Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Trailer Talk Tuesday: 1st edition


Say hello to Jolene!  I bought this little 1967 Playmor 140 a couple of weeks ago and asked for some name ideas on Instagram and Facebook.  Jolene was the winner and I can't wait to get going on tearing into this little gem and giving her a total makeover!

But, you have to get through the boring stuff first.  Paperwork.  When you buy an older camper like this one, it's not unusual for it to not have a title.  In some states, a camper over a certain age doesn't require one.  In other states, a camper under a certain weight doesn't require one, either.  My camper is both old and small, but in the great state of Texas, a title is required for registration.  I thought I'd walk you through the steps of getting a bonded title.  It sounds scary, but it's really pretty easy.  Just a disclaimer here--these steps are what works in Texas.  Your mileage may vary.

So, your first stop is the DMV.   Cue all the jokes, but I just want to say that the people at our DMV were super helpful.  They explained the process repeatedly and answered all of my stupid questions.

Your first step after leaving the DMV is to make an appointment with the county auto theft division.  They will inspect your vehicle/trailer and verify your VIN.  Our county only does this on Mondays and you have to make an appointment.  This took a couple of weeks, so be aware of this since you only have a month after your bill of sale to get the registration completed without a penalty.

Most older campers or trailers have the VIN stamped on the tongue of the curbside (door-side) of the camper.  I had to sand off some paint and rust to see our number:


Playmor's VINs are the model (140), the production number and then the year (67).  The officers' verified that the VIN was what I thought it was and ran it to make sure it wasn't stolen.  I probably did this backward--if you're not sure about the seller, you might want to make the appointment with this office and have them run the VIN before you purchase the camper.  I was lucky and there weren't any records on the camper at all.  A couple of years back, Texas started purging records after they're ten years old, so, if the camper you want to purchase has been sitting out in someone's pasture or in someone's backyard (like mine was), there probably won't be any records.

You will leave the county office with a statement of inspection and a verified VIN number.  You will take this back to the DMV and pay $15 and turn it in with your bonded title application.  This is a 1-2 day process and you'll go back and pick up your paperwork.  They will give you the approved application (hopefully) along with the value of your camper.  The state will determine this value--it doesn't have anything to do with the Bill of Sale you should have that shows what you paid.

After you have these three things--inspection, bonded title application and value, you will go to your insurance dealer and have them issue a surety bond.  My agent said it would probably run around $150.  Once you have that, you are ready to register your camper and get your tags!

I'm ready to get going on the demo/reno of this little camper, but I wanted to make sure I had the title just in case I ever want to sell her.  My sweet husband is on board with taking her apart and we're reading up on all the how-tos.  There are lots of opinions out there, as you can imagine.


Here's the original floor plan.  I think this may be a slightly later model, but it's almost exactly like Jolene.  We missed out on the psychedelic flowers on the cushions.  Ours are the original ones and are a gorgeous avocado green, harvest gold and woodtone brown plaid and I believe the icebox and stove were originally harvest gold.  (Don't be jealous.)  The previous owner painted the whitewashed birch paneling white and all the metal pieces and appliances a bright blue.  I see a lot of paint stripping in my immediate future.

Check out my Pinterest board for some of the ideas I'm collecting for the redo!  I'm thinking a Pendleton/Southwest/National Parks kind of theme, but that changes every time I see a new pic on Instagram or Pinterest.  Next week, I hope to have some actual demo photos to share.

I'm so glad you stopped by!  I'd love for you to follow me at Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.  Also, if you'd like to have these blogposts delivered to your inbox, please subscribe to this blog (link in upper right hand corner of page.)  It's super easy and I do not sell your name to anyone or spam you in any way.

Here's a little traveling music for you...have a great day!


2 comments:

  1. Whoo hoo! Thanks so much for posting this. I never would have guessed the stamped the VIN on the hitch. I thought it was a serial number for the hitch! So I am going down that same road on getting a bonded title for a 67 Play-Mor 140 here in Iowa. Pretty much the same process. Good luck with yours!

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    Replies
    1. Good luck! And be sure and check out the Playmor group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1669282253307018/

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