Keeping a commercial or regular title on a conversion?

[rivertrader]

Hubby and I are just about done w our not too fancy box to rv conversion and now we're at that crucial point. Do we change it? We have obvious rv windows. We plan to paint it in a 'to hell w stealth' style. But if we switch from commercial to RV, we have to give up our cheap insurance, as well as gain the possible police attention of being an RV. The city we live in has anti RV laws. Your RV can not be parked on your own property and visible from the street! There was a huge battle over expensive new RVs being in many of the local hospital's doctor's own driveways for covid isolation. What is the rationalization behind changing title designations? In California (where we are) an RV title raises insurance, and registration.

I think if you have Windows you probably already look like an RV

 

[rivertrader]

I think if you have Windows you probably already look like an RV

Check out California reg form 256a. It's form used when you change the body type on a vehicle .

 

[rivertrader]

Check out California reg form 256a. It's form used when you change the body type on a vehicle .

You're going to lose the weight fees$$. If you go motor home the only way you can really tell i it is a motorhome by the license plate your neighbors can't see your registration. But the unstealthy paint job might give you away choice point.

 

[HappyLife1977]

GVW is Gross Vehicle Weight, Not what it weighs, what the max weight it can be including vehicle & load combined including people & fuel. The weighmasters carry scales & can weigh it on the side of the road & if you title it commercial you'll have to go thru any weigh station & over a scale. I'm in Michigan across the line where the build the crappy RVs in Elkhart, Goshen, etc. I've been in several plants, have several friends working in the RV plants & most use the cheapest material, piece work labor as they are made to use 2-3 weeks a year not live in full time. Watch this
https://drivinvibin.com/2021/05/16/rv-technician/ If it's a pickup it's not commercial in Michigan.

Here they still call it a chauffers license for 26,000# & under commercial & a CDL for over that weight.

My husband towed quite a few RVs that looked fantastic but were what he calls toothpicks and playing cards. The ones going to auction looked okay, but the ones that caught fire or the propane blew up, or had been in accidents, convinced him we wanted some thing a little more solid.
We have junk yards out here that weigh you in and out, to charge the difference, and they will do a dmv paper for 10$
California is just a lovely but money grubbing state. Immagine 500$ a night for a camp ground that's just scrubland w eucalyptus trees and your rv cant be a day over 8 years old last i heard.
We stuck to the state parks in our little truck. The beach parks are full of gorgeous re-builds.
We register again in May, so we'll find out what the complications are then.

 

[HappyLife1977]

Also some States have a Class C CDL. I was driving a bus that held 17 passengers, (it is not a commercial vehicle if you only have 16 passengers including the driver. NOTE: You always count the driver. If you have 17 or more including the driver its a commercial vehicle) since it was under 26,000 I was given a restriction that while driving a Bus I was limited to a Class C Bus, but I still had my Class A with Air Brakes.

Out here you just remove the seats and the bus thing goes w them.

 

[Freelander]

Not necessary if it was built as a 25 passenger bus you can remove all the seats and its still a 25 passenger bus. You need to check your state laws.

 

[HappyLife1977]

You're going to lose the weight fees$$. If you go motor home the only way you can really tell i it is a motorhome by the license plate your neighbors can't see your registration. But the unstealthy paint job might give you away choice point.

Its a "15 foot" (the rental description) ex Uhaul with three big rv windows. Stealth went out of the picture the first month. But there are a lot of box trucks now with windows and doors peoole run their business out of. Pet groomers, handy men, construction. Being mobile in California is becoming very normal. You can work your butt off and still not afford a place to live.

 

[Freelander]

If its a manufactured vehicle it will have a tag in the door, telling you what the vehicle is. My RV is a 2012 Chevy Express, but the title says 2012 Coachman.

 

[DannyB1954]

What they go by is what's on the sticker. if it says GVWR is 15,000, then that is it.

True, but GVW Gross Vehicle Weight is the maximum it can weigh going down the road. If you go over that weight you can be cited. It is pretty rare, but can happen. Being a commercial vehicle you may need to go through a scale. What they can do with over weight vehicles is detain them at the scales until they lose some weight, (rent another vehicle to load some of the cargo into).
Converting a Commercial vehicle to an RV is a romantic idea, not necessarily a practical one.

 

[HappyLife1977]

" Being a commercial vehicle you may need to go through a scale. What they can do with over weight vehicles is detain them at the scales until they lose some weight, (rent another vehicle to load some of the cargo into)."

hubby weighs about 200 lb and the cat is at least 18 these days. Might pick them up later down the road....

 

[LargeMarge]

And I quoteth:
* "Converting a Commercial vehicle to an RV is a romantic idea, not necessarily a practical one."
.
.
Our motto:
* "Doing The Impractical Since 1970!"
.
Just some of the commercial vehicles we converted to RecreateVehicle status:
* 1959 Flxible bus (manufacturer name, it was not bendy)
* 1984 Peterbilt coe semi-tractor
* 1974 Chevrolet coe semi-tractor
* 1970 30' semi-trailer
* 1965 40' semi-trailer
* 1996 Ford CF8000
and our latest
* 2006 Autocar firetruck (apparatus removed)
.
Completely impractical.
Utterly impractical.
So impractical, only some kind of bizarre lunacy would propel only the most fervent of full-time live-aboard explorers.
.
Would never recommend... [whistles innocently]

 

[Bunpoh]

Commerical conversions are really attractive...I especially love the ambulance builds I've been seeing! If I didn't have 2 cats and a partner, I'd be all over one of the 4 wheeler ambulances. Though Bob said it's a whole todo as y'all have noted to deal with the commercial vs RV licensing and such. Let us know how this turns out! I would love to see pics of your rig all painted up!

 

[flylo]

I love my ambo, they don't skimp on anything. It's low miles & looks almost like new. Firemen take care of their stuff & this was the 2nd or spare thus very low miles.

 

[Catalyst1]

Commerical conversions are really attractive...I especially love the ambulance builds I've been seeing! If I didn't have 2 cats and a partner, I'd be all over one of the 4 wheeler ambulances. Though Bob said it's a whole todo as y'all have noted to deal with the commercial vs RV licensing and such. Let us know how this turns out! I would love to see pics of your rig all painted up!

I live in OR and called my insurance company and looked up the DMV rules for ambulances. In OR, if you are driving a vehicle over 20,000 GVW, it doesn't matter whether it was converted to an RV or not--they consider it commercial. My insurance company (State Farm) and I go back decades, so they were willing to insure it either way. They told me the drive home from wherever I got the ambulance would be insured as commercial. If registered as commercial, I would be paying big bucks quarterly, instead of smaller amounts every 2 years for registration. Once I had it converted, they would charge me for an RV. Insuring an RV is way cheaper than a commercial vehicle. In OR, what constitutes a conversion is that it has a bed, a cookstove, sink, and some kind of bathroom arrangement. Shower not necessary, but you have to show them some kind of toilet.