Insurance/ license Alberta Canada

[adamhere]

Hello,
I was planning on a 93 Bluebird but found a 84 MCI MC9 8v71 3 axle for my off grid conversion. It is in Seattle, WA, I will fly down and drive it home. I am told that I can drive it with my class five and my air Q endorsement and do not need to upgrade to a class 3 since it will be personal use RV. I have also been told I need a class three no matter what because it has three axles. I believe if I can find insurance to cover it as RV that if I get pulled over I would be fine, even though all the seats will still be in until I get it home. Without the RV insurance it would probably depend on the mood of the officer if I am allowed to drive on. My current insurance covers transport of a purchased vehicle but it is for my pick up not a RV.

Anyone with experience in Alberta?

Thanks

 

[nat_ster]

Re: Insurance/ licence Alberta Canada

Go talk to the DMV.

It is to my understanding you will need the class three only till you remove the commercial registration. After you register it as privet, you only need a class 5 as long as you have under 10 passengers.

Please update this thread on your journey. I would love to know how the border crossing, ect all works out.

Nat

 

[adamhere]

Re: Insurance/ licence Alberta Canada

I have an Alberta license and the regulation states three axles for a recreational vehicle with a class 5 is fine. I did speak with someone at the Registry, our DMV, and they said because the bus would be used for personal use only I would be legal to drive it. I am still concerned at how an officer will interpret it. I can't register it until I insure it but I am still trying to find someone to insure it as a RV. So far everyone wants the conversion complete in order to insure as RV/motorhome. I could get commercial insurance but it is expensive and then I would have to register it as commercial bus. Then I would have to have a class three to drive it.

The Plan:
My current auto insurance will cover for transport of the bus while I am driving, and I will get temp tags from the seller in Washington. The border should be set up and should not be an issue. Once I get it here they require an out of country and out of province inspection. As long as those go well it will be in the system and I can park it and then get the insurance and registration once the conversion is complete. I can also keep looking into other options for coverage during the conversion. That is the plan for now.

I will go ahead and get my class 3 this summer if I can free up some time anyway. I will keep making calls and searching for more options and am waiting for some return calls also from potential insurers.

 

[Hank's P-O-S]

In MB there is no maximum GVW on RV's. I found out this by chance when I went to take the written part of the class 3, didn't even need an air endorsement as I found a bus with hydrolic breaks. The only thing that will get me is that if I tow a trailer, that will still be limited to 4050kg beceause of my class 5 licence.

 

[Bon Voyage]

Insurance

How did you end up getting the bus back?
I'm looking into making a skoolie but can't find a company that will insure it. Who did you get and are they outrageously expensive?

 

[driver1]

I am also looking at buying a used school bus. Nobody wants to inure them. This is the reply I got from my insurance agent after I inquired and sent photos of the vehicle.

" HI there,



Unfortunately we only have a high risk market for modified bus coverage. Even if you are not driving it, they charge for the Liability all year round. The quote below is for Liability coverage only. No fire or theft.

Also, anything inside including tools would not be covered under the Bus Insurance. You would have to add the coverage to the Commercial policy or a Floater on your personal home policy.



I am sure there are Insurance Companies that offer way better coverage and better price, you may have to look elsewhere, as the quote for $1,000,000 Liability only is $6,646. (probably more than the bus is worth) Sorry."

If anyone knows of a reasonable insurer, it would be appreciated!

 

[Clayton-SKO]

Tell your insurance broker to stick it up their ass and shop around. Also pull your other policies from them.

Get an appraisal and take photos so the new company doesn't think the bus is the stereotypical junk they expect. Please keep us posted.

 

[Bon Voyage]

I am also looking at buying a used school bus. Nobody wants to inure them. This is the reply I got from my insurance agent after I inquired and sent photos of the vehicle.

" HI there,



Unfortunately we only have a high risk market for modified bus coverage. Even if you are not driving it, they charge for the Liability all year round. The quote below is for Liability coverage only. No fire or theft.

Also, anything inside including tools would not be covered under the Bus Insurance. You would have to add the coverage to the Commercial policy or a Floater on your personal home policy.



I am sure there are Insurance Companies that offer way better coverage and better price, you may have to look elsewhere, as the quote for $1,000,000 Liability only is $6,646. (probably more than the bus is worth) Sorry."

If anyone knows of a reasonable insurer, it would be appreciated!

Here is a quote I got for insurance, I think it's called Aviva.
Quote they gave me was if I had an appraised value of $15,000, full
coverage would be around $500/year. They require conversion to be complete
and appraised.

Still looking for insurance to cover me to pick up a bus I want in the
states and bring to Alberta. Any luck anyone?

 

[davidrheal]

I'm in the same boat! haha
Just bought a bus in the US.

PLEASE keep updating if anybody has any luck

Good info so far!

 

[Bon Voyage]

They'll provide coverage through a company called Nordic while the bus is
being converted. Though it's a little higher than if it was completed, mine
is $1600/year, when the conversion is complete it'll be more like $500-$600
depending on appraised value.

 

[davidrheal]

And will that $1600/year insurance allow you to pick it up in the states?

 

[Bon Voyage]

They didn't restrict me at all in where I could go, I just gave them the
vin and agreed I'd be turning it into an RV and got the Insurance like any
other vehicle. I picked mine up in Ohio. Its insured now like any other
motorhome so yeah I could go where ever I want.

Just be sure to get a intransit or temporary tag (license plate) from the
DMV in the state you're buying it in. I got pulled over for not stoping at
the scale after the Coots border (though if it's owned in your name and not
a company you don't need to stop) so they just checked my paperwork and let
me go. If it has air brakes make sure you have your air brake endorsement.

 

[davidrheal]

This is fantastic!! You're amazing haha

So once you got into Canada, you did the RIV inspection and everything, then you registered it in Alberta? Do anything special there?

 

[Bon Voyage]

Mine was RIV exempt but if it wasn't, it's Canadian Tire that would do a quick check then give you some paperwork to take so you can go to registry to get paper for the out of province inspection.

I'm still in the process of completing some repairs to pass the out of province, but once I get the paper from the mechanic for completing the out of province it'll be good to finish regestering.

You also have to export the bus from the states which RIV has the info on how to do that. To get the special number for the US border from a US broker, I used a place called LS Idaho. I think it was $60.

 

[davidrheal]

Ahh k. How come yours is exempt? What year is your bus?

 

[Bon Voyage]

My bus is 2002 but built in 2001 so it's older than 15 years; Any vehicle older than 15 years is RIV exempt except from my understanding buses which have to be built before 1971 to be exempt. I'm not sure if the border guy exempted me because it's turning into an RV, if it's privately owned or if he just made a mistake. Either way I didn't want to argue about it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[davidrheal]

You didn't have to pay the $300?!?! Lucky duck haha that's wicked! Mine is a 2001 so hopefully they slip up for me too!

I've been looking in a lot of places and I can't find a clear answer. Do we have to go through the process of registering it into an RV?

 

[Bon Voyage]

Yeah I was glad to not have the pay the $300, it's expencive enough.

I don't know about having to register as an RV, I'll tell the registry what it's going to be and leave it up to them. My guess is it'll just be registered as a bus but who knows. I'll find out in a couple weeks.

 

[LightingLife]

I'm in Van B.C, Canada looking for a pre owned bus to buy for our conversion.

Is is much cheaper across the border? Is that why you are not purchase local?

Iv been looking into rv insurance aswell. And talking to Qai and transport canada, hopefully they will get back to me soon.
But what I got is that you have to strip the seats, flashing light, stickers, signs off and I'm hoping that will do it just to get it insured as an rv to save money.

Otherwise it it seems like you have to have 3 or 4 of living features like a functional sink, toliet,heat,bed. And they would pass you, but in order to get the stickers like an rv has saying it's safe a certified it seems to be a pretty pennie! Like $4000. So I have him get back to me next week. Cause that's what they charge rv companies who get multiples certified at once.

 

[Bon Voyage]

I went across the border for mine because there just wasn't anything I wanted in Canada. It's a bit of a headache and you might loose your mind keeping all the paperwork striaght but you can save money too. Just depends what you can find. If you do bring one from the states look at RIV.ca as it has a lot of information you'll need. One thing to note is you can't bring in any type of altered bus, so if the seats are taken out too bad.

As for insurance and registration don't you have it all through ICBC? probably easier to do than in Alberta...