Changing a Converted Vehicle's Title in Texas 🚐

 I finally got my van's title changed and I thought this might help some others of you out there.

How I Changed My Van’s Title in Texas

(I was changing it to a class-B motorhome)

1. Take pictures of the inside and outside. To be safe, get one of each side, front and back on the outside and several viewpoints inside. Have them printed (color not necessary), or ready to easily send via email. Do not try to send a folder or zip file, as the government system will flag it as suspicious and the email won’t go through.
    
2. Get a weigh slip. What I was told is that anything over 6,000 pounds ups the registration renewal cost. (It changed my cost to renew the registration by only $3 though.) But if there’s a chance you might be under, don’t pack your van yet, don’t put water in your tanks, don’t put in propane tanks, or anything that might tip the scale over 6,000 when you go to get it weighed. I checked online and found a Love’s gas station near me that had scales. As a first time weigh of a personal vehicle it cost me $13 to get my van weighed and get an official weight slip.
    
3. Have your original title. You either need your original title or a certified copy from the DMV. (If you get a certified copy from the DMV it basically annuls the original.)
    
4. Get the vehicle inspected. You need a fresh inspection report in hand. Mine cost me about $25.
    
5. You need to fill out forms VTR-61 and 130-U. That is the Rebuilt Vehicle Statement form and the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration. You can find both forms by searching the DMV forms page here: https://www.txdmv.gov/forms (Search just the number 61 or 130 in the Form Number search field.) For the Work Performed section on the rebuilt vehicle form, I put down the most pertinent renovations. I included such items as I thought might be necessary to classify as a camper: running water, toilet (composting), heating, sink, bed, solar power, etc.
    
6. Once you have all of these things, you go to your local County Tax Assessor’s office. I would explain your situation and ask them to be sure, but when I went in the process I went through was a Title Transfer. That cost me about $45. They will take your vehicle title, send you a receipt for the title transfer application for the meantime, and in not too long you should get your new title in the mail reflecting your vehicle’s new status!

All in all it cost me just about $85. Once I had all the forms and such the time spent at the county tax assessor’s office was minimal. Maybe an hour max, and that was mainly due to the line.

Best of luck!