Utah Escape Registration 2021

MikeRusson · 03-08-2021, 03:28 PM

Hey gang,

Are there any Escape owners who could offer me information regarding Escape registration in Utah? I just picked up my new 21C and I am ready to register it. Thanks to anyone who may be able to help. Thanks!

Dave & Penny Smith · 03-08-2021, 05:37 PM

Mike:

Welcome to the family of Escape owners! We purchased our 17B back in 2015 and have really enjoyed it. I don't remember any particular difficulty in registering it (other than the pain of having to pay the sales tax). As I recall, Utah does require a completed form TC-661 (which you can print on-line at the UT Tax Commission's website). This is a Certificate of Inspection which we had mailed to Escape and they had completed for us--we picked it up when we picked up the trailer. Take your bill of sale with you.

Good luck and enjoy your trailer!
Dave

kavm · 03-08-2021, 08:19 PM

Very helpful, Dave! We are picking up our Escape 5.0TA in Sumas, WA in about 2.5 months. So, this will help us as well.

Just looked up TC-661. Is Escape able to fill it out as a dealer?

Do you have information about temporary plates for our drive from Sumas, WA to Utah?

Dave & Penny Smith · 03-09-2021, 09:34 AM

Kavm:

We were able to complete the registration and get the plates in SLC before we went to Canada to pick up the trailer. Escape mailed us the Tax Commission form and we visited the DMV office (in Draper) just over a month before our pick-up date.

Dave

kavm · 03-09-2021, 09:38 AM

Thanks a lot, Dave! That is very helpful indeed! I have been wondering about how to do this. Seemed like a chicken-and-egg problem. We will try for exactly this same route.

Many thanks!

kavm · 04-23-2021, 06:36 PM

Mike -

Did you register your Escape?

We just came back from DMV. We were there to get plates and registration for our new truck. We asked the person serving us what the process might be. What she told us was a bit disconcerting.

She said - no way could we ask temporary plates from Utah before we bring the camper to Utah for VIN inspection. She advised us to get 96-hour permit from the State of WA. That doesn't really work as we weren't planning to deal with state of WA or getting back to Utah in anywhere near 96 hours of pickup in Sumas, WA. She said that there is a lot of paperwork for a camper being imported from Canada. I said we had heard that we could get the plates with Bill of Sale and TC-661, and she said no - and told us again to look for paperwork requirements on the DMV site. I haven't had much luck there...

So, we are a bit concerned about being legal as we drive back to Utah.

I am hoping we got someone more complicated but am not sure. I did mention that the camper is manufactured in Canada - and it is possible that that complicated the response. She issued the plates and registration for the new truck to us, so was hopefully qualified to answer this question.

cpaharley2008 · 04-24-2021, 08:44 AM

I am not aware of any owner of a new Escape being stopped on their way home for failure to have a tag on their trailer. If it does happen it has not been mentioned here. If you have another trailer that you can transfer tags from then carry them with you as a back up plan, other wise some have to wait until state inspections upon registrations.

gbaglo · 04-24-2021, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

If you have another trailer that you can transfer tags from then carry them with you as a back up plan

Which would compound your problems if you were stopped by authorities.

cpaharley2008 · 04-24-2021, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Which would compound your problems if you were stopped by authorities.

I did not say to use them, but have them in possession in case you are stopped, you can then ask, "well are these good enough until I get home", and see what the response is.....

kavm · 04-24-2021, 10:35 AM

Thank you! That’s what we will likely have to do. I have made an appointment with the DMV the day before we leave to see if we might get a less stringent associate who could either give us the plates on the basis of the Bill of Sale and Utah TC-661 (VIN verification) or temporary plates.

We don’t have any other trailer, so taking other tags doesn’t work. One of the reasons I am interested in having something official is that we are taking the long route back - WA ferry, WA coast, Hoh rain forest, Oregon coast, Redwood NP before starting for Utah. We obviously hope not to commit any violations but this the first time we will be pulling the trailer.

UncleTim · 04-24-2021, 11:05 AM

Our state is different and I did the drive with no plates in deep Covid times. A time when no cops wanted to pull anyone over. I drove the whole way home (3 days) and then did a 600 mile trip (in state), out of frustration and got away with it. But Colorado is quite different than Utah. I could not get plates before hand. I did try.

A number of cops saw me and none of them pulled me over. A few followed me. You may not get away with it, and I am not taking any blame if you do get caught, but I did. My paperwork was pretty easy, just totally expensive.

Generally I'm not a law breaker.

kavm · 04-24-2021, 11:16 AM

Thanks for sharing. I am trying to keep it legal. I have communicated with ETI and expect them to provide all the paperwork that they can in advance. I will approach our DMV with that the day before we leave for Bellingham/Sumas. Will see how it goes. I was mainly reporting that the DMV clerk we saw yesterday was very discouraging...

UncleTim · 04-24-2021, 06:28 PM

My guess is you end up making a commando run.

Good luck Kavm, and remember to enjoy your trip. It will all work out.

Centex · 04-24-2021, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleTim

My guess is you end up making a commando run.

I know I will be, given the sequence of requirements to get a Texas license plate for new trailers manufactured in a 'foreign' country.

Honestly I've got no worries about LEO's that may be 'interested' in my 'commando' trailer along the way, I've always found them to be a reasonable bunch of folks when calmly presented with rational explanation and reasonable documentation.

For me it's the minor concern that my insurance company might 'gig me' on a technicality if the worst were to happen, I've much less faith in the reasonableness of big sureties than LEO's. But I've got my agent running that to ground already, with plenty of time to figure it out ....

Yep, I'm sure it'll all work out just fine for both kavm and myself, as it has for countless before us

UncleTim · 04-24-2021, 07:08 PM

Keep your paper work handy along with your bill of sale.

That speaks volumes.

kavm · 04-24-2021, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centex

I know I will be, given the sequence of requirements to get a Texas license plate for new trailers manufactured in a 'foreign' country.

Honestly I've got no worries about LEO's that may be 'interested' in my 'commando' trailer along the way, I've always found them to be a reasonable bunch of folks when calmly presented with rational explanation and reasonable documentation.

For me it's the minor concern that my insurance company might 'gig me' on a technicality if the worst were to happen, I've much less faith in the reasonableness of big sureties than LEO's. But I've got my agent running that to ground already, with plenty of time to figure it out ....

Yep, I'm sure it'll all work out just fine for both kavm and myself, as it has for countless before us

I too hope so. I am not too concerned about the insurance company playing games with us. They are quite good, and we have been with it for a very long time and have home, auto and umbrella policies. When we bought the truck, they just needed the VIN number and the start of coverage. We were assured of coverage.

I did look around for alternatives. The state of WA is happy to give out a 96-hour permit, but our plan is to drive the WA and OR coast before coming home in about 2 weeks. We aren’t about to throw in the towel on at this time.

The DMV registered our truck, bought out of the state, without doing a VIN inspection. They accepted a VIN certification from the out-of-state dealer. Accepting one from an out-of-country dealer/manufacturer is a bigger leap seemed like Dave and Penny Smith were successful in that. So, we are going to try this route...

RangerMan · 04-25-2021, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centex

I know I will be, given the sequence of requirements to get a Texas license plate for new trailers manufactured in a 'foreign' country.

Honestly I've got no worries about LEO's that may be 'interested' in my 'commando' trailer along the way, I've always found them to be a reasonable bunch of folks when calmly presented with rational explanation and reasonable documentation.

For me it's the minor concern that my insurance company might 'gig me' on a technicality if the worst were to happen, I've much less faith in the reasonableness of big sureties than LEO's. But I've got my agent running that to ground already, with plenty of time to figure it out ....

Yep, I'm sure it'll all work out just fine for both kavm and myself, as it has for countless before us

Try a different office. The Kingsville DMV needed my bill of sale and mfg origin and I was gone in 15 min with my plate and a much lighter wallet.

Neither of us brought up the country of origin. It sometimes seems as tho Texas DMV's operate on their own rules.

Many here from TX have commented on this.

TTMartin · 04-25-2021, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centex

I know I will be, given the sequence of requirements to get a Texas license plate for new trailers manufactured in a 'foreign' country.

The Escape Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin states that the trailer meets all U.S. and Canadian standards on the date of manufacture. Point that out if your DMV starts going down that it's made in Canada rabbit hole.

kavm · 04-25-2021, 08:22 AM

@TTMartin - That’s helpful. I think the DMV person we spoke with got spooked by made in/imported from Canada part. I was planing not to bring that up - but this certificate would be a much better solution.

DanandDaphne · 04-25-2021, 09:10 AM

Also try a different DMV office.

In Colorado it seems like a free for all as to what they will or won't do. The DMV is handled by county clerks offices in less populated areas of Colorado and there is a lot variability as to what they will or wont do.

Here in Ouray county they won't issue temporary tags for any reason. Over the hill in San Miguel county thy will issue temporary tags for up to three months with
nothing more than a VIN number.

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