Disappointing start with our new Escape

[Dave Walter]

When I went to pickup my 15B in Wyoming this past summer, I purchased an "in transit" permit from the Alberta registries and stuck it in the rear window of the trailer while I was towing. Of course it was only valid while in Canada and only while travelling between specified locations. However, it provided some sense of officialdom and you would have to examine it very closely to determine that it was not valid for travel between Wyoming and the Alberta border.

[cpaharley2008]

I believe the rules for your trailer would follow the state rules for your tow vehicle. If you are from New York then those rules would be the one to be concerned with, not other states you are driving through to return to New York. Perhaps a transporter plate? You can also purchase 3 day temporary Washington permit, on line, if that allays concern as you drive in Washington after pickup. Like others have said, no one has had any issue after pick up without plates returning home.

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Like others have said, no one has had any issue after pick up without plates returning home.

And no one has suggested that anyone flout the law by not licensing their trailer or paying the sales tax once back in their home state or province.

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I believe the rules for your trailer would follow the state rules for your tow vehicle. If you are from New York then those rules would be the one to be concerned with, not other states you are driving through to return to New York. Perhaps a transporter plate? You can also purchase 3 day temporary Washington permit, on line, if that allays concern as you drive in Washington after pickup. Like others have said, no one has had any issue after pick up without plates returning home.

The 3 day Washington permit my be helpful,New York DMV has been no help. They do have temp registration for vehicles leaving NY, but not coming in. The only thing i have come up with is to get the Washington 3 day permit .camp in Washington and overnight all my paper work back to New York and have a family member do it and send me back a plate. sounds like a big pain the butt and if the paperwork got lost . I am also going to check and see what Idaho could do. I have a nephew there, But I have not come up with a good solution.

[SpokanEscape]

You can buy more than one Washington temporary tag if it will take longer to get your regular plates from your home state. You fill in the dates that you need covered.

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by SpokanEscape

You can buy more than one Washington temporary tag if it will take longer to get your regular plates from your home state. You fill in the dates that you need covered.

from what i understand is a RV can only by 2 that would only give me 6 days. we like to make a long vacation out of it

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

from what i understand is a RV can only by 2 that would only give me 6 days. we like to make a long vacation out of it

But you will be long gone from Washington, so it would no longer be needed once you leave the Washington state as you travel home to NY to get your permanent tags.

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

But you will be long gone from Washington, so it would no longer be needed once you leave the Washington state as you travel home to NY to get your permanent tags.

yes but there is no state along my way that its legal to travel on roads unregistered. But these states will recognize any of other states registration even if a temporary registration .If Washington offered a 30 day temp tag I would be good to go. I keep thinking there must be a legal way but if there is i cant find it. I dint mean for the tread to get so far off topic from the warranty issues the Op was having. hopefully they have there parts by now.

[jerryc]

HillBilly, I think the answer to your question lies in one's home state. How long do you have to register a vehicle there. All states have reciprocal agreements as far a motor vehicle laws. Some state require inspections, some don't, but that doesn't keep one from traveling through them. In my state, it's seven days to register a vehicle. As long as I have a drivers license and registration for my tow vehicle, showing my resident state, I wouldn't be concerned with towing an unregistered trailer anywhere in the US within seven days of purchase. That's how I understand it, anyway.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

yes but there is no state along my way that its legal to travel on roads unregistered. But these states will recognize any of other states registration even if a temporary registration .If Washington offered a 30 day temp tag I would be good to go. I keep thinking there must be a legal way but if there is i cant find it. I dint mean for the tread to get so far off topic from the warranty issues the Op was having. hopefully they have there parts by now.

Don’t take all the blame for a little thread drift, many of us are glad to help. And then there’s always the possibility that the Aeolian winds drifted your thread like they do the sand.
Iowa “ chinook winds’ Dave😜

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by jerryc

HillBilly, I think the answer to your question lies in one's home state. How long do you have to register a vehicle there. All states have reciprocal agreements as far a motor vehicle laws. Some state require inspections, some don't, but that doesn't keep one from traveling through them. In my state, it's seven days to register a vehicle. As long as I have a drivers license and registration for my tow vehicle, showing my resident state, I wouldn't be concerned with towing an unregistered trailer anywhere in the US within seven days of purchase. That's how I understand it, anyway.

This is from DMV
If you have a motorhome or recreational vehicle (RV) in New York, the DMV requires that you register it before taking it out on the road.
My wife is meeting with the supervisor at dmv today to see if there is a way to work it out

[cpaharley2008]

See #82, check with NY as to when you need to register a new vehicle, most states allow 30 days when moving into a new state or acquiring a new vehicle.

[Vermilye]

My experience with registering 2 Escapes in NY are described in this post.

The official way wouldn't work for me since I took 111 days to get back to NY with the first trailer, and I'm currently on day 137 with my new 21.

My advice is to take the paperwork Escape sends you to a small DMV & hand it to the clerk. If they say they can't do it, go somewhere else. It worked for me both for obtaining the original plate in 2011 & transferring the plate to a new trailer in 2017, both before I actually had the trailer.

[pstyer]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

My advice is to take the paperwork Escape sends you to a small DMV & hand it to the clerk. If they say they can't do it, go somewhere else. It worked for me both for obtaining the original plate in 2011 & transferring the plate to a new trailer in 2017, both before I actually had the trailer.

Our experience was similar to Jon's. Our trailer was delivered in September, 2016. We visited the local DMV, before receiving the trailer, and just handed the paperwork to them. The only hassle was the currency conversion to USD. We left the DMV with completed registration, taxes and new plates.

New York does have a requirement that the trailer is inspected within 10 days after arriving in the state.

Peter Styer
Frewsburg, NY

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

My experience with registering 2 Escapes in NY are described in this post.

The official way wouldn't work for me since I took 111 days to get back to NY with the first trailer, and I'm currently on day 137 with my new 21.

My advice is to take the paperwork Escape sends you to a small DMV & hand it to the clerk. If they say they can't do it, go somewhere else. It worked for me both for obtaining the original plate in 2011 & transferring the plate to a new trailer in 2017, both before I actually had the trailer.

That sure will be worth a try maybe if i go to a few dmv offices I can find someone that will do it. I will try this when i get my paper work . nothing to lose but time if it does not work.Thanks for the info

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by pstyer

Our experience was similar to Jon's. Our trailer was delivered in September, 2016. We visited the local DMV, before receiving the trailer, and just handed the paperwork to them. The only hassle was the currency conversion to USD. We left the DMV with completed registration, taxes and new plates.

New York does have a requirement that the trailer is inspected within 10 days after arriving in the state.

Peter Styer
Frewsburg, NY

Hi: pstyer... Glad you could "Pony up" the calendar shots. They look terrific!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

That sure will be worth a try maybe if i go to a few dmv offices I can find someone that will do it. I will try this when i get my paper work . nothing to lose but time if it does not work.Thanks for the info

A couple of things to add - ask Escape to include the current price of the trailer in US dollars on the final build sheet & be prepared to pay the sales tax for your county when you register (the sales tax is calculated for the county you live in, not the one you register the trailer in). It is also helpful to have both the actual & gross weight of the trailer in pounds since they use weight to determine the cost of the registration.

Since NY requires renewing your trailer registration by every December 31, sign up for on line registration. The earliest you can renew in a DMV is October 1st, but you can get a couple weeks earlier renewals going on line & having the sticker mailed to you. Since they will only mail it to the address on the registration, early renewal can be useful to those heading south for the winter.

[StarvingHyena]

Trailer registration:
I tried to talking with various small town DMV offices when I tried to register my trailer. Trouble was that all the offices for various towns listed in the phone book for Southeast Alaska are on islands and necessitate a ferry ride to get to them ( $$$$). So I started calling over several days, hoping to find a sympathetic clerk. It wasn't until a clerk started to cry and said between sobs ... "I already told you ..... You have to bring in the trailer to an DMV office for inspection" Now I realized that all my calls to a dozen DMV offices had been forwarded to the same clerk in Juneau, AK. Opps, I hadn't recognized her voice.

My trailer, unplated was sitting in storage in Bellingham. Washington State with Sales Tax nearing 10% wanted almost $3000.00 for a plate and Alaska wanted me there in person with trailer for inspection - it would have cost me nearly as much to get it there by ferry or a very long winter drive.

By happenstance, I had to fly to Juneau and so I decided to see this clerk face to face. She told me that by regulations I had to have my trailer there in person so the VIN number could be inspected and verified. I asked why because my import papers showed the Vin and had been stamped by US Customs during import - "Isnt that good enough? Pretty high authority there".

"No you have to being the trailer to an DMV office for inspection (For the fiftieth time)"

I was about ready to leave her desk when a bolt of 'Devine Inspiration' struck me. "Can I see the regulation" It was 5 minutes away from quitting time. (Key point)

She pounded on her key board and scrolled and scrolled and then more keyboard input, followed by three phone calls .... then sheepishly she told me that the regulations had just recently been revised and apparently had omitted the regulation requiring an inspection. Smiling, I said "good .... here is my money and paperwork and I would like my plates please". I got them.

Now interestingly, State of Alaska charges $55.00 annually for registration tags (I forget actual price but this is close). There is no State Sales tax so no additional charges there. We have sales taxes but they are municipal sales taxes and since its the state that regulates vehicles there is no trailer sales tax. Furthermore, If I had wanted to register my trailer as a commercial vehicle (remote office comes to mind) then my registration fee would be a one time charge ($55.00) for as long as I owned the trailer. Wow!

When you go to register, be sure to bring a document called "Point of Origin" (or something near that). This documents that Escape Trailer Industries manufactured your trailer and it is new - not used, and that is what was imported. That document is what made the difference, beside the missing regulations in making me being able to get plates while my trailer was in Washington State and my DMV was in Alaska. Saved me a pile of cash.

Good Luck!

Tom

[Bakes99]

Did the OP ever get his issue sorted?

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by Bakes99

Did the OP ever get his issue sorted?

OP? SORRY THIS POST HAS BEEN HYJACKED BY TRAILER REGISTRATION AND THE ORIGINAL SUBJECT IS NO LONGER RELEVANT....This is why people keep asking the same questions. With all the chatter off topic it is almost impossible to search posts unless you have the internet connection of the Flash and the patience of Job. How about a chat room for friends to "talk"? Or start a new post when the subject changes?