What did i just get myself into?

[ism minerals]

Ok,

Been lurking around this site for a while and finally pulled the trigger on a bus auction and won.

Montgomery County Public Schools: 2001 Thomas MVP ER, bus has 55K miles showing on the odometer.

My fiance and I are super excited to finally have a bus!
Will be doing the conversion in our driveway all but one neighbor has has said awesome (we do not know about the other, hopefully they are cool about it)

My first question: How the heck do I get it to my house as i live in NJ which is around 150-200 miles away?

Anyhow thanks for the motivation to finally do this, was just a passing though 5 years ago.

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by ism minerals

Ok,

Been lurking around this site for a while and finally pulled the trigger on a bus auction and won.

Montgomery County Public Schools: 2001 Thomas MVP ER, bus has 55K miles showing on the odometer.

My fiance and I are super excited to finally have a bus!
Will be doing the conversion in our driveway all but one neighbor has has said awesome (we do not know about the other, hopefully they are cool about it)

My first question: How the heck do I get it to my house as i live in NJ which is around 150-200 miles away?

Anyhow thanks for the motivation to finally do this, was just a passing though 5 years ago.

congrats!

it's all good till you wake up one morning and see this on side of bus

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by ism minerals

Ok,

Been lurking around this site for a while and finally pulled the trigger on a bus auction and won.

Montgomery County Public Schools: 2001 Thomas MVP ER, bus has 55K miles showing on the odometer.

My fiance and I are super excited to finally have a bus!
Will be doing the conversion in our driveway all but one neighbor has has said awesome (we do not know about the other, hopefully they are cool about it)

My first question: How the heck do I get it to my house as i live in NJ which is around 150-200 miles away?

Anyhow thanks for the motivation to finally do this, was just a passing though 5 years ago.

You get it home by driving it!
lol welcome

[crazycal]

I had a note that said "The hood doesn't care for your bus." Another douche let the air out of two tires on another car.

[austin1989us]

Originally Posted by ism minerals

My first question: How the heck do I get it to my house as i live in NJ which is around 150-200 miles away?

Drive it. I picked up my bus from a town in another state. It was almost 300 miles away, so me/my wife/my father-in-law drove close to 600 miles and spent a saturday picking up our bus.

[ism minerals]

I have to figure the insurance thing out and i am in NJ, oh what fun. i would love to drive it home, but do i need a CDL. The police are very strict here

[EastCoastCB]

Please don't take this hard, I mean no offense-
But why not figure all of this out before buying one?

Try getting ahold of Scooter, he's in NJ.

[ism minerals]

EastcoastCB,

I just have to figure out the insurance part, Have a buddy with a CDL to drive it. Sometimes you have to jump right in and figure the details out later. T

[turf]

check with your insurance agent. here in colorado, your car insurance extends a binder on a new vehicle, 1-2 weeks from the date on the bill of sale.

if you already have auto insurance, you probably just need a legal bill of sale to drive it home.

[EastCoastCB]

Sorry, its just that I got really upside down with my first bus doing that.
Lots of folks lurk on here and it seems now folks are converting school buses all over the place, which is a good thing. In the interest of anyone reading along I incur all interested in bus buying to iron out all the details first as it can really be tough to deal with down the road.

Not trying to be a butt head or anything...
Hell even with LOTS of planning I still drove my current bus 800 miles home with no tag!

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Please don't take this hard, I mean no offense-
But why not figure all of this out before buying one?

Try getting ahold of Scooter, he's in NJ.

Where's the fun in that?

[Scooternj]

Just drive it. I brought mine down from Maine sans CDL. As long as you:

1. Drive Defensive
2. Drive Carefully
3. Keep to the Right
4. Remember that it swings wide turning
5. Don't attract the attention of the Cops
6. DRIVE DEFENSIVELY

You'll be fine; it'll also allow you to get familiar with driving a bus; particularly a 40 footer. If you do have a friend with a CDL, have him do the ride along inside, this way if you do get pulled over, he can explain that he's doing "driver training".

Things to also remember- New Jersey is special about insurance; most companies that insure skoolies don't in New Jersey. You may have to talk to a commercial insurance provider.

The things that the Special Vehicles Unit will be looking for are:
[*]Remove most seats from the bus
In order for the bus to be converted to an RV, the customer must make the following modifications to the vehicle:

1. Remove emergency lights including the side mounted stop sign
2. Repaint the exterior of the vehicle (Cannot remain any shade of yellow)
3. Install a permanent bed or sleep sofa
4. Install a permanent sink or bar sink (Must be in working order)
5. Install a permanent stove or microwave

As well as (when flipping the title from bus to RV):
• Color photographs
o Exterior photos must completely/clearly show all 4 sides of the vehicle. of the interior and exterior after the conversion.
o Interior photos must completely/ show the bed, stove/microwave and sink.
• Pencil tracing or photograph clearly showing the complete VIN plate
• Certified weight slip for the converted motor vehicle.

And, welcome to the insanity.

[Scooternj]

Shoot me a pm with your email, and I'll forward you what MVC sent me last summer

[ism minerals]

I think i got it figured out to get it home, Progressive may insure it as a bus with seats intact under a commerical policy under my business name. I do not know if i will then need a CDL, but i will have my buddy (CDL holder with me) in case of trouble ( thanks for the advise on trianing). Does anyone know if i would need to stop at the highway weigh station in MD or DE on my way home?

[milkmania]

get in there and "drive it like you stole it"



edit:
On second thought.... I looked up your particular bus.
There definately is a learning curve with steering... you're in front of the turning wheels! (You're actually hanging out there in an intersection before the wheels get in the intersection)


something like this.



might wanna find an empty parking lot to practice a little bit, it used to feel weird to me when my feet are almost the most forward thing while turning.

VW vans always freaked me out, and I'd be pulling my feet back

[Bus dad]

1. Calll your state and see if they have a 10 day transit tag ( or something similar) if not put big piece of paper in back window saying in transit

2. Insurance- if you don't have State Farm it is time to look. We have Stae Farm and I think we pay like 300/year for insurance ( liability only- they will insure for replacement but have through a bunch of hoops.

3. Make sure belts and brakes are ok before you leave

We drove from Oregon to Michigan with NO PLATES- just in transit in back window- was still school bus yellow.

Hope this helps

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by milkmania

On second thought.... I looked up your particular bus.
There definately is a learning curve with steering... you're in front of the turning wheels! (You're actually hanging out there in an intersection before the wheels get in the intersection)

What learning curve? I was driving a GSA flatnose with 5 minutes of instrumentation familiarity. Just remember that you *are* in front of the wheels, stop when you (the driver) are in line with the pole if you're first. And remember to make *wide* right turns. I forgot about that, and took out the stop sign *and* light pole at the apartment complex I was living at last year, prior to moving it to its new home.

If they won't let you have the tag, have a couple of "IN TRANSIT" signs made up, ready to go. I drove mine back from Maine with the Wisconsin Apportioned Tags (that were on it when driven to Maine from NL)

[ism minerals]

Got insurance commercial, hopefully I can get a temp in transit plates in MD DMV, and we have a driver who has a CDL. It seems we have to stop at the weigh stations in MD and probably DE as we will be taking I95. Measured my driveway and i think the bus will fit by a foot or two, otherwise we may have someone with a field to store/work on it for a low cost. Scooter thanks for the help!

[EastCoastCB]

Awesome.
I have never been to MD but in a yellow school bus there shouldnt be any real need to stop for weigh stations or ag inspection.

[Tango]

I'm guessing the most common "first-timer" error piloting a 40 footer is keeping up with the overhang in the rear. A typical 40' BB has about 12' hanging out behind the tires and during a 90* turn, that makes for quite a bit of swing.

As noted,if you can find a parking lot, ten minutes of practice, including backing up and parallel parking will give you a little more comfort/advantage.