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Old 07-14-2016, 09:40 PM   #1
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Name: Nicole
Trailer: Eco
Colorado
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Do I need a Vin?

So, we are trying to get a new title since the old one is misplaced and the DMV cannot find it either. They want us to do any inspection for a new Vin but I didn't think trailers had vin numbers? We have a serial number. But do we really need a vin?
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Old 07-14-2016, 10:07 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by BrowningSchubarth View Post
So, we are trying to get a new title since the old one is misplaced and the DMV cannot find it either. They want us to do any inspection for a new Vin but I didn't think trailers had vin numbers? We have a serial number. But do we really need a vin?
The answer is yes, you really do need to have a VIN number because there is a blank for it on the paperwork that must be filled in. No VIN means no title, no registration, no license plates. What you gonna do, fight them over a long established law? You can't fight city hall. Just do what they tell you to do and get it over with.

My serial number somehow got accepted as the VIN number but it was that way already when I bought it. No idea what paper pusher at what counter in the past history of the paper trail let it get by them. But fortunately for me when I applied for the title to be transferred my paper pusher just shrugged and basically said...well that is what was on there before so that is what I am accepting.
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Old 07-14-2016, 10:27 PM   #3
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The answer is yes, you really do need to have a VIN number because there is a blank for it on the paperwork that must be filled in. No VIN means no title, no registration, no license plates. What you gonna do, fight them over a long established law? You can't fight city hall. Just do what they tell you to do and get it over with.
That makes sense. I just don't really know where to go. We inherited it from my fiancé's grandmother. She cannot find the title, but she has the registration. We have a serial number but inthe area for vin on the registration is blank.
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Old 07-14-2016, 10:27 PM   #4
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Name: Charlie Y
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A trailer serial number is the VIN.
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Old 07-14-2016, 10:36 PM   #5
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Here is the form for obtaining a replacement VIN in Colorado. Phone number is at the bottom of the form. You can call if you have any questions about what to do, that is what it says

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sit...les/DR2408.pdf
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Old 07-14-2016, 11:32 PM   #6
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Trailer: 1979 Scamp 13'
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It's kind of a pain in the butt, but we bought our canned ham with no vin; it had been sliced off when the tongue was extended, but we were clueless before our old title was basically ripped up by the DMV clerk forcing us to do the above. (Boy was I mad...we could have etched the old vin into the new tongue no problem if it wasn't for that.).

We basically titled it as "homemade" and got a brand new vin number that we etched into the tongue. Made it nice and legal with a new title and everything. Expect several visits to a weigh station, the state patrol, and the DMV to get it settled, but it's definitely doable.
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Old 07-14-2016, 11:35 PM   #7
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Oh, and usually they are on the tongue....the scamp ones are about halfway and kind of hard to see...scour the whole tongue for any sign of numbers.
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Old 07-14-2016, 11:53 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by BrowningSchubarth View Post
That makes sense. I just don't really know where to go. We inherited it from my fiancé's grandmother. She cannot find the title, but she has the registration. We have a serial number but inthe area for vin on the registration is blank.
Stamp the serial # you have on the frame and make it look like it's been there all along.......as long as it's not stolen the DMV doesn't care and you don't need to jump through a bunch of hoops for the lack of a stamp set.
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Old 07-15-2016, 05:46 AM   #9
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The current 17 character VIN number system went in to effect in 1981. Before that there was no standard system so a serial number or other ID number from the manufacturer was used for a title or registration. Some trailers, in some states do not require a title. In NY our 1946 teardrop has only a registration, no title, but our '84 Uhaul and '96 Casita have titles
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Old 07-15-2016, 06:51 AM   #10
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Stamp the serial # you have on the frame and make it look like it's been there all along.......as long as it's not stolen the DMV doesn't care and you don't need to jump through a bunch of hoops for the lack of a stamp set.
Excellent suggestion, and it's my understanding that it's perfectly legal.

Years ago I bought a boat out of state and had to take the boat trailer to the Washington State Patrol for an inspection. The officer matched the
number on the trailer to the title and then, he told me that boat trailers are one of the most frequently stolen "vehicles" . The officer suggested I stamp the VIN number on the trailer in as many places as possible to discourage thieves. I've always followed his advice.
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Old 07-15-2016, 08:05 AM   #11
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Name: Jennifer
Trailer: 1979 Scamp 13'
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That's what I'd try first, stamping the serial number; the worst that can happen is you won't pass your VIN inspection, and have to do it the long way. You need a certified weight and vin inspection to register an out of state vehicle in CO, by the way....learned the hard way with three trips to the DVM with our scamp!
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Old 07-15-2016, 08:06 AM   #12
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And yeah, it would be legal in CO (provided the number belonged to the trailer. )
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Old 07-15-2016, 10:40 AM   #13
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No trailer had a VIN# until circa 1983, in fact no car had a VIN# until 1953.
If your title has a serial number then your trailer should have it stamped on the frame, if it is gone or damaged then the hardware store sells welder's stamp sets.
I would assume that most bureaucrats would accept the serial# as the VIN# even if they knew the difference.
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Old 07-15-2016, 03:04 PM   #14
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No trailer had a VIN# until circa 1983, in fact no car had a VIN# until 1953.
If your title has a serial number then your trailer should have it stamped on the frame, if it is gone or damaged then the hardware store sells welder's stamp sets.
I would assume that most bureaucrats would accept the serial# as the VIN# even if they knew the difference.
We do not want to send people on paths for a solution based on assumptions when it is very easy to do an internet search to locate the information that states exactly what they need to be doing.

Not everyone knows that all the states and provinces have this information posted online so therefore it is not surprising to see this VIN number issue being frequently asked in postings. But the moderators and regular readers of this forum can pass the information along that these procedures which they will need to follow are available online. All that is needed to find the official instructions are to use as keywords which include the name of the state or province and the words "VIN replacement number trailer".
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Old 07-15-2016, 03:26 PM   #15
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Name: Jennifer
Trailer: 1979 Scamp 13'
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Agree, and since the VIN spot is blank, honestly, they will have to go through it regardless of if they stamp it on or not....however, stamping the serial number isn't a bad idea and might work. I'm on Colorado and have done a missing vin trailer registration...the state patrol asked why I hadn't just stamped the number from the title on. (See above for crappy DMV clerk).

Regardless, it's not that much more work than doing a regular out of state registration here (which is its own can of worms).

My scamp's serial number is it's vin; it just happens to be already stamped on the dram, and listed as the vin on the out of state title.
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Old 07-16-2016, 11:34 PM   #16
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Name: Nicole
Trailer: Eco
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Originally Posted by k corbin View Post
Here is the form for obtaining a replacement VIN in Colorado. Phone number is at the bottom of the form. You can call if you have any questions about what to do, that is what it says

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sit...les/DR2408.pdf
Thank you K Corbin!! I will do this!
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Old 07-16-2016, 11:36 PM   #17
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Trailer: Eco
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Agree, and since the VIN spot is blank, honestly, they will have to go through it regardless of if they stamp it on or not....however, stamping the serial number isn't a bad idea and might work. I'm on Colorado and have done a missing vin trailer registration...the state patrol asked why I hadn't just stamped the number from the title on. (See above for crappy DMV clerk).

Regardless, it's not that much more work than doing a regular out of state registration here (which is its own can of worms).

My scamp's serial number is it's vin; it just happens to be already stamped on the dram, and listed as the vin on the out of state title.
See ours has a serial number. Clearly printed. But they supposedly won't give us a title unless we have a vin and not a serial.
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Old 07-16-2016, 11:39 PM   #18
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Name: Nicole
Trailer: Eco
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Originally Posted by mary and bob View Post
The current 17 character VIN number system went in to effect in 1981. Before that there was no standard system so a serial number or other ID number from the manufacturer was used for a title or registration. Some trailers, in some states do not require a title. In NY our 1946 teardrop has only a registration, no title, but our '84 Uhaul and '96 Casita have titles
Ours is a '74. So do I need to get a new vin or would serial number work? Because it has the serial number on the tongue.
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Old 07-17-2016, 01:44 AM   #19
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Trailer: Casita SD17 2006 "Missing Link"
California
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Originally Posted by BrowningSchubarth View Post
Ours is a '74. So do I need to get a new vin or would serial number work? Because it has the serial number on the tongue.

Posts 13 & 15 give you the answers and Jen is even in your state and went through the same problem. If the builder didn't add a VIN till years after your build use the serial # you have. If they question it give them Floyds reference for how it was done back then and let them prove it different. Not any different than registering a car with the shorter VIN #s....they don't make you get the longer one. I think you'll be squared away in 10 minutes.
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Old 07-17-2016, 09:18 AM   #20
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Name: Jennifer
Trailer: 1979 Scamp 13'
Colorado
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Your problem is that the title has a blank spot where the VIN is. That's the issue. If the previous state had put the serial #in where the vin goes, there would be no issue. But....the people who work at the DMV are very exact rule bound in my experience...with my scamp I had to drive back 25 minutes to the scale operator and get the weight entered on a slightly different form than they had given me to get it registered. :/

Really, doing the replacement VIN isn't much more work than a standard out of state titling of s trailer....some help that isn't listed on the forms....you need to do the weight FIRST, THEN go to the state patrol for the "VIN inspection" they make you do, THEN the DMV. If your DMV has decent lines unlike weld county (3 hours!!), you might talk to them first to get the exact forms....
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