5th Wheel plate and Insurance

[nick the greek]

Would any one have info on plating and insuring a trailer bought used and stored in Texas by a Canadian?
Thinking of doing this instead of dragging ours down south for the winters.

[Howard Kelly]

I looked into this and was told I would have to buy insurance and plate in the state where the unit was stored. Have not stored my unit in the states but will this next spring.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If the RV is permanently out of Canada and kept in Texas, both your home province and Texas are going to insist that it be plated and insured in Texas.  I don't know about costs or procedure for a nonresident, though.

[nick the greek]

We're thinking of buying a unit in Texas, touring some and storing it there in off season.
I can't find ANY information on the net - Texas DMV etc.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What is it you cannot find? There are forms and instructions online, though admittedly there are few instructions that address the specifics for a non-resident owner. Here is one that might help a bit. If you buy in Texas, the dealer will help with the title and registration process, but you may need some sort of Texas address for Texas legal documents.

http://ftp.txdmv.gov/pub/txdot-info/vtr/motor_vehicle_reg_manual.pdf

You will probably have to call a Texas DMV office to find out if your non-Texas address and non-Texas driving license ID can be used on the various application forms for a Texas vehicle title and registration (plate). Since they are adjacent to Mexico, they probably have some experience with this sort of thing. Make it clear the vehicle involved will be a camping trailer and not a motorized vehicle. The paperwork will be somewhat different.



A trailer does not require insurance because it is not a motor vehicle. Any insurance will be whatever you desire for your own protection, e.g. fire, theft, storm damage, etc. The tow vehicle will have liability insurance that covers any damage done by the trailer while underway.

[Rancher Will]

I cannot comment on license plating. However, among insurance policies you might consider Good Sam (GMAC) RV insurance. We know that with Good Sam (GMAC) RV insurance we get a discount on our premium everytime the RV is parked and not used on the road for any length of time. Then when we take it out I just call GMAC and the full travel insurance is back in place until I again call and notify that it is parked.

[Alfa38User]

We bought and plated our trailer in Florida where it lives on a permanent basis. We simply renew the plate each year as we would a car at home. We were unable to insure it in Southwest Florida at the time of purchase because of the hurricane threat as it is tied down and not 'movable'. That may have changed by now,  but I have not tried again recently. We are non-residents but we do own the property at the address where the trailer is registered.

Our household insurance in Canada will NOT consider a blanket policy for liability alone since we have it registered there.

I don't think Texas will be much different except for, perhaps the insurance aspect. You might be stopped and questioned at one point about towing a Texas plated trailer with a Canadian registered vehicle but it should be a non-issue AFIK.