I'm about to pick up an older military trailer with a small military vehicle on it from someone in CA. Neither the trailer nor vehicle are currently registered in CA and the owner doesn't think he can find the original SF-97 forms or any title documents. I'm trying to figure out how to a) get the trailer back to Arizona legally and b) how to get the trailer and vehicle titled/registered here.

As for "a", will I be able to print a 3-day limited use permit from the MVD website for the trailer to pick it up in CA and tow it back to AZ? Will that require anything special (like proof of ownership/title, proof of insurance, etc.) to get? Will it even work for a a military trailer that has a military serial number and no traditional VIN?

For "b", how do I even go about titling the trailer? I've looked up the options for a bonded title, but they seem to expect you to have a VIN that can be searched to find previous owners and send certified letters to them. I also thought about buying the trailer as parts from the seller and building it myself so I could register it as a home built trailer, but that seems to require evidence of a "dismantle permit" for the frame. The military vehicle I intended to only use on private property and off-highway, so I don't believe it need emissions testing or the on-highway safety features, but I have all the same questions about getting a title for it as I do for the trailer.

Any knowledgeable people I can talk to or that I can pay to do the leg work on this on my behalf?

Was the military trailer and vehicle bought at a military auction? If it was bought at an auction house if the owner doesn’t have the docs, he (owner) can request duplicate titles and bills of sale for the trailer and vehicle.  You can get a 3 day permit from Cali MVD to tow the trailer and vehicle but your going to need the title docs for the trailer.

I have no help for you sir, but from my dealings with the MVD, it's a pain in the ass 1/2 the time getting a legit out of state title switched over to AZ when purchasing.
I don't think you can get a 3 day temp permit without a vin.  The first question it asks when you go to print the temp tag is the vin.

Best of luck.

It sounds like both the trailer and vehicle were acquired in the late 60s and have been in the family since then. Don't think we'll be able to get copies of the Sf97 or such. At this point, I'm asking the seller to figure it out on his end and get titles for both before I buy. I assume it will be a pain, but he should be able to get bonded titles or something for them. I don't see it being any easier for me to take possession of them and then try to get a title here.

True on that i tried to switch my sand rail title from ca to az mvd wanted nothing to do with it lady said i needed to do a bonded title which was stupid cause i already had a title in hand.After figuring things out had to get level 2 inspection did that then told i can only get the large plate which is street legal but will need emissions testing which i dont have any on my honda powered sand rail and my primary use is off road i dont care about street legal.I gave up on dealing with mvd and just my money to ca to renew the tags.

And i though ca dmv was bad.

Get an appointment at a third party title/mvd place.

File for lost title.  Fill out the form.  Look at the back sides of the carbons, they hide shit on the back of one of the pages that needs to be filled out.

A VIN inspection will need to be done by the title place.  They require the VIN is in two places.  If it is not, a Harbor Freight set of punches will accomplish this.

After that, you mail the form to AZ MVD and wait.  Part of the form is a tow bill/lien type of thing.  Just fill that out as if you did a tow lien.  You effectively have done a tow if you have the vehicle in your possession.  

The third party title place takes most of the hassle out of it.  MVD isn't that hard either, my wife did a VIN inspection for her Model A when we moved and got the title changed.  Just be sure to get an appointment.  Most likely you will need to make two or three trips if you do this with the AZ MVD because they really like to give you all the bureaucracy you pay for.

Will a 3rd party place do a VIN inspection? I sort of thought you had to go to the main MVD office downtown to get that done... No? Since these are military vehicles, the "VIN" is actually a serial number stamped into a removable dataplate. Sounds like I also need to punch/engrave that same serial number into the frame? Will a 3rd party place have any issues filling out the paperwork using a non-standard VIN?

My 3rd party local place came to my house to do a VIN inspection more than once.

Remember what I said about the VIN being in two places.