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State vehicle inspections
Yahoo Message Number: 151430
To our dismay we just realized our car state inspection is due in Feb (it is now March) and our rig's inspection is due in June.  While we are going to take care of this, it occurred to us for the first time to wonder how we will handle state inspections on our planned 2 year trip starting this summer if we have to be back on the east coast each year in April.  Is there a way around this or do we just have to plan our trips to last no more than a year?  We were planning on east to west California) then south to north (Alaska) then back through Canada (Nova Scotia) before settling down for a couple of months.

Sandy

KalleAnka Vermont
Re: State vehicle inspections
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 151431
Why not contact the Vermont DMV, or whoever handles vehicle inspections, and ask them if you have to have an inspection if your vehicle is out-of-state (you don't in Texas), and can it wait until you return to the state?
 I would think that the state would have some provision for this since they can't expect every single person who lives in Vermont to always be in Vermont at the time inspection is due!  Perhaps they'll accept on out-of-state inspection?  You won't know until you call and ask.

Linda Hylton
Linda Hylton
Re: State vehicle inspections
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 151433
I did call the dot of motor vehicles and their reply was a little confusing.
1. Get an apt for when you get to vt and hope you don't get stopped by the state police before you get there
2. Ask for a courtesy inspection for each state we travel through of it is required to have a current inspection in that state.
 Eg currently in sc which does not require an inspection sticker but vt does so maybe if we get inspected in nc (about a 30 min drive) that would work for us until we get to vt. Maybe? The dmv was not at all clear about how this all might work and suggested I ask a campers forum.
Sandy KalleAnka Vt
Re: State vehicle inspections
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 151437
I had a similar problem in CA.  My registration was going to expire while we were on the road. Also it was a year where I required a SMOG test for registration.   In CA you cannot renew the registration before you receive the "registration notification"; typically 60 to 90 days before the registration is due.  I received the notification while we were on the road.  However, you can only get a SMOG test at a CA authorized test station all being in CA.  CA allows you to file an "incomplete registration" which means that the SMOG test is pending.  You pay the registration fee and receive a notice that the fee has been paid.  You do not receive the little "year tag" that goes on the license plate.  You must get the SMOG test within some defined period (180 days?).  The test results are automatically filed with the state and you then receive the "year tag."  Not having a current "year tag" is not critical as long as you are not in CA.  CA has similar rules for renewing a driver's license.  I once received a 1 year "extension" on my driver's license but it was only valid while driving outside CA.  I understand that some states have similar rules.

Doug Baker
Re: State vehicle inspections
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 151466
"it occurred to us for the first time to wonder how we will handle state inspections on our planned 2 year trip starting this summer if we have to be back on the east coast each year in April.  Is there a way around this or do we just have to plan our trips to last no more than a year?"

Sandy,

I am encountering the same scenario--actually just the re-inspection of my Lazy Daze-- as I will be RVing all summer and will not be in New Jersey when the re-inspection is due.I had gone to the NJ Division of Motor Vehicles and had asked several employees, including the manager of the inspections department, what I could do. None of them had any answers or suggestions of what I could do since my Lazy Daze would be on the West Coast and unavailable in NJ for re-inspection.I finally e-mailed the NJDMV and I received the following response:

"No other States have jurisdiction over New Jersey inspection requirements as long as the vehicle is registered and insured in New Jersey. You may contact the State directly at609-633-9474or 9460 to request an "Out of State Extension". They will verify that the registration and insurance are current, and issue a letter that should be kept in the vehicle and made available to any Law Enforcement officer."

I've ordered the "Out of State Extension."  This has been a huge relief for me.

Monica
Monica
2017 MB
 
Re: State vehicle inspections
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 151468
Sandy:

We are not at home (ME) when our tow vehicle is due for inspection.  We ramble all over and have never been stopped.  I do make a point of getting the car inspected as soon as I can when we do get home...I also keep all kinds of parking receipts in the car, including those RV park hang-it-from-the-mirror site tags, from places we've been just in case which would help bolster my claim that I'd been out of town until just recently, should I be asked.

It so happens that we keep a small log book in the cab.  We register every day's date and location,  stop and start mileage, every gas fill info...which could help with any official inquiry about where we were and when.  Never been asked.  We use it to keep track of costs and mileage.

We do register both the RV and the tow via the state's internet site and keep a copy of the transaction until the renewal paperwork and stickers arrive in a mail drop.

(When we picked up our LD in CA and finalized in NV we ran on the pink CA receipt until we got to TX for a week and got a mail drop with our ME registration and plates...and that was about a month or so...and we never attracted anyone's attention.)

In short, keep your registrations and insurances current, keep copies of all paperwork, drive lawfully and don't stress about it.

TinaP 2006 MB
2006 MB