I tried various wordings in search before I posted.
Which State is more cost effective for Vehicle License, Toad Insurance and Full Timer Insurance, TX or SD?
I am going off memory but think the tags for my TV were 89.00 I think and the 36' fiver tags were 108 or 128.00. Now I am not sure if you will have to apy any tax if you live in it full time. I know I had to on a manufactured home but not sure on RV.
Don Wilcox
Taylor TX
2006 Duramax 4X4
2007 295 Cherokey by Forest River
Texas may be cheaper, but we went with South Dakota because of the annual inspection requirements in Texas.
Greg
Retired member of the U.S. Navy's 1% Club.
Enjoying Champagne on the King Ranch!
'06 King Ranch F-350 Dually Diesel 4x4 Long Bed Crew Cab w/ Tow Boss
'07 Champagne Edition NuWa Hitchiker 3 axle 4 slide 37CKRD /w TrailAir all around
Why did the annual inspection requirement bother you? You have basically a 90 window to get it done and sometimes a second set of eyes is a good thing.
There is much more to the package than just vehicle license fees, inspections, and insurance.
Are you going to establish residence in one of the states or keep your Utah residence ? What about health insurance, taxes and everything else that will be involved ?
There are advantages to either state, only you can make the decision as to which works best for you. I can't speak for South Dakota but this might help increase your knowledge of Texas How to Become a Texan
You owe it to yourself to throughly investigate all options with facts, not just information you read on an internet forum.
South Dakota for me was 77.50 for car and 190.50(it went down with age)for the motor home. 3% new car sales tax. No income tax. Cheaper insurance (1043 annual for both)with good coverage. I also like to visit the state once in a while in the summer. I hated the winter when I got my drivers license. Everything is subject to change now, but that is my latest. Never had an inkling for Texas for anything but RV parts.
As for the insurance question, there are just too many variables to be able to answer accurately. Things like insurance amounts, type/age of vehicle, deductibles, additional riders, even your credit rating can have an effect on insurance rates. Dougherty and Associates, 866 725 5643 in Sioux Falls SD could give you a quote, then get one from Texas to compare. Alternative Resources in Sioux Falls SD (800 477 2664 www.alternativeresources.net) can give you information on residency.
SD requires a visit every 5 years to renew your driver's license, does that fit into your travel plans ? Do you carry a concealed weapon....this could be affected by your choice of residency...Health insurance rates may differ for you. There is no cut and dried solution that will fit every circumstance.
SGTJOE wrote: I tried various wordings in search before I posted.
Which State is more cost effective for Vehicle License, Toad Insurance and Full Timer Insurance, TX or SD?
Neither, the best state for your RV needs is MT. I would contact an attorney in Montana (MT) wich is the friendliest RV state, to set-up a limited liability corporation (LLC) which would be a retirement asset holding company. I recommend Bennett Law Office in Missoula, MT since they charge less than $1,000 and do all the legal work for you. They provide a physical address and mailing address for your holding company, and a lifetime of help for license renewals and your yearly (no income) MT tax document. An LLC (holding company) is the best way to to go in protecting your retirement assets from lawsuits so that no one can take away your retirement dreams. In MT, you will pay no sales tax or luxury tax when you purchase your RV (as well as toad vechicle, toys, etc) and that will save you thousands of dollars. You will also save a ton of money on yearly license fees and insurance costs for your RV (as well as toad vehicle, toys, etc). Also, MT has no vehicle inspection requirements (ever) or smog requirements (ever).
In fact, if you haven't already purchased your RV or before you trade one in on another one, I would contact these attorneys first because they can tell you where you can go to finance RVs to be placed in an LLC and which insurance companies will insure RVs held in an LLC. Bennett Law Office P.C. You can still set up your domicile state in any of the no income tax states (includes TX and SD) whenever you want to so you can stretch your retirement check further. You never have to visit MT, unless you want to since the attorneys do everything for you.
When I retire, I will set up residence in TX for the no income tax advantage and use the Escapees RV Club for mail fowarding. At that time I will get a TX driver's license. I am pretty sure the license fees and insurance rates are cheaper in MT than both TX and SD. This type of set-up gets you the best of everything and it is 100% legal. It is like making your vehicle a resident (for lack of a better word) of MT for the advantages it gets from there and it makes you a resident of TX or SD and gets you the advantages from there; all the while protecting all of your retirement assets from any type of law suit.
Donald J. & Deborah Potts 2004 Newmar Essex 4503 (45 ft / 4 slides / Cummins ISM 500 HP engine) WorldMark 50K NHK, Great Links Resorts 16K, II, RCI TT Platinum, Escapees, Good Sam & Passport America Life Members FMCA, SMART, Newmar Kountry Klub Members
WTTCS is right. CO recently went after several RV owners who had MT LLC's and supposedly was successful in fines, back taxes and registrations. Also, a few years ago the CA inspection station on the interstate out of Lake Havasu questioned me on my MH registration because of no front plate and my buddy behind me was asked for his registration. I know that Calif has requested all it's residents to report vehicles with out of State plates if it appears that they are living and working there. I have also heard that TX is looking at the MT LLC's also.
BTW, some good responses from you folks. With regards to Health Insurance, that is not a problem, I have BC/BS from being retired from the Gov't and also have Military Tricare and (OMG) Medicare to kick in in a few months.
The Inspections are not a problem, as someone else said, a second pair of eyes are good. Unless it's a place that is not on the up and up. Here at home we have some inspection places that just inspect, they don't do any thing else, so you don't end up being ripped off.
We're about to hit the road as soon as the dust settles on the Real Estate Market or we may just shut it down and have a neighbor take care of the yard. We'll see what the end of summer brings.
You work hard all your life and when you retire with the s&b paid off you think you are sitting in great shape. Well, not really so, it cost us close to 10,000 a year to live here in Utah. That is for State income tax, license and insurance for 2 cars, 1 trk and the MH, along with utilities, ADT alarm system, yard and house maintenance.
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