Trailer without a title

dieselfuelonly

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Well, the last trailer I was looking at never worked out. Recently I found another trailer that I really like, its very heavy duty and looks to be exactly what I need.

I called the seller, he seemed like a decent older guy and was up front with me about it not having a title. He said it would be about $80 to get one for it.

Would it be stupid to pick this trailer up without getting a title for it?
 
no, unlike cars, trailers are pretty easy to get new titles for. you need to make sure it has no serial numbers on it, manufacturers name, etc. though. or, if it does, make sure you can remove them. you might just get a bill of sale from the seller to prove that you paid for it and what the amount was, but even that's not really needed.

if it's a trailer that was manufactured by a company or has been previously titled, you're in a bit of a gray area. technically and legally, you're supposed to follow the proper avenues to get a replacement/duplicate title from the last person it was titled to. that can be a pain if not impossible unless the person is readily available. however, you can easily play "dumb" and pass it off as a trailer that's never been titled before. it's next to impossible to not be successful. even if by some miracle you screw it up, all they'll do is deny your application. so, if you have knowledge it's been titled in the past, i guess it becomes a moral judgement call. do the means justify the ends so to speak. personally, i have no problem with it. the same goals are still reached either way. the state still gets their money, you've done the "right" thing by making it legal, you're able to register/tag it, it's able to be identified in the event it's stolen, and you're able to pass it off to a new owner in the future with no problems.

so, the process is as follows: you'll go to the dmv and tell them you have a custom/homebuilt trailer and you need to get it titled. they will give you a number and some paperwork to fill out. you will have to stamp or use weld beads to put the number on the trailer. they'll tell you where to put it. then, you'll carry the trailer and your paperwork to a dmv facility that has an officer (license place, weigh station, whatever) or anywhere you can find a state trooper. they will inspect it to make sure it's legal/roadworthy, check to make sure there are no existing serial/id numbers, and make sure you have put the new number on correctly. if all is well, they'll sign off on your paperwork. it's submitted to the dmv, you pay your title/tag fees, and you'll get your new title in a week or two.
 
^^^ Thats pretty much it. They will more than likely require you to put the VIN on one of the axles and the tongue.

I have a set of stamps and can stamp them pretty easy for you. I've done many trailers with them in the past and am in Greenville.
 
If you value your time at all it seems to me like $80 to get the title would be a deal. If it were me I'd just pay the $80 and make him produce the title. There certainly are other ways to do it, but they all cost time and aggravation.
 
dieselfuelonly said:
Well, the last trailer I was looking at never worked out. Recently I found another trailer that I really like, its very heavy duty and looks to be exactly what I need.
I called the seller, he seemed like a decent older guy and was up front with me about it not having a title. He said it would be about $80 to get one for it.
Would it be stupid to pick this trailer up without getting a title for it?
Click to expand...

I know all the other stuff is good and all but make sure the trailer is not HOT and the old man took it from someone or it was from someplace he worked.
Cover your ass. If not and you cut the vin number off and some how they find it or know you did it then its just like if you steal a car and do the same.
What I'm getting at is, he should have a good reason for not having it and will do a BOS on it and add a picture on the BOS.
 
Damn... this puts me in a bit of a bind here.

What would you all do in my position?

Its a very nice trailer for a good price.

As far as I can tell, everything seems legitimate. However, I can't guarantee that, you just never know.

The trailer is a little past Asheville, and I'm on the outskirts of Chapel Hill, so I'm making a four hour trip one way. By no means would I drive four hours just to go look at something, if I head out there I am planning to buy it and bring it home with me.

Would it be stupid to go through with it?
 
rockcity said:
^^^ They will more than likely require you to put the VIN on one of the axles and the tongue.

quote]

The VIN on the tongue and axle is positively required. We just had one that was "Home-Built" inspected. All they looked for was the VIN #'s, good tires, lights and made sure the bed wasn't rotted out. Pretty painless actually.

HTH.
Click to expand...
 
To get it inspected, they will only look for the numbers on axle and tongue. Most won't crawl under to see if the numbers are on the axle, but I would do it anyway. Lights are not required to get it inspected IF, you can see the tow rigs lights from behind. Although, I do highly recommend it having them as most of the time you can not see the lights if you have something on the trailer. They will look for condition of tires, and welds. Just to make sure it's safe. Safety chains and coupler lock of some type is also required I think, not sure.

If you want to make sure there are no ramifications to you, I would make out a bill of sale and have it notarized. Since you have seen the trailer through pics, I would print a picture or two out on the same paper you have the bill of sale on. That way should there ever be an issue, the seller can't say it was a different trailer you bought from them.

Good luck
 
Thanks for the tips everyone.

I got the trailer today. What a long drive. I drove from Chapel Hill to Waynesville and then back, about 4 hours and 20 minutes each way.

I almost talked myself out of it this morning when I woke up, but knew I would regret not getting it.

Its a really nice trailer. Its honestly the heaviest built 18' trailer I've ever seen. It has a 16' deck and a 2' dovetail. 16" wheels, 8 lug axles. I don't know exactly how much its rated for, but I'm sure its a lot. It has a diamond plate deck too, no wood to rot. Tires are somewhat decent, but the rear set will probably need to be replaced in the next little while, but they aren't too bad. I just like the fact that you can fit standard truck tires on it.

"Of course" it had the old small-style 6-pin connector, and an adapter to connect it to the larger 7-pin RV style connectors like on my truck. "Of course" this completely FAILS and I was dragging the trailer around with the brakes locked up for about 15 feet. I messed around with the adapter for a few, but ended up just clipping the wire that went to the brakes and just left it at that since all the lights were working fine and drove it back that way.

I'll just cut everything off and put a new 7-pin RV style connector on there tomorrow maybe.

It also has a pintle hitch, so I got pintle hitch and a plate that you can adjust the height of the hitch at Northern Tool - then you just stick that in the standard receiver and it works great. I really liked how easy it was to hook up the trailer. There is almost zero "play" that gives a shock when starting or stopping, only a very tiny amount thats barely noticeable.

Only thing that does need to be looked into is the hub on the left rear side - it was running hot. The brakes weren't dragging, and thankfully it didn't get hot enough to seize anything up, but I couldn't keep my hand on it for more than a second or so. All of the others were cool as could be.

Other than a little wiring (one of the brakes is disconnected I think, and a couple lights need covers), repacking the bearings and getting new seals and stuff, it should be good to go. I'll get some pics tomorrow. I'm just glad I finally found one I liked.
 
Digging this one up from the dead. Does anyone have access to the stamps needed to put the NCX-xxxx number on the tongue and axle? I live in Charlotte, but travel to the eastern part of the state and even to the obx and Wilmington area frequently. Boat trailer is located in fayetteville area currently.
704-277-99forsix
 
ProbablyBroke said:
Digging this one up from the dead. Does anyone have access to the stamps needed to put the NCX-xxxx number on the tongue and axle? I live in Charlotte, but travel to the eastern part of the state and even to the obx and Wilmington area frequently. Boat trailer is located in fayetteville area currently.
704-277-99forsix
Click to expand...
Stamps are cheap. Harbor freight, northern tool, amazon, grainger,...ect.
 
ProbablyBroke said:
Digging this one up from the dead. Does anyone have access to the stamps needed to put the NCX-xxxx number on the tongue and axle? I live in Charlotte, but travel to the eastern part of the state and even to the obx and Wilmington area frequently. Boat trailer is located in fayetteville area currently.
704-277-99forsix
Click to expand...
Like warrior said. They are cheap. This is what i used.

Number Stampers & Number Stamping Sets
 
I know this is a old thread but I too have a trailer I bought with no title from a friend in SC where no title or plate is required. I do not plan to title or tag it and if stopped I am just borrowing it from my friend in SC. Now if I hand not know him I would definitely get a bill of sell with the description and I would have to feel good about the deal and prolly stay under 2,000.00. Plus a lot of people just never tag there trailers and over the years loose there certification of origin from the manufacturer
 
why not just do it and be done. It's not that hard. I see a bill of sale,some numbers,a visit to a LEO for verification and signed off,go get perm. tag, DONE! Not sweat having to explain why or why not and that aggravation means a less stresfull time traveling.
 
I followed your posted and would like to know if you really got the title/tag for your trailer? I am in a similar situation where I purchased an old trailer from a flea market. The seller signed the title and gave it to me and I paid him cash. It was about 5 years ago and I didn't need to use the trailer until now. I brought the title to DMV and tried to transfer to my name but they didn't do that because the seller didn't sign it in front of the notary. I didn't have the bill of sale either. Now I have no way to contact that guy. The only option I have left is to do a bond process and I don't know how easy it is. I am not sure if you could share some insight.
Thanks,
Dave
 
davedttn said:
I followed your posted and would like to know if you really got the title/tag for your trailer? I am in a similar situation where I purchased an old trailer from a flea market. The seller signed the title and gave it to me and I paid him cash. It was about 5 years ago and I didn't need to use the trailer until now. I brought the title to DMV and tried to transfer to my name but they didn't do that because the seller didn't sign it in front of the notary. I didn't have the bill of sale either. Now I have no way to contact that guy. The only option I have left is to do a bond process and I don't know how easy it is. I am not sure if you could share some insight.
Thanks,
Dave
Click to expand...

The OP hasn't been on the board for over three years, so not sure how much help he will be lol. Hopefully someone else can chime in about the bond process, but I can't recall anyone posting that they have done it recently.

Duane
 
Doesn't everyone know at least one person who will notarize basically anything? Just get it stamped and you'll be fine. Sometimes the means justify the ends.
 
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