Do you have a special license to drive your bus?

[kenrely]

That makes a lot of sense. Guess I'll be getting a CDL in the interim.

If it's still registered/tagged as a bus you will need a class B CDL. If it still has passenger seats you will need a class B CDL, with a passenger endorsement.

When it's registered/titled/tagged as an RV, you would be fine to drive it with a regular drivers license.

I have a class B with passenger endorsement. Don't need it to drive my current bus - it's a motor home and registered/tagged as such. But, I keep it since there may be a day I see a seated coach I want to buy and then I'll need the CDL to be able to get it home.

[kenrely]

I'll keep asking. So far many different answers form the BMV. I'll work on my terminology.

Bus = bad.
RV = good.

You need to check with your Indiana state DMV.  It could be easy (like it was for me in Texas) or a difficult adventure to get it classified as a motor home.  Be prepared to be on the phone for quite a while.  Your query will befuddle just about every civil servant you talk to.  Take notes and you may have to call back and start over with someone else and carefully rephrase your questions until you get some satisfactory answers to get your rig classified as an RV.  Emphasize with the guy on the phone it will never be a bus again, never be a commercial vehicle again.  It will be an RV for you and your wife to sit by at the most beautiful National Parks in the USA.

Be diligent.  You can make it happen. 
David

[kenrely]

Jim,

I've got a '94 102d3, 40ft. Good overall condition. Think I'll focus on the RV route and go the historic tags as a backup.

Ken, what year is your bus? (Incidentally, get in the habit of calling it your RV or Motorhome, NEVER refer to it at the DMV as a Bus) In many states, after 25 years it is eligible for Historic tags and can then be driven on a regular driver's license. A useful little dodge. Mine's a '96 so it becomes eligible the first of the year and for that reason I've held off on registering it. Changing the registration status from bus to RV can be tricky.

Yours is the 40ft one? What year, what condition, and where are you located?

Jim

[belfert]

That makes a lot of sense. Guess I'll be getting a CDL in the interim.

If you just need to get the bus home you might be better off hiring a driver with the proper CDL.

You would need to find a bus with air brakes to take the road test for a CDL.  You also have to have someone with a CDL drive the bus to the testing center.  I don't think any state allows you to drive a vehicle you are not licensed for to the testing center.  You not only won't get to take the test, but you might get a citation and you'll have probably need to find a CDL holder to drive the vehicle from the center.

[belfert]

Collector or Historical plates usually have defined restrictions in the vehicle's use, in exchange for the often discounted licensing fee. Same for the insurance programs that go with this.

There are no specific mileage or usage requirements in the state statute other than the the vehicle must be used exclusively as a collector's vehicle.  No definition of what used exclusively as a collector's vehicle means.

I know that at least two bus conversion owners in Minnesota have collector plates.  One or both are members here.

[Jim Blackwood]

'94 is a pretty good year I think, Does it have the S60, B500 and r134 refrigerant? Not sure just when they went to those. Eiberspacher aux heater maybe?

Jim

[Jim Eh.]

Look into the number of seats to define it as a "coach" or a "bus" or a "passenger van". I know some midwestern states do not require the driver to have a CDL if it has a reduced number of seats installed.

[richard5933]

There are two conversations going on here, and they can easily confuse each other. One is about the drivers license requirements, and the other is about vehicle registration requirements. These can affect each other, but they are two separate things.

In a nutshell, if the thing is still registered as a bus, either get a CDL or find someone with one to help move the thing around. There are a number of us with a CDL, many with a passenger endorsement as well, and I'm sure that you could find someone to help if needed. If nothing else, go get your CDL permit by taking the written test, then have a licensed driver go with you to take the driving test.

Generally speaking, the requirement to have or not have a CDL is based on the weight of the vehicle or its ability to transport passengers. For cargo vehicles, I believe that the cutoff is 26,000 pounds GVWR for a single vehicle. Pulling a trailer has other specifics, but we're not talking about that in this conversation. The bus, being more than 26,000 pounds GVWR, will require a CDL.

In Indiana, a vehicle designed to carry 16 or more persons, including the driver, require a CDL. https://www.in.gov/bmv/2529.htm
Whether or not a bus without seats is still a vehicle 'designed' to carry 16 or more persons is an open question that I didn't see addressed in the information I found.

In most states, there is an exemption for vehicles registered as a motor home which allows them to be driven on a regular drivers license. I believe that Indiana is one of those states, but that exemption would not apply in this case since the vehicle is not yet registered as a motor home and still carries a bus registration and plates.

The issue with a passenger endorsement is based on the passenger carrying capacity of a vehicle. If the vehicle is capable of hauling 15 persons or less, generally speaking a passenger endorsement is not needed. This is why you don't see vans being sold to the public with more than a 15 person seating capacity. Once you hit 16 persons, a passenger endorsement is needed.

A vehicle registered as a bus BUT with the seats removed to bring it down to 15 seats or fewer will USUALLY not need a passenger endorsement. Usually, but not always, since in some jurisdictions it's not about how many seats are in the bus but rather how many the bus was designed to hold.

To make matters even more confusing, it seems that in Indiana a "bus is a motor vehicle that is designed for carrying and transporting more than nine passengers, including the driver and used to transport passengers." Of course, that is in the context of vehicle registration/taxes and has nothing to do with drivers licensing.

Here's a link to the CDL handbook for Indiana: https://www.in.gov/bmv/files/CDL_Manual.pdf

[Uberbus]

In Canada - you need an air brake endorsement to drive anything with air brakes.  If it is over a certain weight you need a higher class license (24,000 lbs for Ontario).  Part of the reason I am sticking to a Silversides is they can be kept under 24,000 lbs or I'd need that upgrade.

[Bus Lurker]

At least in Commifornia, if you have a 3 axle house car that is up to 40ft long, you can drive it with a Class C license-and pull up to a 10,000lb trailer behind. Doesn't matter if it is Diesel, or has air brakes.
But over 40ft, you need a class B non commercial license and you're (theoretically) restricted to truck routes. Do figure! Good Luck, TomC

Tom C and I are in the same state.  Getting a CDL is easier said than done here in California.  It involves much more than taking a test and going for a drive with a DMV clerk; that's what I did when I got my CDL here in California more than 40 years ago.   Recently I have talked to several folks trying for the CDL.  When they get to the DMV they flunk out on the pre-trip inspection and that stops the process for that day; one fellow I know flunked the pre-trip 3 times.  Modern CDL written tests are not easy peasy either.  Then there's the drama with getting a medical certificate every two years from only DMV approved doctors; if you have high blood pressure forget it!

It does make sense that someone driving such a large and heavy vehicle should have qualifications above and beyond those folks driving a puddle jumper.

Mike

[richard5933]

Medical certification card is only necessary when involved in interstate commercial driving. I went for many years without getting a med card by checking the 'intrastate only' box on the application.

In Wisconsin it's possible to do the testing at third-party test sites. Usually these are in conjunction with driving schools, but it's possible to test without taking the driving classes. Not sure if other states have a similar setup.

There are apps that can help memorize the testing material. Especially for the pre-trip - it's necessary to recite it like a script explaining, every step along the way to the tester.

[Jim Eh.]

In Manitoba ...

A Class 1 drivers license (CDL) require medicals dependent on age and currently (or proposed) requirement to get a Class 1 is something in the neighborhood of 4 - 5K in mandatory certified training.

A vehicle registered as an RV may be operated with a class 5 (w/air brake endorsement) regardless of size/weight of vehicle. Yeah, I know, not too brilliant.

The vehicle is registered by the number of seats is has or are useable. The only caveate to this is the titled use for the vehicle. A Church or sports group bus has different rules (and inspection criteria) than the exact same bus used as a school (private or public) transporter.

This was the case when the PO was transporting the bus I purchased. A gentleman from California bought about 7 buses from the midwest and hired a transport company to send drivers to pick them up. The transporting company's drivers did not have any CDL's (or very few of them). The solution was for the crew to remove or disable enough seats to get them under a "bus" designation to be able to continue on past the scale. I don't remember the number of seats but most of them were removed/disabled from my bus when it was picked up in Reno.

Which is why I stated to check on the number of seats. Sometimes the littlest change in setup can save you hassle and money.

[Dave5Cs]

   kenrely you still haven't said what you intend to use the Bus/RV for, Personal or business, Livery, etc. and what state you will use it in?