What have I gotten myself into??

[Lorelei072]

Maybe I’m just cranky today, but can’t seem to help being irritated at the state of Georgia. I called the tag office and verified all ambulances - decommissioned and converted or not - must be registered as commercial vehicles. I don’t know how much this thing is going to cost me but I don’t like it. I have a budget of $5k and my ambulance bid will have to cap at $3500-ish on a 2011 Chevy ambulance. The website charges a 12% buyer’s premium. The county auctioning off the ambulance charges 6% sales tax. Then Georgia will charge another $800 And I don’t know what the insurance will work out to be.

I haven’t made any financial commitments but I need another rig for more space and that’s not so far behind on upkeep.

Are there more hospitable states for ambulances?

 

[datac]

I don't think there are anymore because insurance is governed by fewer and fewer large companies, and they are nationwide. I've dealt with the "commercial" stuff too. I converted a Step Van to a legitimate RV and got plates to reflect that. Insurance didn't care. All they cared about was the VIN number and what it meant to them. So, I paid a premium Insurance rate, but at least it had towing and roadside assistance included.

Doing a remod on an ambulance is a big project regardless. All those cabinets and miles of wires to sort out. My suggestion is if your in for the amount of work it's going to take, then buy yourself a 1 Ton dually pickup. Sell the box, buy a used suitable sized dry cargo box. You can find them used on Marketplace or even Copart. If your real adventurous, Build your own box from scratch. Or, just buy a Nice Truck Camper for it and be done.

Either way, it will then register and insure as a plain old pickup truck, to which you can probably get it covered for a specific dollar amount after you customized it. "Conversion days" are over with this whole "commercial vehicle" crap, so we have to slide in where we can fit.

 

[Gr8ful]

What happened to the Ford ambo already converted & titled as a MH?

 

[bullfrog !]

Personal opinion here. Your buget is very limited. Cheapest most cost effective large space is what you desire but probably can’t afford. $5,000 isn’t going to buy much of a reliable vehicle. Even an older pickup truck will most likely cost over $3,000 and require $2,000 to make it roadworthy with taxes, insurance and licensing. Time to reevaluate your situation and find a new solution. Commercial vehicles have always been difficult to insure. I would check with the school bus forums to see how and where the latest and greatest commercial insurance is available if it is still practicable even. They can probably educate you on what states are easiest to convert to RV liecensing.

 

[maki2]

OK, so you found out your dream of owning an ambulance is not going to work out financially. The question is are you going to go into mourning for a fantasy idea or are you going to stop fussing about not being able to buy an ambulance and start researching how you can do some maximum weeding out of belongings and hopefully turn some of those non essential items into some cash money. There are tons of websites focused on the emotional wrenches of downsizing and the best ways to physically accomplish it while creating some cash while you go through the process.

 

[maki2]

Are there more hospitable states for ambulances?

I doubt if there is state by state rate category table established by anyone for those non complying, converted, ambulances for licensing or insurance.

 

[Lorelei072]

What happened to the Ford ambo already converted & titled as a MH?

The Ford is still available. Seems like the seller might be having a rough time selling it, so I’m rolling the dice so to speak to see if I can snag the 2011 Chevy with all the cabinets. The auction closes on Monday.

 

[Gr8ful]

Ambulance chassis are supplied by Ford (accounting for about 80% of demand), GM, Chrysler, Daimler Trucks-North and Navistar. The Ford is already titled as a motor home. Without any other facts it seems the better choice.

 

[eDJ_]

In Ohio, if it's a 1 ton vehicle it is classed as Commercial by default. I was able to register and license my 1 ton high top extended Ford van as a "house vehicle" but the cost of license is only about $5 dollars less. And I'm not supposed to carry any kind of freight in it.

To be a house vehicle it has to have a bed, a kitchenette with a wash basin & cold storage where food will be prepared, a table with chairs as a dining area.
Different states will have their own requirements but these would be the basics for any rig.

 

[Morgana]

Don't buy in a rush, whatever you do. If this auction closes, there will be another.

Some German friends of mine used to have a saying, "wir haben nicht Zeit um zu eilen" -- we don't have time to rush. A good novel I read once about first-year doctors had the line "in an emergency, the first pulse you take is your own." The more urgent things are, the more you need to slow down.

Have you included the cost of repairs and maintenance in your vehicle budgeting plan?
As far as "more space" goes, the cheap and simple solutions often work better than the big and fancy ones; and if you're on a tight budget and want to be mobile, "less stuff" is often a big part of the solution.
It's never easy. Make sure you don't dig yourself a deeper hole. Good luck!

 

[WanderingRose]

Yes to the above, and I’ll add that if you’re having misgivings about a purchase, and/or feeling anxious about it, that is something you should listen to.

As Morgana said, there will be another.

Good luck.

 

[Gr8ful]

In Ohio, if it's a 1 ton vehicle it is classed as Commercial by default.

Another reason to be glad I don't live in the Buckeye state

 

[twomountainlions]

Ask Roamly insurance, they deal with conversions a lot, having commercial title might not preclude insuring as an RV if all the required RV attributes are in place

To get a good reliable pickup...will cost a lot now too. 5000 for a reliable truck would require time machine travel

 

[Gr8ful]

State Farm had no problem insuring my ambo as an RV.

 

[Lorelei072]

It’s raining here all weekend so I’m digging into if ambulances are legitimately required to be registered as “commercial.” It appears to open a big can of worms: IRS income reporting, reporting employees, documentation, CDL license to say the least.

I did find the state commissioner referenced but it was already past 5:00. I’ll call that office on Monday.

 

[Lorelei072]

What happened to the Ford ambo already converted & titled as a MH?

That’s my fallback if I don’t win the newer Chevy auction that closes Monday.

 

[Lorelei072]

Yes to the above, and I’ll add that if you’re having misgivings about a purchase, and/or feeling anxious about it, that is something you should listen to.

As Morgana said, there will be another.

Good luck.

Absolutely. I like that rig but not the aquisition process

 

[Lorelei072]

Have you included the cost of repairs and maintenance in your vehicle budgeting plan?

It's never easy. Make sure you don't dig yourself a deeper hole. Good luck!

I’ve seen published reports on repair costs per make and 5-year costs of ownership. I think they were for typical passenger cars, though, and probably don’t cover ‘90s models. So I have no idea how to work out a vehicle repair & maintenance budget.

 

[bullfrog !]

I’ve seen published reports on repair costs per make and 5-year costs of ownership. I think they were for typical passenger cars, though, and probably don’t cover ‘90s models. So I have no idea how to work out a vehicle repair & maintenance budget.

If your present vehicle worries you about repairs that were not done enough to make you buy a new vehicle then you should start researching. Recommended oil and filter changes are the bare minimum required maintenance usually. Your tires usually need to be replaced 5 years after their manufactured date. Brakes should be inspected. All these things will need to be paid for so save enough back to insure they get done when needed, otherwise you will be right where you are now with your present vehicle.

 

[Lorelei072]

Ask Roamly insurance, they deal with conversions a lot, having commercial title might not preclude insuring as an RV if all the required RV attributes are in place

BAH! I just called Roamly and they do not insure converted ambulances. They also sounded sketchy & unprofessional