What have I gotten myself into??

[Lorelei072]

Why are you calling all those folks? your state’s Georgia, Department of Motor Vehicles Registration is the only authority you need to talk to. They set the rules that all the licensing agency outlets in the state are required to follow. In Georgia each county has a local office for that.
If you are struggling with finding information go to your local public library in person and ask if a reference librarian can assist you in finding that information. They are trained to do reference searches and not just for the books, but also for helping people find local resources and regulations.

Maybe it wasn’t clear. My county tag office says ambulances are commercial vehicles. They’re the final authority on it? Then I may be asking for big trouble with the IRS, federal, state, and DOT authorities all looking for income, employees, documents, and CDLs generated by my “commercial” ambulance

https://www.atlanta-injurylawyer.com/commercial-trucking-laws-in-georgia/

 

[rruff]

So I have no idea how to work out a vehicle repair & maintenance budget.

Have plenty... then adjust accordingly.

Always keep a good stash. If the stash is being depleted, then reevaluate the inflow vs outflow.

 

[Gr8ful]

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.

You won't need a CDL as that starts at 26,001# GVW, See how they handle large factory motor homes. I bet the title says cutaway & not ambulance. I've heard of other states calling 1 ton+ vehicles & it not being a problem but you need to verify by auction time Monday. Good Luck

 

[twomountainlions]

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

Too bad they don't insure ambos. Roamly is very popular among new van conversion crowd.
Sometimes a little sketchy is good cause you can insure what others wont. Roamly is just a broker I believe, not a carrier.
Keep calling various insurance companies.

 

[twomountainlions]

Maybe it wasn’t clear. My county tag office says ambulances are commercial vehicles. They’re the final authority on it? Then I may be asking for big trouble with the IRS, federal, state, and DOT authorities all looking for income, employees, documents, and CDLs generated by my “commercial” ambulance

https://www.atlanta-injurylawyer.com/commercial-trucking-laws-in-georgia/

You are overthinking it in terms of IRS and employee reporting, commercial title doesnt mean squat for this stuff.
Do you know that California considers many pickup trucks commercial? Yet these personal CA pickups get insured as personal even with commercial title

 

[twomountainlions]

I had seen mentions online that converted ambulances had been retitled as motorhomes in Georgia. Sometimes even dmv employees give bad info and it takes more digging.

GA law:
Motor home means every motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily as a mobile dwelling, office, or commercial space.

 

[twomountainlions]

Another thing, if all fails for motorhome titling is to title it as a motorhome out of state temporarily, then retitle it back home based on the new rv title.

 

[Lorelei072]

I had seen mentions online that converted ambulances had been retitled as motorhomes in Georgia. Sometimes even dmv employees give bad info and it takes more digging.

GA law:
Motor home means every motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily as a mobile dwelling, office, or commercial space.

I did see that in GA code last night. That’s why I plan on calling the state commissioner on Monday. I’m not the first one to buy an ambulance to convert & won’t be the last.

Some places in the code noted that it’s unlawful and a misdemeanor to mislead drivers that the agents are responsible for advising.

 

[maki2]

If it is all about having cabinets ..
Bottom line..,it would cost you less to hire a handyman to build or install premade cabinets in a van than to deal with commercial classification license fees and insurance rates.

IKEA

 

[Lorelei072]

If it is all about having cabinets ..
Bottom line..,it would cost you less to hire a handyman to build or install premade cabinets in a van than to deal with commercial classification license fees and insurance rates.

IKEA

Yeah, something is telling me to keep the “commercial vehicle” door shut & locked. It’s really 2 things, though: Besides lack of storage for all my many hobbies, it’s also I need something that’s adequately maintained and to sell my van to someone who has the capital to get her back up to speed.

I had my brakes done by Mavis. The next day a wheel seized up, I missed 2 weeks of work for van in shop, mallet found in springs, loose bolts, brakes still grinding, inexplicably found no fluid in transmission & whistling sounds. That was 2 months ago and no transmission fluid lost since.

None of this is Mavis’ fault, though

That episode really set me back unfortunately.

 

[Gr8ful]

Good Luck on your auction

 

[maki2]

I suggest you do a hobby rotation. Do not take a huge amount of supplies along, just tools. Do one thing for 6 to 12 months using up materials then when you get low on materials switch and do another favorite hobby for a while. Of course I also have a paper craft kits business I do while I travel so I do have to carry supplies and a professional vinyl cutter for that along with all my clothes kitchen stuff etc.

Photo is my work space in a tiny 55 year old vintage fiberglass travel trailer I completely gutted and fully renovated. There are similar cabinets on the other side and lots of countertop space. If you want extra work surface put a topper on a drawer. On top of those cabinets to the right of the photo is a shallow pantry with sliding doors. I designed and built ALL the cabinets myself and did all the electrical too. But you can buy used cabinets and modify them. I am female and was 70 years with a bad back when I did that cabinet work and all those cabinet doors were built on the road with a hand miter saw using a popup hub tent as a workshop space. View attachment 36983

 

[Gr8ful]

Hope this helps.

How To Inspect A Used Ambulance For Conversion​