Hello From WI!

[wondernate]

Greetings everyone!

First off, I'd like to say that we are super excited for the adventure we are going to embark on, and from the very beginning of our curiosity into Skoolies I have found the input and advise from the users of this forum incredibly valuable.

Now comes the "Who are we." My name is Nate and it is great to meet you! My fiancé Marissa and I are a couple in our mid-20's that has been together since very shortly after High School. Currently we reside in the greater Milwaukee area, but we have both become bored with the routines of working 9-5 jobs while traveling on the same roads, seeing the same old buildings with the same old construction (We have 2 seasons here, construction and winter.) So when we decided we wanted to make a lifestyle change, we came across the Skoolie community and fell in love with it.

At first it was just a dream, until one day we were browsing an online auction site and we found the one. a 2001 Amtran International, 78 passenger 13 Window length bus. We placed a super low bid never thinking we would win, but whatta ya know, we did! Now there is no turning back and we are absolutely determined to make this adventure successful.

Our long term plans are to work on the bus over the next year. We aren't going to make it super pretty and perfect at first, but lay down the foundations and necessary amenities like Water, 120v, HVAC, etc. We do plan on living in the bus fulltime for at least a couple years, or until she is ready for children; whichever comes first lol.


So, now that we have become acquainted, I could use a little insight into some specifics. We are in Wisconsin, our bus is in PA. We need to pick it up by next week, but we have no idea regarding the laws in PA. I know that the seller is a dealership, but in Wisconsin you are required to have insurance and registration before leaving the dealership with the vehicle. I have insurance on my car which transfers to vehicle purchases for the purpose of transporting, and I already confirmed with them that it would cover a bus as long as it is a Point A to Point B trip. Would anyone be able to tell me if I'll absolutely need to have insurance and registration complete in order to pick up my bus in Pennsylvania? Or could we take a plane out there, pick it up from the dealership and drive it back without any issues?

Thank you everyone!


-The Peet Crew.

[PNW_Steve]

Welcome Nate,

Sounds like you are a man with a plan

I did a little poking around and it looks like dealerships in PA are able to issue temporary permits.

I would give the dealership a call and ask.

A number of folks here have gone without any sort of temporary permits. I have not heard of anyone having an issue. I lean towards following the rules.....

When I picked my bus up, I sent an email to my insurance agent and asked "I am buying a vehicle with vin#123456. Is it covered under my new purchase coverage?".

They responded "yes". I printed out the reply and carried that, my insurance card for my primary vehicle and a trip permit.

Good luck!

[o1marc]

You should have no issue as far as insurance, State Farm offers me the same. It wouldn't hurt to get a letter stating you recovered in any new purchase.
Then there's the train of thought that school buses are invisible on the roads and everyone stays out of your way,contradictory, but whatever. You have to really drive like a a hole to get pulled over in a bus. Drive like a safe driver and you'll have no worries getting home. I was questioned twice on my way home with no tag. I just told them the State of Georgia allows us to drive on a BOS for 30 days. They said that didn't fly in their state, that a temp tag was needed, but we'll only warn you. I said I would be out of their state in less than 1/2 an hour. No issue

[somewhereinusa]

Would anyone be able to tell me if I'll absolutely need to have insurance and registration complete in order to pick up my bus in Pennsylvania?

I would think the people to ask would be the dealership you are buying it from. They would know.

[wondernate]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

I would think the people to ask would be the dealership you are buying it from. They would know.

Well the auction house is acting as a 3rd party, so I will get the contact info for the dealership once they've approved the time slot for pick up. We purchased our bus through 422 Auctions, and I reached out to them with the question since I couldn't get ahold of the dealership directly.

They confirmed what some others like PNW_Steve said. They just made sure to make me aware that I am accepting full "Responbility and Liability" if something goes wrong. Which seems pretty standard.

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

When I picked my bus up, I sent an email to my insurance agent and asked "I am buying a vehicle with vin#123456. Is it covered under my new purchase coverage?".

SO, I reached out to my AllState Agent like you suggested, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. Either way, we checked with my Fiance's State Farm Insurance Agent, and they said that if she is driving when the incident occurs, she's covered. So if AllState doesn't cover it, she's gonna have to get comfortable with big vehicles fast.

She's a smart one though, she can handle it.