1984 13 ft. UHaul

[Terry R.]

The Akron, Ohio Craigslist has a 1984 13 ft. Uhaul for $2000. It looks to be in pretty good conditon. If anyone is truly interested, but far away, we would be willing to check it out for you since it is not that far from us. Terry R

[Pamela S.]

I checked the original ad on Craigslist. He has no title for this.

[Robin G]

Here is the link to it on Akron craigslist 1984 Uhaul 13ft

[Paul Chet]

Hello all,

I'm very, very new to this, but I have been lurking for weeks after just discovering these awesome little eggs! For whatever reason, I just cant stop thinking that its going to have to be a 13' U Haul CT for me! They are just too cool and so solidly built.

I spent a couple of hours researching this whole title thing today and it appears that without the original owners or a Vin # that this is essentially a big paperweight. Am I way off?

Has anyone gone through this process before? If this was closer, I found myself thinking I would be willing to do the due diligence to get a new and real title - but how the heck would one go about that as it's apparently from SC, now in OH, and I would be bringing it back to CA?

Sorry for bursting on the scene with so many questions, but I have been doing so much research I feel like I already have one! Just waiting for the right one to come along I guess.

Until then, thanks for any feedback and a wonderful place to learn about the fun world of fiberglass!
-Paul

[Robin G]

Paul, First off, Welcome, glad you joined us!

There are people who can get around the whole title thing and there are others that have tried every trick known to man and still can't get thru the red-tape. I am sure a lot depends on the state, and whether a home made trailer title can be obtained.


Personally, I would not go thru this being the trailer is coming from OH. Might be a mess to start with. Often times I think some people go ahead and buy these type of sales and place them on permanent rv sites or private property.

I know CA is pretty strict, but frankly it wouldn't hurt to go ask them. (in person!) They may say no problem and you go get it and bring it home only to find out you talked to a janitor and they not only won't title it for you but your gooooooooooing to jail! (kidding)

But like I said, I know people have gotten it done, so I would suggest posting this question on the general chat forum where they may see it. I suggest having the words "no title" "would you buy a trailer without a title?" etc, as to catch the people who have dealt with this type of sale eye's. Good Luck!

[CindyL]

UHaul CTs come up fairly often. Watch ebay too.
Do know that the CT has some UHaul proprietary parts that can often be interesting when trying to replace them. Happily, we had a willing UHaul dealer who sold us wheels and another who had a hub that fit sitting on the shelf in his 30-year-old repair shelf when we needed on. Both of these parts are still made, but some UHaul dealers are not so helpful. One CT owner was accused of buying a stolen trailer by his dealer, as he believed that UHual would never sell one of their trailers.
That being said, people have solved their issues and shared the solutions both here and at uhaulcamper.com. To see the historical stuff on uhaulcamper, you must pay the fee.
At both sites, there are happy CT/VT owners who will help you out. We all love our little UHauls.

CindyL

[Kevin K]

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[Paul Chet]

Thanks for the warm welcome and all of the great advice and insights!

I can tell that by the time I end up with my very own CT, I will be fairly versed in all things about it that have nothing to do with camping!

I saw on a different thread that the 13' (under CA law) qualifies for a PTI (Permanent Trailer Identification) in lieu of a Title, as it is 16' or under. If I can confirm that - then its good times.

Regardless, I agree - the DMV is the best place to start. Since trying to navigate that site is a full-time job in itself, and any question I try to get answered there ends up with me asking three more ... i'll give them a ring and report back any new info.

Thanks again all - I look forward to getting involved with this fantastic community. Especially when I can finally crack into an egg of my own and do some mods based on what I have learned here from you fine folks (and a few of my own ideas)!

[Raya]

Hi Paul and Welcome!

The previous advice has been right on. It pretty much all comes down to your state, and what the rules are there.

One thing I will mention is that there are states that don't title smaller trailers. And if you buy a trailer from one of those states then there are often special procedures in place in the states that do require titles for them. Such as you file a special affidavit and send in some papers and then they approve it for titling in your state.

BUT, in my (non California) experience, the new state will check to see that the prior state WAS a non-titling state, and from what I know Ohio IS a titling state. So you may not have that "out." Unless the trailer happens to be in Ohio now, but the owner is actually from a non-titling state and has that (other) state's registration card for proof to pass along. I'm guessing not.

There still might be ways; as others mentioned sometimes there are provisions for titling "homemade" trailers or other ways. Just be sure.

It seems to come up reasonably often that there are trailers wherein there were title difficulties and the current owner (seller) just never got them ironed out. Then as it moves along to the next owner, it gets one more level of difficulty because you are further along in the chain of events.

So, to summarize: It depends almost completely on your state's rules. And then after that it often comes down to which DMV office you go to, and which clerk you end up with. Some are super nice and helpful; others just live for the moment they say "I'm sorry; that's not in the rules!" <--- note barely concealed glee

Happy shopping!

Raya

PS: U-hauls are one of the few types of eggs that there seem to be more of in the Midwest or even the East. On the other hand, I like the Compact/Campster family and so many of them pop up in California! The U-hauls are neat though

[Terry R.]

If anyone is interested, since I live in Ohio, I will call the DMV on Monday and see what the procedure is for getting a title. In the back of my mind I remember once getting a trailer titled and it really wasn't that big of a deal here. I think I remember having to get it weighed and then it was one stop at the title place and then onto getting the license. That was years ago though. Terry R

[Paul Chet]

Thanks Raya!

All great and useful info. I see these things tend to pop up from time to time and though I feel Ohio is quite a jaunt - I was more thinking I would like to know if this happened in my neck, how I might go about it. The price point is what is so attractive! Of course, by the time I would drive out and back, plus do paperwork, I might be as well off heading up to Oregon or over to Arizona for slightly more expensive counterpart.

Its good to hear there seem to be more of the CT's out this way. That just stokes the fire!

Terry - thank you kindly for offering to look into things. Please don't put yourself out on my behalf, but it might be interesting to begin to create a list of the states where it is more or less difficult to navigate the paper trail.

Once I find out from the CA DMV the ropes, I will be sure to post.

Thanks again all. Happy Valentines Day!
-Paul

[Kevin A]

Not really related this UHaul/title conversation, but since we own a UHaul I thought I would chip in, too:

When we bought a 1969 VW pickup from a private seller in Ohio, we brought it home with the title. We then discovered when trying to title it in Wisconsin (our home at that time), that the same VIN was on two different titles in Ohio! The Ohio DMV was about as uncooperative as possible, with them telling us to track down the owner of the other title. Since we lived 8 hours away and having made several tries without a response, we just finally gave up and sold the vehicle for parts to someone who just wanted to cut it up and build something else. Bottom line... we didn't have a great experience with the Ohio DMV!

Wish you luck!

[Terry R.]

The Ohio DMV can be a bear to work with. I think WV may be much easier. My daughter and family may be interested in this one. We are investigating having a relative from there doing the paper work for WV and then transfering that title here.

[KimHill]

I'm not far and if it is still available would love the inforrmation. Kim

If anyone is interested, since I live in Ohio, I will call the DMV on Monday and see what the procedure is for getting a title. In the back of my mind I remember once getting a trailer titled and it really wasn't that big of a deal here. I think I remember having to get it weighed and then it was one stop at the title place and then onto getting the license. That was years ago though. Terry R

[Terry R.]

The last time I talked to the gentleman, a person for Tenn. or Kentucky, can't remember, was picking it up sight unseen. I may have been possible to have finally gotten a title but it would have depended on your state's rules. It came from NC. We would have had to have gone to probate court and there still would have been the possibility of not getting a title.