Re: So I brought my bus to a mechanic...
Pretty harsh. I'm not really a structural expert so I can't really comment on that but I will echo what some have said on here about trying different shops, especially in BC. I've been doing mine in the lower mainland too and dealing with some pretty stiff regulation is quite the trick. However, different mechanics have different opinions and while some won't even talk to you because you're not a commercial rig (although in BC, with what I assume your weight class to be, that's what you are), but some are totally enthusiastic.
I feel your pain because I'm going through a similar thing with my bus. I don't know how much of this you've encountered, but if you're over 5,500kg, you have two choices for registration: unladen commercial vehicle and recreational vehicle/motor home. Commercial vehicles must undergo annual inspections, which you will probably not pass (but not necessarily..this too depends on where you go). RVs, though they don't require the same inspections, do require you to have minimum 3 items of a list of items that qualify a vehicle as a motor home, like a bed, potable water, cooking, refrigeration, heat, etc. I advise you to skip the commercial step entirely and go for the RV regs if you're gonna do this thing!
As for legal trouble, you might have some outside of here but in BC it seems you're pretty safe (from my experience). I got pulled over by the mounties a couple of weeks ago because I was driving around with my tags in the wrong place. I got let off with a friendly warning. WHen I got home, I looked and noticed that I had a brake light and several clearance lights out–he didn't even mention it. My impression is that the RCMP are not looking to lay the law down on you. I'd get that bumper taken care of, but other than that I wouldn't worry about it.
Hope to see you on the road around here sometime. I'll try to keep an eye on your posts and see if we've run into any of the same problems!
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