Trailer ownership with you in vehicle?

GreyGhost

GreyGhost

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I have never carried trailer ownership in my vehicles. I have a copy of both sides of vehicle ownership. Plates and trailers are in my name. I guess I could put a package with ownerships for each trailer in each vehicle. I have seen some police posts lately where they ding drivers for not having trailer ownership available. In all of those cases, they seem to be commercial vehicles (or personal vehicles being used for commercial) and they get all of the tickets the police can write. Do people carry trailer ownership when towing? Has anyone ever gotten a ticket for not having it? I never really thought about it and figured police could see the plate and trailer on the computer but that same argument would also apply to the vehicle and they are grumpy if you don't have it for the vehicle.

@PrivatePilot probably has the official answer and I wouldn't be surprised if he does something different than most people as towing trailers is his job. Given the trailer he normally pulls for personal use, I won't be surprised if he keeps a copy of ownership in the trailer. I always have open trailers so paperwork would be accessible to scumbags.
 
The thought never even crossed my mind to keep the trailer ownership with me. But it can be easily remedied in 5min with printing up a copy and keeping it in the glovebox with the car ownership in both the Mav and Odyssey.
 
HTA s.7 (5)

Permit to be carried

(5) Subject to subsection (6), every driver of a motor vehicle on a highway shall carry,

(a) the permit for it or a true copy thereof; and

(b) where the motor vehicle is drawing a trailer, the permit for the trailer or a true copy thereof,

and shall surrender the permits or copies for inspection upon the demand of a police officer. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 7 (5).
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TwistedKestrel said:
HTA s.7 (5)
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I know (now) that it is a violation. How many people carry trailer ownerships is the question? My dad never did. My brother doesn't (although I will suggest he does). A friend in construction doesn't normally as there are multiple trailers and dozens of trucks that may grab one on any given day (trucks and trailers have yellow stickers). It's just something I never really considered.
 
It's not something I normally consider either. It feels like strictly an add-on ticket to me but rules are rules
 
I do carry the trailer permit in the tow vehicle. I haven't ever been pulled over while towing, but I figure that offering it along with the vehicle permit shows that I'm one of those boring guys that follow (almost) all the rules. Might be enough to convert a speeding ticket into a warning.

I've had that sort of thing happen a couple of times. Once through a speed trap on the road, where the officer was almost embarrassed that he'd lit up a middle aged guy on a VStrom with a Givi top case instead of a young hooligan on a sport bike. Another time at an OPP checkpoint in Ganaraska where they didn't even want to see my paperwork after they looked at the bike with the turn signals and blue plate: "You dual sport guys always have your stuff in order".
 
I always try to have it on me.
I also provide it to anyone that is borrowing my trailer.


The crappy part is I don't always put it back in the same place.

I have been meaning to put one of these on the trailer and just keep the documents inside.

1743799994474.png


Keep in mind that I never have the original on me. Always a photocopy. Even with the family car or bike. Just a photocopy.
 
GreyGhost said:
@PrivatePilot probably has the official answer and I wouldn't be surprised if he does something different than most people as towing trailers is his job. Given the trailer he normally pulls for personal use, I won't be surprised if he keeps a copy of ownership in the trailer. I always have open trailers so paperwork would be accessible to scumbags.
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Yeah, you need to have it all the time as LEO's are perfectly within their rights to request it, and the ticket for not having it is the same as it would be with a car - failure to surrender documents.

For commercial equipment it's always in either a tube thing like @oioioi posted above, or now more often in one of these, typically on the front of the trailer. These are more durable and watertight in the long run, important for equipment that can see hundreds of thousands or millions of kilometers during their lifespans. The rubber tube things often leak.

1743806586924.png

As for carrying the ownership for small trailers/campers/etc, it's wise, as yeah, if you end up in a traffic stop or an accident, you'll almost certainly be asked for it. I have photocopies that I have tucked into a drawer in our current camper, my old horse trailer and some utility trailers I have owned in the past, I just kept the ownerships in the truck in the centre console.
 
Probably because hubby is a truck driver, but we always have our trailer (both cargo and travel) ownership and insurance with us in the truck...we also have it available digitally on our phones just in case, but always have the hard copy...
 
I carried the ownership in my wallet. Most of them said "Home built", even if they weren't. That's another story if the trailer has a manufacturer's logo on it with associated serial numbers.

I suppose one could remove the stickers and put ugly welds over the good ones to hide the truth. An entrepreneur could sell plastic stick-on bad welds.

Seriously, I can picture severe consequences if the registration is doctored, and there are thousands of "Home built" trailers out there.

To a LEO a falsified registration could be worse than a missing one. To an insurance company it could be an excuse to not pay out on a claim.
 
nobbie48 said:
I carried the ownership in my wallet. Most of them said "Home built", even if they weren't. That's another story if the trailer has a manufacturer's logo on it with associated serial numbers.

I suppose one could remove the stickers and put ugly welds over the good ones to hide the truth. An entrepreneur could sell plastic stick-on bad welds.

Seriously, I can picture severe consequences if the registration is doctored, and there are thousands of "Home built" trailers out there.

To a LEO a falsified registration could be worse than a missing one. To an insurance company it could be an excuse to not pay out on a claim.
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Most of my trailers have been built at home by someone (either me or others).

It sounds likes I'm the idiot for not carrying trailer ownership as most other people do. Live and learn, time to make some copies.
 
A buddy was using his late father's trailer for about 5 years before a cop pulled him over to let him know a dead guys name on the paperwork doesn't cut it. No ticket though.
 
GreyGhost said:
Most of my trailers have been built at home by someone (either me or others).

It sounds likes I'm the idiot for not carrying trailer ownership as most other people do. Live and learn, time to make some copies.
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Same…I’ll be printing it this weekend and putting in both cars…just in case.
 
I have a Third Wheel Trailer for the bike. Always have the paperwork with me in my wallet.
Another fellow bought the same time I did.
He removed the plate bracket hardware & lighting, never registered the trailer.
Last I heard, 5 years in Canada, US & Mexico, never had trouble.
Wondering when his luck will run out.
 
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nobbie48 said:
Most of them said "Home built", even if they weren't. That's another story if the trailer has a manufacturer's logo on it with associated serial numbers.

I suppose one could remove the stickers and put ugly welds over the good ones to hide the truth. An entrepreneur could sell plastic stick-on bad welds.

Seriously, I can picture severe consequences if the registration is doctored,
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When I was having all the trouble getting our camper that we bought in the USA a few years back registered because of the issue with the VIN number error (I posted about it here), a few people suggested that I just scratch off the VIN and stamp on my own and register it as a homebuilt.

It is very, very clearly not a homebuilt trailer.

The potential problems trying to explain that whole thing should it ever become necessary would make that not worth it, plus all of the insurance ramifications of course - I have my doubts that my insurance company would have willingly wrote a policy on a $25,000 "home built" trailer.
 
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PrivatePilot said:
When I was having all the trouble getting our camper that we bought in the USA a few years back because of the issue with the VIN number error (I posted about it here), a few people suggested that I just scratch off the VIN and stamp on my own and register it as a homebuilt.

It is very, very clearly not a homebuilt trailer.

The potential problems trying to explain that whole thing should it ever become necessary would make that not worth it, plus all of the insurance ramifications of course - I have my doubts that my insurance company would have willingly wrote a policy on a $25,000 "home built" trailer.
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You can calculate the loss of the trailer and proceed accordingly. What if a collision resulted in a massive lawsuit and the insurer wouldn't cover it because you lied. What you hit plus medicals for whoever was in it.
 
In my wallet.
 
I keep bike registration + insurance in my wallet.

SUV's and trailer registration in my SUV glove compartment. We only have the one tow vehicle.

Why would you not have these things either on your person or in the vehicle? Its got to be somewhere, why not on hand when you need it.
 
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