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Post by beermaker on Feb 8, 2018 6:26:03 GMT -5
I am going to buy a jon boat and am thinking about a used trailer as well. It seems that most of the used trailers don't have the title.
I have heard that getting a title in IN is a hassle. Does anyone have some insight or advise?
Thanks in advance for useful information.
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Post by scrub-buster on Feb 8, 2018 7:12:05 GMT -5
I've done it twice in the last couple of years. You have to fill out some paper work, have a police inspection done, attach a new VIN if necessary, and have another police inspection done. It's not that bad. I know if you buy a trailer from KY it is a hassle to get a new title. The BMV requires the former owner to file for a new title before it can be switched over. It's much easier if you buy it from Ohio  The BMV allows you to file for a new title without going through the previous owner. |
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Post by stevein on Feb 8, 2018 9:00:16 GMT -5
What scrub-buster said. The License Branch may make a difference. I go to Auburn and they are most helpful. They gave me the paperwork I needed and advice on getting titles for my boat and trailer. In my case I never titled either and had to get it done so I could use them. I think I needed pics of the boat to apply. I made the VIN tags out and got the police inspection.
At Auburn you have to get a number to get served. Usually it is maybe 1 or 2 ahead of me. The ft Wayne branches are usually packed.
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Post by dbd870 on Feb 8, 2018 9:10:18 GMT -5
Very true. Even though I'm in Morgan Co. I'm not very far from Brown Co. and Nashville is never as busy as Martinsville so I've started using it. Where you go can make a very big difference.
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Post by greghopper on Feb 8, 2018 9:31:34 GMT -5
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Post by steiny on Feb 8, 2018 12:28:57 GMT -5
Just a thought, but a brand new jon boat trailer can be had pretty cheap.
Check out The Boat Place near Raccoon Lake.
I've re-built old boat trailers. If you have to re-paint and then replace hubs, bearings, tires, rims, rollers, winch, bunks, and lighting you're halfway to the price of a brand new trailer.
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Post by beermaker on Feb 8, 2018 16:31:28 GMT -5
Just a thought, but a brand new jon boat trailer can be had pretty cheap. Check out The Boat Place near Raccoon Lake. I've re-built old boat trailers. If you have to re-paint and then replace hubs, bearings, tires, rims, rollers, winch, bunks, and lighting you're halfway to the price of a brand new trailer. I've thought about this. I don't need to take on trailer restoration as another hobby. |
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Post by scrub-buster on Feb 8, 2018 17:39:50 GMT -5
You can find some good deals on used trailers. I got a single axle boat trailer with newer tires and rims for $160. I converted it into a 12' flatbed. With the steel and lumber I have under $400 in it.
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Post by Russ Koon on Feb 9, 2018 14:22:30 GMT -5
I bought a well used boat and trailer forty-some years ago, back when no titles or registrations were required for boats under certain sizes and valuations. Still have them both.
When they were required to be registered and titled in order to be plated and used, years later, I went to the license branch with all the available documentation I had, which wasn't much. The boat wasn't much hassle at all, but it was a commercially manufactured boat with a brand name, just had to take my best guess on year built.
The trailer was more interesting. It was obviously a DIY trailer, made by someone pretty familiar with a welder and not as concerned with the aesthetics of his work as with the functionality. It was made from a Model A Ford frame, with the crossmembers detached and rewelded into new positions, and a front axle from a '40's Dodge pickup, and some assorted barnyard bits and pieces. But it had a nice homemade cradle for the boat to ride in, a sturdy 2" well-pipe frame up to the hand winch location, and even a lever-operated raised roller for the boat to roll easily onto and off of the trailer.
The girl at the BMV was very helpful and did her best to make that trailer fit into one of the available categories on the forms she was filling out. It got down to the dilemma of it being "home-assembled" by ME, or needing a manufacturer and some sort of identification. She had asked me whether I had made it myself and where I got the materials, but after a while I finally caught on when she asked again with an expectant pause if I was "sure" I hadn't made it myself, and I could see from the look in her eye that she needed a different answer than I had given her before to make something happen. So I said "Oh that's right! Now I remember! I built that trailer from some parts we had lying around behind the barn". The immediate smile of relief on her face as she quickly filled out the remainder of the form was evidence that I had said the right thing.
I got the VIN number for it and stamped it onto a strip of aluminum cut from a license plate, and pop-riveted it to the frame, and called the sheriff's office for a deputy to drop by at his convenience when he was in the neighborhood to verify.
When dealing with government forms, its best to have a certain amount of flexibilty. They can't necessarily handle the exact truth. I never fib to beat them out of a nickle, but might just a little to save us both from another hour of needless paperwork.
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