Working on the road?

[thejumpsuitman]

Marc

They pass laws to make EVERYONE a criminal that way they can harass anyone they want

Melbo

Not everyone...  Only productive, responsible, God-fearing, good conservative folks.

[rv_safetyman]

Boy, do I really feel stupid.  Somehow I got the impression that Marc was wanting to get some input on earning money on the road.  I spent some time to give constructive input. 

Instead, it looks like he was fishing for some more crap about government intervention.

Jim

[Melbo]

Jim

Not crap about government intervention but how people deal with being on the road and working and not getting BUGGED by the people who can bug you .


Just keep it simple and don't attract attention and tell him what you do and how you do it

I don't think I have to comply with DOT -- my bus is my home and I have an office in the bus and that is fine and I'm not a criminal

That is what he wanted to know

Melbo

[thejumpsuitman]

Let me spell it out...  I work for myself both as a high end costume tailor and ebay seller.  I can and have have done my work while taking vacations and see no reason why I can't do this all the time.  How difficult would it be for me to do this and be covered legallY?

[belfert]

My thoughts.  I am not a lawyer and I'm not responsible if you take my advice.

If your bus is your home full or part time and you work out of a home office you should be fine as long as you aren't shipping product and have no exterior signage.  This should be no different than working out of a home office in a stick house.

If you're using your bus to travel to do work and you're hauling product to sell or large amounts of tools to do the work you could be tagged as commercial.  If you're a band or a singing group you're almost always going to be tagged as commercial especially if you sell CDs or get compensated in any way.

If you're visiting customers to sell them stuff or letting them into your bus to sell them stuff you would probably be considered commercial.

[HighTechRedneck]

If you are going to be carrying raw materials of your craft and/or finished products on board, your safest bet is to bite the bullet and get a CDL and register commercial.  I say that because even though you could potentially go years flying under the DOT's radar, you could just as easily be in an accident, or catch the attention of a DOT enforcer at any time.  

Rick's recent encounter with them ended in his favor.  And a desk/computer on board doesn't shout "I'm doing business here" these days.  But if you were caught with business inventory on board, that would quickly grab their attention and you would not likely be able to win that case.  Then the fines, impound fees, and hassles can be very severe.

[thejumpsuitman]

I would be working when parked and stationary, selling through the internet, but not selling to those in the state where I would be.  No sales taxes on internet sales.  The bus would in no way be a part of my business. 

I understand this is really a two-part issue...  One:  Do my plans necessarily require a special license, commercial considerations, etc.  Or do they necessarily not require such?   Or is it a gray area?

Second part of the issue of course is having the appearance of being commercial, even if not and dealing with potential hassles.

[happycamperbrat]

I havent done any research on this at all, so take it for what it's worth....... not much! But I do know times are a changin and there are more people working out of their homes (even if they live on the road) because of the internet. I also know that historically laws have continually been challenged and changed to keep up with the times. This is an area that eventually, I think, there will be some high profile case and the laws will be clarified...... eventually. But for now, unless you are willing to be the target case, stay within the law or dont get caught!

[thejumpsuitman]

I havent done any research on this at all, so take it for what it's worth....... not much! But I do know times are a changin and there are more people working out of their homes (even if they live on the road) because of the internet. I also know that historically laws have continually been challenged and changed to keep up with the times. This is an area that eventually, I think, there will be some high profile case and the laws will be clarified...... eventually. But for now, unless you are willing to be the target case, stay within the law or dont get caught!

Times are changing indeed.  I have every intention to stay within the law, I am just not clear as to what would be required in the scenario I am describing.  I would not doing anything to make money using the bus at all, just getting myself from place to place and working there.  The only thing I could see as a potential issue would be having any kind of tools or materials with me at any given time.  Actually, nothing I would be carrying would necessarily even be specific to the work I do.

I am not trying to figure out how to circumvent any laws, just want to know where the lines are drawn if anyone knows.

To be honest, the more I explain myself, the more ridiculous it seems to have to worry about this.  During the time I would be on the road, the bus would literally be a mode of transportation, nothing more.

[happycamperbrat]

Maybe place a call to the DOT or other's who may fine you? Ask them and get it in writing so that you have proof in case some mistake is made later down the road....

[thejumpsuitman]

Now this is a very interesting article.... It deals with laws in states with income tax.  Talks about how if you do any work at all in that state, even for one day, you are required to file an income tax return in that state.  This might explain the heightened enforcement by State police of potential commercial vehicles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/business/22tax.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

[cody]

I think the lines are drawn mostly by the officer that is on the scene, the next question is whether the local court will back him up with his interpretation, most times they will. A person can appeal the case and possibly overturn an unfavorable court ruling but to do that you would need to prove that not only was the officer wrong but also the court that heard the case and it's hard to find a court that will declare openly and publicly that a lower court was wrong and needed correctling.  The easiest way to do all of that is to convince the officer at the start of the process that your not commercial so it doesn't start the legal ball rolling, signage, advertising, promotion of a product, all of those things will work in the officers favor down the road.  Not only will each state vary on how they view mobile commercial ventures but you also will find counties that have their own set of rules and licenses too so it's a crap shoot in whatever you do, with more and more people taking to the road to earn or just suppliment their income this will probably be more clearly defined over time, hopefully, we won't be the test cases that lead to the case law developement, I carry a certain amount of music and music producing equipment and DJ from time to time, it's hard to explain that it's for my personal enjoyment and not as a means of filling the fuel tank, I also am one of the few that concider a table saw as part of a tool kit, there again an officer could question why I would be concerned about cabinet repairs while on the road, it's not like a tire jack or a lug wrench.  I also find working off the road safer from the stand point of avoiding oncoming traffic lol.