Has anyone used their skoolie for business purposes, even tangentially?

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

It is my experience (and I remember reading this somewhere) that "cops are visual predators", they look for things "out of place". If you are driving with the flow of traffic, even if everyone is going 80, they can't stop everyone, and it all becomes "part of the scenery". However, that one car going 85, weaving in and out of traffic, that's the one that's going to draw attention, and guess who's getting a ticket?

Large buses, even those painted bright and wild colors, generally don't travel faster than the flow of traffic and most don't weave in and out aggressively. As such, they blend in and become part of the scenery, so to speak. Sure, some of the larger buses can easily get up to a pretty good speed, but they are usually driven by professional CDL drivers (I'm referring to Greyhound and charter/private buses here), they still can't be driven too aggressively as they're top heavy and can flip over if a hard turn is made. I rarely (if ever) see Greyhound type buses pulled over for traffic violations, if anything, it's usually for a breakdown.

I rarely ever see any busses pulled over.. I never see them.. pro , RV, etc in any of the weigh or AG inspection stations.. even though it says "everyone pull in".. ive never been yelled at for blowing by.. the one thing that DOES stand out are the fancy Prevost and Vanhool conversion coaches blowing by me at 80+ on the freeway.. and Occasionally ill see one of those pulled over..

when I first got my DEV bus I broke down 450 miles after i got it.. some of you remember it here.. that thing had questionable tires on it and a temporary florida tag.. while I was at that truck stop i got a lot of "Cool bus dude!".. even had a DOT guy stop and ask if i was OK.. never asked for license , reg, papers, etc.. state trooper in georgia stopped by and asked the same.. again never asked for squat other than "is there anything we can do?, call anyone? do you need help finding a mobile service?".. thats the treatment I got during that ordeal..

my bus sat at that gas station for 3 days.. (of course i cleared it with the workers.. and made sure to buy my snacks and pop at that store through those days...).. more than once we were out working on it or it sat by itself at times...

-Christopher

[mmoore6856]

yea i was in a 18 wheeler but even tho i was still 5 over everybody else was blowing by me in crashville (aka Nashville)

[RomaniGypsy]

Weight doesn't seem to matter if the vehicle is being used for ENTIRELY PERSONAL purposes. As soon as business, or any kind of work for income or profit, comes into play, we enter at least a gray area.

If I get a bus, I will probably play it safe by getting one that is 26,000 pounds GVWR or less. One would think that would keep me safely in the black-and-white interpretation of laws relating to large vehicles.

[cadillackid]

in some cases weight doesnt seem to matter for Commerce / business either.. there's 2 neighbors of mine. a couple.. they own 2 E350 Vans.. both have DOT numbers on them.. they do hot shot delivery... so their vans are being used to transport goods for profit (they sell the service of transportation).. so they are subject to DOT regs.. no idea if either drive has a CDL or not.. im also guessing that those vans are in their business name.. in fact i think there is a busoness name on the side of them.. so they have those vans as assets and tools of their LLC..

they certainly arent 26,000 lbs GVWR..
-Christopher

[Greatestrr]

Most important rule to remember, if you don't say **** they don't know ****. Why do you have all this equipment with you? Me and my boys going to party. Not, why do you have this equipment with you well see here sir, me and my band are using this r.v as a rouse. Ya see we're going to a gig to make money. Ya see officer sir.

[Greatestrr]

Avoid cdl at all costs. Leave the police state your in and remember there ain't nothin to it but to do it

[Greatestrr]

You can't say ****????

[RomaniGypsy]

Well, I guess I've gotten the answers I needed. Maybe some of y'all manage to fly under the radar with "what they don't know won't hurt them", but I'm the guy who would get found out, one way or another.

Maybe the best question to ask now would be... what's the largest bus (in terms of number of windows) that you know of, which still weighs in at or under 26,000 pounds GVWR?

[PNW_Steve]

My, empty, 40' Bluebird with 8.3 & MD-3060 weighs about 21,000lbs. A very careful build could land under 26k.

I am with you regarding playing by the rules. When you blatantly ignore the rule it will eventually bite you in the butt.

I do bend the rules a little from time to time. I did drive 62mph in a 60 zone the other day. Personally, I would consider hauling my own band gear in my private RV without a CDL to be about as serious.

Now if you want to hire transportation services for hire then it is a completely different story. Go CDL, DOT# etc.

Just my $0.02

[Greatestrr]

The tag on my 36' 11 window says 25,500

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy

Well, I guess I've gotten the answers I needed. Maybe some of y'all manage to fly under the radar with "what they don't know won't hurt them", but I'm the guy who would get found out, one way or another.

Maybe the best question to ask now would be... what's the largest bus (in terms of number of windows) that you know of, which still weighs in at or under 26,000 pounds GVWR?

My shorty for sale is only 21k gross, and only has a factory capacity of 14 passengers, so NO NEED FOR CDL EVER.

runs like a beast, does 75 mph, nearly brand new tires, Air ride.

[mmoore6856]

Cdl not needed for rv in usa unless the driver is paid to drive ,use rv for placarded material transportation (haz mat) or business use now the question is do we have a rv ? All depends how you licence it as i have a truck plate not bus. So i have the required cdl however my wife can not drive it til she gets a cdl or i switch the plates

[MarkyDee]

RomaniGypsy:

I feel like you do - I don't even want to be in the "gray" area of the law. I don't want the hassle. My bus sat for nearly 4 months while I researched the whole CDL thing. I spoke to police officers and even state police (I'm in Indiana). They all didn't know what to tell me.

I eventually found my way to the "Commercial Motor Enforcement Division of the Indiana State Police". I sent them a rather lengthly email laying out my situation (I'll spare you the incredible detail). Their response was quite short:

The law on CDL is the same for State and Federal,
If it is used for personal use then you don’t need a CDL. It does not matter how big it is and the RV plate does not give you any special exemption.

In fact it is the other way around, you would have to be using it as personal and recreational use in order to be legally using a RV plate.
If you put a special marking that you think will tell officers “Registered RV” “I am not a DOT vehicle” or whatever then you are indicating that you really don’t know what you are/are not supposed to do but you just don’t want them stopping you to find out. And they will probably stop you to find out. NO MARKINGS

In Indiana only TRUCKS go into the weigh station

Weight limits are the same as any vehicle. If you think you are close on being overweight then you probably are. Weight limits do not change from commercial vs. non commercial.

[mmoore6856]

Surprising how many cops highway patrol and dot dont know what is required .

[RomaniGypsy]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

My shorty for sale is only 21k gross, and only has a factory capacity of 14 passengers, so NO NEED FOR CDL EVER.

runs like a beast, does 75 mph, nearly brand new tires, Air ride.

Nice bus, but it appears not to be a "tall shorty". If it isn't at least 6'5" inside, we'd have to pass.

Originally Posted by MarkyDee

RomaniGypsy:

I feel like you do - I don't even want to be in the "gray" area of the law. I don't want the hassle. My bus sat for nearly 4 months while I researched the whole CDL thing. I spoke to police officers and even state police (I'm in Indiana). They all didn't know what to tell me.

I eventually found my way to the "Commercial Motor Enforcement Division of the Indiana State Police". I sent them a rather lengthly email laying out my situation (I'll spare you the incredible detail). Their response was quite short:

The law on CDL is the same for State and Federal,
If it is used for personal use then you don’t need a CDL. It does not matter how big it is and the RV plate does not give you any special exemption.

Sure. If I had a 32,000lb (GVWR) bus, and I used it ONLY for personal purposes and it was never involved in an endeavor which was set up to net money for me, I could drive it all day without problems. (But I don't do that. When I travel, I play shows.)

Originally Posted by MarkyDee

In Indiana only TRUCKS go into the weigh station

That may be true of all states, but there is also that pesky rule where any vehicle over xxxxx pounds GVWR has to slow down to 20 mph on a steep downhill grade. (It varies either from state to state or area to area. Usually it's 20,000 pounds or more, but I remember hitting one while traveling in our Class C which was 10,000 pounds or more.)

Originally Posted by mmoore6856

Surprising how many cops highway patrol and dot dont know what is required .

And THAT is the problem I would like to avoid.

I'm also not looking to weigh in under 26,000 pounds - it's not the ACTUAL weight of your vehicle which comes into play with CDL law; it's the GVWR. So, if I have an RV that weighs 23,000 pounds and it's 24,000 pounds GVWR, I'm good. If I have a bus that weighs 18,000 pounds and it's 31,000 pounds GVWR, I'm at risk of getting nailed for not having a CDL when using such a vehicle in a business endeavor... even though it weighs less than the aforementioned hypothetical RV.

[Twigg]

Driving to and from your places of employment is NOT considered driving in pursuit of your business.

You would have to be doing something overtly commercial with your RV for it to be considered a commercial vehicle.

This is not hard to understand, whether or not the cops get it. We already had one lawyers opinion fed to us, what more do you need.

It's your bus, do what you want.

[MarkyDee]

Then it sounds like you need to consult a lawyer.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by MarkyDee

Then it sounds like you need to consult a lawyer.

Pffft. Why pay a lawayer when there are so many Interweb experts.


what I suggest is: Take the CDL class at the local junior college. You will learn and have fun driving a frickin semi around town. You don't have to get the license, but the training is:

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy

Nice bus, but it appears not to be a "tall shorty". If it isn't at least 6'5" inside, we'd have to pass.



Sure. If I had a 32,000lb (GVWR) bus, and I used it ONLY for personal purposes and it was never involved in an endeavor which was set up to net money for me, I could drive it all day without problems. (But I don't do that. When I travel, I play shows.)
[/FONT][/COLOR]


That may be true of all states, but there is also that pesky rule where any vehicle over xxxxx pounds GVWR has to slow down to 20 mph on a steep downhill grade. (It varies either from state to state or area to area. Usually it's 20,000 pounds or more, but I remember hitting one while traveling in our Class C which was 10,000 pounds or more.)



And THAT is the problem I would like to avoid.

I'm also not looking to weigh in under 26,000 pounds - it's not the ACTUAL weight of your vehicle which comes into play with CDL law; it's the GVWR. So, if I have an RV that weighs 23,000 pounds and it's 24,000 pounds GVWR, I'm good. If I have a bus that weighs 18,000 pounds and it's 31,000 pounds GVWR, I'm at risk of getting nailed for not having a CDL when using such a vehicle in a business endeavor... even though it weighs less than the aforementioned hypothetical RV.

It is most certainly a HIGH HEADROOM bus. Any higher and youll be needing a roof raise... Which I also have a raised roof bus for sale!

[MarkyDee]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Pffft. Why pay a lawayer when there are so many Interweb experts.


what I suggest is: Take the CDL class at the local junior college. You will learn and have fun driving a frickin semi around town. You don't have to get the license, but the training is:

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