DOT weigh stations

Dj349 · 01-05-2020, 10:51 AM

I just purchased a bus and plan on driving it 800 miles from Pennsylvania to Maine. Does a school bus with the school bus signs removed have to stop at DOT weigh stations?

Ronnie · 01-05-2020, 11:01 AM

as far as I know it does not. I have never seen one stop, they go right by without any one going after them.

brokedown · 01-05-2020, 11:09 AM

Weigh stations are for commercial vehicles.

EastCoastCB · 01-05-2020, 11:42 AM

Don't stop.

PNW_Steve · 01-05-2020, 11:46 AM

The first dozen or so that I drove past had me watching my rearview for party lights. Nobody paid me any mind.

Dj349 · 01-05-2020, 01:34 PM

Thank you for the help. I'm hoping for a trouble free trip.

cadillackid · 01-05-2020, 01:52 PM

groups of us caravan in our busses to events / gathering.. sometimes some of the busses in our groups are still actual owner / operated school busses and we never stop.. their owners say its not necessary for school busses..

im guessing if you are a transporter who is being paid to drive a bus from one place to another now it is being operated in a for-commerce mannewr and is required.. ive seen them at Weight stations before..

-Christopher

BaconFarms · 01-05-2020, 04:00 PM

I just brought home my bus Friday. Thursday night, while in the motel, I went to all of the states I was going to go through to see if I could find information regards weigh stations, etc. I was unsuccessful in getting any real information and most was confusing, bus sites were worse, then I found this.

So, I used it as a guide. Best info I could find.

I realize, this is probably for charter (commercial) buses, but at 65 miles per hour, whizzing by the weigh station, they may stop you to find out what you're up to, and then that just opens up the can of worms regards safety equipment, etc.

BaconFarms

Sehnsucht · 01-05-2020, 05:22 PM

PA to ME I don't think you'll have any problem bypassing weigh stations. There are a few states that explicitly include buses weigh but to the best of my recollection none are in the NE. Missouri has signs at each weigh station stating buses (busses) weigh.

In actuality weigh stations serve different purposes for different states. Besides weight legality, there's also a number of permits and equipment standards that some states are more picky than others. For instance, NY state has a HUT sticker required on all commercial vehicles but a school bus probably not so you should be able to slip by. If caught, delete your phone's browser history of this site and feign ignorance!

Mountain Gnome · 01-05-2020, 07:25 PM

I think:

If you don't have a commercial tag on your vehicle, i.e. you do have a temp travel tag or personal vehicle tag (whether or not is a MH/RV tag), and you don't have a bus full of passengers, they are not going to stop you.

If you have no tag, or an "I just purchased this vehicle" tag, expect to be pulled over and asked for sales paperwork, etc., and then in some states, yes, inspections.

Just get a temp travel tag from whatever state you can...
AZ gave me one that lasted 3 months for only $15 !!!!

SolomonEagle · 01-05-2020, 10:12 PM

It depends on how it's registered and what state your in.

Truthseeker4449 · 01-05-2020, 11:31 PM

Now I'm wondering how it's going to work out when we take our bus to Texas in a few months.... Currently still registered as a private bus. Our route will take us through Mississippi

Dj349 · 01-09-2020, 09:18 AM

I made it home with no problems at all or at least until I pulled into my driveway and turned the key off the horn and lights started going off after about 5 mins they stopped I tried to start it again and the horn started blowing again. I unhooked the horn for now until I can figure it out. I'm assuming its a security feature of some kind but don't know how to disable it.

EastCoastCB · 01-09-2020, 09:20 AM

its probably some child protection thingy. There are systems to keep from leaving kids in the bus.
just a guess.
good to hear you made it ok!

ermracing · 01-09-2020, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dj349

I made it home with no problems at all or at least until I pulled into my driveway and turned the key off the horn and lights started going off after about 5 mins they stopped I tried to start it again and the horn started blowing again. I unhooked the horn for now until I can figure it out. I'm assuming its a security feature of some kind but don't know how to disable it.

Yes, it's the safety system designed to force drivers to check for sleeping kiddos. Hopefully there is a sticker up on the wall near the driver that explains the process for clearing this. It should only be activated if the yellow/red warning lights were turned on during the trip.

WIbluebird · 01-09-2020, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ermracing

It should only be activated if the yellow/red warning lights were turned on during the trip.

Ours are activated when you use the brake pedal or have the engine idling for longer than 15 minutes.

Brad_SwiftFur · 01-09-2020, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dj349

I made it home with no problems at all or at least until I pulled into my driveway and turned the key off the horn and lights started going off after about 5 mins they stopped I tried to start it again and the horn started blowing again. I unhooked the horn for now until I can figure it out. I'm assuming its a security feature of some kind but don't know how to disable it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

its probably some child protection thingy. There are systems to keep from leaving kids in the bus.
just a guess.
good to hear you made it ok!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ermracing

Yes, it's the safety system designed to force drivers to check for sleeping kiddos. Hopefully there is a sticker up on the wall near the driver that explains the process for clearing this. It should only be activated if the yellow/red warning lights were turned on during the trip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WIbluebird

Ours are activated when you use the brake pedal or have the engine idling for longer than 15 minutes.

Basically the system has a button in the back of the bus the driver has to push. The idea is for the driver to have to actually walk through the bus and check for sleepy kids, left behind belongings, etc. There have been cases where the driver walked through the bus and pushed the button but managed to leave sleeping kiddos on the bus anyway, likely focused on "getting off work" and their next errand, rather than the 90 seconds it would take to do this task.

I'm not sure how easy this system would be to remove, but the button could be easily relocated to the driver's panel.

ermracing · 01-09-2020, 12:22 PM

The procedure to clear the alarm does differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Most of the newer ones have the button at the back, but I've driven some where you had to open the emergency door. Hopefully the sticker is still there to describe it.

Dj349 · 01-09-2020, 02:26 PM

Does anyone know how to remove this safety feature on a 2008 international ce200 bus? I'd like to remove the safety alarm on the back door but if I remove it I won't be able to reset the alarm.

o1marc · 01-09-2020, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dj349

Does anyone know how to remove this safety feature on a 2008 international ce200 bus? I'd like to remove the safety alarm on the back door but if I remove it I won't be able to reset the alarm.

It's either an open or closed switch, figure out which it is, remove the device and either cap the wires or connect them.

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