Donated trailer questions

[HistTeach]

Not sure if this is the right forum or not. I recently got my son involved in Cub Scouting, and I have started taking more of an active role in facilitating camping trips. I'm also thinking about becoming Scoutmaster. I volunteered to haul the trailer for a trip this weekend and went to check out the trailer today. Tires are good, bearing seem well maintained, and all the electrical is good to go; however, the trailer has no tags. 

I was told that someone (no one can remember who) gave the pack the trailer, but there was never a title given with it. The registration on the plates expired a few years ago, so instead of doing a little light investigating to find the title holder to get everything transferred over, someone just took the tags off of a trailer they owned and put them on the pack's trailer. That person left last year and took their tags with them. It's a whole big mess.

I am trying to unravel this mess, but it is slow going. The VIN on the trailer is marred and illegible, so it is nearly impossible to figure out who owned it. Right now I'm playing 6 degrees of separation to find anyone who used to be affiliated with the pack that can get me any info about it. Hopefully it works out.

Assuming I can find the owner and get the title transferred, who do I transfer title to? Scoutmaster, the pack, the chartered org? I'm hesitant to title it to an individual because then that individual could take it when they leave or sell it. I don't think individual Scouting units are separate legal entities for taxing/registration purposes, but I might be wrong. Our chartered org is a for-profit corporation, if that makes a difference.

 

[MattR]

Welcome to the forum, @HistTeach .

And welcome to scouting. One quick note, the adult that stands up in front of a cubscout pack is called the Cubmaster. When you get to a scout troop you can become a scoutmaster.

As for your trailer, keep looking. Also, ask at your local DMV. There may be a way to legally claim ownership.

Technically, the chartered org would own the trailer. If they would rather not, like most units, usually some adult claims ownership and just transfers ownership to someone else with younger scouts.

[HashTagScouts]

I have a friend who ran into as issue a few years ago on a boat trailer that someone gave to him that had been sitting in their yard for years. He had to pay for a title search, which takes time, and then once that was completed the state issued a new VIN and title with that VIN. Different states have different rules, so a trip to your RMV might be the best way to get all the answers you need and save you a whole lot of headache. An hour of your time and an extra $75 spent that saves you hours of dead-ends might be the better value for you.     

[5thGenTexan]

I just did this.  Texas rules, so...

We did have a bill of sale from the previous Troop and that made our transfer easy.  In Texas a trailer of this size and type has NO title.  It just had to be registered to someone.  I put it in the name of the Troop and they wanted a person on the registration as well, so... its me. 

The thing is, every state is going to be different.  Might even get different answers depending on WHO you talk to at the office.

[T2Eagle]

Every state has some provision for registering a trailer if there's paperwork missing.  Either their website or a visit to the DMV where you explain the situation will get you the necessary forms or process.  It's actually pretty common for trailers to have missing or no VIN, so the process for getting it right is pretty straight forward.

Your Chartering Org owns the trailer, so you need to talk with them about how they want the registration to read.  It is possible that they will not want to own it, in which case you need to get together with the other adults in the unit and decide do you want one individual or several individuals to claim ownership, or do you just want to not have a trailer.