Question about "Out of State" registration of a new SMB

Mahukaawe · 05-25-2009, 04:10 PM

Does anyone have any ideas on registering a new SMB.
I will be keeping the van in Oregon with family but I have a Hawaii Drivers licence and Oregon will not let you register a vehicle without an Oregon license.
I wouldn't mind registering it in any western state and just park it in Oregon. It would be a good excuse for a once a year road trip too to re register if needed anyway.
Does any state not require you to have their drivers license to register in their state.
This would also simplify the financing too.
It's funny cause Hawaii doesnt care where you're licensed. They're happy to take all the reg fees & taxes from anyone that keeps a car here.

Greg In Austin · 05-25-2009, 04:46 PM

I guess I had never thought about that..... and I am not sure why they would care. It seems they would be worrying more about the address to which you register it. It would seem that you could use your relatives address.

This may be a case where you need to go up the ladder and explain the situation to the supervisor's manager to find someone that can add some common sense to the conversation.

scatter · 05-25-2009, 05:02 PM

I'm not totally sure of what I speak, but Oregon has just about the cheapest (if not the cheapest) vehicle registration in the States. Everyone wants to register their rig there and Oregon enforces the rule of no residence, no drivers license, no can register. I know California will go after you if they see a rig with an Oregon license parked a lot at a house down here. You'll have to prove to California that your primary residence is in Oregon.
Maybe someone from the fair state of Oregon will chip in here.

Veg Hed · 05-25-2009, 05:03 PM

I registered my SMB in Utah...My other car is registered in Ohio and my DL is from Ohio but Utah was happy to take my money. I was actually living in California when I bought my SMB but knew I was moving to Utah this summer, which was 6 months from when I bought the van. I looked into just registering it in California but the red tape, DL switch over issues and taxes just seemed ridiculous. So I took a mid-week road trip, drove 10 hours to Southern Utah, visited the DMV and walked out legal in about 15 minutes. I was nervous that I was just wasting my time but they were so helpful, and uncrowded, the transaction was way smooth. Of course they wanted an address but I used my old Utah address from the previous year and they didn't care. My backup plan was to get a PO Box in Arizona or Nevada as proof of residency (not sure you can do this any more but I was going to give it a try) and try to register it in one of these states on my way back to Cali. Luckily Utah was rather hassle free. I have heard of people registering out of state vehicles in South Dakota to avoid the red tape some states have but I have never tried it.

Utah does require you to have a yearly inspection on most vehicles (although if it is newer I think you might be exempt,,,but look into this for yourself). Since I do actually live in Utah now the registration and inspection thing is easy for me. My Ohio DL expires in a year so I'll probably get a Utah license then. As for my Ohio car, I just re-registered it for 2 years on line for $72. No need to switch it over anytime soon but if I still have the car in 2 years I'll probably slap a Utah arch plate on it....Hope this helps.

Mahukaawe · 05-25-2009, 05:12 PM

Yea you would think that would be the reasonable approach, but then it is the DMV that I am dealing with.

I do have my brothers address in Oregon + a big barn to store the rig in and my son is getting an apartment in Bozeman so Montana may be possible but I cant seem to get a good answer yet from Montana DMV.
I'm going to have to figure this out soon since we've already put down our deposit on an
09 EB PSD 4x4 so the clock is ticking.
Harry

Scalf77 · 05-25-2009, 05:27 PM

Oregon does have some of the cheapest registration rates, I register my SMB as an RV (In Oregon you have to pay by the foot for an RV) and it is only 261.00 for two years. That included the state smog test. My truck was only 75.00 for two years. Because of our rates many full time RV's like to claim residence in our state. That of course has put a lot of scrutiny in the process.

-greg

scatter · 05-25-2009, 05:32 PM

Something else to consider is your insurance policy. I was going to register in either Arizona or Idaho and that was causing some problems in getting my insurance. Something about registering it in one state, living in another, and storing the rig elsewhere. Just thot I'd throw in another bump....

Mahukaawe · 05-25-2009, 05:57 PM

Scatter, how did you get that done or did you?
I heard that as far as registration goes Idaho is the same as Oregon in that you need an Idaho license.
We have friends here that have a RV and keep it in Mississippi for registration purposes and their insurance is provided by their same carrier as in Hawaii.

spurious · 05-25-2009, 06:19 PM

Montana is the place. Most snowbirds register their high end pushers in Montana. The taxes and not having to be a resident make it ideal. Good Luck!

Mahukaawe · 05-25-2009, 06:35 PM

Thanks Spurious.
I sent an e mail about doing that last week and was told it would be forwarded to the dept to correctly answer my question but have not heard back yet. I hope Montana will work. I still need to find out which insurance company wants to take my money too.
Even if I had to go there for a safety check or something every year that would be fine with me. Driving through central Idaho- Orofino over Lolo Pass and down into Montana is god country.