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Old 04-05-2019, 12:52 PM   #1
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2000 GMC Savana project

Hi everyone, i am new to the forum. We have decided to undertake a project using a retired short bus as our foundation. My company runs mobile Tactical Laser Tag events. we want to use the bus to become our mobile command center. This will involve a repurposing of the interior (not quite to the level that some of you have done...i am seriously considering getting a second bus for a larger project.

This bus has 142k miles, and we picked it up at auction for about $1500.

I have spent a couple of days going through the forums, and there is SO MUCH info.

Some things we are working out the kinks on
Insurance in NY
Registration in NY
We want to be sure we register it as a passenger vehicle so we can travel on Parkways

Any advice you folks may have as we undertake this very NEW type of project is absolutely welcome. I look forward to posting pics as we move forward with this project!

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Old 04-06-2019, 09:08 AM   #2
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Chassis: express 3500
Engine: 6.5 diesel
hey there. I live in WNY and had been contemplating a skoolie conversion for a few years. I decided to pull the trigger and was about to purchase a full size bus. I figured I'd get the vin and try to get insurance before I actually purchased the bus as I knew there may be issues. A friend of mine is an insurance broker who claimed it wouldn't be an issue. After two weeks she told me she couldn't find anybody to insure it. change of plans. I went to a local bus garage and got the vin off of an e350 short bus. I called my insurance company for a quote and had no issues. Now I knew I needed a 3500 or e350 cutaway. I eventually found a Corbeil Chevy Express based bus. I Called my insurance company and gave them the vin. They asked how many doors....I said 3. I had insurance. Went to the bus company to pay and pick up the bus. They gave me all the paperwork and I was off to the dmv 5 minutes away. I told the dmv employee I needed to register this truck I just bought. She looked at the title and said"It's a bus". I said "yep, I'm converting it into an RV". She didn't know what to register it as so she called Albany. after 5 minutes on the phone she says "im going to title it as "house on wheels". That was it! I went back to the bus company, put the plates on and drove 2 hours home. So the bottom line is give your insurance only what they ask for. I thought the DMV would be a disaster but the only real issue is the woman there didn't know what to classify it as. Everything in NY state seems to be a big fiasco nowadays. In the end it went smoothly. I still wish I could figure out how to get a full size bus on the road in NY though.
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Old 04-06-2019, 12:12 PM   #3
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hey there. I live in WNY and had been contemplating a skoolie conversion for a few years. I decided to pull the trigger and was about to purchase a full size bus. I figured I'd get the vin and try to get insurance before I actually purchased the bus as I knew there may be issues. A friend of mine is an insurance broker who claimed it wouldn't be an issue. After two weeks she told me she couldn't find anybody to insure it. change of plans. I went to a local bus garage and got the vin off of an e350 short bus. I called my insurance company for a quote and had no issues. Now I knew I needed a 3500 or e350 cutaway. I eventually found a Corbeil Chevy Express based bus. I Called my insurance company and gave them the vin. They asked how many doors....I said 3. I had insurance. Went to the bus company to pay and pick up the bus. They gave me all the paperwork and I was off to the dmv 5 minutes away. I told the dmv employee I needed to register this truck I just bought. She looked at the title and said"It's a bus". I said "yep, I'm converting it into an RV". She didn't know what to register it as so she called Albany. after 5 minutes on the phone she says "im going to title it as "house on wheels". That was it! I went back to the bus company, put the plates on and drove 2 hours home. So the bottom line is give your insurance only what they ask for. I thought the DMV would be a disaster but the only real issue is the woman there didn't know what to classify it as. Everything in NY state seems to be a big fiasco nowadays. In the end it went smoothly. I still wish I could figure out how to get a full size bus on the road in NY though.
What kind of policy did you get? Here is another case where I think DMV is not doing their job correctly. If I say I'm turning my bus into a Corvette, can I change the title and registration to reflect that? You have registration for a "house on wheels" and when the insurance looks at it and says this isn't a house on wheels, it's an empty bus . Your policy may not cover you.
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Old 04-06-2019, 01:39 PM   #4
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Its not empty. I converted it. you can go to NYS dmv's website and it'll show you the requirements for it to be an RV. I was sure to meet those. A friend is an insurance adjuster and I asked him about it. He told me if I was involved in an accident the amenities may not be covered( ie. if my grill breaks they won't reimburse me). hopefully I won't ever have to be in that situation. I've seen a few skoolies in NY that were titled as "SUBN".
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Old 04-06-2019, 01:57 PM   #5
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That's another challenge for me...since we aren't converting our skoolie into a RV, but more into a mobile office. I'm not sure what I would want to register it as.

I had another friend who bought a bus in NY and advised trying to get it registered as a Suburban.

This process is very new to me so I'm trying to avoid any issues with some cop, somewhere down the line saying "hey, this isn't a suburban...step out of the bus" LOL
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Old 04-06-2019, 02:18 PM   #6
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I hear what you're saying. I would explain to the dmv what you are doing and im pretty sure they'd title it as "subn". go to the nys dmv website and there is a section that explains how many seats you need(or don't need) to make it "not a school bus". it was weird...like you had to have one seat behind the driver or something. I ended up with a small dinette that I built behind the drivers seat. I also have a fold down jump seat by the stairwell. As the other guy said though... who knows what would happen in an accident as far as insurance goes.
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Old 04-06-2019, 03:18 PM   #7
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I have been looking for the info on the NYS DMV site. I can't find it anywhere. Any chance you have a link to the info you are referencing?
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Old 04-06-2019, 03:29 PM   #8
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What is "subn"?
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Old 04-06-2019, 03:29 PM   #9
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I found some information about "van" modification. Since the foundation vehicle is a GMC Savana...is it possible to register it as a van?
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Old 04-06-2019, 06:32 PM   #10
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If I remember correctly the woman at the dmv that day was considering it. it seems like she had the power to categorize it as whatever she wanted right then and there. I asked her if she would could just make it subn only because I didn't know if id drive it all before the conversion was done and didn't want to get hassled by cops. she insisted she call Albany and that's when they said it should be house on wheels. I told her i was driving it home and asked if there would be any issues if I got pulled over and it was still a bus with all the seats. she said no. I have a few custom motorcycles and cars that I built and have never had a cop give many any issues when getting pulled over. these vehicles are heavily modified but registered as"no modifications". cops are always asking about the vehicles and really cool. I've driven by a ton of cops in my bus and haven't gotten pulled over yet. its white with a giant cedar deck on the roof too.
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Old 04-06-2019, 06:34 PM   #11
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subn is considered suburban I believe. basically an suv. my 4runner is considered a subn. do you have that option in your state when registering a vehicle? im assuming you don't since you asked about it.
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Old 04-06-2019, 08:52 PM   #12
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subn is considered suburban I believe. basically an suv. my 4runner is considered a subn. do you have that option in your state when registering a vehicle? im assuming you don't since you asked about it.
Nothing here distinguishes an SUV from a regular car or truck. Just hadn't seen the subn designation before. Where are you ?
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Old 04-09-2019, 01:01 PM   #13
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I just came from the DMV...

My insurance agent got me a policy with progressive as a "cargo van"...I'm expecting some problems with this moving forward, but it got me the insurance card so I could get it registered...so I'll deal with it when it comes.

At the DMV I got to the first window and the staff member asked me what kind of vehicle it was as she was inspecting the title, I explained it was a retired short school bus...at which point she started laughing. I explained I was removing several seats and leaving seats in the back for passengers, and using the rear area as combo storage and electronics upgrades. I pointed out that the previous registration was a "van" and mentioned that the conversion will still fall within the requirements outlined on the NYS DMV site. She filled out the last few spots on the form, and I was off to window #2

At the next window she asked that I fill out the "modified" portion of the form to explain that the vehicle would have rear seats and side rear windows...and within 5 minutes I had the registration/plates in hand.

I pick up the bus tomorrow!!

Next step is seat removal and starting to think about repainting. Any tips? Pros and cons of DIY paint vs having it painted at a shop?

Im really excited to start this project when I get back from vacation.
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Old 04-09-2019, 06:13 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
Nothing here distinguishes an SUV from a regular car or truck. Just hadn't seen the subn designation before. Where are you ?
hey Marc. I'm in upstate New York. that doesn't surprise me that you don't have those vehicle types in your state. NY always has a bunch of B.S. with anything you try to do.
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Old 04-09-2019, 06:28 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Battle_Bus View Post
I just came from the DMV...

My insurance agent got me a policy with progressive as a "cargo van"...I'm expecting some problems with this moving forward, but it got me the insurance card so I could get it registered...so I'll deal with it when it comes.

At the DMV I got to the first window and the staff member asked me what kind of vehicle it was as she was inspecting the title, I explained it was a retired short school bus...at which point she started laughing. I explained I was removing several seats and leaving seats in the back for passengers, and using the rear area as combo storage and electronics upgrades. I pointed out that the previous registration was a "van" and mentioned that the conversion will still fall within the requirements outlined on the NYS DMV site. She filled out the last few spots on the form, and I was off to window #2

At the next window she asked that I fill out the "modified" portion of the form to explain that the vehicle would have rear seats and side rear windows...and within 5 minutes I had the registration/plates in hand.

I pick up the bus tomorrow!!

Next step is seat removal and starting to think about repainting. Any tips? Pros and cons of DIY paint vs having it painted at a shop?

Im really excited to start this project when I get back from vacation.
Awesome! Glad everything went smooth. I don't think you'll have any issues now that its registered and insured. it seems that most people that had issues had full size buses. they seem to get insurance until an underwriter takes a look at it then they get dropped. as far as paint goes I used rustoleum gloss white thinned with acetone and some hardener. I sprayed it through a 10 dollar harbor freight gun. I rolled the roof with flat white rustoleum. came out awesome. the worst part was getting the reflective tape off the bus. I spent days doing it. tried every chemical I could find. goof off was the only thing that got the residue off. I used a heat gun to get the tape off initially. the bus is a 2002 so it was on there good. after buying tape, paint,thinner,hardener,rollers,etc I think I have about 150 bucks into it.
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Old 04-09-2019, 06:40 PM   #16
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hey Marc. I'm in upstate New York. that doesn't surprise me that you don't have those vehicle types in your state. NY always has a bunch of B.S. with anything you try to do.
Is "subn" a classification used in NY, or is a north of the border deal?
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Old 04-10-2019, 09:37 AM   #17
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Is "subn" a classification used in NY, or is a north of the border deal?
My E350 Corbeil has a Suburban classification on its NY title. I vaguely recall from a search a while back that it basically applies to anything that isn't a Coupe, Sedan or Wagon.
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Old 04-22-2019, 01:06 PM   #18
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Yeah, the paint is the thing that is freaking me out the most. I never even thought of how hard it is gonna be to get the tape off LOLOL.

Did you sand the original paint down first or just spray right over the old paint?
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