What do you need in order to drive a old converted school bus around America

[Zizzer]

I bought a bus two days ago in NY state and I am having it delivered next Saturday to NC.

This is my honest experience dealing with the NC MVA and my Insurance Agent over the last week.

To be clear, I have explained to everyone in no uncertain terms the absolute truth about my purchase and intentions, convert a retired school bus in to an RV / Tiny House. I have explained that AT THE MOMENT there is seating for as many as 16 passengers.

There are several terms that people throw around almost interchangeably that should be clarified.

Property has a Title. That is a legal endorsement of ownership. Boats, houses, trailers, etc. all have Title documents associated with them. A building may be residential or commercial depending on how it is zoned and a vehicle can be Titled the same way, that is Commercial or private. There are some other particular Title designations and for our purposes, Bus is relevant. My bus is currently Titled as a Bus.

Registration is associated with paying taxes and registering the Titled property with the MVA/DMV or other governing body. Similarly you would do with your local planning commission for a house or business. This is an excise tax for road use when you talk about registering a vehicle. For instance, if you make a living by driving a big truck on the public roads then you pay a higher excise tax due to the added damage to the roads and the fact that you are making money by use of the commons, that is the roads. Because I will be USING the bus as an RV and I will NOT be taking on passengers for hire I will register and insure the bus as an RV. A License Tag or Plate is essentially a receipt that shows you paid your excise tax. Otherwise it is a unique identifier for a vehicle that is Titled and Registered tying it to the owner.

Licensure is associated to the person. Drivers licenses like marriages have cross state reciprocity. That is if you get married in TX you are still married in NJ. If you can drive in AK you can drive in WA. Most states have classifications for what sorts of vehicles you are allowed to drive and what if any restrictions you might have. For instance, do you need to wear eyeglasses at night, are you handicapped, etc. As for classes, this refers to cars, motorcycles, trucks and there may be others. In NC because the GVW of my bus is 13,000, well below the 26,001 limit I need no special license to drive it. This does not change if I were to use it as a passenger carrying bus. There are federal licenses that are also regulated that come in to play with larger vehicles, boats and airplanes.

Because I would like to change the Title from Bus to RV I will have to present the vehicle to my local MVA Inspector for final determination as to the Title designation change. This will entail the removal of the stop sign, the emergency flashing lights, and any sign that says anything about school children. I will be adding a bed, cooking accommodations, and some very basic plumbing. I will be keeping at least two of the belted bus benches for passenger use.

Since all of this is perfectly legal in NC I feel confident in my plans to get on the road by the first of the year. I will be keeping a mailing address and legal residence but hope to be full time. Aside from telling my agent that I will be taking "the great American road trip" I have NOT told him that I will be living in the bus full time.

I hope that helps someone.

[prof.fate]

CDL is FEDERAL, and applies to COMMERCIAL vehicles ONLY.
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registrati...icense/drivers

There are TONS of laws covering buses, school buses and transporting people.
NY has this - https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/ope...y/busregs1.pdf

In PA if it's yellow and says 'school bus' then you best have the proper license to drive it.
The 'vans' that carry kids that say 'school students' are NOT buses and different laws apply to them. Including different driver's license laws.

Pennsylvania Code

worried about a rusty bus? They have to be undercoated..it's the law!

§ 171.38. Undercoating.

The undersides of the front fenders of the chassis—unless fenders are constructed of a noncorrosion material—shall be coated with a rust preventing compound which meets or exceeds, when using the modified test, all performance and qualitative requirements of paragraph 3.4 of Federal Specification TT-C-520b. See Appendix A.

If you drive a big yellow bus with 'school bus' on it, empty of kids or not, you best the right license. Now if you cover the words' school bus' you're legal without a school bus (federal) endorsement.

The rules on 'short buses' changed to this:

On August 10, 2005, P.L. 109-59, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was enacted. Section 10309 states in part:

• A school or school system may not purchase or lease a new 15-passenger van if it will be used significantly by, or on behalf of, the school or school system to transport preprimary, primary, or secondary school students to or from school or an event related to school, unless the 15-passenger van complies with the motor vehicle standards prescribed for school buses and multifunction school activity buses under this title.

State DMV's and police can be anal about this stuff...i know of a driver/company that got a ticket because PART of the bus wasn't the right shade of yellow..local cop too, not a state trooper.

In PA all motor vehicled get an annual safety inspections - school buses get TWO plus a state police officer inspects them (and puts a sticker on the windshield) before it can carry kids.

[Jolly Roger]

ZIZZER! Where in NC are you?
I have been insured, inspected and registered in NC for awhile.
What kind of bus do you have and where are you? All of My local parts stores say someone else comes in to buy bus parts? 28584 area code?
Mine was registered and insured sight unseen but the yearly inspection was a hassle until I found the right place