Bought retired bus, now need to drive it 100 miles

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

Get a bill of sale,title in hand.
Take a thick piece of white paper and sharpie IN TRANSIT on it and drive the thing home.
Use the main roads and not the backroad's.
That way every little Podunk town sheriff/cop don't get a chance because there bored.
I can say that cause I grew up in the middle of nowhere and know they get bored everybody knows everybody body they just call the parents instead of the cops.
So the cop is bored begging for something.
But your heading to NY.
Do you have a place to park and work on it?

[Sleddgracer]

no such thing as a temporary permit like we have in Canada?

[Tango]

Same in Texas. For something like 10 (?) bucks (been a while since I needed one), you can get a thirty day "Transit" tag for just about anything.

[CaptSquid]

You don't need a CDL to drive a bus unless you're transporting passengers (16+).

[the7exp]

We do temporary tags but NY DMV requires it to have insurance, which is freaking expensive as hell.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by CaptSquid

You don't need a CDL to drive a bus unless you're transporting passengers (16+).

Hmmmm.

Last I checked, in Washington, you are required to have a CDL to drive a vehicle equipped to carry 15+ passengers. Even when you have no passengers on board.

Regulations vary by state.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by the7exp

Welp I just called Progressive and they said they don't have a product for me. However I did go on Liberty Mutual and got a quote for $621 a month...maybe I should just go with that and then cancel it, thoughts?

You need to call "Progressive Commercial". Do *NOT* call the personal vehicle division. Tell them you need a "Commercial Vehicle for Personal Use" policy. You do *NOT* need a $600+/month policy. You are *NOT* using this vehicle in commerce. You are not using it as a revenue producing vehicle. You should not be paying more than $100/month for coverage (and even that's a bit high on the spectrum).

[the7exp]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

You need to call "Progressive Commercial". Do *NOT* call the personal vehicle division. Tell them you need a "Commercial Vehicle for Personal Use" policy. You do *NOT* need a $600+/month policy. You are *NOT* using this vehicle in commerce. You are not using it as a revenue producing vehicle. You should not be paying more than $100/month for coverage (and even that's a bit high on the spectrum).

That's what I did the first time and they said they didn't have a policy for me even though I asked for that specific thing. They asked me what I would use it for and I said it was for moving stuff. Then again, the agent kept changing the story every few seconds so I hung up on him. I'll call again tomorrow. what exactly should I say?

[the7exp]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

Get a bill of sale,title in hand.
Take a thick piece of white paper and sharpie IN TRANSIT on it and drive the thing home.
Use the main roads and not the backroad's.
That way every little Podunk town sheriff/cop don't get a chance because there bored.
I can say that cause I grew up in the middle of nowhere and know they get bored everybody knows everybody body they just call the parents instead of the cops.
So the cop is bored begging for something.
But your heading to NY.
Do you have a place to park and work on it?

Yes, a great place. It's just a matter of registration and insurance which is pissing me off

[the7exp]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

Get a bill of sale,title in hand.
Take a thick piece of white paper and sharpie IN TRANSIT on it and drive the thing home.
Use the main roads and not the backroad's.
That way every little Podunk town sheriff/cop don't get a chance because there bored.
I can say that cause I grew up in the middle of nowhere and know they get bored everybody knows everybody body they just call the parents instead of the cops.
So the cop is bored begging for something.
But your heading to NY.
Do you have a place to park and work on it?

Also, isn't this illegal?

Anyone else have any ideas?

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by the7exp

That's what I did the first time and they said they didn't have a policy for me even though I asked for that specific thing. They asked me what I would use it for and I said it was for moving stuff. Then again, the agent kept changing the story every few seconds so I hung up on him. I'll call again tomorrow. what exactly should I say?

Like Brad said, I called Progressive Commercial 888 806 9598 and used the magic words "Commercial Vehicle for Personal Use". Worked like a charm. Call again and see if you get a different agent maybe? Don't offer information that they don't ask for, don't chat with them, just make it a business call and answer the questions that they ask and you shouldn't have to hang up without having insurance.

[jazty]

Originally Posted by the7exp

Also worse comes to worse, I may have to tow my bus to my house. Regular buses may be invisible on the road but mine is a 60 foot vehicle, and that's going to be a problem.

�� Did I miss something? 60' long? Did you buy an articulated bus? Pictures please!

[ermracing]

Originally Posted by ermracing

Our policy through State Farm (still in 'application' mode) is $130/6 months or $26/month. Not sure what's holding up the process, but our account shows it's covered. One thing I did learn from our agent is, the bus will not count towards a multi-car discount. We have our Fiat and a suspended policy for a vehicle we are selling. Once the suspended policy goes away, even though we'll have two vehicles, the discount won't apply.

Just checked and our bus policy is out of 'application' mode and it now listed as Commercial with the vehicle as a 2003 International. Looks like all is good!

[the7exp]

Originally Posted by jazty

�� Did I miss something? 60' long? Did you buy an articulated bus? Pictures please!

Did I forget to mention it's a 60 foot articulated bus? My bad lol, shes a beauty and I would really love to get her on the road so I can work on her. Does this change the insurance scheme of things?

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by the7exp

Did I forget to mention it's a 60 foot articulated bus? My bad lol, shes a beauty and I would really love to get her on the road so I can work on her. Does this change the insurance scheme of things?

That may change a lot of things.....

Things vary by state....

I was curious what it would take to register something like that. I checked and found that the max legal length for a single vehicle is 45'. If you are a transit authority there is an exception and can run the articulated buses.

I tried to get creative and register the front as a motor vehicle and the back as a trailer. No luck.....

I would suggest that you verify that you can register it and drive it in the places you want to go before getting too invested.

Good luck.

[cowlitzcoach]

Originally Posted by the7exp

Did I forget to mention it's a 60 foot articulated bus? My bad lol, shes a beauty and I would really love to get her on the road so I can work on her. Does this change the insurance scheme of things?

I assume that unless the bus is an Prevost H5-60 that the bus in question is a transit bus that is not only 60' long but 102" wide.


You may find that it will be a bit of a problem getting it licensed and insured.



Legally about the only places you can drive the 60' buses is on the Interstate. Most states, counties, and cities restrict the use of artic's to transit agencies or commercial bus companies.

[the7exp]

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

I assume that unless the bus is an Prevost H5-60 that the bus in question is a transit bus that is not only 60' long but 102" wide.


You may find that it will be a bit of a problem getting it licensed and insured.



Legally about the only places you can drive the 60' buses is on the Interstate. Most states, counties, and cities restrict the use of artic's to transit agencies or commercial bus companies.

But it's not impossible?

[Pizote]

You probably need a CDL to drive it. Each state has limitations on vehicles for non-CDL. As an example, CA max motor home length is 45’ and that’s with a non-commercial class B.

If you don’t have a commercial license for this thing, you are likely not going to be able to insure it. And if you are able to insure it, you would probably only be able to insure it as a commercial for personal use vehicle. Once you convert it, no one will insure it - probably.

I doubt you will ever be able to register it as an RV.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by the7exp

But it's not impossible?

Sounds like it's possible if you're a transit agency

[Pizote]

Here's a breakdown of all the license requirements for vehicles. Looks like you would be good to drive it in NY with an endorsement for the weight.

Don't know any specifics about length here.

RV Driver's License Requirements