I had a similar frustration in Ontario Canada. I purchased a boat and trailer a couple years ago, no ownership paperwork for either. Small boats in Canada aren’t titled (unless commercial) just need to request a license number from the feds with signed bill of sale as proof of ownership; got that no problems.
Trailer, different story. First time I went to the local MTO office (DMV equivalent) I knew they wouldn’t give it to me but wanted to know what I needed. They found no record of this trailer in the system so the clerk said I just needed Bill of sale (check), signed affidavit stating I bought the trailer from its legal owner, and a weight.
Note that this trailer is a 1962 Ward’s Sea King which means it predates the modern VIN system and only has an 8-digit serial number on a nameplate riveted to the back (which a previous owner had painted over probably as part of registering it “home built” - more on that later)
So I return in a couple days. Different clerk. This one is very hesitant, doesn’t like the non-standard VIN so they make a few calls and tell me I need to have it inspected by a “trailer dealership” to look for evidence of any other VIN or other way to identify a former owner (?), and/or contact the manufacturer to find out who the original owner was. They tell me stolen trailers often have VIN tag removed and another (false) tag added, but “true” VIN may be engraved elsewhere.
Stolen, really? I bought a beat up old trailer for $100.
Fine. I sorta know a guy with a dealership, so I take it there, explain the situation. By this point I’d done some research, determined the age based on the serial number, determined that Wards stopped selling trailers in 1986 and went bankrupt in 2001 so any records of original owner are long gone.
So my dealer guy takes this info, does an “inspection” and writes me a letter confirming the info on the trailer is correct.
He also does me a solid and contacts another local MTO office where he knows someone, and discusses the situation with her to ensure his letter contains the needed info.
Then I show up to that MTO office, letter in hand (plus my affidavit) and get my papers and a license plate in about 10 minutes.
At several points along the way various people told me “just register it as home built” and no doubt that’s what previous owners did to avoid the hassle. Silly me trying to do this above board. What frustrated me the most was, first; that no other owner bothered to title it properly, second; that the first clerk made no reference to a need for an inspection, and third; the second clerk had no idea that VINs didn’t exist in their current format before 1980 and questioned the legality of my purchase. But if it’s truly so easy to register a “home built” trailer then wouldn’t I just go that route if it were stolen??
The moral of the story: buy a trailer with title, or make sure you know a guy who can smooth things over on your behalf.
