So here is some pertinent information for those who have made a recent Scout purchase from Smittybilt or Smittybilt dealer. I'm going to make a short story long because I need to vent.
I purchased a new Scout a couple months back and have been getting it kitted out while I waited for the DMV offices here in California to reopen. Finally a few offices reopened but figuring out the correct paperwork to bring and hopefully get the trailer registered without an appointment was a nightmare. So, I printed and filled out a bunch of forms from the DMV website and waited in line to see if they were correct. I had the correct paperwork and the DMV agent told me to bring the trailer in for inspection.
Got up at 6am the next day drove to the office and was first in line. It took about half an hour to get seen for inspection. Everything was going smooth until the agent asked for the Manufacturers Certificate of Origin (MCO) and I glanced at the VIN on the trailer. After writing the MCO VIN on the DMV paperwork numerous times I immediately saw that the trailer VIN and the MCO VIN didn't match. Obviously, the DMV stopped the process there and said I would have to contact Smittybilt for a replacement matching MCO.
Sooo...contacted Smittybilt and was told that tis was an known issue with recent trailers they had received (mine was built 10/19 and picked up mid-April). The said that it would take 7-10 days to get the new MCO due to their staff working from home. Disappointed, yes, angry, no. I'm pretty mellow so I tend to go with the "is what it is". All I wanted was to get the new MCO by Friday so I could tow the trailer to work and get it registered first thing tomorrow morning.
Checked the mail Friday and yay! The new MCO had arrived! Boo!!!! It was wrong!! Again! Off by one letter!
So, if you have purchased a new Scout recently, check the MCO and trailer VIN plate to see if they match. Seeing how this process is going I would recommend getting in contact with Smittybilt sooner than later. Especially if you had planned trips as out family had.
I can deal with the little inconveniences in life but I fail to see why Smittybilt didn't notify buyers or dealers of a known issue with the MCO and VIN's not matching. It would have been easy for them to say, "hey please check to see if the MCO matches the VIN plate".
I plan to contact Smittybilt again first thing Monday morning to see if they can make this right by overnighting a MCO so I can get it registered by Thursday. We had a 10 day trip planned and were going to leave Friday morning.
I won't hold my breath.
Hope this helps someone else.