lifetime license for boat trailer

[jwmiller33]

do you guys know the specific requirements to be able to qualify for a lifetime license for your boat trailer? last year, i got a 16ft lund (1980s style tiller) and a trailer. when i got the trailer title transfered to my name at the DMV, they just gave me a new sticker to put on the license plate.

all i could find on the MN DMV HSOforum was that if the trailer and its load have to be 3,000 lbs or less for the lifetime license. i dont know the actual weight of my boat and trailer, but i have seen numerous other boats my exact same size with a lifetime license on their trailer. no where on the title of the trailer does it say the weight or anything like that. so how does the dmv know if your trailer would be under 3,000 lbs or not? i need to go to the DMV to get new tabs for my trailer, and i would like to get a lifetime license if possible. but if i go in, they are probably just going to assume i want to renew the current tabs. how can i find out if i can get a lifetime license or not? i have a feeling the person working at the DMV will know nothing about boat and trailer weights, so i feel like i would have a problem arguing that i should be able to get a lifetime license..

if anyone can shed any light on this, it would be much appreciated. thanks much

[Whoaru99]

If you need to know the weight of the boat and trailer, then find someplace to weigh it.

I live in a fairly small town. There are at least a couple places to weigh something like that. There are drive-on scales at the local recycling center and at the local Cenex fertilizer plant. There may be others I can't think of.

I'm sure you could find something similar not far from you. Similar places as above, or truck stop, DOT scale, etc. Just be sure if you stop at a DOT scale all your equiment is in good/proper order.

[jwmiller33]

so do i need to go to the dmv with weight documentation?

[SpecialK]

Ask the folks at the dmv. They will know what you need and more than likely you won't need anything at all. I am pretty sure you are under that weight limit anyway.

[Ralph Wiggum]

You should definitely be able to get a lifetime license sticker. Isn't there a # you can call and ask about it prior to going in?

[Surface Tension]

Check your title. If your getting the sticker instead of the lifetime license I would think your trailer must be classified as something other then a 1200 lb boat trailer.

Next time you go to the DMV you'll tell them it is a 1200 lb boat trailer.

If the title says otherwise you might be stuck. Starting from scratch as a homemade 1200 lb boat trailer is another option.

[walleyemaniac]

I got mine 3 or 4 years ago when I went in to renew, shortly after I purchased my boat, didn't even have to ask. Thats just what they gave me. The lady said thats what everything had switched to.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I didn't think they had trailer license plates for boat trailer anymore.

[SpecialK]

When I went to register the used trailer (I don't think it had been registered) I bought, they gave me the option of doing plates or the lifetime. The people at the dmv were extremely knowledgeable , as they should be and very helpful. I had no title just the bill of sale.

One recomendation would be to go to a DMV office outside / outskirts of the metro area where the folks deal with this issue more often than the ones in the cities would.

[fishwater]

One recomendation would be to go to a DMV office outside / outskirts of the metro area where the folks deal with this issue more often than the ones in the cities would.

This is an awesome recommendation. The DMV in Stillwater is awesome, the folks are always well informed and willing to help out. After living in St. Paul for 10 years and going to the Sears store near the capital, dealing with a smaller DMV in Stillwater is a cakewalk!

[Long Gray Line]

Went to the DMV in Maple Grove. Told them I had an 18' w/ a 115hp on it. The guy there said I was good and I now have the sticker.

[WaveWacker]

Your definately eligible for a lifetime trailer license. I have a 17.5' lund pro v tiller and I can get one. Just go to your local DMV with your title paperwork and tell them you'd like to get a lifetime license for your boat trailer.

[LightningBG]

The Stillwater DMV is pretty good. I sweat I'm in that place about once every 3 months registering something or another.

[SpecialK]

DMV's are even better in smaller towns than Stillwater. They seem to be happy to get out of their chairs to come to the counter to help someone

[Valv]

Boat trailers (or any trailer) above 3,000lbs GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight, which means boat and trailer together) get license plate. Any trailer below get lifetime sticker. As ST said check your title, if it says less than 3000lbs it could have been DMV operator error, they are human and make mistakes also. At work they registered a pontoon trailer at 45,000lbs instead of 4,500. That was a $ 600 sticker cost. It must have been a huge pontoon !!!

In Wisconsin below 3000lbs don't even get registered !!!

[WaveWacker]

Exactly and unless your trailer is WAY overkill for a 16' 80's model Lund tiller you'll be under the 3k. I have a 1775 Lund Pro V and it was eligible for the lifetime license.

[DTro]

Yeah, I didn't think you even had a choice anymore.

[jwmiller33]

went to the dmv today in saint paul and got everything taken care of... for some reason, who ever had the boat/trailer before me, registered it as a 6,000 lb class D trailer...it was real easy, i just had to change it on the title that it was less then 3,000. it was only like $21 for the lifetime license too! it pays for itself in just two years which is awesome! my potential bill to renew the 6,000lb class D license was $17.

[SpecialK]

Awesome! Glad you got it handled.