aggie79 wrote:rmcrist wrote:After calling numerous companies I've learned that Texas has very strict and specific rules for self-built campers. It has to be done by a licensed professional In order to be insured. For those of you who insured it as commercial, do you own a business that it is tied to?
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I too am curious to see what you find out. I have my teardrop trailer insured as a utility trailer.
You've probably already read these, but here is an example of a tiny house built on a flat bed trailer was ultimately registered as a travel trailer in Texas:
https://tinyhouse43.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/registering-your-tiny-house-trailer-in-texas/https://tinyhouse43.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/tinyhouse43-is-officially-a-tiny-house-travel-trailer-in-texas/Some other random thoughts:
1. Regarding "professionals", in Texas a homeowner can do electrical and plumbing work on their own home and don't have to have the appropriate licenses. Maybe this could be "stretched" to say your trailer is your home away from home if you need to prove up your build.
2. I oversee planning, building, and health codes for a small city in Denton County. We can't afford to have our own inspectors, so we contract our building and health inspections to a third-party company. It may be worth it to have a third-party inspector "inspect" your work on your next cargo trailer conversion. I don't know if they'll do this, but if you would like the name of the company that we use, please let me know by PM. Typically, companies like these are pretty reasonable on their rates.
3. As you are aware, the tax assessor offices in Texas are overloaded most times of the day. Clerks can get stressed from backlog of work. I once had a crazy car title transfer situation - father passed away, mother inherited car, mother gifted car to me. Not expecting much luck navigating that bureaucratic jungle, I went to the assessors office in Southlake during an off-peak time to get guidance. While I didn't get the title transferred on my initial visit, a very helpful clerk gathered the forms I needed and highlighted the various sections to complete (similar to the tiny house example above.) The next time I returned, the transfer sailed through.
If and when I build a CT conversion, I will register it as a cargo trailer if the bureaucracy seems insurmountable,