registration in Maryland

[chacojim]

Anyone who can advise about registration in Maryland, please help. I cannot title, register or get tags without the 7501 form having a stamp by Customs office. Since I will be in Sumas, WA when I get the paperwork stamped, how is it possible to get back to Maryland? This state does not issue transportation tags or temporary registration (without a title). It's a catch 22. The temp tags etc for State of Washington is only for 3 days and probably not good in other states anyway. I had planned to take a month returning by camping in National Parks and Monuments. I will get insurance coverage but not sure how important it is to travel home without temp tags. What have others done?

[cpaharley2008]

You keep the tags off your Casita and put on your Escape and transfer them at home when you return, just like buying a car there, they take the tags off and transfer the registration. OR, you use the 3 day pass, it is supposed to be good anywhere, OR you use nothing, just show anyone your paperwork explaining you are enroute to register the unit. I'm not aware of any new owner having an issue returning back to their home base without any tags on the trailer.

[kstock11]

I spent the first 5 weeks towing with no tags and no problems. I think that the Canadian spare tire cover helps. Police probably assume that a tag isn’t necessary in Canada.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by chacojim

Anyone who can advise about registration in Maryland, please help. I cannot title, register or get tags without the 7501 form having a stamp by Customs office. Since I will be in Sumas, WA when I get the paperwork stamped, how is it possible to get back to Maryland?

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

You keep the tags off your Casita and put on your Escape and transfer them at home when you return, just like buying a car there, they take the tags off and transfer the registration.

It looks like that can work for Maryland, if you meet the requirements:
Maryland Vehicle Title and Registration Information

Boat, Camping, Tent or Travel Trailers
All trailers are subject to the same motor vehicle laws as passenger vehicles.

Transfer of License Plates
License plates acquired by any person, firm, or corporation for any vehicle owned by them may be transferred to a newly acquired vehicle, providing the following requirements are met:

1. The vehicle from which the plates are to be transferred must have been sold, traded, junked, or otherwise discarded.
2. The ownership of the newly acquired vehicle has not changed from the name in which the license plates were originally purchased.
3. Both vehicles are of the same registration classification. Please complete the appropriate sections of the application that pertain to the transfer. Remember to include the license plate and sticker number.

[chacojim]

I sold my Casita last fall so using those plates won't work. I do have a flatbed trailer with Maryland plates, but it's a different classification, not that a cop would know without checking the registration.
chacojim

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by chacojim

I sold my Casita last fall so using those plates won't work.

Did you keep the Casita's plates (which you should have, because they don't go with the trailer)? There doesn't seem to be a time limit for transferring them...

[chacojim]

Brian, the answer is no. In Maryland, I have only a limited time to turn in the plates. New owner would register it and get new ones. I think the smartest thing to do would be to get temp plates in Washington State.

[J&B Mitt]

We had a similar issue in Michigan. Here's what we did:
--We made reservations for several days at the Lynden KOA.
--We had ETI drop our trailer onto the site at the Lynden KOA, rather than Bob's Burgers in Sumas. (ETI did that very agreeably.)
--We immediately FedEx'd our 7501 to Jan's sister, who acted as our agent in Michigan. Her sister had a prearranged appointment at the Secretary of State's office (license bureau) and got our plate and registration.
--She FedEx'd them back to us, care of the KOA office.

This took maybe four days total, staying at the Lynden KOA. It was a good opportunity for us to shake down problems with our new trailer. There were a few. We then hauled back across to ETI for the quick fixes.
We wanted to 'be legal' because we would be travelling two months before heading back to Michigan. (Grrr. Some others in MI have been able to get their registration w/o the completed 7501[!?!]... Oh well, part of the adventure.)

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by chacojim

Brian, the answer is no. In Maryland, I have only a limited time to turn in the plates. New owner would register it and get new ones. I think the smartest thing to do would be to get temp plates in Washington State.

I lived in Maryland for 60 years and had over 15 cars, trailers, trucks, motorcycles, and now my garage here in Pennsylvania is full of my old plates since moving here 10 years ago, one from my 66 Mustang. These old plates are worth some money to collectors. Never turned one in, never had any issue. Either way, if you turned it back in, nothing can be done now.

[J&B Mitt]

Originally Posted by J&B Mitt

We wanted to 'be legal' because we would be travelling two months before heading back to Michigan.

Just to add a little to this: We're pretty risk-averse. If we were to travel without executing the titling and registration, it's not just that we wouldn't have a legit plate on the trailer. We arguably didn't OWN the trailer. Would that expose us to some legal liability that we couldn't predict?

So, we felt better by waiting a few days in Lynden to complete the process.

[cpaharley2008]

The trailer is yours when paid for and imported, until you get to Michigan to register it, who cares. You have insurance on the trailer and your liability is covered via the auto policy, I would think you should be good to go until home, then you have to deal with the bureaucrats.

[James Gang]

I picked my 21 on 7/31/2017 and arrived back home on 8/25/2017 with no plates. I figured that I had my paperwork and would show that to any police that may stop me. None did. In Texas, one is supposed to get a vehicle/trailer vin inspection by law enforcement before registration, so there was no way to have plates before coming home. Although things seem to vary from county to county about the process.

[abby]

https://www.amazon.com/PhotoZoneGa-P...e%2Bplate&th=1