How to register a new trailer in Texas

[The Quilting Lady]

Originally Posted by Red Dog

Robert,

I know! We fretted over this and tried to be pro-active, but I just kept getting more and more frustrated. I finally told my wife "let's just get the trailer and deal with registration afterwards". In the end, it all worked out without having to rush back to Texas.

Is there any simple directions for getting registered in Texas without searching all 9 lovely pages of this thread? We want to drive back into Canada the day we get our trailer and stay for the rally, another week.
N

[rbryan4]

Nancy, the problem is that different DMV offices use different procedures. It's not supposed to be that way, but it is. Totally inconsistent, so there goes simplicity. Best advice would be to follow the steps provided by your local office, using the state website as a general guide.

[The Quilting Lady]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Nancy, the problem is that different DMV offices use different procedures. It's not supposed to be that way, but it is. Totally inconsistent, so there goes simplicity. Best advice would be to follow the steps provided by your local office, using the state website as a general guide.

Rbryan, thanks, sounds good!

[H46Driver]

Update as of 1 March 2017

In Bexar County Texas at Window 7 for the Tax Collector's Office located off Bandera Road at about 10 am the documents required for a successful (3rd try) registration of our trailer were:

Certificate of Origin for a Trailer - Issued and Signed by ETI

VTR-141 - On this form only the first block in "Certification" is checked stating that it meets the definition of a travel trailer.

VTR-270 - Nothing here except for filling it out and signing. We DID NOT need the pencil tracing of photograph of the VIN so it was silly to have this form.

CBP Form 7501 - This is the form given to you when you accept the trailer in Sumas, WA (it is very important and probably irreplaceable).

HS-7 Declaration - Issued by and signed by ETI with Item 2A checked

Vehicle Inspection Report - showing the Vehicle has been inspected - while some have had luck registering below 4500lbs max gross to avoid annual inspections, the computer in Bexar County would not allow the clerk to do that. It absolutely demanded that 1/3 of the Shipping Weight be added to the shipping weight to determine max gross. We just went ahead and made it come out to 5000lbs. By the way - all numbers had to be rounded to even hundreds - 3585 for shipping weight became 3600.

Bill of Sale - This one was the hard one. We had to go back to Escape and get a Bill of Sale (was supposed to be signed by them but we managed to slip it through when the third clerk didn't catch it) that shows the US Dollar amount. This is a bit tricky and silly for two reasons. First, Escape doesn't know or care what the US amount was and second, that amount is very clearly displayed on the CBP Form 7501. At any rate, we got an updated Bill of Sale showing the US Dollar amounts based on what we told Kathy they were. Bexar County used the Base Price amount - good deal for us although on our previous attempts we tried to pay the tax on the full amount. Gotta love bureaucrats! Others have had similar results in other counties with just paying tax on the Base Price. On our Bill of Sale Kathy added a line for Payment in US Funds and a line for Base Price Payment in US Funds. I would recommend you get this from her when you go to Chilliwack and ask her to sign it somewhere to satisfy the guy at Window 11. If you get Window 7, don't worry about the signature.

VTR-130-U - Title and Registration Application.

We did NOT need the VTR-68A. However I know of at least two others - 1 in Bexar County and 1 over in Houston - who did need it. In fact at Window 8 on our first attempt to register we were told we would need it.

Bottom line is that we found the process to be very frustrating with complete and total inconsistency from clerk to clerk all in the same office. Of interest was that ALL of the people we dealt with took our paperwork back to the same supervisor for guidance - she called Austin at least twice - and each time they came back to us with different criteria. Amazing to say the least. Good luck to anyone going through this process in Texas.

As for having our 21 inspected? Well we thought it would be a annual hassle and were hoping to avoid it by registering below 4500 lbs since I go over the trailer with far more scrutiny and with more frequency than any inspector would. That said, it really won't be a hassle. We lucked out and the annual will match up with the truck. You take your trailer to the inspection site, leave it hooked up to the truck and they do both at the same time. Not sure how they managed to check brakes and such because nothing moved from the parking lot. Took them all of about 5 minutes (maybe less) to do both vehicles. Appears that if you take both together it is actually quicker than just taking in the truck.

[Jim Bennett]

Wow Dave, that is quite the bureaucratic procedure. Glad it was you, not me.

A good outline for those that need to go through the process.

It probably took me less time to go in and get a permanent plate, good for the life of the trailer, than it did for you to type out that post. Our dollar may suck, but there is at least one thing better for us.

[Red Dog]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Nancy, the problem is that different DMV offices use different procedures. It's not supposed to be that way, but it is. Totally inconsistent, so there goes simplicity. Best advice would be to follow the steps provided by your local office, using the state website as a general guide.

Nancy,
I agree with Robert. I can only speak for Texas, which is where you live, the same laws are subject to a variety of interpretations. We could sit around the campfire and share different stories all night long.

I tried to be proactive and take care of title/registration in Polk County before I left Texas, only to repeatedly hit a brick wall. We finally gave up that effort.

When we finally picked up the Escape in Sumas, WA, I called Polk County and told them I had just bought a trailer from Canada, was not going to be back in Texas in 30 days, what should I do. They mailed me a "registration packet" with the appropriate forms, I completed the forms, sent them a check for the taxes and fees, they mailed us the plate. ( By the way... we are Escapees and have a mail forwarding service). It was unbelievable!

I cannot say the same for H46DRIVER in Bexar County and TDF-TEXAS in Harris County. They have completely different stories.

I hope yours will be a painless process, but in the end, it is so worth it. We love our Escape!

[rbryan4]

Agreed. The one silver lining is, you only have to go through the bureaucratic rigmarole once. Once is enough.

[btmaynard]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. I'm scheduled to take delivery June 15, and was hoping to show up with plates in hand. Sounds like I should just wait until I'm back in Harris County. I had the forethought to ask Kathy to show $USD for each payment and the total, had not occurred to me to ask her to show the Base Price in $USD... you might have saved me fuel cost for the trip!

[ThomasG]

I wanted to follow up on this discussion by pointing everyone to my post (#3) in this thread: http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f3...tml#post189512.

[Mike & Donna]

Does the Form U-130 need to be signed by the seller (Escape) or will the Bill of Sale suffice? Just trying to get all the correct paperwork properly filled out before I make a visit to the Tax Office.

[Mike & Donna]

I received the necessary paperwork from ETI ( Bill of Sale, Form HS-7, MCOO) and make my first attempt to deal with the tax office in Montgomery County, Texas to see what else I would need to get a license plate for the camper. It was not pleasant. The clerk wasn't sure so she went to her supervisor and they pulled out a list from the County Tax assessor which is a "Checklist for Out of Country Titles" and used that to tell me what I would need.

Bill of Sale: They did not like the Bill of Sale with multiple dates on it saying they would have to go by the earliest date on the form which was Order date of Aug 4, 2016 even though the Completion Date listed is June 29, 2017 and I would have to pay penalties for not registering it within 30 days.

They also said I would need a Vehicle Inspection Report (Safety Inspection) because it weighs 3740 lbs and would be over 4500 lbs after I loaded it.

Form 68A (vin inspection). I asked if I could have the Washington State Auto Task force do the VIN inspection and she said it had to be done it Texas.

I told them it would be two to three months before I would get back to Texas from Washington with the trailer and if I could get the 30 day temporary tags and she said yes but I would be subject to penalty if I did not get the trailer registered within 30 days of date on bill of sale, which I am going to have to ask ETI to remove the other dates and only show June 29, 2017 on Bill of Sale and will have to hurry back to Texas or else pay penalties for not registering it in a timely (30 days) manner.

I think I will make a trip to one of the other 3 satellite offices or main county tax office just to see what they say and maybe try to talk to the Tax Assessor to see if they have varying requirements . I don't mind the red tape, it just seems as if the color of the tape is not consistent.

I feel a migraine coming on.

[Donna D.]

I feel really bad for you Texans, seems like each one of you gets different answers and most of it is based on some subjective, strange ill-informed employee.

I can't figure out why someone would think you should pay a penalty for not registering a trailer that didn't even exist.

[H46Driver]

Mike and Donna, just keep going until you get the correct person - every clerk has a different opinion. We wanted to just scream while going through the process.

[ReagentGrade]

Mike and Donna,

It's absurd for them to use the order date as the sale date. I wonder if the ability to justify late penalties plays into this.

If I went to a Ford dealer and ordered a new F150, they wouldn't consider the truck sold until it was built and the dealer turned it over to me.

The warranty starts at delivery not when it's ordered.

You definitely need to try another office. I'll be facing the same task soon, hopefully I won't be faced with this level of incompetence.

You have my sympathies!

Rich

[James Gang]

Keep us informed. I will be going thru the same thing when I arrive back in Texas in late August.

[Mike & Donna]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I feel really bad for you Texans, seems like each one of you gets different answers and most of it is based on some subjective, strange ill-informed employee.

I can't figure out why someone would think you should pay a penalty for not registering a trailer that didn't even exist.

It is highly illogical isn't it. All I can say is the clerk I was dealing with has only been on the job for a year and this was only the second time she encountered the situation of registering an imported trailer so her level on expertise was practically nil.

[Mike & Donna]

Originally Posted by ReagentGrade

Mike and Donna,

It's absurd for them to use the order date as the sale date. I wonder if the ability to justify late penalties plays into this.

If I went to a Ford dealer and ordered a new F150, they wouldn't consider the truck sold until it was built and the dealer turned it over to me.

The warranty starts at delivery not when it's ordered.

You definitely need to try another office. I'll be facing the same task soon, hopefully I won't be faced with this level of incompetence.

You have my sympathies!

Rich

I plan on going up the chain of command, just skipping a few steps. Sent email to the County Tax Assessor asking for clarification and exact documents that I would need to submit for my situation. My plan is to take the email from the "boss" with me next time I go to the local office to so they will have step by step instructions of what exactly they need.

I am sure the clerk is incorrect about the tax being due within 30 days of sale date, it is probably within 30 days of my return to Texas but just want to get it all documented. I was ready willing and able to pay the tax but she just refused to take my money.

[float5]

Beyond the ridiculous. Yes, good idea to go to the main office in your county.

The requirements are unfortunately not written for this kind of situation but rather for people who come into Texas from another state. You might look for the exact wording on the 30 days though.

We weighed and loaded weight is under the 4500. Does not mean that you would be. Depends on what you load. We could put some water in the fresh tank but filling it and some other stuff could put us over. Depends on whether you want to just not take any chances on that. But you give them the loaded weight. They do not give it to you as they did. Again, you would likely have to find the particular references. What you can use, however, is a scale weight when loaded.

Hopefully, the main office will know better than nothing and worse!

Originally Posted by Mike & Donna

I received the necessary paperwork from ETI ( Bill of Sale, Form HS-7, MCOO) and make my first attempt to deal with the tax office in Montgomery County, Texas to see what else I would need to get a license plate for the camper. It was not pleasant. The clerk wasn't sure so she went to her supervisor and they pulled out a list from the County Tax assessor which is a "Checklist for Out of Country Titles" and used that to tell me what I would need.

Bill of Sale: They did not like the Bill of Sale with multiple dates on it saying they would have to go by the earliest date on the form which was Order date of Aug 4, 2016 even though the Completion Date listed is June 29, 2017 and I would have to pay penalties for not registering it within 30 days.

They also said I would need a Vehicle Inspection Report (Safety Inspection) because it weighs 3740 lbs and would be over 4500 lbs after I loaded it.

Form 68A (vin inspection). I asked if I could have the Washington State Auto Task force do the VIN inspection and she said it had to be done it Texas.

I told them it would be two to three months before I would get back to Texas from Washington with the trailer and if I could get the 30 day temporary tags and she said yes but I would be subject to penalty if I did not get the trailer registered within 30 days of date on bill of sale, which I am going to have to ask ETI to remove the other dates and only show June 29, 2017 on Bill of Sale and will have to hurry back to Texas or else pay penalties for not registering it in a timely (30 days) manner.

I think I will make a trip to one of the other 3 satellite offices or main county tax office just to see what they say and maybe try to talk to the Tax Assessor to see if they have varying requirements . I don't mind the red tape, it just seems as if the color of the tape is not consistent.

I feel a migraine coming on.

[Loren & Cathy]

It can be trouble registering a Canadian trailer in any state or county. The clerk at my local DMV started out by requesting me to convert each option from Canadian to US dollars. That wasn't going to happen. Loren

[Mary F]

Originally Posted by Mike & Donna

I plan on going up the chain of command, just skipping a few steps. Sent email to the County Tax Assessor asking for clarification and exact documents that I would need to submit for my situation. My plan is to take the email from the "boss" with me next time I go to the local office to so they will have step by step instructions of what exactly they need.

I am sure the clerk is incorrect about the tax being due within 30 days of sale date, it is probably within 30 days of my return to Texas but just want to get it all documented. I was ready willing and able to pay the tax but she just refused to take my money.

Yes. The way I read the regulation when we registered our Escape (in November 2015) was we had 30 days from when we brought the trailer into the state. I realize it could be different now, and of course, I was in Travis, not Montgomery County. Like Robert said, the good news is you only have to do it ONCE.