Does a Salvage Title for an RV Trailer or Motorhome Mean It’s Totaled?

Salvage Titles for RV Trailers: What It Means and Your Options

Continuing our article series on salvage and junk titles for RVs, let’s take a look at whether or not a salvage title means that an RV trailer is totaled. The short answer is yes: a salvage title does mean that your RV is a total loss. However, it does not mean you can’t repair the RV and re-register it for street-legal use. 

This process can be confusing because “salvage” and “junk” sound the same, but legally, they mean very different things.

We’re going to take a look at some of the misnomers and the facts of the matter. 

What Should You Do with a Salvage Title Camper?

Okay, so first off, let’s dissect this question a little bit more. 

Did You Buy It With A Salvage Title?

First question: Have you bought your RV with a salvage title already? If so, that should be disclosed during the sale. 

Now, a salvage title RV can be a real find if you are a bargain hunter like me. Most shoppers don’t want to deal with the potential hassle of dealing with the salvage title brand (although it really isn’t that big of a deal). But it can save you thousands of dollars, and if the RV trailer is already repaired, you won’t know the difference between that and one with a clean title besides what the title says. 

Here’s the thing, though: getting it registered in your name can be a chore if you do it locally. Generally speaking, most states require that you take it to an approved facility for a vehicle inspection. We do understand this; it is a vehicle deemed a total loss by the insurance adjustor, and you are trying to make it street-legal again. Of course, there is no inspection requirement in many states for vehicles that are already titled and registered, and there are tons of absolute turds rolling around. 

But I digress.

If you live in a state that is unfriendly toward registering salvage-branded vehicles, you are probably bummed out. That’s okay, read on. 

Was It Damaged After You Already Owned It?

The flip side of the coin is if damage happens to an RV trailer that you already own. 

If the damage is enough to total the RV trailer but it is still repairable, they will usually give you the option of scrapping it, or you can keep it, and they will just cut you the check. In fact, this happened to me a few years ago with a Chevy Trailblazer. Long story short, it was paid off, and then I still made more money selling it. 

So, the thing is that the insurance is probably not going to pay for your repairs. They totaled it to get out of paying for it, so if you keep it, it’s on you. 

But the cool thing about RV trailers is that, as long as the frame and running gear aren’t damaged, it’s just structural (i.e., the skin, windows, the roof, etc). If you are relatively handy, you can probably do a lot of these repairs yourself. You might be able to get away with this if the damage is from flooding, but be careful here; flooding does a ton of damage, and all of it might not be obvious. For instance, you should take apart all of the hubs to clean and regrease them, and so on.  

How To Get a Salvage Title for Your RV (If You Need One)

This is also a misnomer: if you own the RV trailer and it gets totaled, you will be issued a salvage title by the state. Whatever you do with the RV is more or less up to you after that. You can sell it (make sure to state that it is salvage-branded), repair it, or scrap it.  

How Does Insurance Work With a Salvage Title RV?

So, there is a sort of common knowledge that you can’t get insurance on vehicles with salvage titles. This is not completely accurate, though. You can do it, but you need to use the right insurance provider. For RVs with a salvage title, give our friends over at Select Insurance Group a ring and see what they can do for you. 

Okay, so here’s why a lot of insurance providers don’t want to cover salvage-titled RVs:

1. A higher risk of future claims: Since a salvage-titled vehicle of any kind was previously declared a total loss for one reason or another, it runs a higher risk of having underlying mechanical or structural issues. 

2. Unknown or uncertain quality of repairs: The quality of repair varies widely, especially if it was done DIY. The repaired vehicle may not meet industry standards, which completely comprise the designed safety and reliability. Of course, that is a liability for the insurance provider, so they are leery about such things. 

3. Reduced resale value: we all know this to be true, and it may contribute to why you bought it in the first place. But from the insurance provider's perspective, it’s hard to accurately judge the replacement value of the vehicle and payout if you ever have to file a claim. 

4. It’s hard to assess the actual value: there is no way around the fact that salvage-titled RVs are less desirable than clean-branded titles. Again, finding an accurate valuation is very hard because of the previous issues. If the repairs were done but suck the value tanks. What if the same area is impacted again? And so on. 

5. A higher liability risk: even if the repairs were done extremely well, risk-averse insurance adjusters would still get an ulcer from a salvage title. There is always the risk of substandard repair, and that’s the stuff that keeps them up at night.  

6. Increased repair costs: insurance providers are at risk, and anything that might pose an increased risk to repairs, replacement, or liability sets them off. If hidden damage is not covered in the first repair, it can come back to the new insurance provider if it is involved in another incident. 

7. Fraud: need we say more? If the previous owner tried to cover up the extent of damage or the shoddiness of repairs, it can mean huge headaches for the new owner and insurance provider. 

If you look at all of these, they really are just different sides of the exact same coin. It is all about whether or not the rebuild and repair were done to a high standard and how hard it is for the insurance adjusters to determine which is which. 

It does not help their bottom line to insure basket case vehicles. 

Are There States That Don’t Require Inspections?

Now, some vehicles don’t require inspections, and we offer RV services through two of them: South Dakota and Montana. Both of these states are inspection-free states for vehicle titling and registration, which can be a huge benefit for you, and we make the process super easy. Oh, and don’t forget: they are either no-tax (Montana) or low-tax (South Dakota is 4%). 

Can I Register Online Through These States?

That’s the best part: you absolutely can register online in these states. Select our service that best suits your needs, fill out the online portion, and wait for the packet from Dirt Legal. Then, follow the included instructions and send it back. 

In a few weeks, you will get a fresh title, registration, and your RV license plates. Easy as. 

If you aren’t really sure where to go with your salvage-titled RV, give us a call, and maybe we can help you get your issues squared away, like registration. And if you don’t have any title-brand issues but just want to save some serious coin, we are all about that. Depending on the value of your RV, you could easily save thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. 

Make sure to check out our registration services for RVs, and get started when you find the right service. It will be totally painless on your end and can save you a lot of hassle and money. What’s not to love?