Licensing requirements in TN

[minty]

I have a Class D here in Tennessee. Do I need a different license to drive my skoolie? On the title, it says BU. Do I need to get it registered as an RV?

Any web links you might have would be great. Thanks!

[CaptSquid]

It's been said far too many times -- CHECK WITH YOUR STATE'S DMV/MVD. No one on this site is the expert on all the requirements. Additionally, there are 50 states and 12 provinces that set their own rules.

[jake_blue]

Welcome to the perpetual conundrum of school bus RV conversion! While the commercial driver license requirements are pretty clear, we fall into this gray transitional area in which it still meets the requirements of a commercial vehicle the day you buy it but until it meets enough of the prerequisites to be retitled as an RV, well, every state has their own interpretation. I cannot say that I recall anyone here posting about their having trouble on the maiden drive home but beyond that it's all just lots of research into your state's laws and undoubtedly more than a few conflicting answers depending on if you ask the motor vehicle bureau, the state police or whatever other authority on vehicle licensing you may have. Then there's also insurance headaches from state to state and insurer to insurer so sorry we can't give you a simple authoritative answer here but you're welcome to read through the archives and see if anything rings true for your particular situation! Welcome aboard!

[bansil]

okay stop and keep this simple!

You DO NOT need a special license in TN, PERIOD

Register bus as personal vehicle and put regular car tags on it, no need for weighted tags

use farm bureau insurance and DO NOT TRY to get full coverage, if your bus gets damaged enough in an accident to warrant full coverage ,you are probably dead

This is TN, there are NO requirements for making it an RV, it is a PERSONAL vehicle, same way you can own and drive a dumptruck etc...no commercial, then no problems

Welcome and where in TN

Read this thread <snip>

I WROTE THIS

let me find my emails,

have them take the title down to county clerks office, hand the title to clerk and say you need tags for this...DO NOT MAKE A FUSS ABOUT IT BEING A BUS, TN IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!

People at tag office don't have a clue (and if they are clueless, they will send it to the next person) so keep it simple, if they say you need x y and z...tell them no you don't and hand them this copy of email


This is email conversation at state level

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you very much
Doug

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Email T&R [mailto:Email.T&R@tn.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 9:34 AM
To: Doug
Subject: RE: title info needed


No list on this type of project. Just keep your receipts and/or bill of sales for the things you get to convert.

Maybe from the different info you received it was for a rebuilt vehicle. Like if it was wrecked and you were rebuilding it. But that does not comply to your project.

Hope this helps,
Kathy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Doug
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 8:17 AM
To: Email T&R
Subject: RE: title info needed

Kathy

Thank you for the response

I have just been told different things about beds, cooking area and water supplies etc

I just want to do this correctly the first time and had hoped there was an actual list to use as a guide

Thank you
Doug

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Email T&R [mailto:Email.T&R@tn.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 9:09 AM
To: Doug Haynes
Subject: RE: title info needed

Good Morning,

Thank you for your email. Did you receive a title for the bus? If so, along with the title and you receipts for the conversion portion of the bus is all that you will need to title and register the vehicle. It may still be coded as a bus in our system, but you will register as a passenger vehicle.

Hope this helps,

Kathy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Doug
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 6:04 AM
To: Email T&R
Subject: title info needed

I am buying a used school bus to convert to a motor home

I am looking for the required equipment to comply with a title transfer to a motor home

After several phone calls to local dmv I have received several very different answers

I can not find specific TN ann. codes to cover this

Can you help me?

Thank you
Doug

---------------------------------------------------------------------


Lastly get REGULAR tags you do not need weighted tags...

Here is link:

Current Tennessee License Plate

"Current Tennessee License Plate - This plate is available to Tennessee residents who are registering private passenger motor vehicles known as cars, station wagons, vans or pick-up trucks up to 3/4 ton rating and 9000 pounds and under in weight. This plate is valid for all motor homes regardless of their weight. The annual fee is $21.50."

so you can even get personalized plates.......


it really is this easy...K.I.S.S.

Again welcome

[cadillackid]

and OHIO is just about as easy... I registered my bus easily... the DMV guy even Inspected the VIN on my bus.. he walked in and said "this is pretty cool!".. took the title , typed a few things into a computer and gave me my tags...

my bus has SEATS (like a bus).. I dont have cook stoves, toilets, beds, though I do have a mini-frig bungi corded to a wall (stil lin its carton)...

the hardest part was waiting in the doggone DMV line...

my experience is in OHIO...

-Christopher

[minty]

Thanks so much everyone for the help. So far as I can tell, the plates they gave me are just regular car plates. They certainly look they same as my car. It sounds to me like everything is fine. I have my insurance through National General and I have the plates. Sounds like I'm good to go. Thank you very much for taking the time to reply! Perhaps we should make a sticky with the info for each state at some point, or whatever.

[boojiewoojie]

Where in TN are you?

[minty]

Originally Posted by boojiewoojie

Where in TN are you?

West Tennessee area.

[eheveronsmith]

This is great news! We just bought a 2001 Thomas bus west of Nashville. We are moving to North Carolina soon, but at least we'll be able to get plates here. That may even make our North Carolina transition smoother...

Thanks for sharing!

[bansil]

only issue I could see with the Nashville area is this:

Do you have to worry about inspections or smog? if so you need to figure out how to register in a different county

Make sure to check this out, it may not even affect you

Good luck

[CaptSquid]

In Tennessee, diesel engines are not required to be smog checked. They are exempted. Gas engines, OTOH --- WHOOOOOOOO! This includes checking the filler pipe. I had an old Buick that a kid failed because of that. He told me I'd have to replace the fuel tank, cat, etc., before I could be reinspected. I took it to an older mechanic who said that there was nothing wrong with the filler pipe - it was just an older vehicle and was exempted.

[TheTravelingChef]

Im in Williamson County (Franklin) and have no problems. I just went to the county clerk, told them to re-code it as an RV and I was on my way for 50 bucks. Liberty Mutual insurance has been very accommodating as well.