Legally Transporting Bus Back Home

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

From what I can see it is near impossible for us to move a bus across the country and be absolutely legal.

I gotta think most states do, indeed, have reciprocity agreements with the others. I'd guess it's much more the norm than the exception. But I'm not big on assumptions & guesses when it takes so little effort to know for sure.

[HazMatt]

And I ain't gots to tell ya what happens whens yas assumes..

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by H.Gilly

Okay, so I found some threads here on the subject so I have a jist of what I'm supposed to do. From my understanding if I were to transport my bus from Kansas (the state I'm buying the bus in) to Tennessee, (home) then I would need to get a temp tag in Kansas to drive the bus 9 hours back into Tennessee.

So for insurance and title, I don't know how fast I can get those two done. I'm assuming I would need the title before buying insurance. I haven't bought a car out of state before so I don't know if I'll need to drive up there and physically get my title or if I should try to get it mailed and wait for that to come through.

So I guess what I'm asking for is advice on this whole process and what my plan of action should be. I haven't actually won the bid yet, so if it's too much trouble I can back out. But if I do buy it, I know I'll have to work fast because I'm buying from a school district. They usually have policies that say the bus has to be off of their lot within 2 weeks.

All you need for insurance is the vin #.

[peteg59]

How's that saying go: "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission?"
Not sure I'd wanna try that out on the open road though. Although it seems to have worked for some on here...?

I really can't see a law enforcement officer going off on someone with a valid temp tag while simply passing through from one state to the next.
Unless it's "Willie's" bus and that smoky pungent cloud reaches out and punches the officer in the nose when opening the door for the first time...

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by peteg59

I really can't see a law enforcement officer going off on someone with a valid temp tag while simply passing through from one state to the next.

[Dirtdoctor]

Vin number will get you insurance with your carrier. I might be chancing it but call it an RV. Cause most folks don’t have commercial truck insurance coverage unless you run commercial trucks. Before it’s a titled RV you willNeed to ensure you’ve got the right coverage. I have all that so it wasn’t an issue when I called my insurance agent gave her the vin and told her I’ll call her if it’s a go. One call and she emailed my paperwork and I pretripped the bus fueled it and drove home to California (from Kentucky). I was stopped in Arizona and required to pay the $17 fee for driving in their state for a minimum of 1.5 hours.


I also have a class A license with airbrakes so, that is an important thing that you have to consider.
Having the correct license should you get stopped or run through the scales... you can find yourself with an impounded bus.


Jack

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Dirtdoctor

Vin number will get you insurance with your carrier. I might be chancing it but call it an RV. Cause most folks don’t have commercial truck insurance coverage unless you run commercial trucks. Before it’s a titled RV you willNeed to ensure you’ve got the right coverage. I have all that so it wasn’t an issue when I called my insurance agent gave her the vin and told her I’ll call her if it’s a go. One call and she emailed my paperwork and I pretripped the bus fueled it and drove home to California (from Kentucky). I was stopped in Arizona and required to pay the $17 fee for driving in their state for a minimum of 1.5 hours.


I also have a class A license with airbrakes so, that is an important thing that you have to consider.
Having the correct license should you get stopped or run through the scales... you can find yourself with an impounded bus.


Jack

If it has not been converted you do not want to tell the insurance company it is an RV. You'll be lucky (or not) if you get that by them without an inspection or pics. All you will have is a piece of paper to show the LEO that would not be any good. So you'll be able to skirt that law at the LEO. If you have to file a claim, the insurance company will then see it's not and RV and deny the claims. GET PROPER INSURANCE

[Sehnsucht]

I apologize that I don't recall exactly what is was called but when I almost bought a bus years back AIS issued me a policy specifically for a large commercial-class vehicle for personal transport on the VIN and the honest description of it being a bus. Cost about $100 and when I ended up not making the purchase they credited me back the entire amount. Not a bad price for having the piece of mind that the proper insurance is in hand and will actually cover me if something does happen.

[Bus ted1]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

That's good to know, and surprising as well. So I guess if you want to be 100% legal in such states driving out it has to be registered normally? That could end up being an immense pain for an auction vehicle.

As for reciprocity with temp tags, from what we gathered, no... there's no guarantee of reciprocity. One state can't legally issue tags that are valid in another. In practice there's likely a good deal of reciprocity extended, but there doesn't have to be. So again - as recommended by Texas - I'd think you'd best served by checking with the states you'll be traveling through to make sure. At least if you want to be absolutely positive you're legal.

Pro driver for 45 years: You will need a trip permit from EACH State you travel through. You can get these through the State DMV and pick them up at Port of Entry (weigh station) Do it ahead (call), some will issue a ticket for driving into State without the permit. Some States will tell you just go to the Port of Entry and buy it there. Your current car insurance and policy number is all you will need. You have between 1 and 4 weeks after you buy the vehicle, depending on Co. Some Trip permits include the insurance while in the State.

[Bus ted1]

I was a Port of Entry inspector for awhile in Idaho. Trip permits, over size, over length, over anything is a big revenue stream for them and you will be driving a commercial size vehicle that requires a trip permit. No States are reciprocal that I am aware of. They are cheap, just buy one. Tickets are big moneymakers. At the end of our shift, the supervisors question was always "how much did you bring in?"

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by Bus ted1

Pro driver for 45 years: You will need a trip permit from EACH State you travel through. You can get these through the State DMV and pick them up at Port of Entry (weigh station) Do it ahead (call), some will issue a ticket for driving into State without the permit. Some States will tell you just go to the Port of Entry and buy it there. Your current car insurance and policy number is all you will need. You have between 1 and 4 weeks after you buy the vehicle, depending on Co. Some Trip permits include the insurance while in the State.

Driver 20+ years here.



This isn't commercially transporting buses, it's personal transportation, so it exempts a lot of the commercial rules. Moving a new bus from factory to buyer (as a company paid to do the job)? Sure, the commercial rules apply and need all the proper commercial permits, insurance and such. Moving a retired bus for RV conversion? Most of us aren't being paid to do this so commercial rules don't apply to personal use. As far as I am aware, all 50 states, Canada (and perhaps some of Mexico) honor reciprocity agreements for personal vehicles and trip permits aren't required. About the only exception I can think of is insurance - I believe NH (or is it VT?) doesn't require insurance but everywhere else does.


Driver licensing and endorsements (air brakes, Class B) are another matter and most states won't ask too many questions about it *IF* you're in a RV and you are from another state. They will be familiar with their own laws, so if you're driving in your home state they will expect you to know and abide by the licensing laws there.

[Mercer]

Bill of sale, no tags, temp insurance, drove 7 days no problem.

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

We recently had to figure out the same to transport our bus from TX back home. If you want to do everything 'by-the-book', 100% up & up legal...


1) Contact the DMV in the state you'll be picking up the bus from. ......

2) Contact your insurance co with the VIN (you don't need the title) & tell them what you're doing, and what minimums you'll need. ......

3) Contact each state you're traveling through on your way back home, including your home destination, and make sure they'll honor the temp permit of the issuing state. ......- but as far as I'm aware, there's no federal mandate that they have to, .....

1 No reason to do so (Your reading too much into this)
2 execllent idea
3 AS a former Police Officer of many years I can tell you there IS a Federal Law That says the STATE MUST honor each others licenses and lic plates.
Do you call every state when you are going to travel by car to make sure you are 100% legal?? It would be A waste time, wouldn't you agree?. So why are you doing for another motor vehicle?

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

......
As for reciprocity with temp tags, from what we gathered, no... there's no guarantee of reciprocity. One state can't legally issue tags that are valid in another. In practice there's likely a good deal of reciprocity extended, but there doesn't have to be. .......

YES there is a guarantee of reciprocity. Don't ask the DMV people that hand you plates/lics over the counter. They are not law enforcement officers.
They are NOT the one who can get their butt in a sling if they detain some one for a bad reason.

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

With all due respect, you should prove yourself right before asking that others do their homework to prove you wrong.

There's a lot of "I thinks" and assumptions you appear to be basing your opinion on. Do you know for certain that every state in the nation doesn't have language that addresses out-of-state unregistered vehicles? Is it legal to drive an unregistered vehicle in any and every state based solely on the owners assertion it won't be there long?

I don't know the legal ins & outs of every state. Who does? But we were told by Texas DMV that we needed to - not that it was 'a good idea' but that we needed to - ......
......

One state CAN NOT enforce another states laws. untill july this year Ohio required a front plate. When they required front plates They could NOT enforce that law on people from Kentucky because KY on issues and required 1 plate. For example You texas example. I have heard texas requires Its citizens to have a NON CDL class B lic to operate larger motorhomes. (over 26000 GVW) My state of OHIO does Not. A standard class C lic is legal for ALL RVs.
Texas cannot enforce its NON CDL class B lic law on Me when I drive though on I-40 almost every year. For me to call texas DMV and ask would be a giant waste of time.

Originally Posted by o1marc

Can anyone contradict this with facts. My regular registration is acceptable in every single state I drive in. If I need to move an unregistered vehicle to another state I purchase a temporary tag limited to a certain time. It costs a bunch less than a yearly registration. That registration is a registration, acceptable in every state in the nation.

Yes it is 100%.

[BusWanderer83]

https://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/tr205.pdf

[TheHubbardBus]

I posted a link above to the state of Virginia's website where they specifically state exactly what I've asserted... that their temp permits are not guaranteed good outside their boundaries, and travelers crossing state lines should contact other states to assure they'd be honored. But I'm sure that they don't know what they're talking about, right? Their online documentation echoes what I've been told directly from other states regarding their temp permits. But I'm sure they all don't know what they're talking about, either. After all, what would the DMV (of multiple states, all echoing the same in unison) know about the permits they issue, or vehicle-related law in general?

I'm not arguing if there is or is not a federal law requiring registration/plates to be recognized across the U.S. It would surprise me if there wasn't. But there appears to be a functional difference between a temp permit and regular registration. Which is probably why many states BOLDLY state their temp permits are only good within their state boundaries, while failing to say any such thing about their normal plates.

Regardless, I'm done with this thread. Take advantage of what I've learned through this process or don't. More than likely you'll be fine. For me, it was worth the effort and peace of mind to hear from multiple sources (which all - amazingly - were saying the same thing! Strange coincidence that.) what was required, and that I was on the up-&up. So I figured giving the OP 'cover all bases' advice was the best course of action.

[Tfanous]

Does $92 for a standard trip permit sound right to you? It is for Oklahoma. We are just going to pass through the panhandle of OK from Colorado and into Texas.

[JackE]

It's been a while since I read this whole thread and I have no desire to re-read it. What I do know is that last year I bought a trailer in Utah and had a 30 day temp tag put on it. I drug it through Utah, Idaho, Montana, and even across the Canadian border before I made my way back home to Nevada. At the border I specifically asked them if I needed to get some kind of temp registration to drive around up there and they said as long as my temp plate was a legit plate, it was good enough for them. In my experience and that of my son who is a patrolman, No LEO is going to hassle you for having a temp tag from a different state as long as you are not being a stupid driver. Drive like the responsible adult that you are and you will not have any problems.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by JackE

It's been a while since I read this whole thread and I have no desire to re-read it. What I do know is that last year I bought a trailer in Utah and had a 30 day temp tag put on it. I drug it through Utah, Idaho, Montana, and even across the Canadian border before I made my way back home to Nevada. At the border I specifically asked them if I needed to get some kind of temp registration to drive around up there and they said as long as my temp plate was a legit plate, it was good enough for them. In my experience and that of my son who is a patrolman, No LEO is going to hassle you for having a temp tag from a different state as long as you are not being a stupid driver. Drive like the responsible adult that you are and you will not have any problems.

There are some who have had issues with weight and CDL requirements up north. Some were parked at the border and not allowed to cross without the proper credentials.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Tfanous

Does $92 for a standard trip permit sound right to you? It is for Oklahoma. We are just going to pass through the panhandle of OK from Colorado and into Texas.

School buses are invisible on the road. The only way you get noticed is to be an A hole driver, at which point you need LEO intervention. Otherwise, as long as you have insurance, a fresh BOS, and a signed title showing the purchase was just made and you are transporting home, you will not likely have any issues. Showing insurance, the most important factor, shows at least your attempt to be legal. 2 states I was talked to by LEO said "technically you should have a temp tag." I say "I'm passing through to get home,. We are at mile marker 14, I'll be out of your state in 12 minutes" Reply is always "Have a safe trip."
In the state of Ga. I can drive my new purchase on a BOS for up to 30 days, and I'm automatically insured in any vehicle I purchase for 7 days under my State Farm policy.

[waxman]

I did 1400 miles from Portland to phoenix with just bill of sale title and insurance no plate or tags on the weekend as well without incident. if you drive it with other traffic on the road I doubt anyone would even look twice at an un-modified school bus.