Business / Legal Questions for teardrop manufacturers

[oregonguy]

OK, my brother and I are in need of some business advice / answers. We have secured our LLC, registered our business name, and have our EIN. What we need to figure out now is what kind of licensing we need to legally manufacture and sell our trailers. I am having a bear of a time just figuring out what legal classification our trailers fall under. It doesn't seem that teardrops really fall under: "Recreational Vehicle", or "Travel Trailer", or "Camper" classification. I have contacted the Building Code Division, and the DMV, and so far am still far from getting a complete answer. So far the it seams like "Light Trailer" is the closest match... but so far I can't seem to find the correct licensing program for that, if one is needed at all.

It does appear that we need a "dealership license" to sell direct, unless we choose to sell through a dealership. Does anybody have experience with this?

What I would really like is to hear from those of you who have done this already, and are building / selling trailers legally. What steps did you take? What licenses do you have? What is the best way to proceed?

Thanks in advance for any help you're willing / able to give. My brother and I feel very comfortable with the construction / design aspects of our little venture, but the business aspect is a bit foreign to us.

[rbeemer]

Send a PM to Grant or Cary, they might be able to point you in the right direction. They are not in Oregon but they both sell stuff nationally. They might also be able to point you in the right direction about getting sales tax info for other states, if you need it.

[linuxmanxxx]

I'm a manufacturer in texas and our saving grace is that any trailer under 2k gross weight doesn't have a title from the state. You use the original MCO from the trailer manufacturer and pay 60 bucks for tags and go your merry way. Helps my cause tremendously indeed.

[oregonguy]

I'm a manufacturer in texas and our saving grace is that any trailer under 2k gross weight doesn't have a title from the state. You use the original MCO from the trailer manufacturer and pay 60 bucks for tags and go your merry way. Helps my cause tremendously indeed.

Oregon has a similar rule with regard to weight near as I can tell, but I've gotten some mixed messages as to whether it is applicable to us. We are building our frames ourselves, so there will be some extra hoops to fling ourselves through I'm sure. Thanks for the reply though, the response to this thread until now has been a little underwhelming... Good luck with you venture over there in Texas, I hope we both make it big

[linuxmanxxx]

You might make it easier on yourself if you do the tractor supply route like we are and use their MCO and skirt all the legalities of making your own trailer. Then you just say its a trailer with a removable living area and it stays a trailer classification.

[oregonguy]

You might make it easier on yourself if you do the tractor supply route like we are and use their MCO and skirt all the legalities of making your own trailer. Then you just say its a trailer with a removable living area and it stays a trailer classification.

We've thought of that route, but we've spent a lot of time and money on the creation of our custom frame, that fits our trailer perfect, and allows certain design elements to work correctly. Going to a generic frame is always an option, but not one that hope to entertain if we can help it. I appreciate the info and insight though.

Thanks