We’re making progress on getting the green camper cleaned up and ready for the road. We finally got the thing registered and legal, and also spent a couple days cleaning it up.
After the DMV woes we experienced with the yellow camper, I really wanted my ducks in a row this time. We bought the trailer, I got a good, normal looking title, and thought that was all I needed. A quick call to my local Florida DMV office turned everything upside down… again…
The DMV lady said because it’s an out of state purchase, the VIN will need to be verified. Well, the trailer is still up in North Carolina, and on top of that, the frame is coated in a thick layer of black paint – there is no VIN in sight! So for the second time in a week, I freak out. How are we going to get the VIN verified? Are we going to have to apply for a new number, why is this happening, these people are crazy, etc. Another quick call to the central DMV office gave contradictory information; he said that because it is a “travel trailer” it doesn’t need a VIN verification. Sooooo… do I believe the central office or the local office?
I decide to take it to the North Carolina state patrol inspection office to try to do a VIN check (the camper has an original warranty tag that matches the last 4 digits of the VIN on the title). The place is only open 8AM to 10AM in the morning, so we booked it over there first thing. The officer looks over the trailer, but of course says he can’t verify the full VIN. Dead in the water again, I call the local Florida office again, get a different DMV lady, specify we bought a “travel trailer” she confirms no VIN verification is needed.
We drive all the way back down to Florida, get the plate in like 5 minutes at the DMV, then drive the 7 hours back up north – we’re finally road legal!
With the ridiculousness of the DMV over with, we went to town cleaning up the trailer for our shakedown cruise. There are plenty of projects that I am seeing all over this thing, but overall, it is cleaning up well. With any luck, we will be out and about soon enough!
The range works!
The stove cleaned up nicely with a little Windex and steel wool.
Fun times!
