The Purchase Process

 Buying something like an RV is a whole lot harder than swiping your credit card at the Target checkout.

If you're buying from a dealership, awesome, they take care of most of that for you. You sign the dotted line and they do the rest.

Buying from another person is a little more complicated. Fortunately, the couple that we bought from had their stuff together. What exactly do you need?

• Bill of Sale - Effectively a receipt. Make sure you use your LEGAL name. And if you're buying with somebody you trust, I'd suggest an OR relationship for both your names, rather than an AND.
• Odometer Disclosure Statement - It may only matter with the type of RV that you can drive, but we had one anyway. Pretty easy to prove 0 miles on something that can't make itself go.
• Certificate of Title - or just "Title" for short. Proves that you are the owner. Buyer and seller both sign it, to prove that the transition of ownership was intentional.

Got all that? Now take it to your county's tax office. In Spartanburg, that included both the auditor's office and the financial office. Auditor handled putting everything in the system, and the finance area allowed me to pay the tax bill. I assume it's mostly the same other places, but it should be the first step anyway.

After you own the trailer and you've paid the taxes, then you can put it on your insurance. Talk to your insurance agent. We went with the same agency that covers our vehicles. Easy and cheaper than I expected.

Now, if you plan on taking the RV on the road, you'll need a tag. You need to visit the DMV for that, but you have to have insurance on it before you can get a tag. I made the mistake of going and standing in line for half an hour, only to learn that I needed insurance first. You'll also need to fill out an APPLICATION FOR TRAILER LICENSE PLATE (RG-010A) and Title Application (Form 400).

My understanding is that if the camper will stay at one address and never get on the road, you don't actually need the tag and could bypass the DMV entirely. I'm not 100% certain on that, but I believe it would be unnecessary. I still plan on getting a tag, since we will eventually need to move it. And realistically, I assume most people will occasionally move their RV. If it's staying in one place for good, though, I don't think you need a tag.

So the order is:

1. Tax Office
2. Insurance
3. DMV