# Semi???



## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

Hi everyone! Wasn't sure what topic to put this under... shy

Just got back from the County Clerk's office here to get our TT licensed and all that good stuff. The young girl said that because we have a 30' TT, we HAD to have a plate that says 'SEMI' on it. I asked her why and she said because!














She then went on to say that ANYTHING over a 20' TT needs to have a plate that says 'SEMI' and are in violation if they don't. Bless her heart, but the DH thinks that sounds fishy on an RV. Can anyone confirm if this is indeed correct??

Also, Ray thought we were supposed to receive a sticker in the shape of Tennessee (







) or something like that. He said he thought it needed to be put next to the door. I told him he has been working too hard and that we would be leaving out for our first rally soon for some much needed R&R but he insists that he thought some kind of sticker was required. (We went to the ONLY camper place here short of going to Nashville (40 miles away) but they decided to close 'early'







) So, we couldn't ask them about my DH's mystery sticker obsession!


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

They told me my van is "commerical", so I don't have to get it smogged every year...


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Breeze,

Every state is different, but the 'semi' thing sure does not sound reasonable to me!

As far as the 'sticker', many states require an inspection or registration sticker of one sort or another. Again, it is a state by state thing.

I would let my fingers do the walking and call a couple of RV dealers, or ask the neighbor down the street that has an RV. You should be able to get a straight answer pretty quick.









You might also look up the your state DMV on line (gotta love Google!), and see what it says. Oregon's site is quite comprehensive, and I would guess all the other states sites are similar.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## freefaller25 (Mar 19, 2006)

Hello there from West Tennessee...we have a 28RSDS and have no SEMI plate for it. We just registered the trailer last week and received a plate with class 8000 in the lower left hand corner. There was no sticker for the camper involved. Boats have to have stickers but at least our RV does not. Each county could be different though. I know some cities require wheel tax stickers on the plates. Could there be a camper tax sticker for your area, probably not though.

Happy camping,
Tony


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## mjatalley (Feb 2, 2006)

I live in Middle Tennessee and we just got our registration. We have a 26ft and the tag says nothing about Semi. And you do not need a sticker for the side of the trailer. What county do you live in?

Hope you get it worked out.

action


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

I believe looking at the Tennesse registration book I have that she is incorrect...

here is the people you want to contact..

Title and Registration
44 Vantage Way, Suite 160 
Nashville, TN 37243-8050
(615) 741-3101 ext. 161
1-888-871-3171
Fax: (615) 253-4260


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

Thanks everyone! It sure does look funny with big ole bold black letters on the bottom of the plate... *SEMI*...

Called 2 camper places in Nashville and they said they had never heard of it. But the girl here said everyone else is wrong.







Seems funny that other Tennesseans haven't had to do it. Surely it wouldn't just be our county! Well, I think I'll call the number you gave me tomorrow Ghosty! I went into Tennessee DMV website which was vast but it never addressed the issue. Well, I guess I'll let you all know tomorrow what I find out! Thanks everyone!

PS...Don't shoot the messenger if I come back and tell you all you're supposed to have 'SEMI' plates! haha


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## shake1969 (Sep 21, 2004)

Now you'll probably need a CDL just to go down the road.

Gotta love red tape.


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## Humpty (Apr 20, 2005)

shake1969 said:


> Now you'll probably need a CDL just to go down the road.
> 
> Gotta love red tape.
> [snapback]99180[/snapback]​


And then you will have to get one heck of a new TV to justify the CDL!!


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## east-tn-outbacker (Jul 21, 2005)

Here in Tenn the semi on the lisence plate stands for semi-permanent. This means they are good for as long as you own the trailer. You don't have to renew it every year like the standard lisence plate. They a little expensive up front but well worth it if you plan on keeping your trailer for several years. As far as I know there's no law that says you have to go with the semi plate. Here where I live it's hard to get them to sell you a semi plate, I guess they like seeing you come back every year.


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

OMG, easttnoutbacker!!! Is that what SEMI means? Semi-Permanent plate???







HAHA! I never looked at it that way. The little girl that worked there at the DMV said she thought it was something to do with the length of the RV.







I do know that the plate cost somewhere like $95!!







And she did say that we would never have to re-new the plates as long as we owned the TT. We all thought 'SEMI' meant like a SEMI Truck. Never thought about it meaning a SEMI plate! Thanks for the input!


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## summergames84 (Mar 6, 2004)

Theycallusthebreeze said:


> OMG, easttnoutbacker!!! Is that what SEMI means? Semi-Permanent plate???
> 
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I guess only the government uses terms like "semi-permanent".







Is it semi or permanent?


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

Sounds like you got a deal on plates if you don't have to renew.. I'd leave things as is.

Regards, Glenn


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## Moosegut (Sep 24, 2005)

summergames84 said:


> I guess only the government uses terms like "semi-permanent".
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Yeah, that's a bit of a non sequitur. It's like being semi pregnant.

I thought you were going to have to start filling out a log book and linit your driving to 11 hours on and 8 hours in the sleeper.


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

Theycallusthebreeze said:


> OMG, easttnoutbacker!!! Is that what SEMI means? Semi-Permanent plate???
> 
> 
> 
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I too live in Middle TN. I know our popup camper purchased in Nashville had a Tennessee inspection sticker located next to the door along with the RVIA sticker. When we bought our OB in Indiana on 3/29, it had no TN sticker (obviously) and I don't feel compelled to go looking for one either.







I don't fear the TN RV inspection police hunting me down.

By the way, when I registered my popup in Davidson County in 2004, it cost me $15 for a plate for it. I was told at the time that a plate was not required in TN, but other states may require them. The title to our new OB has not caught up with us yet, so I have not attempted to register the OB here yet.


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## zoomzoom8 (Nov 8, 2005)

I looked...we have a "TE" plate

I called...we have a $14.00 a year renewal

Asked the lady about the "semi" deal and she stated that was incorrect. She had also never heard of the sticker. I've had three trailers in TN and never had the first mention of a sticker. So who knows...







.......don't cha just love how well our DMV folks are trained????


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

summergames84 said:


> I guess only the government uses terms like "semi-permanent".
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Ahh Bureaucracy! Gotta love it, eh?









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

Well, zoomzoom, I have been trying to call that phone number that Ghosty gave me to the Title and Registration Dept of Tennessee's Safety Division. The first time I listened to music for 1/2 hour and then someone picked the phone up and then hung it up.





















Called back again (I'm a glutton for punishment)...waited another 1/2 hour. Finally hung up. I agree it appears that what _one_ DMV person knows, another one doesn't. As far as calling the Nashville DMV to find out once and for all, they are 'either on their phone or away from their desk but my call is real important to them'! That's why I was on the phone for an hour today trying to ask one simple question. Called our local DMV again just to speak to the supervisor there to have her double-check the plate her girl gave us yesterday but it's Friday and she had left early for the day. I guess we'll just keep the SEMI plate and 'hope' it's right.


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

Tracy you might could call the TN state police and ask them what they think because they are the ones who will be stopping you if it is wrong. Just an idea.

Leon


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

GUESS WHAT? I decided to try one more time and got through right off!
















This is what the girl at the State said and I got her name and number. She read it to me verbatim...

If an RV is <8 feet in width and <20 feet in length (excluding or not counting the tongue), a person may choose a TE _or_ SEMI tag.

If an RV is >8 feet in width and >20 feet in length (excluding or not counting the tongue), a person MUST purchase a SEMI tag. She said this applies to ALL of Tennessee and she believes in other states as well, although she wasn't positive on that. She said it would be up to each person out of state to call their DMV to ask. (







) She also said that this change took place in January of 2004.


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## zoomzoom8 (Nov 8, 2005)

LOL!!! You go girl.........!!!!

So, that would mean I have the wrong tag.......I think I'll take my chances...I have the papers....geez......

She help any with the "sticker" thing?


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

Really. If it's that dang hard to find out what the 'right' way is, who really cares? We go in there, hand them the ca$h and what they give us is their problem.


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

Oh shoot zoomzoom! I did ask her about the sticker and she said she thought it had something to do with some kind of dealer inspections on a used RV or something like that and then she was looking something else up about the plates and forgot to follow up on the sticker issue. Oh well, if we're supposed to have one and we didn't get one, you all can come bail us out of jail on your way to the rally!


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Great detective work, Breeze!









Just one more reason to love Outbackers!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## ee4308 (Aug 23, 2005)

zoomzoom8 said:


> So, that would mean I have the wrong tag.......I think I'll take my chances...I have the papers....geez......


Sounds like the different DMV offices have their own way of doing things.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

ee4308 said:


> zoomzoom8 said:
> 
> 
> > So, that would mean I have the wrong tag.......I think I'll take my chances...I have the papers....geez......
> ...


Well...now...there's a surprise. Odds are good that you'd also find that the same DMV office has a different way of doings things depending upon what day of the week it is....or maybe which person is working the counter on which day of which week within months with names containing an "e" or "i"....









I figure we're doing well if we get out the same day with something in hand that we can convince ourselves has some resemblence to what we thought we were going in there for in the 1st place. Don't get me started!


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

HAHA! I think you hit the nail right on the head there, wolfwood!


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Our DMV offices here in California have long been notorious for being the home of absolute incompetence and apathy. Looks like some have moved on to TN


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

California Jim said:


> Our DMV offices here in California have long been notorious for being the home of absolute incompetence and apathy. Looks like some have moved on to TN
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I've dealt with these type folks in a number of states but I've got to give credit to the people in the DPS offices in Texas. I've never had a bad experience, have always been treated cordially and professionally and I've been to at least six different offics across the state over the years.

Regards, Glenn


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

[quote name='Theycallusthebreeze' date='Apr 7 2006, 01:38 PM']
 She said this applies to ALL of Tennessee and she believes in other states as well, although she wasn't positive on that.








This gal could profitably cease commenting on other states' ways! She has not yet met Jack.









Sluggo


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Theycallusthebreeze said:


> GUESS WHAT? I decided to try one more time and got through right off!
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After all that...what does "SEMI" stand for?

Semi (as in the large trucks)
or
Semi-permanent (which we all love for the lack of a real meaning)


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## Theycallusthebreeze (Jan 28, 2006)

I *still* don't know, OregonCamper!


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