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Old 09-26-2016, 09:09 AM   #1
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does DOT hastle anyone?

im getting this new bus today... and have a couple people putting the fear of god into me that im going to get arrested or stopped at weigh stations becausing im driving a Yellow bus halfway across the country into florida...

i was thinking people on here are doing that all the time with their new busses, and im assuming they just blow by the weight stations and dont even enter.. just stay on the freeway??

my first bus came t ome local years ago so it never was on the freeway till it was painted..

my current bus was painted to non-school colors before i ever drove it and the only DOT guy that said anything was while I was broken down getting repaired off the highway and he just said "thats a nice bus!".. never even asked anything else..

yet now i got a person in ohio and one in florida telling me that DOT "has their eyes open for yellow busses with the school name taped over".. and will cite for no logs, DOT tags ore CDL..

yet i havent seen any posts about it here... are they just fear mongering and i just tape over the word "stop" on the stop sign and the word "school" on the front and back and drive??


well heck thats probably what im gonna do anyway... LOL..

-Christopher

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Old 09-26-2016, 09:16 AM   #2
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As long as you have the "Transit" tag & papers, you should be fine anywhere you go during the 30 day window they give you.
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Old 09-26-2016, 09:58 AM   #3
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don't stop at weigh stations!

i brought my bus home over 3 states, no plates, no weigh stations stops. in fact i've never stopped at one. i would only stop if it said "rv's included" and i've never seen that.

insurance and recent bill of sale should suffice for the legality of the trip, but why would you get pulled over?

you're not going to be speeding in a school bus.

if you're going to title it as an rv, follow the rv rules on the trip home.
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Old 09-26-2016, 10:24 AM   #4
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don't stop at weigh stations!

i brought my bus home over 3 states, no plates, no weigh stations stops. in fact i've never stopped at one. i would only stop if it said "rv's included" and i've never seen that.

insurance and recent bill of sale should suffice for the legality of the trip, but why would you get pulled over?

you're not going to be speeding in a school bus.

if you're going to title it as an rv, follow the rv rules on the trip home.
This is what I did.
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Old 09-26-2016, 11:48 AM   #5
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We drove our yellow bus from Florida to Texas back in November and never even got a second look from any cops or any other official-type people. All we had were temp paper tags. We were nervous the whole time thinking "it looks like we just stole a school bus!"

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Old 09-26-2016, 12:06 PM   #6
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FWIW, I know TXDOT couldnt care less. There is a steady stream of auction busses going to mexico every weekend, and they are all just spraybombed-over. Five bucks says most of these drivers dont even have insurance, and they load them up with garage sale stuff to the point its hanging out the windows.

As to weigh stations, just blow right by. You are not a commercial vehicle. I did exactly this in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada without issue. In fact, at one point in texas I was following a state trooper when I did it. Not so much as a sideways glance. (He was using me as a moving optical block, hoping to catch someone coming up too fast from behind me. It worked about 5 miles later). Hehehe
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Old 09-26-2016, 04:06 PM   #7
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did you guys tape off the words "school bus" or just leave it as is and drive? maybe thats the ticket, you leave it as is and it blends in with every other school bus on the road..

-Christopher
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Old 09-26-2016, 04:22 PM   #8
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I haven't gotten mine out on the road yet, and besides, being repainted white/green/purple as a church bus (de-lettered), I doubt anyone would give it a second look. Georgia (and many other states) have the tags tied in with your insurance in their computers, and you have to have insurance in place to get the temp tag; so if they see that, they usually assume insurance is good. They would only be likely to hassle you if they see you doing something wrong. Our buses aren't likely to earn anyone a speeding ticket, so that narrows it down to weaving, swerving, and other erratic driving. I read somewhere that cops are visual predators; they look for things that stand out. If you blend in with the crowd, they tend to ignore you. Even a large, yellow bus blends in because (1) they are so very common and (2) the vast majority of us are likely to be driving safely, legally and conscientiously.

I've never taken mine past any scale-houses but if/when I do, whether I stop will depend on 2 things. (1) Am I doing something commercial with my bus? (IE, am I hauling goods or passengers for money?) (2) Does a sign say I need to pull in? (Hauling goods, yes, I should pull in. Passengers, depends on the state. In GA, I will roll past).
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Old 09-26-2016, 04:30 PM   #9
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I like brad's approach..

i have tags and insurance... cometo think of it i dont think ive ever seen any bus in a scale before... nor have I seen U-hauls in there even though some of them say to go in...

I figured I'll play dumb if they do send a car out to stop me..

'Officer it is being transported to a place for conversion into an RV by me, its owner'..

-Christopher
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Old 09-26-2016, 04:49 PM   #10
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i don't think i'll ever do anything commercial with my bus.

i have rolled by every single weigh station and port of entry.

including ones signed "buses included".

and another was mandatory brake check / weigh station for trucks at the top of a grade in georgia.

what do you do at a brake check? i got auto slack adjusters?

mines an rv! non commercial! i blow by them.
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Old 09-26-2016, 04:50 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
I like brad's approach..

i have tags and insurance... cometo think of it i dont think ive ever seen any bus in a scale before... nor have I seen U-hauls in there even though some of them say to go in...

I figured I'll play dumb if they do send a car out to stop me..

'Officer it is being transported to a place for conversion into an RV by me, its owner'..

-Christopher
When they see one that has been painted out/taped over, they know as well as anyone it's decommissioned. They usually assume it's being driven legally - one way or another - either on a temp tag, 30-day rule (depending on your home state), a dealer-transport tag, drive-away company (more common for new buses, but some used ones are moved this way), etc. They also assume that bus isn't likely to break the speed limit and isn't likely to even approach any weight limits; you aren't using it to make money so you are CDL exempt. The only likely violation would be air-brakes/Class B license, and even then it's a really gray area, so many states are different and not all buses have air brakes. They have better things to do than chase down some old school bus and hassle some innocent buyer who is very likely to be within the law.
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Old 09-28-2016, 11:06 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur View Post
When they see one that has been painted out/taped over, they know as well as anyone it's decommissioned. They usually assume it's being driven legally - one way or another - either on a temp tag, 30-day rule (depending on your home state), a dealer-transport tag, drive-away company (more common for new buses, but some used ones are moved this way), etc. They also assume that bus isn't likely to break the speed limit and isn't likely to even approach any weight limits; you aren't using it to make money so you are CDL exempt. The only likely violation would be air-brakes/Class B license, and even then it's a really gray area, so many states are different and not all buses have air brakes. They have better things to do than chase down some old school bus and hassle some innocent buyer who is very likely to be within the law.

Well said.
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Old 09-29-2016, 12:01 AM   #13
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The government is here to help. LOL

Well, we rolled up Interstate 44
Like a rocket sled on rails.
We tore up all of our swindle sheets,
And left 'em settin' on the scales.
By the time we hit that Chi-town,
Them bears was a-gettin' smart:
They'd brought up some reinforcements
From the Illinois National Guard.
There's armored cars, and tanks, and jeeps,
And rigs of ev'ry size.
Yeah, them chicken coops was full'a bears
And choppers filled the skies.
Well, we shot the line and we went for broke
With a thousand screamin' trucks
An' eleven long-haired Friends a' Jesus
In a chartreuse micra-bus.
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Old 09-29-2016, 05:01 AM   #14
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Old 09-29-2016, 05:07 AM   #15
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The government is here to help. LOL

Well, we rolled up Interstate 44
Like a rocket sled on rails.
We tore up all of our swindle sheets,
And left 'em settin' on the scales.
By the time we hit that Chi-town,
Them bears was a-gettin' smart:
They'd brought up some reinforcements
From the Illinois National Guard.
There's armored cars, and tanks, and jeeps,
And rigs of ev'ry size.
Yeah, them chicken coops was full'a bears
And choppers filled the skies.
Well, we shot the line and we went for broke
With a thousand screamin' trucks
An' eleven long-haired Friends a' Jesus
In a chartreuse micra-bus.
had that on a 45, brother hated it
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Old 09-29-2016, 08:03 AM   #16
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I love it!! I had so forgotten about that!!! now I gotta find it again!!!

as for me and scales and DOT... i just drove... no one bothered me..

a couple people had given me the fear that DOT doesnt like old skoolies before they are turned to RV... but I was cruisin along at 55-60 , I never even got followed by a cop...

at one fuel stop I had one stop and ask about the small wheels on the bus and then said "I always thought it would be fun to make a camper out of one.. safe travels!".. and we both went inside to get soda and yes.. (wait for it!) Donuts! for real...

I didnt paint over anything other than the name of the school was already painted over...

-Christopher
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Old 09-29-2016, 02:15 PM   #17
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There are people on here that don't have CB's.
They must not have tall gears.

Remember when Freedom was a 24 pack of Budweiser an once of Coke some sweet heart from the bar in cut off jeans to keep you awake and a fast car on a long trip. GOD this country was great! Now we fear the government might not let us go camping in a old school bus we bought and converted.
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Old 09-29-2016, 04:30 PM   #18
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Still a great country if you just dont give a **** what the government tells you...
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Old 09-29-2016, 05:25 PM   #19
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Old 09-29-2016, 05:26 PM   #20
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I stiull believe in santa claus (for real).. does that count?
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