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Old 10-14-2014, 07:14 PM   #1
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Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

I am planning on buying a 2005 Diesel short school bus (Ford 450) I was told I would only be allowed to drive it 5000 miles per year because of California CARB laws. I want to convert it over to an RV. What qualifies as an RV and will I then have to follow all the laws? I'm afraid that if I buy this bus, I may never be able to drive it.

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Old 10-14-2014, 08:49 PM   #2
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Re: Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

5k is a fair amount per year. Have you mapped out a trip? Next years? Year after that? Everyone is different but I'm betting that's more than average.
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Old 10-14-2014, 11:09 PM   #3
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Re: Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

Sounds like a Kalifornia thing to me, but check into it. Should only apply to what they consider commercial vehicles (like Buses). An RV should not (at least in my book) be subject to such asinine legislation. But then...it IS The Peoples Republic of Kalifornia we're talkin' about here so they must know what's best for us.
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Old 10-22-2014, 08:25 PM   #4
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Re: Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

How difficult is it to get it registered as an RV. We are trying to build a mobile video studio inside. Didn't exactly want to make it into a RV, but would like to get it registered as one.
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Old 10-23-2014, 11:08 AM   #5
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Re: Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

With all due respect, registering your vehicle as an RV and then using it commercially in the state of Kalifornia is a serious folly. When you are caught, you will be charged with evading commercial weight fees (jail time is possible), your bus will be impounded, your insurance will be null and void and you will probably be turned into a frog. If your business plan won't support your vehicular overhead then it probably needs to be re thought.
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Old 10-23-2014, 11:04 PM   #6
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Re: Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

Thank you for all your replies. I was on hold today for 2 hours with the DMV, only to be disconnected. So, how do you recommend I register the "bus"? I am buying it as a school bus. renovating the inside to look like a talk show set with couches and a television. There will also be generators and a refrigerator. I am clueless as to how to register it. I don't want to break any rules. Especially since it is California.
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Old 10-24-2014, 07:58 AM   #7
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Re: Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

MOVE!

Seriously. Find another state to register in.
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Old 10-24-2014, 09:56 AM   #8
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Re: Diesel Conversion/CARB laws

Given that Ol Trunt is a retired officer of the law in Kalifornia (in addition to being a Master Bus Builder)...I would heed his advice. If the locals are that twitchy about what you do with it, maybe the commercial route is the only safe way to go. Not a problem here in Texas. If a vehicle is registered as an "RV", they don't really care what you do with it. My last bus build (a 40' Blue Bird with a 19" roof raise) was used primarily as a hauler for an antique business I had way back when. But it sounds like I would have wound up in Alcatraz if I did the same where you are.

Either way, good luck with it.
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