VIN Make/Model Issue Registering in Florida

[treimche]

I bought my rig in 2023 to move from ND to FL, and just recently registered it here in FL. I immediately got a letter from Progressive Insurance stating that there is some information from the state that does not match. I noticed that the state of FL uses Ford for the make, whereas Progressive uses Winnebago for the make. The VIN comes up as a F550 which is what the chassis would be. I'm not sure why this is difficult, there's a ton of motorhomes in Florida. Anyone have an idea?

[creativepart]

I would guess that the Florida title employees made a mistake on your Title. You should have that corrected. The VIN is for an Incomplete Vehicle, not a F550 truck.

[treimche]

When I was on the phone with Progressive, they were the ones saying the VIN was coming up as a F550 truck. That's odd because when I originally insured it with Progressive, I was able to choose Winnebago as the make, not Ford. Not sure how this is such a cluster.

[Blue Sky]

... agreeing with creativepart.

The number for Charlotte County, FL DMV is (941) 743-1350. They are always helpful and (other than county taxes) should be the same for all of FL. I undestand your issue is with insurance and not titleing and registration. Regardless, I would call them to make sure your FL documents are correct.

FWIW, I have a FL title application and yearly registration on disk from a Class C I had several years ago. On both documents the vehicle is listed as "MH" with no mention of Ford.

Edit: Our Class C was insured by National General, a subsidiary of Allstate. We had no SNAFUs getting a policy issued using FL documents.

2nd edit: After fighting with administrative issues, fixing the manufactures mistakes, and correcting dealer blunders, you can enjoy your RV. Sometimes it's a long road. Good luck.

[eaglelen]

Florida only uses the VIN, not the Winnebago serial number. My 2019 Adventurer on a F53 chassis shows as "2019 FORD MOTOR COMPANY motor coach black and red". I have had no issues with progressive.

[NXR]

My experience with Ohio might help. I had the same issue:

Let's hope you have an easier time getting it fixed than I did registering in Ohio.

I went through four incorrect titles on our new 2020 Georgetown GT5 with a 2019 chassis before the fifth one was successful:

1. "Ray" was used on the first title instead of "Raymond". The VIN was missing a zero, which nobody noticed. The Title Bureau also marked the title as TT instead MH but nobody noticed. Back to the dealer for a new title with my legal name.

2. Second title issued. Name changed to "Raymond" but year and model were changed to a 2019 Ford when it was a 2020 Forest River Georgetown on the first title.

Back to the dealer for a third title but dealer argued that they always title them that way. I argued that the first title was correct so that was not possibly true. She then checked several on their lot and found some were titled one way and some the other. I told her the 2019 would be a problem for insurance and for resale.

3. Third title issued as a 2020 Forest River Georgetown again.

Turned out the previous DMV employee was inexperienced and needed to do a "manual override" on motorhomes but they saw so few of them that the employee did not know.

Tried to get plates. The DMV person patiently explained that a Motor Home is one you drive and a Travel Trailer is one you tow and I did not need motorhome plates. I chuckled and told her that since I sat up front and drove it, I was pretty sure it was a motorhome. Back to the dealer for a new title. (This was when it was found the dealer's chosen title bureau used code "TT" instead of code "MH" on the first title.)

4. Fourth title issued as an MH and that's when I noticed the VIN was invalid because it was missing a number. The VIN was wrong on all previous titles as well (yes, I kept copies). But the DMV thought it was valid even though it did not match up as a valid format. Back to the dealer, who was really tired of seeing me.

I reminded the dealer that their chosen Title Bureau was the one screwing up AND that their Title Bureau sent every title to the dealer, who then forwarded it on to me without ever bothering to look at it.

5. Fifth title issued and finally all was well. 45 day temporary tag was a few days from expiring.

I asked the dealer for the Certificate of Origin and they said Ohio required that they surrender it for a title, and they did not keep a copy. But she was able to login to the State and download a copy for me.

My insurance company also rated the motorhome as a 2019 and not a 2020 because they also used the VIN, just like a car. The difference was just $40 a year but if the motorhome got totaled then having it insured as a 2019 instead of a 2020 would have reduced our insurance payment. I noticed that when I got the policy. That one was pretty easy to get fixed.

Moral of the story: CHECK EVERYTHING on the title and insurance!

Ray

[4x4van]

Every state in the nation is supposed to be registering MHs by the model year, NOT the chassis year (which refers to an unfinished vehicle).