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Registering a HDT as a motorhome in Georgia


GeorgiaHybrid

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As some of you already know, registering a HDT in Georgia is an exercise in frustration. I have been dreading going down with the paperwork on the Kenworth but the time had come about two weeks ago to get it down. Georgia does not recognise what we do with our trucks and they don't have a category to place us in. I gave the tax assessor the paperwork from MHC, plenty of pictures of other trucks that are "motorhomes" in other states, pictures of our truck at Larry's place being "converted" to a RV hauler truck and the cover of our build sheet. The build sheet turned out to be very helpful as it plainly said the truck was "non commercial, recreational use only"

 

She didn't have a clue what to do as Georgia only has tags for private trucks to 26,000 pounds. Over that limit you have two choices, commercial or farm use inside of Georgia only. None of those would work so I suggested a motorhome registration. She took all of the info and said she would forward it to Atlanta and see what they wanted to do. 3 days later, she called and said every single supervisor in the tag and title office refused to give her an answer.

 

Hmmm..... They sent the problem over to a group of 4 lawyers who debated over a 2 day period what to do with the truck. They responded later that week with "register it as a Georgia private farm vehicle with a 36,000 pound tag and give him a letter stating that it would be OK to drive on that tag outside of Georgia". Our tax assessor knew that would never work as she knows we will be traveling all over the USA with this truck. She told them to try again as she didn't want to be a part of us getting busted driving a Georgia use only tag across the country as no one would be stupid enough to believe a "letter" stating it would be OK.

 

They next told her to give us a 26,000 pound tag and let us go. Again, no way was I going to accept that nor was she willing to do it. We got by on the Freightliner as it looks similar to a M2-106 that might have a 26,000 pound GVWR even though that trucks GVWR was over 30,000 pounds but I didn't have any options with it.

 

She couldn't write a commercial tag (they are all issued in Atlanta) and agreed that was not correct either so she called back and asked again about a motorhome tag. They said no, as soon as you unhook the trailer, it is no longer a motor home. That is when I asked what is considered a motor home as the truck has a fridge, microwave, shore power and shore power heating and air and even cable TV when hooked up in a campground. The fact that it could pull our trailer and carry a Smart car was a bonus.

 

She called yet again to the state and they told her to do whatever she thought it should be. After that call, she told us that she might get screamed at by someone from Atlanta but that she would send the paperwork in as a motorhome. She also warned us that it would have to be sold as a motorhome in the future and could not be converted to a commercial truck and I assured her that was not a problem.

 

We got the paperwork back from Atlanta today and we are now the proud owners of a Kenworth T680 "motorhome". A far as I know, this is the first HDT in Georgia to be registered this way and should help others that are wanting to register their HDT as a motorhome in Georgia as well.

2017 Kenworth T680
2015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites
2016 Smart Prime

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I know how much of a relief it is to have your license plate. When I did mine, I couldn't get out of that office fast enough with the plate in hand. I felt like they were going to yell, "Wait, we made a mistake!"

 

I had the exact opposite experience in Alabama. When they didn't see a Volvo brand motorhome listed in their system, they just added it right there in the office.

 

Congrats on getting it done.

"Willy Mammoth" - Volvo 730, Sold

Heartland Cyclone 4000 Toy Hauler
T-Minus 26 years and counting to being a full timer.

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I gave the tax assessor the paperwork from MHC, plenty of pictures of other trucks that are "motorhomes" in other states, pictures of our truck at Larry's place being "converted" to a RV hauler truck and the cover of our build sheet. The build sheet turned out to be very helpful as it plainly said the truck was "non commercial, recreational use only"

I recognize that I'm a stickler (Nazi?) for good grammar, but I'd really encourage you to NOT put converted in quotes. Essentially by doing that, you're saying that another, different word belongs here, but you're going to use the word converted out of context and improperly as a fake word in place of what should be there. Instead, you're really and truly talking about a conversion here: it's being converted from a commercial truck (basic conveyance as a power unit to haul a trailer for hire with freight inside or upon it) to a motorhome (fridge, microwave, shore power, shore powered HVAC, cable TV, etc.) with a more recreationally-purposed bed/body (for transporting your car, which has even less debate about intended use) with cabinets for belongings that relate to living wherever it is that you've set the parking brake.

 

Leave no question about the words you've chosen and you'll present yourself as more authoritative on the subject, helping you maintain a little more power in your negotiations.

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x2 what Peety said. If you want to emphasize the word, just make it bold or in italics.

Edited by rickeieio

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I recognize that I'm a stickler (Nazi?) for good grammar, but I'd really encourage you to NOT put converted in quotes. Essentially by doing that, you're saying that another, different word belongs here, but you're going to use the word converted out of context and improperly as a fake word in place of what should be there. Instead, you're really and truly talking about a conversion here: it's being converted from a commercial truck (basic conveyance as a power unit to haul a trailer for hire with freight inside or upon it) to a motorhome (fridge, microwave, shore power, shore powered HVAC, cable TV, etc.) with a more recreationally-purposed bed/body (for transporting your car, which has even less debate about intended use) with cabinets for belongings that relate to living wherever it is that you've set the parking brake.

 

Leave no question about the words you've chosen and you'll present yourself as more authoritative on the subject, helping you maintain a little more power in your negotiations.

 

Whew.....

 

Drive on............(only passed typing class because I was "good" at repairing..........typewriters)

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peety3, on 26 Jul 2016 - 10:02 AM, said:

I recognize that I'm a stickler (Nazi?) for good grammar, but I'd really encourage you to NOT put converted in quotes. Essentially by doing that, you're saying that another, different word belongs here, but you're going to use the word converted out of context and improperly as a fake word in place of what should be there. Instead, you're really and truly talking about a conversion here: it's being converted from a commercial truck (basic conveyance as a power unit to haul a trailer for hire with freight inside or upon it) to a motorhome (fridge, microwave, shore power, shore powered HVAC, cable TV, etc.) with a more recreationally-purposed bed/body (for transporting your car, which has even less debate about intended use) with cabinets for belongings that relate to living wherever it is that you've set the parking brake.

 

Leave no question about the words you've chosen and you'll present yourself as more authoritative on the subject, helping you maintain a little more power in your negotiations.

 

LOL, Peety, I put it in quotes on purpose. The truck was a purpose built, ordered new from Kenworth, RV hauler. The only conversion was adding the bed. I had to come up with something to get the point across that this was a stand alone motor home. It was bought with the fridge, microwave, 1800 watt invertor with a shore power option for the truck, a Carrier APU with shore power option to run the AC and heat with either the 6,000 watt generator or on shore power and was factory singled. It was never titled as a commercial truck and the only thing we have done is add the bed to convert it to a motorhome.

 

Having the build sheet from the factory stating it was not a commercial vehicle and was for recreational use only was a big help in convincing them. Not to mention having a picture of the truck in front of Larry's shop in Texas for the "conversion" to a motor home. :rolleyes:

2017 Kenworth T680
2015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites
2016 Smart Prime

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LOL, Peety, I put it in quotes on purpose. The truck was a purpose built, ordered new from Kenworth, RV hauler. The only conversion was adding the bed. I had to come up with something to get the point across that this was a stand alone motor home. It was bought with the fridge, microwave, 1800 watt invertor with a shore power option for the truck, a Carrier APU with shore power option to run the AC and heat with either the 6,000 watt generator or on shore power and was factory singled. It was never titled as a commercial truck and the only thing we have done is add the bed to convert it to a motorhome.

 

Having the build sheet from the factory stating it was not a commercial vehicle and was for recreational use only was a big help in convincing them. Not to mention having a picture of the truck in front of Larry's shop in Texas for the "conversion" to a motor home. :rolleyes:

Good thing I've got thick skin...you're welcome for the "help".

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Nice job....it will for sure help someone in the future.... :)

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Congrats,

 

Re your truck was delivered as a two axle truck, that would preclude singling.

 

Steve

2005 Peterbilt 387-112 Baby Cat 9 speed U-shift

1996/2016 remod Teton Royal Atlanta

1996 Kentucky 48 single drop stacker garage project

 catdiesellogo.jpg.e96e571c41096ef39b447f78b9c2027c.jpg Pulls like a train, sounds like a plane....faster than a Cheetah sniffin cocaine.   

 

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GeorgiaHybrid I was stationed in Kings bay Georgia back in 1979 to 1984 and the dealings that I had with the GDMV was never impressive. But back then I was towing with a Ford 250 that was built from two Ford 250's and a 69 mercury Montego. The boy that built it worked for N&W RR in Roanoke Va. All 3 vehicles had been hit by trains. Getting tags was not a problem. The truck was built to tow a 35' race car hauler. I towed a 24' boat and after seeing the light (sold it) I got a 30' Coachman tag. So comgrats on your victory!!

Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

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Sounds like you had someone on your side helping you work through it. Rare as it might be, it's always good to see it turn out the way it should.

 

You might consider sending Mark info on who you dealt with for inclusion in the resource guide. Presumably, if another Georgian showed up with an HDT, she would be the person to make it easy.

45' 2004 Showhauler -- VNL300, ISX, FreedomLine -- RVnerds.com -- where I've started to write about what I'm up to

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Good job my friend, preparation and perseverance mostly brings success.

Can not wait to see that fancy blue paint and your new portable cave.
Didn't know the new APU's had a shore power option for the cooling, nice.

Is it basically a gen set then and everything runs on electrons?

Yamaha V-Star
2007 Kenworth T2000 tandem aircutter
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  • 2 weeks later...

Good job my friend, preparation and perseverance mostly brings success.

Can not wait to see that fancy blue paint and your new portable cave.

Didn't know the new APU's had a shore power option for the cooling, nice.

Is it basically a gen set then and everything runs on electrons?

 

Dave, been busy this past week and forgot about your question until this afternoon. Shore power is an option on the Carrier APU's as they use an electric motor for the compressor and electric strip heat. They added another plug under the drivers door for the HVAC when a power pedestal is available. Just plug in, pull the windshield curtains and settle in for the night without a noisy APU running in the background.

2017 Kenworth T680
2015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites
2016 Smart Prime

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  • 3 months later...

So my exercise in frustration registering in Georgia has begun. We purchased a used T880, to be registered and used solely as an RV. 5th wheel removed, personal use car deck/ramp on the back. Our local tag office quickly directed me to the Atlanta office. The Atlanta office told me that the county office would handle this. The truck meets all of the RV requirements-

 

Is there a magic inspection form? or has anyone had personal experience with a field agent/office that used logic to solve this puzzle?

 

Thanks!!

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Your local tax assessor will just need to submit the paperwork as a motorhome. If needed, they do have an inspection form that is used to make sure that a vehicle is road ready (think kit car or custom frame hotrod) that requires a qualified LEO to inspect and run the numbers against the stolen car registry.

 

Have you talked to the local tax assessor yet? I will say perseverance is key, one other guy in our country tried with a Cascadia and gave up after a week and sold it. Don't give up and keep going back to the motorhome registration.

 

Yours should be easy with that huge ARI sleeper. You are completely self contained and act more like a FRED than a tractor.

 

Other than that, the PM that I sent should help with our local contact info.

Edited by GeorgiaHybrid

2017 Kenworth T680
2015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites
2016 Smart Prime

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Nice work. You were a patient man it would appear. When you walk out of the office tag in hand it's truely a "Quick start the car" type of moment.

 

Pardon the " " not really sure if I did that right ?

Bill and Joan and 3 Collie pups

2001 Volvo VNL 770 "The Doghouse" Singled short, "ET" hItch VED12 465HP Gen 1 Autoshift 3.58 ratio  2005 Mobile Suite 38RL3  2011 Smart Passion loaded piggybacK

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  • 4 months later...

It looks like I'll be going through this soon enough. Georgia Hybrid, I sent you a PM yesterday on some license questions for GA, but if you have any contact info to send me to the people you dealt with in your county that I could give to our tax assesor to hopefully help me along in this process also, that would be greatly appreciated. 

Edited by BlueLghtning

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2 hours ago, BlueLghtning said:

It looks like I'll be going through this soon enough. Georgia Hybrid, I sent you a PM yesterday on some license questions for GA, but if you have any contact info to send me to the people you dealt with in your county that I could give to our tax assesor to hopefully help me along in this process also, that would be greatly appreciated. 

Will be back at the fiver later today. No problem helping you get it sorted out. Will send you some more contact info in a PM tonight.

2017 Kenworth T680
2015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites
2016 Smart Prime

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