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

[MIKE N STEPH]

Originally Posted by o1marc

i understand having paper work to show you're legal to leo, and as long as you are good with that, cool. But once you have a title that says motor home or rv and try and get the cheaper rv insurance you're going to find them not as forgiving as those at the dmv who have no financial stake in it. They will want an inspection or pics of the required conversion. One agent said they believed what the clients declared and if it turned out false when a claim was filed it would be rejected. I know i live in a pretty lenient state but it's easy to register my bus as a bus and insure it for $171/yr while it sits in the driveway. When it's done state farm will take it over as an rv. It should be that easy for everyone.

marc your assumption on what should be easy and what shouldn't be easy are far from the truth for some. We recently purchased another bus and even being able to register it as anything was not able to be done with out having the state inspect it just for the fact it was a school bus. Insuring it was simple through state farm i called them told them i purchased an old school bus that had the seats removed and i got a commercial policy

[MIKE N STEPH]

We sent in our paperwork and check on 4/6 and received our plates yesterday 4/23

[john61ct]

I thought costs on commercial insurance policies were crazy high?

[MIKE N STEPH]

I guess it depends on what you think is high our 2002 fs65 with liability only is 35 a month

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by MIKE N STEPH

marc your assumption on what should be easy and what shouldn't be easy are far from the truth for some. We recently purchased another bus and even being able to register it as anything was not able to be done with out having the state inspect it just for the fact it was a school bus. Insuring it was simple through state farm i called them told them i purchased an old school bus that had the seats removed and i got a commercial policy

I'm sensing the issues are just laziness. If your state requires an inspection, get an inspection. Buses are not legally restricted to schools. A person can own a private bus and any state will register it. State Farm, who I'm with on all my insurance would insure during the build, but wanted upwards of $800/yr. That's way more than all my other insurance combined. They sent me to a competitor where I paid $171 for the whole year. I don't see where going to Vt. helps at all.
Again the issue I see with people going to Vt. to register it as MH or RV when it has not been converted won't be able to get insurance as an RV, end up getting a CFPU policy while they build out. SO what did going to Vt. get them?

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by john61ct

I thought costs on commercial insurance policies were crazy high?

State Farm wanted $800+/6month, Progressive wrote me for $171/yr. Depends on where you go. Mine is not a CFPU policy, it's strictly a liability policy.

[MIKE N STEPH]

Originally Posted by o1marc

i'm sensing the issues are just laziness. If your state requires an inspection, get an inspection. Buses are not legally restricted to schools. A person can own a private bus and any state will register it. State farm, who i'm with on all my insurance would insure during the build, but wanted upwards of $800/yr. That's way more than all my other insurance combined. They sent me to a competitor where i paid $171 for the whole year. I don't see where going to vt. Helps at all.
Again the issue i see with people going to vt. To register it as mh or rv when it has not been converted won't be able to get insurance as an rv, end up getting a cfpu policy while they build out. So what did going to vt. Get them?

the issue is not laziness at least not in my case as far as an inspection is concerned not that big of a deal once it is converted. But according to my town hall which is where everyone who registers a vehicle in nh goes to do so. I could not register that vehicle because it was titled as a "school bus" my main issue with that is i am putting insert dollar amount here for a build and its not even in my name yet that was my main reasoning. My bus was insured 4 weeks before i even got my plates i know you think just because it works in ga that way it should work everywhere in in fact is not the case

[o1marc]

NH says you need to remove all indications of it being a school bus, no yellow paint, no marker lights, stop signs, crossbars, etc. Once that is done you take it for a salvage inspection where they will give you a piece of paper stating it is no longer a school bus. You then take that to DMV to register it as whatever you decide it will be and have met the requirements. You can register it as a van when it's empty or as an RV when the conversion is complete. Sounds easy enough to me.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by MIKE N STEPH

I guess it depends on what you think is high our 2002 fs65 with liability only is 35 a month

That is about what I am paying for "commercial vehicle for personal use" from State Farm.

They want pictures of the completed conversion before they will switch to RV insurance.

[MIKE N STEPH]

Originally Posted by o1marc

nh says you need to remove all indications of it being a school bus, no yellow paint, no marker lights, stop signs, crossbars, etc. Once that is done you take it for a salvage inspection where they will give you a piece of paper stating it is no longer a school bus. You then take that to dmv to register it as whatever you decide it will be and have met the requirements. You can register it as a van when it's empty or as an rv when the conversion is complete. Sounds easy enough to me.

my whole thing with getting it changed was doing it all at once within the limits of the 20 day plate where they only do inspections once a week on mondays in my area of nh. Or get at minimum it striped down painted seats out front floor relaid to install drivers seat and get the rest of the items functional and then have the bus towed to and from the inspection facility towing a bus is expensive

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by MIKE N STEPH

my whole thing with getting it changed was doing it all at once within the limits of the 20 day plate where they only do inspections once a week on mondays in my area of nh. Or get at minimum it striped down painted seats out front floor relaid to install drivers seat and get the rest of the items functional and then have the bus towed to and from the inspection facility towing a bus is expensive

Why not get another temp tag? What are you getting functional?

[MIKE N STEPH]

Originally Posted by o1marc

why not get another temp tag? What are you getting functional?

well if it was that easy for the 10 bucks i would do that but the state only lets a person to get one 20 day plate on a vehicle yearly . As far as what i was building was rewiring many of the switches heater system controls while the seat and seat pedestal and seat frame were out the fs65 has a 3 part seat frame

[Zak of all Trades]

I think what 01marc seems to be missing is the federal level laws. The reason I am registering it as a motorhome in VT first is that in order to do so in AZ I have to have a laundry list of completed items..power source, waste water, supply water, heating, etc.... I have most of the seats removed and the school bus tagging off and it will never again serve the function of school bus again. Specifically it will never carry more than 15 passengers or be used in a commercial capacity again.... this brings me back to the mention of Federal law. As a commercial vehicle able to carry more than 15 passengers which is equipped with air brakes in AZ I would need a class C CDL, with both "P" (passenger) and air brake endorsements. This represents a significant cost (about $8000) due to the requirement in AZ to have taken certain professional courses before you CAN get those. The need to move the bus from time to time during the complete conversion process and my distaste for breaking laws led me to search for a way to do both prior to meeting the rather tricky AZ requirements. Hence VT registration.

Not because I am lazy and not to be fraudulent to would be insurers. Purely to make it possible for me to DO the conversion without breaking federal laws.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Zak of all Trades

I think what 01marc seems to be missing is the federal level laws. The reason I am registering it as a motorhome in VT first is that in order to do so in AZ I have to have a laundry list of completed items..power source, waste water, supply water, heating, etc.... I have most of the seats removed and the school bus tagging off and it will never again serve the function of school bus again. Specifically it will never carry more than 15 passengers or be used in a commercial capacity again.... this brings me back to the mention of Federal law. As a commercial vehicle able to carry more than 15 passengers which is equipped with air brakes in AZ I would need a class C CDL, with both "P" (passenger) and air brake endorsements. This represents a significant cost (about $8000) due to the requirement in AZ to have taken certain professional courses before you CAN get those. The need to move the bus from time to time during the complete conversion process and my distaste for breaking laws led me to search for a way to do both prior to meeting the rather tricky AZ requirements. Hence VT registration.

Not because I am lazy and not to be fraudulent to would be insurers. Purely to make it possible for me to DO the conversion without breaking federal laws.

No, I completely agree with you. Most go to Vt. to get the title and registration to reflect an RV or motor home so they can get cheaper insurance rates. I have experienced the opposite. My interim insurance is only $171/yr. Completed it will be much more as an RV. So that's the practice I question, getting paperwork that says you own an RV when what you own is an empty bus. The insurance won't insure it as an RV, so what is the gain to go to Vt. You and the guy in N.H. are in rare instances where it sucks to be you. I know Ga. is 30 years behind still in all they do, I wish it was that way for everyone. It should be.
Hey, I'll loan my address to anyone who needs to avoid the hassles.

[Ronnie]

Interesting to see what people are saying on this. I did do the Vermont because the title on bus had been long lost, and it sat in the woods for many years. I had mine done enough to really be a motorhome by reasonable definition of motorhome.

I do think it is fruedulent to call it a motorhome and get tags for it as such when it is not converted at least enough it could be used as such. Just an empty bus is not fair or proper. I really think this is what 01marc has the biggest issue with.

All that said government sure can get in its own way and make doing things proper next to impossible, so we do what we have to.

[john61ct]

To me fraudulent implies an underhanded motivation, scamming a profit.

If the regs in a given state make it functionally illegal to DIY a conversion, then shopping for another jurisdiction, and prematurely calling it what that state will call it when your done

And if I want to live in a mobile tent with few "American mod con" style fittings, I don't abide anyone telling me I'm not allowed

None of this involves any great immorality.

Sometimes the law is an ass, and without even knowing it the average citizen racks up dozens of felony-level violations all the time.

[Ronnie]

I must admit fraudulent is a strong word in this context.

[warewolff]

Marc, the original intent of this thread was to help bus owners REGISTER their buses in states that make it nearly impossible to do so. In New York it is [intentionally] nearly impossible and requires multiple trips to the DMV even if all requirements are met. Even then you are at the mercy of an individual, ignorant and unpleasant DMV worker/inspector. NY follows some very arbitrary rules regarding what they consider an "RV" if you are converting on your own. By registering in Vermont as a motorhome I am able to spend 5 minutes at the local DMV, trading in my Vermont tags for completely legal NY tags, no questions asked. That should be the primary motivation for people looking to register there. It's no hassle and only makes it easier if they want to re-tag in their home state down the line.

This thread has nothing to do with insurance and I dont remember ever giving any advice on insurance. As a general rule of thumb I think it's a pretty bad idea to lie or omit any information to your insurance company. That being said I have had no issues. Hope this clears it up for everyone.

[n2wbl]

As a resident of NY. Your message has been received, Crystal Clear! Great thread.

[joeb1415]

I've registered two bus conversions in CA. You don't have to do much to get it registered as an RV. Here's what I did for my second bus:
* I bought a camping toilet (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RNOV9M)
* Put in a pull-out couch in the back and dressed it up as a bed
* Threw a coleman camping grill in there, and went to the DMV.

The inspector came and said "this isn't an RV, you need a sink and shower and stuff". I tried to argue that it didn't say this on any of the registration forms, and went up to her manager, but no luck. They couldn't produce any material that said this, but they weren't willing to budge.

So, I then put in just a tiny bit more effort
* Drilled in some hilariously simple boxes around the toilet and grill (https://photos.app.goo.gl/7yr7yvkWiCJwMHgF6)
* Got a sink from a scrap yard
* Attached a camping shower as a sink head (https://smile.amazon.com/Nemo-Portab.../dp/B075Y2XCRN)

I went back to the DMV the next day (a different DMV since I'd exhausted my karma at the first one), and they approved it!

The DMV agent will need to fill out Reg 31:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/co...=AJPERES&CVID=

They may also need to fill out Reg 256a:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/co...dcef5a-mf-TiM1

For my second visit, I printed both of these out and pre-filled some details, to add some legitimacy.

Now back to work on actually building out the vehicle! But I needed to get it registered early before having the time to do the build out.