Question Help: I inherited an RV disaster!

[AshleeG23]

Hello RV Adventurers!
I have a HUGE RV mess that I hope this well-informed community can help me troubleshoot.
Cliff notes: My dad recently had a massive heart attack that took his independence and left my sister and me in charge of his belongings. And this one is a doozy.
My dad purchased a 1986 Suncrest M2900 about 5 years ago for cash, and it was clean and running (not great, but driveable). He never completed the transfer of title or registration.
It has been parked at a friend's industrial lot for years. During CV another friend was down on his luck, and they let him move into the RV. Unfortunately, he didn't take very good care of the RV. But here is the kicker, we live in South Lake Tahoe, so when the whole town was evacuated for the Caldor Fire, the bears broke into the RV, and it went from a mess to completely trashed. Follow that up by the massive snowstorms we had and the RV's leaky roof. You can imagine the state of this poor RV.

I have tried the conventional paths to donate the RV and scrap it, but no one is interested. Does anyone have any suggestions, resources, or insight on how to get rid of this RV, and sell it to someone for $1 for parts? I don't know if any piece of it is salvageable. I feel awful about the state it is, that is stuck on our family friends' property, I have no idea what to do.

 

[redbaron]

You might call the local fire department and see if they want a training vehicle to burn.

 

[Jireh Financial]

As an option, sometimes local junk yards will take them and scrap the metal parts. They might even come and get it from you. Not sure where you stand with the title not being transferred. In that age it MAY not be a problem for the scrap people.
Ken

 

[Rich W.]

You might call the local fire department and see if they want a training vehicle to burn.

Hello RV Adventurers!
I have a HUGE RV mess that I hope this well-informed community can help me troubleshoot.
Cliff notes: My dad recently had a massive heart attack that took his independence and left my sister and me in charge of his belongings. And this one is a doozy.
My dad purchased a 1986 Suncrest M2900 about 5 years ago for cash, and it was clean and running (not great, but driveable). He never completed the transfer of title or registration.
It has been parked at a friend's industrial lot for years. During CV another friend was down on his luck, and they let him move into the RV. Unfortunately, he didn't take very good care of the RV. But here is the kicker, we live in South Lake Tahoe, so when the whole town was evacuated for the Caldor Fire, the bears broke into the RV, and it went from a mess to completely trashed. Follow that up by the massive snowstorms we had and the RV's leaky roof. You can imagine the state of this poor RV.

I have tried the conventional paths to donate the RV and scrap it, but no one is interested. Does anyone have any suggestions, resources, or insight on how to get rid of this RV, and sell it to someone for $1 for parts? I don't know if any piece of it is salvageable. I feel awful about the state it is, that is stuck on our family friends' property, I have no idea what to do.

As an option, sometimes local junk yards will take them and scrap the metal parts. They might even come and get it from you. Not sure where you stand with the title not being transferred. In that age it MAY not be a problem for the scrap people.
Ken

You might find a local scrapper on craigslist to take it. Have you tried “free” adds on CL and FB market place? A wrecking yard may not want an RV because of all the materials in the house portion. If thats the case, see if they will at least take the cab and chassis. Also if its not a complete vehicle they don't need a title to take it. If thats an option, the next step is to rent a dumpster, disassemble the house, and send it off to the dump (labor intensive but not difficult) and then get the cab and chassis towed to a wrecking yard. A fire dept will not want it for training and in Ca couldn't burn it even if they wanted to. And of course burning it leaves a huge toxic mess and you still have the chassis to deal with. So try the free adds, and see if a wrecker will take it or at least the chassis, and of so maybe you can hire a couple local laborers to dismantle it.

 

[Lab00Rat]

The title is really yours (his)?
If you don't have clear ownership, I'm not sure if you have the authority to do anything. Maybe I'm just not clear on that part.

 

[Rich W.]

You dont need authority to scrap it or give it away or pay for removal. If its visible from the street put the keys in it and a sign on it that sys FREE! and see what happens. Its nice that you are taking the high road and dealing with this when its on someone else's property and the title isn't in your fathers name. Unfortunately some people these days just tow these old wrecks out to some public street and abandon them and let the city/county (tax payers) pay for removal.

Edit: I just looked up the M2900 and found its a class A and scrapping it would be a major chore. So Id run ”free” adds everywhere you can, keep calling wreckers, and worst case call Eldorado county and see if they can refer you to a removal service.

 

[RTRanger]

Here in PA we have private companies that can do registration, title, and licensing of vehicles, which saves that trip to the state DOT offices. I had title issues with a vehicle that I bought many years ago at a junk yard but never completed the title transfer. I went there and in one visit they sorted out all my issues and issued a new title which made it possible for me to sell that car.

If your state has something similar, I would go there with all the information you have and see what they say. They should be able to tell you what you can do. It may be that you need to have a new title issued just so you can junk it.

You or someone else may also need to have power of attorney to do much of anything.

 

[Jireh Financial]

If the unit never properly changed hands, someone may end up owing sales tax when the swap is made. Sometimes doing the right thing can get really complicated.

 

[Rich W.]

If the sale (when your dad bought it) wasnt reported to the DMV, it didnt happen. It might not even be in the system anymore. But if your only problem is dealing with removal/disposal, you only have to reach an agreement with whoever is taking it, so dont do anything with the title or any other formalities until you know where its going, and then only if for some reason it becomes necessary. It probably will not.

 

[AshleeG23]

Thank you so much! This is super messy and topped off with my dad's health problem he is unable to help and I can't tell him how frustrating it is! The roller coaster of life.

You dont need authority to scrap it or give it away or pay for removal. If its visible from the street put the keys in it and a sign on it that sys FREE! and see what happens. Its nice that you are taking the high road and dealing with this when its on someone else's property and the title isn't in your fathers name. Unfortunately some people these days just tow these old wrecks out to some public street and abandon them and let the city/county (tax payers) pay for removal.

Edit: I just looked up the M2900 and found its a class A and scrapping it would be a major chore. So Id run ”free” adds everywhere you can, keep calling wreckers, and worst case call Eldorado county and see if they can refer you to a removal service.