How to Immediately Register Your Bus in Wisconsin

[wrenchtech]

In the next day or two I'm going to go try to register my bus, purchased out of state, in Wisconsin where I live. The way I read the statutes, you need to have the usual title and registration forms filled out and a form (MV2103) signed by a DMV person or a law enforcement simply confirming that the bus is not yellow and that it does not have school bus lights or school markings. My bus is good on all that. The statutes say that to register as motor home you have to have the familiar dining area and sleeping facilities, plus four out of six living systems, that we are all familiar with, but nowhere does it say that the motor home requirements will be inspected, and there is no form indicated nor any procedure outlined for proving that you have made those modifications. So I am thinking that it might simply be a matter of requesting the motor home designation and good to go. Anybody had any actually experience with this?

Wisconsin DOT page for school bus Conversion conversion https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/v...onversion.aspx

[o1marc]

I believe the dining and sleeping ares are 2 of the 6. Every state that i know of only requires 4 of 6, 2 and then 4 of 6 more. It seems IMHO that DMV is slacking when not checking for changes made when paper work shows changes. They are a government agency, so am I surprised the employees are slacking?
It's the insurance company that will want pics or a personal inspection before insuring it.

[wrenchtech]

The language of the statute can be accessed through the link that I put in my post. It's clear that for Wisconsin the dining and sleeping areas are non-negotiable and the other four out of six are up to the owner.

(6) “Motor home" means a motor vehicle designed to provide temporary living quarters built into as an integral part of, or permanently attached to a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis or van. In addition to sleeping and dining facilities, the vehicle must contain permanently installed independent life support systems that provide at least 4 of the following facilities:
(a) A potable water supply system including plumbing, a faucet and a sink, designed as either self-contained or to be connected with an external water supply, or both;
(b) Permanently installed cooking facilities;
(c) A permanently installed ice box or refrigeration unit;
(d) A permanently installed self-contained toilet;
(e) A permanently installed 110-125 volt electrical power supply or L.P. gas supply or both.

My insurance was issued when I bought the bus contingent on my making progress towards the conversion. I had to send them pictures of the bus to get the insurance in the first place, and I had to send them pictures of it with the seats removed. I was told that my policy would cancel after 90 days if I did not do that. I sent them the pictures without the seats. 90 days have passed and my insurance is still in force.

[wrenchtech]

It would be strange to me that they have procedures and forms for something called "School Bus Conversion", that deals with the paint color, etc., but that they would have nothing similar to quantify the motorhome conversion.

[wrenchtech]

Here's the Wisconsin DMV page for registering a homemade trailer. Here they specify the steps that you need to go through, including the requirement to submit a written statement. There is nothing like that in the section on motor home conversions.

https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/v...hmde-trlr.aspx

I mainly started this thread to see if there was anyone who had first-hand experience with Wisconsin on this matter.

[o1marc]

I stand corrected.
You have to have 5 of 7, ouch. Not that you won't end up with all 6 eventually. Harder still on you is you have to have it painted to even get it registered.

[wrenchtech]

I'm going to knock off these requirements in short order. Here's the beginnings of my dinette/dining area. I have a nice piece of butcher block that I am going to make into the table top. Hardware for the pedestal that will hold up the table from its middle and the brackets to hold it to the wall are on order.

I am probably going to ditch those two seats behind the driver and put a convertible couch into that spot. The dinette can't go any farther forward because the front wheel housing is already right under the rear facing seat of the dinette group. So I will probably just end up keeping those two seats at the very front for passengers who wanna sit in the normal position and have a view out the windshield. It could always become a spot for a built-in cabinet if I find that the seats are useful.

[wrenchtech]

I've picked up a fairly nice pillow top mattress and box spring for $25 on Facebook marketplace. The pieces were in a guest bedroom and do seem like they had very little use. I've already slept about two weeks worth of nights in the bus on this bed. I was doing that before it got really cold. The bus is out on a friend's farm and it is quite nice to be out there. It won't take me long at all to build a platform at the very rear of the bus interior, and so I will have my sleeping area requirement met easily.




Heating and/or air-conditioning is a requirement that can be used to meet the quota. The bus has plenty of heating and air-conditioning that was installed right at the factory, of course it requires the engine to run in order to function. If that doesn't satisfy the requirements, I do already have a 5kw diesel parking heater installed in the sleeping area. Requirement number one of the optional equipment met.





And then, I have acquired a 400 watt solar package, which includes 480 amp hours of batteries and a 3KW inverter. That's already partially installed. Of course I could just wire up the batteries to the inverter and on to a single 120 V receptacle and I'm sure that I would meet the letter of the law. With that I will have two of the four optional requirements for achieving motor home status.





Cooking is always high on my list. So of course I will more than happy to meet my third requirement by installing this KitchenAid two burner cooktop, which I will have converted from natural gas to LP. Another bargain find from Facebook marketplace.




And finally I will do something with water. Rig up a little sink in my plywood countertop. A couple of food grade buckets, a 12 V pump. And with that I will have met all of the legal requirements under Wisconsin to lawfully register my bus as a motorhome.

[john61ct]

Thread isn't really about instant anymore?

[wrenchtech]

I was going to change the title into how not to instantly register your bus, but it was too late. My bus, as an activity bus, was never painted yellow, so at least that is a hurdle that I don't have to clear.

[john61ct]

mod can change to whatever you like if you put in a request

[wrenchtech]

I thought I was forgetting something. A refrigerator! That's something that can be done without much effort.

[WIbluebird]

I'm in Wisconsin as well and thought about doing what wrenchtech is doing. I already have a Webasto heater, a generator for 110v power and my bus is already painted.

Still need a fridge, cooktop and dining/sleeping areas though! Thankfully from what I've heard most of the State Patrol inspectors will peek inside for a couple minutes and aren't too stringent on the particulars.

[wrenchtech]

Wisconsin doesn’t have any clear published guidelines for what is required in terms of proving that you’ve made a proper conversion. Yet apparently the department of transportation has a procedure that it’s administrators know about. I talked to a DMV official yesterday and it turns out that there is a line on form MV 2103 where are you are supposed to declare your intended use for the bus. I was told that when you file your form MV1, the application for title and registration, and form MV 2301, the school bus conversion form, they send the paperwork to their research unit for processing. I was told that it can take up to eight weeks to get your plates.

Under the principals of open government in a democracy any regulatory process should be clearly spelled out and published for all to see.Wisconsin is usually pretty good about this kind of stuff but in this case they have really dropped the ball.

I don’t have a CDL anymore so I won’t be able to legally drive my bus until I get it registered as a motor home. This places my bus out of service until I complete the conversion to the state’s satisfaction and then endure the wait for the registration process. My strategy now is to do the minimum amount of conversion possible and then to get one of the local police officers who I am acquainted with to sign off on form MV 2103.

Some folks may be wondering why I don’t just register with Vermont. I am reluctant to do it because I am well known in my community and the choice would not go unnoticed by people who could cause trouble. Plus, the sales tax is lower in Wisconsin and if I have to pay taxes I might as well pay them in the place where I live and might draw some benefit (If such a thing is even possible).

[o1marc]

What is the correct form number?

[wrenchtech]

Originally Posted by o1marc

What is the correct form number?

It's the form that I linked to in my first post. I've indicated the number of the form half a dozen times in this thread, but I did transpose it once in my last post, although it was correct two other times in the same post. Most people will figure it out.

Wisconsin is a pretty good state about not burdening ordinary folks with excessive regulatory hurdles, so when I first read through the statute it seemed like you could do it all in one visit to the DMV, provided that your bus was not yellow and no longer equipped with school bus safety lights. I was wrong, partly due to the fact that the details of the inspection process are not published anywhere.

I'm attaching form MV 2103 again with what I hope are some useful annotations. Links to the relevant statutes can also be accessed here:

https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/v...onversion.aspx
.
.
. Attached is a copy of MV 2103 with some annotations.

[john61ct]

Note greater transparency would likely result in greater requirements.

Leaving it loose tends to make it easier, just a token "looks OK" buildout may be all that's required.

That "permanently installed" phrase is the one I'd be most worried about, completely the opposite of how I like to work.

[EastCoastCB]

Here in FL we just jot down that its a motorhome.

http://www3.flhsmv.gov/DMV/Proc/TL/TL-13.PDF

Conversion Affidavit:
In the case of an individual converting their own vehicle and requesting to have the
identity changed on the title in order to have it registered and licensed as a recreational
vehicle, the customer must submit an affidavit to the tax collector. The affidavit must
certify that the unit has been converted to the extent to include one of the aforementioned
items to qualify it as a recreational vehicle.
EXAMPLE:
This is to certify that I, ______________, owner of a (Year) __________,
(Make)_______, (VIN) ___________________, hereby request the vehicle be classified
as recreational vehicle for the following reason:
( ) Installed 110 volt electrical wiring
( ) Installed LP gas piping
( ) Installed plumbing system

Just move here and your problem is solved!

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

It's the form that I linked to in my first post. I've indicated the number of the form half a dozen times in this thread, but I did transpose it once in my last post, although it was correct two other times in the same post. Most people will figure it out.

Wisconsin is a pretty good state about not burdening ordinary folks with excessive regulatory hurdles, so when I first read through the statute it seemed like you could do it all in one visit to the DMV, provided that your bus was not yellow and no longer equipped with school bus safety lights. I was wrong, partly due to the fact that the details of the inspection process are not published anywhere.

I'm attaching form MV 2103 again with what I hope are some useful annotations. Links to the relevant statutes can also be accessed here:

https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/v...onversion.aspx
.
.
. Attached is a copy of MV 2103 with some annotations.

There was no link, only a reference to 2 different numbers 2103 and 2301, just thought you might want to correct one.

[wrenchtech]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Here in FL we just jot down that its a motorhome.

http://www3.flhsmv.gov/DMV/Proc/TL/TL-13.PDF



Just move here and your problem is solved!

Good points. The framers of the nation's founding documents hoped that we would be a "nation of laws and not of men". Leaving things to the discretion of the state's minions can go either way. When I first moved to Wisconsin, some 25 years ago, a trip to the DMV was like going to a friendly family owned business, but since the Real ID act, and the laws that required you to put your social security number on everything, they have taken on the demeanor of police. Sometimes when you have to deal with bureaucrats you want to have clarity on the rules.

At least there are no special driver license requirements for heavy motor homes in Wisconsin. And no requirement for motorcycle helmets.