VIN Location

gilbutler

I decided to check my T@B for the VIN to verify accuracy of my registration. I didn’t find it after several searches of the T@B and this forum, so I sent an email to Scott Hubble and promptly received this response:

"The VIN label is located at two different places on the drivers side of the trailer. The first location is on the black steel frame member of the tongue- below the side of the tub. The second sticker is located on the front lower corner again on the driver side."

 The VIN is not prominent on either label, and I overlooked it as both labels seemed to me to be for other purposes. 

Michigan_Mike

I agree Gil, the VIN number is easy enough to miss.  I was sitting here this evening thinking about a solution for those who would be interested in a permanent fix.  I think one solution would be to go to a pet store and use one of their automated engraving tools that allows people to have a name and address engraved on 4 lines.  It seems you might be able to add "Little Guy - T@B" and then just enter the serial number, followed by a dash if necessary.  That is something I'll look into and see how many characters can be placed onto an aluminum or stainless tag.  

kybob

Thanks for this information, Gil. Buying my camper out of state will require me to go to the sheriff's office so that the can verify the VIN before I can register it in my home state. 

tenkarajunkie

Any chance someone can take a snapshot of these two locations so I can find the easier.  I am buying a 2007 T@B this next Friday and will be buying in AZ and moving to CA and need to make sure I can find these two places to show DMV.  Plus I will want to inspect before I pay the seller too.  ;-)  I can kind of tell by the explanations above but maybe a snapshot of the area might be nicer.  You are welcome to black out the info but doubt the picture would show it anyway if you angle camera right.  ;-)  Thanks!  Tom

gilbutler

Tom,
My unit is in storage.  I won't be able to post pictures until tomorrow, but fear not.  I will post tomorrow unless someone beats me to it.

Gil

tenkarajunkie

Cool, thanks gilbutler!

gilbutler

Tom, 
The VIN stickers are located as described by Scott Hubble in my first posting.  The one on the tongue is pictured in the first two photos below.  The VIN is in small print across the bottom of the gray sticker.  The other sticker is the yellow and white sticker in the third picture and is located on the side of the T@B toward the bottom and near the front.  The VIN is in in small print vertically along the right edge of the sticker.

tenkarajunkie

Thanks!!! That is perfect.  TJ

gilbutler

Tom,
If you are going to register your T@B in California, Check out the following:

The following excerpt is copied from the California DMV California Motor Vehicles Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual Section 14.005 which references the California Vehicle Code and states:

 (BEGIN QUOTE):

 The Following Trailers are registered under the Permanent Trailer Identification (PTI) Program:

 Camp Trailer (CVC §242)

A camp trailer is a vehicle other than a motor vehicle:

•    designed to be towed on the highway,

•    capable of human habitation for camping or recreational purposes,

•    that does not exceed 16 feet in overall length from the foremost point of the trailer hitch to the rear extremity of the trailer body and 96 inches in width.

Where a trailer telescopes for travel, the size shall apply to the trailer as fully extended.

NOTE: Any tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer shall not be considered to be a trailer coach.

 (END of QUOTE)

 The T@B clearly meets the CVC definition for Camp Trailer because:

·      The T@B is not a motor vehicle

·      The T@B is capable of being occupied for camping or recreational purposes. (Webster’s first definition of habitation is occupancy.)

·      The T@B is only 15 feet 2 inches long and 76 inches wide.

 

If you check the DMV table of fees, you will find the initial license fee for a Camp Trailer is about $20.00, Renewable at $20.00 every 5 years.  My T@B was registered as a Coach Trailer with an initial fee of $213, requiring annual registration.  Getting this corrected will be a hassle that should have been avoided..

 If you check the heading California DMV Registration for Tab in the Files section of the Yahoo Group for T@Bs (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/tabtrailers/info?yguid=258858825) you will find additional information, some of which has been updated.

Good luck,

Gil

 

GrandmasKid

To register the Alde heater, Alde is asking for the serial number of my T@B. I started to just type in the VIN, but is there a serial number somewhere? Thanks for any help you can offer.

Ratkity

@GrandmasKid, look under the bench and there's a label on top or on the back side of the Alde unit (depending on the T@B year).

Tommy

gilbutler said:

Tom,
If you are going to register your T@B in California, Check out the following:

The following excerpt is copied from the California DMV California Motor Vehicles Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual Section 14.005 which references the California Vehicle Code and states:

 (BEGIN QUOTE):

 The Following Trailers are registered under the Permanent Trailer Identification (PTI) Program:

 Camp Trailer (CVC §242)

A camp trailer is a vehicle other than a motor vehicle:

•    designed to be towed on the highway,

•    capable of human habitation for camping or recreational purposes,

•    that does not exceed 16 feet in overall length from the foremost point of the trailer hitch to the rear extremity of the trailer body and 96 inches in width.

Where a trailer telescopes for travel, the size shall apply to the trailer as fully extended.

NOTE: Any tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer shall not be considered to be a trailer coach.

 (END of QUOTE)

 The T@B clearly meets the CVC definition for Camp Trailer because:

·      The T@B is not a motor vehicle

·      The T@B is capable of being occupied for camping or recreational purposes. (Webster’s first definition of habitation is occupancy.)

·      The T@B is only 15 feet 2 inches long and 76 inches wide.

 If you check the DMV table of fees, you will find the initial license fee for a Camp Trailer is about $20.00, Renewable at $20.00 every 5 years.  My T@B was registered as a Coach Trailer with an initial fee of $213, requiring annual registration.  Getting this corrected will be a hassle that should have been avoided..

 If you check the heading California DMV Registration for Tab in the Files section of the Yahoo Group for T@Bs (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/tabtrailers/info?yguid=258858825) you will find additional information, some of which has been updated.

Good luck,

Gil

Hi Gil - do you know if the information you laid out above should show up on the title? Our title just says "trailer"

RollingLagrima

No, none of that info is on the title, but much of it is on available and printable from the tab website.  In CA, take your T@B to the CHP for inspection with a copy of the T@B specs printed off the tabrv.com site.  The officer will measure the length and width of the T@B and certify the measurements. Take that signed CHP certification to the DMV. This worked for me.  If you are in some other state, the spec sheet should help answer your state's DMV questions about the T@B.

BohoBelle

This forum is AWESOME! Thanks for the help! Happy Travels!

Hops

Very Helpful. Thank you @gilbutler

Tommy

gilbutler said:

The following excerpt is copied from the California DMV California Motor Vehicles Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual Section 14.005 which references the California Vehicle Code and states:

 (BEGIN QUOTE): 

NOTE: Any tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer shall not be considered to be a trailer coach.

 (END of QUOTE)

 

I'm reviving this year old thread to ask @gilbutler or others a question.

Long story short our dealer completely botched our registration and two years later we are still trying to straighten it out with the DMV. I came back to this thread to show it to my wife and when we compared your quote to the DMV statute (revised 2018) I noticed that there has been a wording change.

In your opinion does this now bolster the position that a Tab's can be designated a camp trailer or does it go in the opposite direction? Could this be them cracking down on small trailer owners registering them as camp trailers?  
Where it said: 
NOTE: Any tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer shall not be considered to be a trailer coach.

Now it says: 
Note: A tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer is not a trailer coach.

8/17/18 - UPDATE - So my wife went to the DMV yesterday armed with printouts of their manual 14.005 as well as the trailer specs. At first the lady at the counter had no idea how to handle it so she called over a supervisor who started putting up a stone wall arguing about the trailer having a bathroom etc. My wife asked to speak with a manager and did. The manager understood the 16' rule clearly and didn't even argue about and agreed to change the registration to "camp trailer" pending DMV inspection. So my rock-star wife ran home and hooked up the trailer and pulled it right back to the DMV and they came out and looked at it and looked at the VIN label, finalized the change. We were issued a new license plate that does not require stickers. The funny part is the key is the trailer length - and they didn't even measure it during the "inspection" (lol) but that's OK it is legitimate 15.2' and fits the DMV description of a "camp trailer."

At this point the DMV owes us approximately $350 of the money back that we just paid fixing the mess the dealer created. We have submitted a request for refund to the DMV and now it's a wait and see what they say.

N7SHG_Ham

I wonder why they don't engrave a much more permanent Vin on the tongue? My Wells Cargo has a metal plate welded to inside of the tongue rail that was machine engraved, very nice and not going to disappear very easily!

Marceline

Tommy said:

gilbutler said:

The following excerpt is copied from the California DMV California Motor Vehicles Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual Section 14.005 which references the California Vehicle Code and states:

 (BEGIN QUOTE): 

NOTE: Any tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer shall not be considered to be a trailer coach.

 (END of QUOTE)

 

I'm reviving this year old thread to ask @gilbutler or others a question.

Long story short our dealer completely botched our registration and two years later we are still trying to straighten it out with the DMV. I came back to this thread to show it to my wife and when we compared your quote to the DMV statute (revised 2018) I noticed that there has been a wording change.

In your opinion does this now bolster the position that a Tab's can be designated a camp trailer or does it go in the opposite direction? Could this be them cracking down on small trailer owners registering them as camp trailers?  
Where it said: 
NOTE: Any tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer shall not be considered to be a trailer coach.

Now it says: 
Note: A tent trailer is a camp trailer. A camp trailer is not a trailer coach.

8/17/18 - UPDATE - So my wife went to the DMV yesterday armed with printouts of their manual 14.005 as well as the trailer specs. At first the lady at the counter had no idea how to handle it so she called over a supervisor who started putting up a stone wall arguing about the trailer having a bathroom etc. My wife asked to speak with a manager and did. The manager understood the 16' rule clearly and didn't even argue about and agreed to change the registration to "camp trailer" pending DMV inspection. So my rock-star wife ran home and hooked up the trailer and pulled it right back to the DMV and they came out and looked at it and looked at the VIN label, finalized the change. We were issued a new license plate that does not require stickers. The funny part is the key is the trailer length - and they didn't even measure it during the "inspection" (lol) but that's OK it is legitimate 15.2' and fits the DMV description of a "camp trailer."

At this point the DMV owes us approximately $350 of the money back that we just paid fixing the mess the dealer created. We have submitted a request for refund to the DMV and now it's a wait and see what they say.

I'm going to try to get my registration changed, too. Are you in the SF Bay Area? If so, which DMV did you go to?

Marceline

RollingLagrima said:

No, none of that info is on the title, but much of it is on available and printable from the tab website.  In CA, take your T@B to the CHP for inspection with a copy of the T@B specs printed off the tabrv.com site.  The officer will measure the length and width of the T@B and certify the measurements. Take that signed CHP certification to the DMV. This worked for me.  If you are in some other state, the spec sheet should help answer your state's DMV questions about the T@B.

Is there some kind of certification sheet or form that you take to the CHP?

DougWW

It took me and two sales people at the dealership to find one of the VIN locations... then we found a typo on the paperwork (switched a letter for an 8). I'll have to look for that second one. Thanks.

RollingLagrima

Marceline said:

RollingLagrima said:

No, none of that info is on the title, but much of it is on available and printable from the tab website.  In CA, take your T@B to the CHP for inspection with a copy of the T@B specs printed off the tabrv.com site.  The officer will measure the length and width of the T@B and certify the measurements. Take that signed CHP certification to the DMV. This worked for me.  If you are in some other state, the spec sheet should help answer your state's DMV questions about the T@B.

Is there some kind of certification sheet or form that you take to the CHP?

No, you take the actual T@B to CHPnwith a printout from then T@B/NuCamp website that shows the dimensions of the trailer. They in turn give you a certification that you take to DMV.

kaylevine1

i would think the vin is listed on your tag registration which I have put with my vehicle registration in the cab of my truck

kaylevine1

it was also listed on my purchase paperwork from the dealer

mreric

If you are in CA...  I just went to AAA.   They did the whole registration there and even issue plates.

Tommy

mreric said:

If you are in CA...  I just went to AAA.   They did the whole registration there and even issue plates.

Did they register it correctly as a 'permanent trailer' ($25 per year) or wrongly as a 'travel trailer' at $200+ per year? Just curious.

mreric

Tommy said:

mreric said:

If you are in CA...  I just went to AAA.   They did the whole registration there and even issue plates.

Did they register it correctly as a 'permanent trailer' ($25 per year) or wrongly as a 'travel trailer' at $200+ per year? Just curious.

yes,  is 20 bucks every 5 years... no yearly registration

Marceline

mreric said:

Tommy said:

mreric said:

If you are in CA...  I just went to AAA.   They did the whole registration there and even issue plates.

Did they register it correctly as a 'permanent trailer' ($25 per year) or wrongly as a 'travel trailer' at $200+ per year? Just curious.

yes,  is 20 bucks every 5 years... no yearly registration

Were you registering a new trailer or were you registering a used trailer?
If you were registering a used trailer did it already have the permanent trailer designation or was it originally registered as a regular travel trailer ($$$). 
I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out if AAA can handle the paperwork for changing the designation of a T@B that currently doesn't have a permanent license plate. 

Tommy

Marceline said:

Were you registering a new trailer or were you registering a used trailer?
If you were registering a used trailer did it already have the permanent trailer designation or was it originally registered as a regular travel trailer ($$$). 
I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out if AAA can handle the paperwork for changing the designation of a T@B that currently doesn't have a permanent license plate. 

In our experience of getting ours changed from travel trailer to permanent trailer we went straight to the DMV and it was still challenging. We went through a window clerk, a supervisor and finally got to a manager who was able to understand the situation and correct it for us. We did still have to go home and get the trailer and bring it back for inspection which turned out to be kind of a joke - but we played along and were able to turn in our stickered plate and come home with a permanent plate. The refund was received later after we had to mail in a written request for refund form to the DMV.

Marceline

I went to the CA DMV (Petaluma) today and managed to get my title changed from "trailer coach" (CCH) to "camper trailer" (CMP) and got my Permanent Trailer tag. The woman at the front desk was skeptical but the guy ("Mike") who checked my trailer said that he had seen a T@B before and he didn't try to dissuade me. He measured it at 15' which is a foot less than the 16' maximum for PTI. The only SNAFU was that I had failed to remember the information in this thread about the location of the VIN. I did eventually find it inconveniently located under my spare tire mount on the tongue. So if you attempt this be sure that you know where the VIN is, and that it's accessible. 

jkjenn

Just to clarify, is the VIN stamped somewhere or only a sticker? In PA they want you to do a tracing of the VIN.

Denny16

The Vin No, is only on the two stickers, so a photo should suffice.
In Calif., the Camp Trailer designation only applies to the TaB300 series, not the TaB400, which is longer than 16-feet.  

Cheers