"Freedom to Travel"... in a different way

[KBCraig]

Visit the URL for links to stories about NH folks who want to be full time RVers, but encounter beaurucratic roadblocks. "Without a permanent physical address, how will we find them?"  Man, that's weak...


http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=NH+RVers+find+problem+in+law&articleId=314cd6a3-33f8-4b07-a657-75c5b2444e1e

NH RVers find problem in law

By SCOTT BROOKS
Union Leader Staff

AS HE CRISS-CROSSES the country, Bob Howe wants his fellow travelers to note the motto on his car's license plate.

"I like to point with pride and say, 'Yeah, I'm from New Hampshire. Live free or die,'" he said.

Howe and his wife, however, have found that New Hampshire's distinctive plates are not always so easily acquired.

Drivers looking to register a vehicle in New Hampshire must have a home - a "place of physical presence," as the statute reads - in the state of New Hampshire. "No exceptions," said Sheri Kelloway, attorney for the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

The requirement can cause problems for full-time RVers like Howe, whose only year-round residence is chained to the back of a Ford pickup.

"We at the DMV certainly appreciate people like Mr. Howe," Kelloway said. "The problem is, the law is the law."

Howe, who used to own a small high-tech manufacturing business in Londonderry, says he and his wife, Martha, had been living in New Hampshire since 1982. Upon retiring about five years ago, the couple sold their Nashua condo and headed out on the road in an RV.

Their dream, he said, was to live an "unscheduled life."

"After all the years of hard work and long hours in our business, it felt like a well-deserved extended vacation," said Howe, who is now 63.

Recently, the couple bought a Hyundai Sonata during a stay in Arizona. They tried to register the car in New Hampshire.

Everything went smoothly, Howe said, until the DMV representative who processed his request asked for his address. Howe could only provide the number of his post-office box in Center Conway.

"That's when I said, 'No, we're full-time RVers. I don't have a physical address. We move around not only all summer long, but all year long,'" Howe recalled.

"They said, 'Oh. I wish you hadn't told me that.'"

Ultimately, Howe did receive his plates after the Nashua city clerk's office agreed to certify him as a city resident. The Division of Motor Vehicles, however, has been investigating his claim to residency, according to Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli, who has contacted the DMV on Howe's behalf.

"It needs to be in the law that RVers are legitimate citizens," Pignatelli said, "if they consider New Hampshire to be their home, if they vote here, if they have a record of having an address here."

Rep. Susan Almy, D-Lebanon, introduced a bill last year that would have allowed RVers to re-register their vehicle in New Hampshire. It would have made a similar accommodation for homeless citizens who may be living in their car.

The state's assistant safety commissioner, Earl Sweeney, opposed the bill, and the House Transportation Committee shelved it for further study. Almy said she plans to re-introduce the bill during the next session.

Allowing people without a fixed address to register a vehicle could create problems for law enforcement officials, Sweeney said. Police, for instance, might need to contact a driver in the event of an emergency, or if a crime is committed. In such cases, he said, a post-office box would be insufficient.

"Just imagine you were driving down the street. You get struck. Your wife is injured," Sweeney said. "The only thing you have is a description and a plate number on the vehicle. You give that to the police. They say, 'We checked that location, and it's a warehouse in Nashua.'"

Sweeney said he recognizes that RVing is a popular pursuit among New Hampshire retirees. Hopefully, he said, the state can work out a sustainable resolution.

"We're going to have to find a way to resolve it," he said. "All states seem to be struggling with it. I'm sure when we all put our thinking caps on, there's going to be some way around it."

[aries]

my parents plan on doing exactly this in 5 years or so

[error]

Don't you love how the bureaucrats paint their control measures as public safety measures?

[KBCraig]

I would think that some of the RV campgrounds would offer a solution: for a small fee (or no fee at all for members), the RVers could designate that campground as their permanent physical home base.

That's what I would offer if I had a campground.

[aries]

I would think that some of the RV campgrounds would offer a solution: for a small fee (or no fee at all for members), the RVers could designate that campground as their permanent physical home base.

That's what I would offer if I had a campground.

I guess if you brought it up with one they'd think of a reason why they won't do it, even though it is a good idea.

[MaineShark]

What, exactly, are the standards of residency?  Having a leased place to live generally counts.  Who cares how little the lease if for, or whether you ever actually spend a night there.

52 people could rent Denise and my cabin, as a weekly timeshare deal.  I don't care if they actually find time to visit during their week, or if they are just plain too busy to take advantage of it...

Joe

[Rifkinn]

I would think that some of the RV campgrounds would offer a solution: for a small fee (or no fee at all for members), the RVers could designate that campground as their permanent physical home base.

That's what I would offer if I had a campground.

Aww, and here I spent all morning coming up with a similar idea.  Convert an old hotel, or build something with small apartments and a lot that can accomodate large vehicles.  For a monthly fee they could "rent" a place, receive mail, even get their mail forwarded to them if they have a place they can get it.  A room could be reserved when they want to be in town for a while.  The rooms would not be a specific persons but would be available on an as-needed basis.  With most ppl out traveling you probably wouldnt need a 1:1 ratio between rooms and tenants.  Dang it, this sounds like a real good idea, wish I could give it a go... 

Allowing people without a fixed address to register a vehicle could create problems for law enforcement officials, Sweeney said. Police, for instance, might need to contact a driver in the event of an emergency, or if a crime is committed. In such cases, he said, a post-office box would be insufficient.

Even if an RVer had a "real" fixed address, if they are on the road it will still be hard to get ahold of them.....

[Dave Ridley]

Will send this to the union leader in a week or so.  I already sent one this month.

---


Dear folks at the Union Leader:

I read with angry interest your article about the N.H. Department of Motor Vehicles virtually forcing RV owners to obtain a static physical residence.   While the DMV bureaucrats wring their hands and continue feeding motor-homers to the furnace, perhaps there is a thing or two us average people should do to help the RV folks.

Here is the small thing I can do:  I can inform your readers that if they want to be able to register RV's in-state, but aren't allowed to for lack of a physical residence...they should visit the web forum at NHfree.com and let folks there know about thier plight.  The place is packed with people who like to help make end runs around the bureaucracy.  Hopefully one or more of us will be in a position to help you if you have the RV registration problem (or any other problem with the State).  The dedicated thread for discussing N.H. RV registration is:

tinyurl.com/rycsr

See you there!

[KBCraig]

Great work, Dave!