Holsclaw trailer VIN

[Brian Palmer]

Where is the VIN usually located on a Holsclaw trailer? I have a 1976 model that I need to register.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Brian

[Skegemog]

I have an old Holsclaw trailer I bought sans title last year, found the manufacturer's plate but no VIN. Too difficult to register in PA without title or VIN so registered it in MI where we have a house. No issues there.

[Todd Bradshaw]

It is/was on a sticker on the left side of the tongue, just aft of the hitch assembly. I don't recall ever seeing anything stamped into the metal anywhere on them. Since you haven't found it, it probably means that your sticker is gone. Another option might be to give it a coat of Rustoleum (does wonders for old Holsclaws) and try to register it as home-made. Surely you're not the first person that this has happened to on old boat trailers and the state must have a means in place to assign a new number.....then again, it is the government and the sensible, logical option often seems to the the last one they can wrap their collective little brains around.

[Brian Palmer]

Thanks all. There are no stickers, but there is a manufacturers plate on the winch stand, but it does not have the VIN.

I know the VIN, since I have the previous owners registration and I was able to get it registered for a temporary transfer permit from New York where I bought it. The license agent wants me to bring the trailer by to check the VIN. Apparently they have had too many cases where the VIN didn't match the title.

Brian

[Skegemog]

Thanks all. There are no stickers, but there is a manufacturers plate on the winch stand, but it does not have the VIN.

I know the VIN, since I have the previous owners registration and I was able to get it registered for a temporary transfer permit from New York where I bought it. The license agent wants me to bring the trailer by to check the VIN. Apparently they have had too many cases where the VIN didn't match the title.

Brian

I'm afraid you may be in for a Kafka-esque experience with Penndot, Good luck!

[Canoeyawl]

Just avoid any confusion and stamp the number on there.
Any good machinist has a set (or two) of letter and number stamps.

Or you can buy them as imports pretty cheaply.

Less than $10 > Amazon

[Brian Palmer]

For the price of buying and shipping off Amazon, I can almost get a set at the hardware store.

But that is what I was planning to do. The guy at the shop that does the title pretty much said to do the same. Wink, wink.

Brian

[Tom Robb]

I think I'd paint it after stamping - plausable deniability for both you and the state guy.

[Brian Palmer]

I am now legal! I didn't go directly to PennDot, I used a trailer shop and dealer that also handles tags and titles. It cost more, but there were no long lines and it is close to where I have to go anyway everyday this week.

I bought a crappy set of stamps at Harbor Freight, and added the VIN to the aluminum Holsclaw manufacturer's tag on the winch stand.

Brian

[Thorne]

Most states will issue a new VIN for an old trailer if you really can't find one on it anywhere - and the inspector is convinced it wasn't ground off. I've gone through the process in CA for that at least once...

[Brian Palmer]

Here in PA, I was told by Penn DoT before I bought this trailer that if you do not have something equivalent to a title (e.g., a tranmsferrable registration) for a used vehicle, you have two options to get a new title and register the vehicle:

1. Show that you bought the vehicle as salvage and that you rebuilt it or that it was home-made (basically the same process). You'll need detailed receipts for all the new parts and supplies used in rebuilding or building the trailer, and it will need to undergo an "enhanced inspection."

2. Got to the Court of Common Pleas with your paperwork and documentation and ask for a court ordered title.

Therefore, before I bought this trailer from NY, I made sure the seller had what I needed to first register the title in NY to get a transfer permit, and then to register it in PA when I got home.

Brian