Utah Escape Registration 2021

[sherminator]

Originally Posted by kavm

...we have to drive back home from Bob's Burger without temporary plates.

Oregon does not require registraion (license plates) on utility trailers below (I think) 2000 GVWR, and my old tent trailer was of a style that legitimately could be classified as a utility trailer under that weight, so I never registered it. I drove it for 9 years and thousands of miles in the states of OR, WA, CA, ID, MT, WY, and the nation of Mexico without once being stopped by a LEO. I think the chances of you being stopped are small. If you should be stopped, you will have enough documentation to back up your story, and since only your home state stands to get any revenue from registration, I doubt you would be ticketed.

Of course, any ticket would be paid for by you and not me, and my opinion is only worth what you paid for it.

[kavm]

Thanks a lot! That is very good to know. May be we are unreasonably nervous as as it is our first time pulling a trailer. Or, it is the luck of the draw. Only time will tell. We try hard to stay on the legal side, so we will definitely be nervous until we have official temporary or permanent plates. If we can secure the WA plates (even for 3 days), it will help to establish that we are making an effort.

So, we plan to try for that - though the pathway to obtaining it is still foggy... I know Lyden offers it but we are driving to a little East of Anacortes on the Memorial Day and are on the lookout for DMV more accessible from there on June 1.

[Chamberman]

This is along the lines of what Sherminator proposed. Here in Texas many years ago I converted an old small utility trailer I bought used locally into a jet ski trailer. I went down and got plates by telling them it was a homemade utility trailer. Which in a way it sort of was. It definitely looked Homemade. Anyway, Homemade trailers have no VIN or origin certificates but they need plates all the same. I believe I told them it had a 750lb capacity and they sold me plates for it no problem. The big thing comes down to what are your states requirements for a homemade trailer? If it would require a visual inspection then you're out of luck.

The state of Texas has a temporary plate program for up to 30days on trailers. If it weren't for that then when the time comes I'd probably go down and apply for a homemade trailer tag just for peace of mind for the cross country trip home.

[Donna D.]

I'm with Sherm and any others that think you're worrying needlessly. You wouldn't be the first, nor the last that have taken possession of an Escape trailer at the border and drove home... sometimes taking weeks, without a license plate nor temp tag. I don't remember reading about anyone that was stopped and ticketed under those circumstances.

You need to know, getting what you need in Oregon may be arduous. Oregon DMV was shut down for a very long time during the pandemic and are backed up for months! It's so bad they've changed how people go about getting a driver's license, etc. You may need to make an appointment to even go inside a DMV office. Yes, you may have better luck in a smaller town like Tillamook, but don't count on it.

But like Sherm said "Of course, any ticket would be paid for by you and not me, and my opinion is only worth what you paid for it"

[kavm]

Chamberman - Thank you so much for sharing that. I have given up on trying to obtain temporary tags from state now as I don't really have enough to approach them with in a credible way. So, my revised plan is:

• If all goes to plan, we might be able to reach a WA-state licensing agency on Friday, April 28th. There, we will get a 3-day permit starting May 31. That will mean that bulk of our travel (May 31 to June 2) in WA is covered by this permit. We will try to see if we can buy a second permit for the following days. The later part of our travel in WA is on the Western WA coast and the chance of being stopped is lesser, particularly as we will have a WA permit displayed.
• Now that I have a plan for WA, I am starting research into Oregon DMV and their temporary tags. They issue a 10-day tag. So, if we can get that, we are covered till our return home. We can then take the camper to the DMV and put this issue to bed.

PS to Donna: Your post came when I was writing this response. Thank you for sharing. Like your disclaimer says, the risk is ours and we would prefer to minimize if to the extent we can.