How to immediatEly register your bus as an RV without conversion:

[AlleyCat67]

Call them and see, that's what I ended up having to do.

[warewolff]

Originally Posted by n.page.86

I have a few questions for the OP. I live in NY as well and plan on going this route. I have a few questions for you though.

What did you do for insurance? What do you do for inspections? And lastly I plan to convert the back half of mine to a flatbed to haul my Jeep. Would an RV still be the way to go, or should I register it as a flat bed for personal use?

BTW my bus is a 40 footer with air brakes. GVW is 29k pounds. I do have a CDL B with no restrictions though.

I have not done anything for insurance yet. It's sitting happily in my driveway as I undergo renovations. As for inspections, I ignore it. Always have. NY is not going to bust my chops for not having a VT inspection. If you plan to travel in VT, might as well get it inspected. I have never received a ticket for lack of an out of state inspection and I've been doing this for years. As for the flatbed aspect, I don't know. I'm not an expert on these things. I know that insuring an RV is cheap because they assume you're only using it for vacationing. I don't believe the same would apply to a flatbed.

[warewolff]

Originally Posted by Azuleslight

so im on i think week 4 or 5 including holiday week and i havent seen my check cashed or anything. do i call or do i keep my fingers crossed for the next week ot two more?

Call the Montpelier location. They will give you an accurate update. If you missed something, specifically the ORIGINAL title for vehicles under 15 years, as Alleycat found out, they will not cash it and will not correspond with you. If your bus is over 15 years and you did not fill out the part about state tax (or did not submit proof that state tax has already been paid), they will not cash your check and will not correspond with you. See the pattern here? I always call at the 2 week mark and then every week after that to ensure everything is working out so that I can immediately rectify whatever I missed. The only downside to this is getting through to a human in the Vermont DMV -- the wait times are sometimes pretty long, and that's if you can get through to begin with. If you get a busy tone, hang up and try again in 15 minutes.

Originally Posted by tobeamiss

Will I need proof of insurance (which I don't have) in order to get it registered in VT?
also, they're asking (on the form) for visual verification of the VIN....so I'm assuming that I take a picture of it? oh wait, it says if the vehicle will be titled....I already have the Title in hand......
any help will be GREATLY appreciated...I'm not the brightest on this subject

You do not need proof of insurance. As for visual verification of the VIN, this is generally if you do not have a copy of your title to begin with. You will need a Sheriff to verify that the VIN isn't stolen. If you have the proper paperwork to begin with, don't sweat it. No visual verification necessary. Again, if your vehicle is under 15 years old, send the ORIGINAL title via certified mail so that you know it was delivered. If your vehicle is over 15 years in age, send a copy of the title. If your bus is under 15 years you'll receive a title. If your bus is over 15 years you'll receive a transferable registration, which is treated like a title. If you ever try to re-register into another state with your transferable registration from VT, you will be issued another transferable registration. They are treated the same way as a title for all intents and purposes.

Alleycat, please post when you get your tags. We've had some successes already but I'd like to see this down to a science with expected wait times and all that. Hope it works out for all of you. Additionally for anyone doing this in the future we highly recommend you send a PERSONAL check, so that if it gets lost in the mail or in the process you can just send another one.

[Azuleslight]

and there it is, i didnt send the original title -.-

[J1mmymac2468]

how do i get this application

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by J1mmymac2468

how do i get this application

Click here

[tobeamiss]

Alleycat...
did you send yours back in yet? I'm really curious to know if you did and how you're making out with it. I'm sending mine tomorrow. I'm at the cutoff point as in by January 1st it will be 15 yrs old. So anyway, I'll send it
certified so I can keep my eye on it.

[AlleyCat67]

I actually haven't done that yet, mine is a 2005 so I don't have to worry about the 15 year cutoff just yet, but I do need to do it soon, would like to have my tag by the end of the year.

[tobeamiss]

OK, I'll let you know how I make out....wish me luck!

[tobeamiss]

I'm stumped...do I need to fill out the (visual) VIN verification form?
Ooops nevermind....I found my answer in an earlier post.

[AlleyCat67]

This is for warewolff..... way off topic.....

Watched BTTF trilogy tonight, remembered your siggie so did a quick screengrab and whipped this up real quick.....

[tincaneasybakeoven]

can an unconscious expert write the rules for this action?

[wajidsshadow]

Ok this is literally my first time posting anywhere on this site, I've been lurking around the forums for months and I finally pulled the trigger. I need to share my success story with this method.

Just for clarification I'm an engineering Contractor and I do a lot of traveling so my docs are all over the place.

I'm licensed and reside in Maryland. I'm currently staying in Massachusetts. I bought my bus in Connecticut. And now I've registered it as an RV in Vermont hahha go figure.

I'm posting to confirm that I followed warewolff's instructions to the T, the only difference is I needed to move the bus right away and could not wait 2 weeks or more for stuff to arrive in the mail. None of the New England states offer temporary plates (especially to out of state residents) so I decided to go try this method in person at a Vermont DMV office.

I filled out the application but skipped the part about the truck weight and axles. For body type I had put YY (like it says on the title) but the lady at the office changed it to MH for motor home. I got a VIN verification done as my bus is less than 15 years old and I wanted a new title that says Motor Home so I can register it in another state if anyone ever gives me a hard time for driving on VT plates. Also, you do not need to pay that extra $6 unless your car is new, so fun fact there. Besides that everything went incredibly smoothly.

TL;DR bought the car in southern CT, got vin verified, drove up 3 hours to a Vermont DMV and got it registered as a motor home and got new plates on the spot. Drove back down to pickup the bus and hopefully drive it home 😁😁

Should be easier to get RV insurance now that the title says motor home, no?

[AlleyCat67]

Be a bit of a drive for me from TN but maybe that is what I need to do..... just drive up and do it in person (after the holidays of course).

[wajidsshadow]

Originally Posted by AlleyCat67

Be a bit of a drive for me from TN but maybe that is what I need to do..... just drive up and do it in person (after the holidays of course).

Alleycat, thought you already mailed everything in?

Also, anyone have any info on how I can get it insured pre-conversion ? The title and reg now say motor home but if they ask for pics I'll be in trouble

[AlleyCat67]

I had but I didn't mail the original title, so it was sent back but apparently got lost in the mail on the way back. Have not resubmitted yet as USPS money orders require a 60 day waiting period before you can get a refund.

[wajidsshadow]

Originally Posted by AlleyCat67

I had but I didn't mail the original title, so it was sent back but apparently got lost in the mail on the way back. Have not resubmitted yet as USPS money orders require a 60 day waiting period before you can get a refund.

Well if they lost it I guess you're lucky you didn't send the title lol. Don't forget if the bus is 15 years old or less you do need a VIN verification, even if you have the title (at least that's what the lady at the counter told me)

Luckily I had gotten the dealer to get in done just to be safe bc I didn't want to have to do that drive twice.

It doesn't have to be done using their own form, they accepted the CT official VIN verification paper. I didn't even know this was a thing, but apparently almost every state has some procedure for it. They told me in NH any dealer can do it and in CT any inspection place or DMV can do it. No idea what it's like all the way down there.

[AlleyCat67]

Well no, THEY (VT) didn't lose it.... it was mailed back and the USPS apparently lost it because it's been 6 weeks since I mailed it and about 3 since I talked to them on the phone. I just have to wait for the 2 month waiting period on USPS money orders to expire, then I can get a new one issued and try it again.

[cadillackid]

wow that sucks you cant cancel the MO.. i never knew that..
-Christopher

[AlleyCat67]

You can, you just have to wait the 2 months out. It's the first time I've ever had a MO get lost like that and I've used quite a few of them over the years so I guess I've had pretty good luck overall.