The cartopper days are done, picked up a trailer yesterday. It’s a 14-footer, no serial number, no branding, nothing. The seller was pushing 80 and said he never registered it because he barely took it off his property.
Other than this form, does anyone have any advice for getting this registered in Minnesota? I paid very little for it so I’m not too worried. I could get fined several times and still have less into it than the cost of a new one.
Good luck at the DMV. They have made this a nightmare unless you have a copy of the steel order and CAD drawings for a trailer that was actually fabricated by you. In this case- why register it when you are just ‘borrowing’ it from your uncle from WI for a few weeks?
Good luck at the DMV. They have made this a nightmare unless you have a copy of the steel order and CAD drawings for a trailer that was actually fabricated by you. In this case- why register it when you are just ‘borrowing’ it from your uncle from WI for a few weeks?
You think registration is a nightmare? If/when the “borrowed” trailer is involved in a major accident, then the nightmare will be real. The accident doesn’t have to be your fault and no one can control the actions of other drivers.
IMHO,,,,,,, too big of a risk not to comply with the laws and regulations.
Could you make a drawing and say that you built it? seems like an easy solution. Its not like you need to bring the trailer there to register it.
It’s been a few years but my Wisconsin boat came with a Shorelander trailer, no apparent numbers. It was registered in Minneota as “home-made” without problem .Good luck.
Go outside the metro area and tell them you built it. They make ask you for pictures of 3 sides. I did the same deal you did and had zero issues. In and out in 5-10 minutes.
I just registered a boat trailer I bought from a guy and said it was homemade took less than 10 minutes at the DMV showed pictures off my cell phone super easy
I went to Chisago Lakes DMV so outside of the Cities
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Alagnak Pete wrote:</div>
Good luck at the DMV. They have made this a nightmare unless you have a copy of the steel order and CAD drawings for a trailer that was actually fabricated by you. In this case- why register it when you are just ‘borrowing’ it from your uncle from WI for a few weeks?You think registration is a nightmare? If/when the “borrowed” trailer is involved in a major accident, then the nightmare will be real. The accident doesn’t have to be your fault and no one can control the actions of other drivers.
IMHO,,,,,,, too big of a risk not to comply with the laws and regulations.
I’m not recommending you go unregistered but having an unregistered anything does warrant automatic guilty plea…but you will have penalties and fees. Same thing with uninsured. Laws still apply to both parties.
I’m in a similar situation, which DMV did you go to? 86 bayliner with matching trailer but no VIN sticker and not scribed anywhere.
I bought a homemade trailer from a guy at a garage sale. Went into DMV in Brainerd, told them I had bought a homemade trailer at a sale and wanted to get lifetime license. They asked me how much I paid, I told them, they got my info, figured out what I owed and I was out the door in 15 minutes with my license. They were easy to deal with and pleasant. Good people!
I have registered 3 more ” home made trailers ” since my last post on here back in 2018. Still as easy as it used to be.
I bought a homemade trailer from a guy at a garage sale. Went into DMV in Brainerd, told them I had bought a homemade trailer at a sale and wanted to get lifetime license. They asked me how much I paid, I told them, they got my info, figured out what I owed and I was out the door in 15 minutes with my license. They were easy to deal with and pleasant. Good people!
Brainerd, this is what a Independently owned DMV looks like… happy helpful people !
Since my poor experiences years ago at the horrible Lakeville DMV I have been using an independent one in Apple Valley with great experiences. I had honestly thought they were all the same and full of people that hated the world because that is all I had known at the time!
Sounds like you guys are lucky in Brainerd too.
I can tell you that a trailer that is under 3000# gross weight can be registered as a homeade trailer no problem. whatever you say you paid for the parts are what you get charged for sales tax. If its over 3000# get pictures of all 4 sides and use the same form. No special metal or cad drawings are required. DO NOT say you reused anything with a vin number on it. And I agree go out of the cities to do it. It’s not hard, and the service has nothing to do with being private orgs or public, more to do with the employees attitudes.
Since my poor experiences years ago at the horrible Lakeville DMV I have been using an independent one in Apple Valley with great experiences. I had honestly thought they were all the same and full of people that hated the world because that is all I had known at the time!
Sounds like you guys are lucky in Brainerd too.
My wife worked there for several years, I’ll pass on the compliment.
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