Well, we did it.  Got to Deadwood, South Dakota Sunday afternoon, camped out there 2 nights, waiting for the DMV to open Tuesday morning.  Arrived at the fire station at 7:45 am, they opened the doors at 8, and we were out the door with SD licenses in hand at 8:20.  And this was with their computer dialing in for 10 minutes while we waited.  We were apprehensive about the process, just certain something would go wrong.  But the ladies there were very kind and friendly, and it was a surprisingly good experience.  The only bad part of the experience is the fact that we now have to return to Salt Lake, because I don't retire for another 6 weeks (or is it 5?  I have been without a calendar or alarm clock for 5 days now - anyway, it is soon)

Congrats, sounds about what we did. We were from Pa. and bought our MH and had it registered in SD, secured the insurance in Fl. with the SD. address and than had to fly to Souix Falls for a one day trip to get our Drivers lisence. We think that it was the best way to go. Now as we are fulltiming, and are workamping in NH we have our snail mail delivered every two weeks. When asked were we are from the answer is USA. We hope the wait for your retirement is quick.

Congrats! We were going to wait till next year to "move" to South Dakota, but I just had an experience here in NJ that made me "move" faster! (our current licenses and registrations are/were good till next year)

We just bought a new tow vehicle last week (F550) in NY state, and when I went to title it here in NJ, the great folks at the DMV would not let me transfer my plates from my old F350 onto the new truck. Then they told me I could only receive a 4 year registration, and there would be no refund for un-used years!!  (plus the 7% tax on the difference of purchase less my trade in)

Jessica saved the day for us, and took care of most things yesterday!!  (and saved us a huge amount of money!) We are going out there at the end of August to get our License's, then head over to Goshen for the fall Escapade, then back to Jersey (hopefully our house will sell in the mean time!)

-- Edited by D and J at 08:21, 2007-07-25

Thanks for sharing....I'm hoping to get my SD residency established so I can register my RV there rather than here. Sucks, but will have to pay for my drivers license here in TN - it expires on 9/13 and there is no way for me to get to SD before then (will probably be October). Glad to know the process is relatively painless though!

Doug and Jutta - We, too, are NJ residents. Will fulltime in 2/1/2009. I got lucky - my car registration expires April 2009! Did I call that one right or what! Still debating Texas or SD. SD sounds better all the time. BTW, we love Deadwood. It would not be painful to return there for whatever reason.

Yes, It really is easy to get a license in SD, and the people I have dealt with are really friendly and helpful.

If  any of you end up in the Sioux Falls area to get your license, you can camp at the Sioux Empire Fair Grounds for about $20.00 per night. They have full hookups and if I remember right, 50A elect.

This is all great information for us as we  plan on becoming SD "residents" in the Spring  when Larry retires....and hopefully our house is  sold. It is on the market right now, and hoopefully it will sell soon, and we  will rent a friends apartment until  Spring. That  would be ideal. However...homes are not moving very fast  and we will be thankfull that it sells at least before next April. We have just  bought the MH.... Of course it is all insured now and will be registered  here in our state where we own our home.  
One question though...is it advisable to fly to SD to get the  drivers licences and register  the vehicles and get plates  and set up your  mail forwarding before  you go on the road fulltime?
Our birthdays are both in June, and we hope to be fulltiming in May.
Thanks for any help.
Arlene

WE ALSO USE SOUTH DAKOTA AS "HOME", AND USE THE SERVICES OF ALTERNATIVE RESOURCES, SIOUX FALLS, SD FOR OUR MAIL SERVICE AND VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS.  WE USE DORITY INSURANCE AGENCY, RIGHT NEXT DOOR, AND THE DMV IS ACROSS THE STREET.  YOUR SOUTH DAKOTA DRIVER'S LICENSES IS GOOD FOR 5 YEARS, AT A COST OF $8.  YOU MUST RETURN IN PERSON TO RENEW, BUT THEY GIVE YOU A SIX MONTH WINDOW TO RENEW BEFORE YOU LICENSES EXPIRES. WE'VE BEEN THERE TWICE IN SIX YEARS AND SPENT LESS THAN AN HOUR DOING BUSINESS EACH TIME.  I MIGHT ALSO ADD WE'VE NEVER BEEN CALLED FOR JURY DUTY IN THE SIX YEARS.

-- Edited by REX OR MARY at 17:40, 2007-07-25

If you use Alternative Resources out of Sioux Falls, they will help you get your vehicles registered by mail. We had both our MH and Toad registered in SD before we had ever gone there. The only reason that you have to go to SD at all, is for your drivers license. Everything else can be done by mail.

Alternative Resources charges a fee for doing this for you. Our plates were about to expire in our old state, but we went through them and got our vehicles registered and saved a whole bunch of money. 3 month later, we went to SD and got our new drivers licenses.

Thank you so much for the info. That sounds great. We will only have to go to get the drivers licenses. That will save time ...a flight RT ...and money as well. Thank you again.