Virginia registration question

[Greeneama]

We’ve ordered our new Escape 19 and will pick it up in Sumas, Washington at the end of October. Does anyone know if we can get our Escape registered and titled In Virginia before we pick it up in Washington state. Once we pick it up, we plan to travel for 6 weeks before heading back east.

[sdb]

We just finished having our 21C titled in VA. As long as you have all of the "official" paperwork when you go to the DMV, you should not have a problem. There is a list of documents you must provide before getting a title on an imported vehicle that has never been registered before on the VA DMV website. We had not received the Canadian Certificate of Origin so we had a problem with the Virginia DMV. Also, be aware that you must make an appointment with the DMV to go in and have the paperwork processed. Due to Covid, we waited 30+ days for each appointment so it took forever. Good Luck.

[Greeneama]

How did you get your Escape to Virginia? Did you have it shipped or did you pick it up in Washington State?

[sdb]

We originally planned to pick it up in Sumas but with the virus threat, we had it delivered. Hope to visit the NW next year.

[2Travelers]

Originally Posted by Greeneama

We’ve ordered our new Escape 19 and will pick it up in Sumas, Washington at the end of October. Does anyone know if we can get our Escape registered and titled In Virginia before we pick it up in Washington state. Once we pick it up, we plan to travel for 6 weeks before heading back east.

This issue caused me a great deal of anxiety as we planned our July 2018 pick-up but in the end it turned out to be a non-issue. I could rely on this Forum to help with so many questions (build sheet, off menu options, towing, systems operation, etc.) but with so few trailers headed to Virginia there was little about VA registration experiences (and experiences of those in other states were so varied that it only added to my unease). Delivery was not a reasonable option for us at the time and so I decided I would just bring it home without tags if necessary (thinking it would be better to stopped without any than with tags borrowed from my boat trailer, which I also considered).

I reviewed registration requirements on the DMV's website and brought the packet of purchase documents from Escape with me to my local DMV office. After the typical long wait (this was pre-Covid) I was called to the counter, paid my tax and registration fees, and they handed me a tag that I took to Chilliwack and affixed to my new trailer. And the adventures began...

Good luck, and good to see another Escape on its way to Virginia. I know you will enjoy your new trailer, we are so very happy with ours. A few more on the east coast and we might even get our own rally!

[Greeneama]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. There was a 2 week delay at the Escape factory and so our projected date for pickup moved to early November. We calculated the cost of driving to Sumas and with the ongoing Covid outbreak, we decided to have our Escape19 shipped to Virginia. With what it would have cost us to drive out to Washington State and back, we figured that shipping will cost us about $500 to $1000 more (a nice chunk of change). BUT weighing options with more people getting Covid, even in our rural VA area, we decided shipping was our best option. So we'll get it registered when it gets here sometime in November.

[2Travelers]

Glad to hear that you found a solution that works for you, given all the wrinkles this "new normal" is throwing at us. You will want to make that trip out west with your trailer after this virus is finally tamped down. Camping out that way is so very different from what we have here in the east, and it's not just the landscape it's the entire experience. Our long trip home remains the best and most enjoyable experience we have had with our trailer, and we'll be headed back when we have the time and when it's safe to do so.