TheSamba.com :: View topic - Oregon Folks- DMV motorhome verses Passenger vehicle

Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:23 pm

Last spring I bought my second Westy . It is licensed in Oregon as a motorhome. I owned my previous Westy for 14 years which was licensed as a regular vehicle here in Oregon as well. YIKES I just got my registration paperwork with the $163 .00 fee for 2 years.

Wondering if anyone has had luck in getting the DMV to relicense as a regular vehicle ? if YES i would love to know how you were able to convince them .
Thanks
Chris

Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:53 pm

Find out how long they think it is.

or be happy some of the roads will get fixed with your $$

Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:21 pm

Pull the lp tank or the kitchen cabinet and take it in for an inspection at the local dmv office. Without either of these it is not a fully self contained RV.

Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:29 pm

cbcnm wrote: registration paperwork with the $163 .00 fee for 2 years.

They made a mistake and charged you for a 15' MotorHome, but you have a 14'.

According to this a 14' MotorHome (Camper) costs $54.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6941827

Oregon DMV says so too. If your Camper is a 14' MotorHome it costs $54
http://www.oregon.gov/odot/dmv/pages/vehicle/motorhome.aspx
"Motor home registration fees are calculated according to length, using the Motor Home Schedule of Registration Fees
http://www.odot.state.or.us/forms/dmv/465.pdf
(Form 735-465), any fractions will be rounded down to the full foot."

A Vanagon, per the owners manual spec page is 4,570 mm long = 179.9" long. That is 0.1" less than 15' (15'=4572mm, so your van is 2mm shorter than the 15' category :-))

Oregon DMV definition of MotorHome is
"A vehicle that has been designed, reconstructed, or permanently altered to provide facilities for human habitation, i.e., permanent sleeping and cooking facilities. This includes permanently mounted campers on pickup trucks or other truck frames."

By their definition, even with no toilet, you have a MotorHome. Be happy, that means you can drink beer in back :-)

Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:07 pm

In WA you have to have a toilet to be a motorhome. The DOL has mine registered me as a motorhome anyways. I think its $50-75 a year but my insurance is cheaper since it's my 3rd vehicle in a 2 driver family.

Also, at the risk of sounding like a drunk, you can legally have open containers behind the drivers seat in a motorhome....

Ive never tested this.

Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:42 pm

Mine has been $54 for 2 years. Half the price of a regular vehicle.

Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:43 pm

The first time you register you state the length. After that you're s.o.l.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 12:11 am

I just moved to Portland and was just thinking about this. Other than costs, are there any other pros/cons to RV vs. passenger registration? Is insurance less, or are there inexpensive "specialty" insurers that the registration opens it up to?

Mon Feb 23, 2015 7:02 am

cbcnm wrote: Last spring I bought my second Westy . It is licensed in Oregon as a motorhome. I owned my previous Westy for 14 years which was licensed as a regular vehicle here in Oregon as well. YIKES I just got my registration paperwork with the $163 .00 fee for 2 years.

Wondering if anyone has had luck in getting the DMV to relicense as a regular vehicle ? if YES i would love to know how you were able to convince them .
Thanks
Chris

Curious if it will affect your insurance....

Also....great job Jon Slider!!! Johnny on the spot with da info, sir :)

Mon Feb 23, 2015 7:17 am

RaraBlacksheep wrote: I just moved to Portland and was just thinking about this. Other than costs, are there any other pros/cons to RV vs. passenger registration? Is insurance less, or are there inexpensive "specialty" insurers that the registration opens it up to?

The only things I can clue you in on is if you get it registered as a motor home then you get the yellow plates as the only option. Some like them while others think they're fugly.

If your out-of-state title calls your full westy something other than a motor home **and** you don't drive the westy to DMV when registering then you'll likely get it plated as a passenger vehicle unless you point out it isn't.

This is mostly why you can see a lot of full westies rolling around with OR passenger (more design options) plates.

If you do want to reg. it as a motor home then, as already mentioned, be sure and point out it is 14' or less to get the lower rate.

Insurance rates are variable depending on a long list of things. However, in the last few years I've noticed rates going up pretty fast in the Pdx area due to the massive population growth and resulting proportionate increase in auto accidents (according to my insurer).

Mon Feb 23, 2015 8:00 am

thanks for the specs and info john slider. i will try to make some time to take a trip to the dmv with documentation of the fee schedule and the owners manual and a tape measure for good measure.

maybe i can get them to re classify to a 14 foot vehicle. its worth a try anyway.
chris

Mon Feb 23, 2015 8:05 am

Mine was an out of state vehicle and when I took it in to the DMV, they guy asked about the van being registered as an RV. I told him it was under the min length and he spent about 5 min looking it up in his computer then just said "huh, ok" and proceeded to list it as a passenger vehicle. I had the VIN inspection done at DEQ and that guy didn't even care.

good luck.

nate

Mon Feb 23, 2015 8:27 am

goldtooth wrote: Mine was an out of state vehicle and when I took it in to the DMV, they guy asked about the van being registered as an RV. I told him it was under the min length and he spent about 5 min looking it up in his computer then just said "huh, ok" and proceeded to list it as a passenger vehicle. I had the VIN inspection done at DEQ and that guy didn't even care.

DEQ (where applied) is a separate operation from DMV so yes, DEQ will typically not care about how the rig is registered. Likewise, who you get at the DMV can make a difference.

To OP -- if you haven't registered yet, check the archives regarding OR vehicle registration --- this has all been discussed before in greater detail.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 12:12 pm

buildyourown wrote: you can legally have open containers behind the drivers seat in a motorhome....

so now we know where to mount the cup holders

Mon Feb 23, 2015 12:38 pm

i am the OP. the car is already registered and titled in my name. it has been registered in oregon ( likely for 10-20 years) . when i bought it last spring i completed the paperwork to change to my name but nothing else.

since i have only owned it since last may, this is the first time I am paying the fee's. if it is infact something that falls into the 14 foot designation for MH then it is worth my time to get the thing measured and change it to the appropriate category. if a MH of 14 feet = the same cost as passenger fees i am fine with keeping MH designation.

its the fee associated with the designation that caught me off guard.
chris

Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:10 pm

The length is listed under specs in the owners manual. Just bring that in. It is an inch short of 15". Probably someone just said it was 15' and didn't realize it qualified for under 15" rate.

Another good reason to own a vanagon.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:35 pm

IIRC, it is currently cheaper to register a small motor home than a pass. vehicle - that might change in any given year, as they are looking for $$ to repair the failing hwy system

Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:21 pm

cbcnm wrote: i am the OP. the car is already registered and titled in my name .... its the fee associated with the designation that caught me off guard.

Your answer is above with Jon/Dave (length) and GWTWTLW (fee).

If they accept your length proof then your biannual fee will be $54 ... for now.

Merian is correct, that is cheaper than biannual passenger vehicle registration. That is, as they say, as about as low as you can go.

BUT ... and I don't know if this is true for motor homes ... for passenger vehicles there is an added tax IF you live in Multnomah County to repair the now cost over-run Sellwood Bridge. I'm not sure what it is but think it's something like add $40 biannually which is also collected at either DEQ or DMV.

Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:37 pm

I changed my registration from "Passenger Vehicle" to "Motor Home" when I realized how much less an under-fifteen foot motor home is to license in Oregon. I had to pay to re-title it as "Motor Home" though, so the first registration was a "wash" on saving money. The next one, the savings began. The Legislature is in session, let's hope nobody changes this. And if you're in Multnomah County, you still get to pay the extra assessment for the bridge fee (Sellwood Bridge replacement).

Thu Feb 26, 2015 2:29 pm

buildyourown wrote: In WA you have to have a toilet to be a motorhome. The DOL has mine registered me as a motorhome anyways. I think its $50-75 a year but my insurance is cheaper since it's my 3rd vehicle in a 2 driver family.

Also, at the risk of sounding like a drunk, you can legally have open containers behind the drivers seat in a motorhome....

Ive never tested this.

This is why it's important to keep it designated as an rv. If you're camping and drink a beer inside a VANAGON it's an ovi if it's not registered as an rv. You have an open container in the vehicle and you're screwed. This has happened before.