RV and towed-car registered in different states???

Hi everybody,

Anyone think there's any legal issue with having your RV and car registered in different states? For instance does this give a state trooper a reason to pull you over? We bought the RV in Illinois and are going to start full timing in a month. We planned on using MyRVMail mail forwarding service which would give us a Florida address. We were going to get our new licenses and car registered in Florida (Illinois has a crazy tax for registering leased vehicles that will cost us rough $1,000) The original plan was to register the RV in Florida as well so everything is neat. The RV insurance is quite a bit more expensive in Florida and we've already paid Illinois registration as just purchased the vehicle there a month ago.

Does anybody here have any insight in the matter?

Thanks,
Brett

I don't believe there is any law against that, but as a fulltimer, I would think once you tell the cop you are living full time in the MH, all would be well.  My experience with cops, and as a truck driver, I have several encounters with them every year, is that if you use your "yes sir/mam," do what they say when they say it while move slowly, and always keep your hands where they can see them, it's not really a problem.  Most of them are very nice, just doing their job, and if you make them very comfortable during the stop, instead of a ticket you'll just get a warning, sometimes verbal, sometimes on paper.  I've had a headlight go out on me an he was going to write me a ticket and I showed him both a replacement headlight and tool with which to change it, and he let me go.  He did tell me to take it to the next exit to change it.  But he could have given me a ticket.  I've found the nicer I am to them, the better they are with me.  So I no longer worry about getting stopped.

Well, here in Texas we have the "Escapees" which has a mail service and lets you use their address.  For my MH it's like $100 to register it and my PU and MC (1300cc, not sure if that matters) are both under $60.  My MH insurance here is about $1,000 a year, and I carry 300,000/500,000 limits, as well as my unit is not parked at my house which also increases my premiums.  And no income taxes here in Texas.

Nothing at all illegal about that, but any anomaly may inspire a LEO to take a closer look at you. That combination might mean you are delivering an RV to a dealer or out-of-state buyer (and thus come under commercial rules), or maybe a repo guy, or some other situation that warrants a closer look.

So yeah, statistically there is probably a slightly greater chance of getting stopped for a routine look-see. Worth worrying over? I don't think so.

Probably the biggest question it might raise is whether you've registered in different states to escape paying legitimate taxes.  Tax evasion is always a red flag so you don't want to do anything to raise that question.  If your driver's license is from another state that could be an additional red flag.  If it were me, I'd get everything registered in the same state which is the one where you claim domicile.  Keep in mind that all states are looking for ways to raise money and fines are a favorite target.  Moreover, because of computerization, the states can easily compare names and data so you don't want to tell one state one thing and another state something else.

ArdraF

If it was illegal truck drivers would have a hard time getting anywhere. Very few have tractor and trailer with the same state tags

The biggest problem is not the state trooper but the state treasurer.. If you have an RV registered in selected states known for low tax rates and a car registered in the state on your driver's license,  you home state may think you cheated on your taxes (don't it feel good) and that is not something you should.. Get away with.

And compared to the state trooper,, The state treasure is a very nasty person.

If it was illegal truck drivers would have a hard time getting anywhere. Very few have tractor and trailer with the same state tags

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This is like comparing apples to oranges.  Sorry, but I don't think the issues are similar.  Commercial vs. private.  We know of cases where individual owners have run into this exact problem, e.g. tax evasion, and were prosecuted.

ArdraF

The State of Washington used to (And probably still does) stop all RVs with a Washington toad and out of state RV to check your residency in the state for tax reasons.

What will raise the cops eyebrows is your name on the drivers license from one state and your name on the registration from another state.

Bill

Wizard46 said:

If it was illegal truck drivers would have a hard time getting anywhere. Very few have tractor and trailer with the same state tags

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In the case of trucking companies it often happens the tractor and trailer may well have different owners, or the company has offices and thus property in multiple states, So that does not apply.

If the tractor and trailer have only one owner, and they are only in one state then that state's tags will be on both.

One of the advantages of the SEMI type truck is the ability to "Drop and add" a trailer that is the tractor that drops it at the dock for loading, may well not be the one that delivers the goods. and yet another tractor can pull it away empty from that dock.. Normally, one tractor one trailer applies, drop and add is still common.

What will raise the cops eyebrows is your name on the drivers license from one state and your name on the registration from another state.

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Exactly, and the different license plates may trigger the inquiry that leads up to that. It's not illegal to have multiple residences and vehicles titled/registered at each, but you may have to do some explaining. Especially at the Washington/Oregon border, as Jeff mentioned, though I doubt if they care if neither vehicle has a Washington plate.

When we first bought the VW, it had California plates and our MH had Oregon plates. While chatting with a vacationing CHP officer at a California state park, he said that particular combination could raise a question.

The prior owner of our home had California plates on his cars and Oregon plates on his coach. They were spotted by a CHP officer, and he reportedly had to pay back fees for the years his coach was registered in OR.

Tom said:

The prior owner of our home had California plates on his cars and Oregon plates on his coach. They were spotted by a CHP officer, and he reportedly had to pay back fees for the years his coach was registered in OR.

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I know this has happened a lot in Ca. People had to pay huge sums for back registrations.

In Minnesota it is illegal to have them different. Your drivers license and vehicle registrations all have to be registered where you live within 30 days of moving. I'd renewed my license 8 months before I moved, so I didn't want to go get a new one. When I renewed my tabs 6 months later, I updated my address. When I got pulled over a couple months later, the cop told me all about the registration laws. But no ticket thankfully.

In Minnesota it is illegal to have them different. Your drivers license and vehicle registrations all have to be registered where you live within 30 days of moving.

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It's not illegal if you have a legitimate home elsewhere and the vehicle is normally kept & used there, because that does not constitute tax evasion. The tricky part, however, is convincing the authorities that the out-of-state registered vehicle is "just visiting" and not registered in one state solely to avoid local taxes and fees. Thus the 30 day time limit - if you keep the vehicle in-state more than 30 days, you would be presumed to be keeping it there rather than at its other "home".

The situation that California, Minnesota, and other states are alert for is those people who are using an out-of-state registration to evade state taxes. Different license plates is a red flag for that, but it's only a red flag in the relevant states. New Jersey doesn't care if you aren't paying California taxes...

Most states require proof of residency or a local drivers license to register a vehicle. I believe Oregon wants a receipt for taxes or utilities.

It's not illegal if you have a legitimate home elsewhere and the vehicle is normally kept & used there, because that does not constitute tax evasion. The tricky part, however, is convincing the authorities that the out-of-state registered vehicle is "just visiting" and not registered in one state solely to avoid local taxes and fees. Thus the 30 day time limit - if you keep the vehicle in-state more than 30 days, you would be presumed to be keeping it there rather than at its other "home".

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There was one of these "sticky" examples recently in the Las Vegas area.  The people were snowbirds who were renting a condo while doing their snowbird thing.  Someone reported them for having cars with out-of-state plates parked in the driveway for more than 30 days.  They were visited by the constable and taken to court because they hadn't changed their licenses and registration.  They said they were visiting and would be returning to their "real" home in the spring.  The last I heard they were told they were legitimate visitors and would not be fined but what an awful situation.  In states with a lot of long-term visitors (who really are visitors) this is lousy.  These poor people had to hire a lawyer when they weren't doing anything illegal.

ArdraF

Here are a couple of interesting Vegas tidbits. Not only are some LE folks looking, but there is a hotline for your neighbor to turn you in.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/26/sporting-out--state-plates-better-be-visiting/

http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/depts/constable/las_vegas/Pages/ReportVehicleRegistrationViolations.aspx

Ken