Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hi guys,


Sorry, I had to recycle this post as an unexpected problem has arisen... for more info, please read my last reply further down.... Thanks....


Original Post:
This is a bit off topic as it is only related to Delica's in that my Delica will be pulling that trailer....

I received a small so called "U-built" trailer from my brother in law (who traded it for a lawnmower or something from a friend somewhere in Northern BC...) which I am intending to use behind the Delica to lower my boat in the Shuswap lake this summer.

I've had this trailer for about a year or so on in front of my cabin but just recently (i.e. two weeks ago) finally got a trailer hitch mounted on my Van.

Now I wanted to get insurance on the trailer but the Autoplan person asked me to show registration papers and the vehicle transfer gift letter and the transfer / tax form....

This resulted in a particularly puzzled look from my side... My brother in law simply showed up one day with his truck, dropped the trailer off, took his own trailer license plate off it and said: here you go, buddy, that's your trailer.... and that's all I ever got...

My brother in law doesn't have any registration for the trailer - he suggested I'd say "It's a u-built trailer, just tell them "you built" it....

As I know that there are quite a few trailer towing Delica's out there, I was hoping that somebody could put this into perspective... I'd gladly claim that I built the darn thing - but it doesn't exactly look new....

What would you do.... what should I do... is there a way of getting insurance without registration?

If I only take the boat down 2 km's to the lake on a gravel road... will I even need a license plate for it? If I were to go without license plate and got stopped at the marina, what would/could be the worst outcome?

Any information would be hugely appreciated...

Thanks guys.... I wanna take the boat out on the long weekend....


This is the trailer (and no, it's not the boat in the background... my boat is a bit smaller...)

Do exactly what your brother said, tell them that it is a boat trailer that was built at home by a friend. They will ask the weight load limit of the trailer (which looks like 500-1000 lbs), color (black), and other minor questions. Easy peasie... Japanesese

As far as bothering to get insurance, I would, even if it is only 2 K's down gravel, who knows you may take it elsewhere sometime. For the $90 per year, or less, it is worth the possible aggravation that may arise.

As above, Did that exact same thing with a trailer that was given to me by my uncle.

Although I must say when I went in to the insurance agent without any documents it was he (the insurance agent) who suggested the ubuilt status didn't know anything about it until he mentioned it.

He asked me the questions as above, color, carrying weight, and that was it $54 later 1 year insurance.

Good luck!

Concur: "you" built it, and it'll carry this much weight. That's what you gotta tell them.

Registration is required for insurance, and after you tell them you built, it's registered in your name and then someone can insure it (usually you).

Awesome, guys...

Thanks so much for your insight...

I am so happy!!! Not only can I get insurance and registration now much easier... but I have also become - over night and out of thin air - a full-on u-built trailer builder....

If anybody wants a u-built trailer built... just gimme a shout... ....

.... Ahhhh, maybe not...

OK, So I'm gonna have to touch on this one more time after all.

Walked into an Autoplan-dealer (London Drugs in North Vancouver) - to go and tell my "I built it myself" story... but I didn't even get to mention that it is black and loads 1000lbs etc.... the guy tells me he needs to see receipts of where I bought the steel, the springs, the wheels, tail lights and all the rest of the stuff "I used to build the trailer"...

I told him I had built it with my brother in law who has tons of scrap metal out back of his shop, used the wheels and springs from an old trailer I got off a junkyard in Prince George or Vanderhoof or somewhere, bought taillights at Canadian Tire (and didn't keep any receipt), had an old winch kicking around my garage... etc. etc....

They wouldn't accept that..."Sorry sir, we need to see receipts... anybody could walk in here and claim that "what is actually a stolen trailer" was built by yourself... not that I want to suggest that this is the case here.... but we need receipts... ICBC wants it..."

What can you do... this is a typical "you can't win with these guys" situation...

Is it just the insurance department at London Drugs who are sticklers... or could this really be a new thing enforced by ICBC?

My new dream-career as a "U-Built" trailer builder came to an abrupt end... But I hope that this is not the end to that saga...

May be you should go to another insurance agent. Try the one on the corner of 19th and Lonsdale.

impalator wrote:...If I only take the boat down 2 km's to the lake on a gravel road... will I even need a license plate for it? If I were to go without license plate and got stopped at the marina, what would/could be the worst outcome?

Is it a public road? You only need insurance for public roads. You can drive around on your property (or somebody else's, with their permission) the live-long day with no insurance if you like, not a thing the government can do.

As for your newly arisen problem, go to another agent. One who doesn't read the manual during their lunch and coffee breaks. The other thing you could do is go buy a receipt book, fill out a couple of receipts for the various items which comprise the trailer, crinkle a few of them, spill coffee on another, and cram them all in your pocket for ready retrieval when the agent asks for receipts.

I agree....go to a different agent. The one here in Langley by my house is great. I once brought a boat trailer in from the states and the vin # was different than what we use here in BC.....after trying to figure it out, I kinda muffled "I should have said it was a u-built". She promptly said to me..."let's forget we had our previous conversation.....Hello sir, did you say you want to insure a u-built trailer? Let's get started."

She didn't even want to see the trailer......a lot more laid back here I guess.

impalator wrote:OK, So I'm gonna have to touch on this one more time after all.

Walked into an Autoplan-dealer (London Drugs in North Vancouver) - to go and tell my "I built it myself" story... but I didn't even get to mention that it is black and loads 1000lbs etc.... the guy tells me he needs to see receipts of where I bought the steel, the springs, the wheels, tail lights and all the rest of the stuff "I used to build the trailer"...

I told him I had built it with my brother in law who has tons of scrap metal out back of his shop, used the wheels and springs from an old trailer I got off a junkyard in Prince George or Vanderhoof or somewhere, bought taillights at Canadian Tire (and didn't keep any receipt), had an old winch kicking around my garage... etc. etc....

They wouldn't accept that..."Sorry sir, we need to see receipts... anybody could walk in here and claim that "what is actually a stolen trailer" was built by yourself... not that I want to suggest that this is the case here.... but we need receipts... ICBC wants it..."

What can you do... this is a typical "you can't win with these guys" situation...

Is it just the insurance department at London Drugs who are sticklers... or could this really be a new thing enforced by ICBC?

My new dream-career as a "U-Built" trailer builder came to an abrupt end... But I hope that this is not the end to that saga...

I'm sorry but that is bullshit, so ICBC is trying to discourage reusing and recycling? they clearly need a better system, when you register a trailer then should stamp a serial# on it in a couple spots.

Big sigh of relief... spent about 20 minutes over my lunch break at a different, obviously more progressive Autoplan location where a very knowledgeable and friendly lady helped me get registration and insurance for my trailer.... no receipts... I just had to indicate the colour and load limit and write on a declaration that it is a self built U-built trailer....

Nice... put the boat on it, hook it onto the Deli, clamp the outboard on, fill the tank, lower it down the boat ramp, jerk the starter rope and get cruisin'... how nice is that? Fathers day - gotta love it!

I am so happy that I will post some pic's of the trailer on the Delica....