Towing new trailer home

[GreatWhitehunter]

I've towed plenty of new trailers home without registration from the dealer's lot. I was told that the bill of sale is sufficient for the ride home. I've looked on CT's DMV site but found nothing. I'll be driving from Pa through NJ,NY and back into CT. I was planning on just grabbing the plate off my dump trailer and putting it on the new trailer. It's a private sale and appears to be no issue in PA. I know some states have permits that can be bought online for just this issue but it appears CT doesn't. Anyone have any insight on this?

Matt

 

[hrcarver]

Mine came with a dated certificate of origin so I could apply for a title/tags. That would probably buy you a week or so if it had to. The big half of people around here dont bother with tags at all.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Like I said it's a private sale so I'll be getting the title and a bill of sale. The north tends to be a bit more strict on laws than the rest of the country(cali excluded).

Matt

 

[Qapla]

Here in Fl it is legal to move trailer tags from one trailer to another as long as they are in the same weight range - since tag price is determined by weight.

We have more trailers then tags. Never had a problem. But, like you said - I am a bit far from CT when I am pulling a trailer, new or old.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I do this monthly. Never been pulled over and never had a hassle. Carry a bill of sale and do not give them a reason to pull you over.

I have been told by many law officers that they give 10 day grace period. I never put a plate on the trailer. Just carry the paperwork with you.

Chris

 

[lostcause]

around here if the trailer has a serial number that doesn't match the serial number of the trailer that the plates for, then it's called illegal attachment when you put the wrong plates on. granted, you have to get caught for something before it will ever become an issue. i don't know the penalties here, but i think it's as bad, and probably worse than not having a plate at all.

i tend to call or go to a local office to get the answers for things like this. where you're going across multiple states, you're guaranteed that at least one state will have an issue with you not showing registration (if anyone notices).

if you don't get caught, then no harm no foul, but if you do, and get an unsympathetic officer, you could get a fine and have to unhook and have the trailer towed away. then go home and get the trailer registered, go back to where it was impounded, pay the towing and impound fee, then tow it the rest of the way home. that makes for an expensive finish to a new trailer.

i'd call and try to talk to a real person and see if there's a temporary transit plate available in your state.

 

[groundcover]

A good friend of mine got arrested for "mis use of plates" back when we were in school. ( I had to go bale him out !) He borrowed a trailer and the owner had mixed the plates. Probably didn't help that the guy riding with him was throwing snowballs at the light bar of the cop car. :laughing:

 

[yankeerider]

Matt-
I believe the "official" way to do it is to present bill of sale paperwork to the DMV and they will issue you a temp plate to transport the trailer to a DMV office for inspection, after which they will issue permanent plates. That's the way it worked when my father gave me his trailer which had previously been registered in Mass. Of course, things may have changed since then, and they don't seem to inspect as many vehicles as they used to.

 

[2manyrocks]

The drug dealers were using other people's plates on their cars so our beloved TN legislature made it a felony to attach a plate from one vehicle on another without having transferred it officially at the clerks' office.

 

[ultrarunner]

I get a trip permit to make sure I'm OK...

If you buy from a Dealer... the temp registration should be good for 10 days...

A friend trailered his new trailer on his flat-bed because he didn't want to have any problems...

Chances are you will be OK...

You don't know anyone with Dealer Tags you can borrow?

Bought a car in Virginia once... a 1968 Z-28 Camaro and drove it all the way to California on Dealer tags... I got stopped once and had no problem when I provided the Dealer Registration and car paper work.