post!

I have my deck on, so maybe to be safe, I should go to a weight station and get the "official" Florida weight certificate, before any further building. (The only thing that scares me is trying to back that trailer up to where I'm building it! TIGHT space with a big truck!)

Or maybe I can try to register it as a utility trailer first, with just HF's certificate, and see what happens. If I get the utility plate that way, I think I'll be okay down the road.

[Dee Bee]

Dee, thanks for starting this post!

I have my deck on, so maybe to be safe, I should go to a weight station and get the "official" Florida weight certificate, before any further building. (The only thing that scares me is trying to back that trailer up to where I'm building it! TIGHT space with a big truck!)

Or maybe I can try to register it as a utility trailer first, with just HF's certificate, and see what happens. If I get the utility plate that way, I think I'll be okay down the road.

I only know about what I am going through here in PA. Maybe a few Floridians can jump on this and tell you what they did in your state.

DEE

[Dennis T]

Yes please Florida people. Tell us what has to be done to get a trailer registered in your state. I was looking in the MV section and couldn't find anything on it. In case I have problems here in PA I was going to register it Florida. Tell us your stories, please.

Dennis T

[Dee Bee]

Here it is. After three months and two go rounds with the powers that be at Penn DOT they came through.



Yes I photo edited the numbers off the plate image for the web. Call me cautious, call me paranoid...

You never know who will try to do who knows what with your info....

To all you who are waiting don't give up!!!!

DEE

[JunkMan]

Dee,

Glad you finally got it straightened out.

I haven't even started licensing mine (don't pick up the axel until the 17th), but past experience has shown me that South Dakota is a very easy place to register a trailer in, usually one day, and you have your plate.

I hope so, because I plan on going to Minden with mine