Another Band Bus..

[guel8]

Hey Guys,

I am new to the forum and so far have enjoyed all the pictures and knowledge on this site. My brother and I have recently purchased a 1991 Osh Kosh Goshen shuttle bus, it sits 28 passengers, has a cummings diesel engine with 62,000 miles, rear and overhead storage. We bought the bus about 7 months ago with the purpose of using it as a tour bus for our band. Its currently registered as a non-commerical bus, we have to get it inspected every six months, and insurance thru Progressive runs us about $135 a month. We have only used the bus a handful on times and when we do we have a friend who has a CDL drive it. We really like the bus, but we are noobs when it comes to owning and registering a bus. We recently incorporated our band so now we want to "properly" register our bus under our band name. But I have a few questions... Would converting our bus to an RV title allow us to drive our bus without a CDL? I know this would probably save us from having to inspect it every 6 months and save some money on insurance no??? If converting was the way to go, how much do you think we would need to spend to do the bare minimum for the inspection on the conversion? We live in Illinois if that helps. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[opus]

If its under your band name, its a commercial rig, no way out of fuels tags, CDL's and all that stuff. Very sticky subject. In theory, if you use the vehicle and sell an album or make any income, its commercial. Who really cares about "theory" though?? A lot depends on who stops you and where you are when you get stopped.

[Redbear]

I would 'times two' on that. If you are transporting a band, you might as well be running a limo service. I notice in the full-timer boards that some people avoid sales taxes by setting up a Montana Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) to purchase their million-dollar RVs for them. Later they complain that Montana plates get targeted by law enforcement, and they wonder why their "personal use" of a vehicle owned by their corporation is being subjected to commercial requirements . . . .

Make it legal, make it commercial, use CDL drivers, and write off all the expenses as business cost against the band's income. You are pros. Good luck!

EDIT: Check into having you and your brother sell the bus to the corporation, and get your personal money back out, or exchange the bus for more shares of the company. You should also be deciding if the members or the corporation owns instruments, sound system, etc. Your answers to those questions will be personal.

[opus]

FYI: I hear the Montana LLC is coming to an end. Except for me of course cause I live here.

[guel8]

What if I leave it under my personal name? Use it as an RV? Am I breaking any law by sometimes transporting a band? We only use it about once a month depending on where were going.

[Stuff]

soon as i saw the picture i knew it was a goshen without reading. that thing is SET to make a nice motorhome!! i would make it a motor home and if you do use it for your band guys, dont shortcut.. do it right.

[guel8]

Okay, so if I title it as an RV. Do I need a CDL? Once its retitled I mean. And, does anybody know anyone in the Chicagoland area that would take a look at my bus and tell me what it would cost to get the minimum amount done to get it retitled.

[sportyrick]

Ya I third that notion. If you are going to make it big in the music world you might want to drive that one around and see what you could get for it as a trade in for a real traveling bus that would make your band real comfortable and be legal. You will have to go legal sooner or later, might as well do it now and sleep better at night. Get a real traveling bus and a driver, get your learners permit and then get your CDL and eliminate the driver expense (till you make it really big then a paid driver is a perk). sportyrick