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do all midas campers come from the factory with smog

mut7777
Explorer
Explorer
I am thinking about buying a 1978 chevy midas camper. I live in california but the camper is from Idaho, will i be able to smog it in california.
7 REPLIES 7

ron_dittmer
Explorer
Explorer
Back in 1983, we bought THIS 1984 Mirage motorhome which was built on a 1983 Toyota cab & chassis. The RV manufacture was in Elkhart IN, we live in Illinois, so no California rules applied at either end. I quickly learned that every 1983 Toyota C&C motorhome chassis supplied across the country to RV manufactures came with CA snog equipment.

Maybe the same will apply to the 1978 you are considering.

One thing about buying any vehicle so old. You cannot rule out the possibility that somewhere along the way, the smog equipment was tampered with.

Chum_lee
Explorer
Explorer
mut7777 wrote:
I am thinking about buying a 1978 chevy midas camper. I live in california but the camper is from Idaho, will i be able to smog it in california.


I've spent most of my years in California. If you can't smog it, you may be able to get a 2 year exempt status from the CARB referee if it has all the original equipment it came with and it "looks" right. That can be tough to prove since most of the people who do the inspections didn't exist on the planet when your potentially new (to you) vehicle rolled off the production line. For years I've owned older German cars and I've had to explain to the "smog techs" what "should" be there because they have no idea what carburetors and mechanical fuel injection are or how they work. A factory service manual is often helpful to make your points with them.

If you can get it smogged, your next biggest problem is making it look presentable by California standards, not Idaho. Unless you can park it on private property (out of view) outside any homeowners CC&R's (getting tough to do) you can expect to be endlessly harassed by . . . . . well, . . . . . everyone really. It is possible though.

Good luck.

Chum lee

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
When you reviewed the DMV website regarding this issue, was it unclear?

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_content_en/dmv/vr/smogfaq
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klutchdust
Explorer II
Explorer II
Look on the engine sticker or door posts for a compliance sticker. Also DMV deletes some vehicles due to age, my 72 Nova with a HP engine was smog exempt.

My coach came from Minnesota and I was sure it was compliant before purchasing. They will not have you add anything more than what came with the vehicle when it was built. Does it have a cat on it?

""Smog inspections are required unless your vehicle is:
Gasoline powered 1975 year model or older.
Diesel powered 1997 year model and older or with a Gross Vehicle Weight rating (GVWR) of more than 14,000 lbs.
Electric.
Natural gas powered with a GVWR rating of more than 14,000 lbs.
Motorcycle.""

camperdave
Explorer
Explorer
It will not be exempt. You will need to have all the smog equipment on it that it came with when delivered from the factory, and it will have to pass a smog inspection (visual and performance).
2004 Fleetwood Tioga 29v

SidecarFlip
Explorer
Explorer
78 should be exempt but I'd call the motor vehicle department and ask. Your state has some strange laws.
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Mandalay_Parr
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Explorer
I donโ€™t know.
Maybe the smog people would know.
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