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10-07-2019, 09:44 AM
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#1
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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HowTo find insurance for your state
Every state is different.
Where the vehicle is legally "garaged" determines your jurisdiction.
Best to find an agent experienced with DIY conversions vans trailers etc.
Just calling into the insurance companies yourself is unlikely to get an optimum result.
Do **not** mention fulltiming, look / sound / act like a regular wage-slave citizen as much as possible, not a dropout expecting bureaucracy to accommodate a nomadic lifestyle.
Find the "looking for insurance" thread that mentions your state, otherwise start your own
"Looking for insurance agent in NY New York"
Specify what type you are looking for, comprehensive, agreed-value vs market value
vs liability only, actual protection or just state minimum
plus any other relevant details.
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10-07-2019, 09:50 AM
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#2
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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10-07-2019, 12:09 PM
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#3
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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Under the law, every citizen / resident has a domicile state for tax / legal purposes, that is not optional.
You should always control what that is yourself, and maintain a "permanent" or at least consistent residential address in the databases for those government agencies and financial industry service providers constantly trying to keep track of each of us.
Including DMV, Social Security, tax / benefit authorities, insurance providers (health, public or private, life, vehicle, renter's), banks, stock brokerages, credit reporting agencies etc.
Some people use mail forwarding services but many such organizations use address listing / blackball services to refuse your attempt to use this for your legal/domicile residential address.
Using these for a separate actual **mailing** address is no problem, does not even need to be in the same state, can be inconsistent across databases, change as often as you like.
Best for legal/domicile residential address
if you do not own or long-term rent any property
is to ask a trusted (and trusting) stable friend or family member to let you use their home address.
If you use a mail forwarding service as your mailing address with all those government agencies and service providers,
you can promise they will very rarely actually get any mail.
Ideally execute a lease say for a bedroom for you to show DMV and other ID providers, have some bills to show using your name at that address, get a passport, register to vote, get a library card etc.
Find out about voting via absentee ballot, obligation of every citizen IMO.
Get the necessary court-contact information for opting out of jury duty, or trying to anyway, some district are more difficult than others.
If you really have no one that will do this for you on a personal basis,
(besides looking at the fact that you have not lived your life properly, really, gotta start making changes, go to the trouble of maintaining at least a few strong personal relationships or you are very vulnerable in this world, unhealthy, less happy, statistically likely to die much earlier)
there are two commercial services I know of that can help, lawyers on call so they do it right.
St Brendan's Isle, highly recommended, your address becomes
411 Walnut Street #xxxxx; Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-3443
got the local government to set up a process via affidavit just get a form" Declaration of Domicle" notarized and mailed to the Clay County Controller, no need to actually go there.
The other is Escapees, offer both Florida and Texas as options.
High net worth people will want to get professional tax advice on all this of course, getting free of being domiciled in a high tax state can be a non-trivial exercise if you still have ties there.
If you're poor, then get a motel or campsite to execute a lease over a month, try use that for DMV and muddle along from there, but obviously the way the panopticon / combined corporate-government surveillance trend is going, that's likely to cause issues in the future.
If you use air travel get a pasdport now even for domestic, all the RealID delay loopholes are closing next year.
Carrying multiple government-issued photo IDs all to the same legal/domicile residential address, is a valuable resource, keep them current.
Also get your credit score high and keep it there, even if you are very low income, that is increasingly used for all kinds of things unrelated to debt, including employment, ability to rent, etc.
Finally, went way off topic there, the address where your vehicles are "garaged" does not need to be either of the above, but the legal/domicile residential address will be the most straightforward.
Some states get difficult registering to an out of state owner, but wealthy property owners have no such trouble, with a bit of research you can create a profile to match the sort of path they take.
Where there's a will there's a way.
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10-07-2019, 12:14 PM
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#4
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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Again, never advertise that you live in it full time, as far as official bureaucracies are concerned, you're just on an extended trip, few months at a time at most
Call it a sabbatical if you like, and **of course** you have a permanent residential address you regularly return to.
Obviously adjust for your own circumstances, and avoid outright lying, insurance payouts can be denied if they suspect fraudulent intent.
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10-08-2019, 11:21 AM
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#5
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: MI
Posts: 25
Year: 2005
Engine: 365 International
Rated Cap: 22 handicap accessible
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Great advice, thanks @john61ct
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10-08-2019, 09:12 PM
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#6
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Almost There
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NJ
Posts: 92
Year: 2001
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: GM CV 6600 I think lol
Engine: 3126 A Caterpillar AT2400
Rated Cap: 54 ps
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@john61ct Thx, if I understand correctly since my "permanent address" is New Jersey I should insure my skoolie in New Jersey?
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10-08-2019, 10:34 PM
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#7
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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You can choose to be legally domiciled wherever you like, or rather wherever you can arrange to do so.
It may be easiest for your vehicle to be "garaged" at that same address, but others may have compelling reasons to choose a different location.
Up to you and your circumstances.
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10-11-2019, 09:10 AM
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#8
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Bus Nut
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Posts: 415
Year: 2008
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf-T-Liner HDX
Engine: CAT C7 300hp w/retarder
Rated Cap: 46 + 1 36,200 lbs
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I think The Who’s song, Going Mobile best summarizes my feeling on the matter of tax domicile and residency.
"Goin' Mobile
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy
That's my solution
Watch the police and the tax man miss me
I'm mobile
Oooooh, yeah, hee!
Mobile, mobile, mobile yeah
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/who/goinmobile.html
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10-14-2019, 01:14 PM
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#9
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Virginia
Posts: 131
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john61ct
Do **not** mention fulltiming, look / sound / act like a regular wage-slave citizen as much as possible, not a dropout expecting bureaucracy to accommodate a nomadic lifestyle..
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If you are full time living the bus and the carrier doesn't insure fulltimers, then when you have a claim the policy will be rendered null & void due to material misrepresentation. Meaning you never had insurance on the bus, so whatever just happened is 100% on you.
Find an agent, don't lie or fudge, tell them what you're doing. We can't help you if you give us bad information.
__________________
M.L. Sutphin Insurance Agency, Inc.
Make it simple - we insure it all!
15402663074 | 14344736244
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10-14-2019, 04:05 PM
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#10
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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I agree in principle, and some people have no wiggle room.
However most can create some grey area where they are not literally full-timing.
I have never come across a defined number of days sleeping in the vehicle per year was required.
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10-15-2019, 12:52 PM
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#11
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Virginia
Posts: 131
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john61ct
I agree in principle, and some people have no wiggle room.
However most can create some grey area where they are not literally full-timing.
I have never come across a defined number of days sleeping in the vehicle per year was required.
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But why create a grey area where you could be costing yourself more in the long run? If you live in your RV, then make sure your insurance covers you for being a full timer.
Some carriers do ask how often you use the RV which has a defined number of days. I don't know the ranges off hand but I know it's a question I've answered on RV quotes I've done.
__________________
M.L. Sutphin Insurance Agency, Inc.
Make it simple - we insure it all!
15402663074 | 14344736244
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10-15-2019, 02:12 PM
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#12
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 149
Year: 2004
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE200
Engine: T444e
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May not want to mention "Conversion"...
I just got my insurance last week with Allstate.
I got turned down by Sams, Progressive (knew I would but tried anyways), Safeco and State Farm as soon as I mentioned it was a conversion. State Farm actually told me they would only cover conversions if they were "Professionally converted" (not sure who defines "professional").
For Allstate, I talked to a local agent. I just mentioned I am insuring a vehicle titled as a "Motor Home". Then when he asked for the make and model, I said it was an International CE (I didn't mention it was a conversion). So 15 minutes, and $281 later, I have a year's insurance on a 2008 International Motor Home.
The only thing Allstate did was limit my coverage to $300,000 saying that was the standard Motor Home max (which is fine with me).
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10-15-2019, 02:23 PM
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#13
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Central missouri
Posts: 128
Chassis: 2000 Int Amtran
Engine: DT466HT
Rated Cap: 84
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I guess buying full coverage is out of the question. If you invest 30000 on a conversion and you wreck it.......
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10-15-2019, 02:35 PM
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#14
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sutphinins
But why create a grey area where you could be costing yourself more in the long run?
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I have come across many many threads / forums where there was no company at all in a given state that would ensure fulltimers in a DIY conversion.
Moving the legal domicile to another state is often the easiest solution, but not a reasonable option for many.
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10-15-2019, 02:45 PM
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#15
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MacC
I guess buying full coverage is out of the question. If you invest 30000 on a conversion and you wreck it.......
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I have full coverage for $303/yr through State Farm. No inspection, no pics, no problems.
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10-15-2019, 02:51 PM
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#16
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 149
Year: 2004
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE200
Engine: T444e
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MacC
I guess buying full coverage is out of the question. If you invest 30000 on a conversion and you wreck it.......
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I just got liability. Although they mentioned that my homeowner's policy should cover our possessions. But, like you said, that wouldn't cover the $30,000 invested into the conversion itself.
At the moment, I'm just relieved to have gotten something!
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10-15-2019, 03:48 PM
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#17
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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Not you may **pay** for comprehensive, and the maximum quoted may seem fine, but do **not** expect much payout for a DIY conversion under the usual "market value" contract.
With a commercially produced unit, there is a "new price", and standard depreciation curve, pretty brutal one in fact.
But with most DIY write-offs, you need to keep all gadget / materials receipts, as that's what you'll likely be compensated for, not any labor time.
The better alternative is a "negotiated value" assessment, where before you sign the company agrees your home is worth $XX, XXX
That negotiation is greatly assisted by a detailed build thread over time full of pictures, evidence of professional assistance for safety other critical issues like roof raising etc
and you should also nail down the depreciation rate.
It is a rare agent that has experience going to bat wrt this sort of policy for clients, but it can be done.
Friend of the family has an $85,000 value on his four y.o. Sprinter DIY conversion, says if his (very skilled) labor costs had been allowed should have been well over $100K
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10-15-2019, 06:42 PM
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#18
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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First word in above post shoulda bin "Note"
sorry didn't proof
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10-15-2019, 06:53 PM
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#19
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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My $303 was based on an agreed value of $25k.
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10-15-2019, 08:06 PM
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#20
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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sweet
morecharsneeded
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