Has anyone had their rig registered as a bus in SD? I have been told that until my conversion is done I need to register it as a bus and then when completed take it to SD for them to inspect it before licensing as a MH. What are the costs?Any other problems?

That is not true. We just switched from Texas to SD. Did not have to have the bus inspected in any way. I told them it was a 1976 MCI bus conversion and they issued the registration.

As I recall, registration, transfer fees, etc were about $300.

Nick, was your bus registered as a motorhome in TX before the transfer to SD? If yes, that could account for the ease of your transfer.

I think the OP is referring to the 1st time registration of a bus conversion. I am not familiar with SD law, but generally, a first time registration change from commercial to motorhome will require a physical inspection or at a minimum, additional paperwork.

Yes, it was regsitered in Texas as a motorhome. Did not think about that.

In Texas, when we regsitered the bus several years ago, we had not started our conversion yet. In fact, the bus was still out of state. I just needed to tell them it was going to be a motorhome, with a kitchen, bathtroom, and sleeping facilities. That may have changed since then.

I think the folks on the Heavy Duty Truck thread could give some insight into this, since a lot of them register their trucks as RVs in South Dakota.

Sorry Nick, in SD a Truck is a Truck, NOBODY registers their truck as a RV or MH in SD. Its a private truck.......Costs me about $120.00 a year to lic mine for 22 ton.

Can't help you with a bus, as I don't know how they do that.
Mike

I stand corrected. Thanks Mike

quote:

I stand corrected. Thanks Mike

I don't think so. You can't convince me you're standing in front of your computer writing this. You've got to be sitting.......LOL

Wanna bet?

I also have a 1958 GM 4104 licensed in SD. It was no problem as I had it previously registered in Maine and was only transferring it to SD. This new one is a Peterbilt 372 entertainers coach that was originally registered in OR as a bus. The SD people mentioned something about having to get fuel stickers. Where do I get those?

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Russell:
Wanna bet?

No, but I would see that as extremely unlikely. Say hello to Miss Terry for us.

I'm not wanting to hijack the thread,,, but Nick, why did you switch from Texas to SD??

I'm wanting to go full time and that's one of my main questions, Which state to make my home base?

I teach an entire class on choosing a home base at Life on Wheels www.rvlifeonwheels.com

There are a lot of things to consider, not just saving money on vehicle registrations, which seems to be the first thing people think of. The state that is best for one person may not be the best choice for another. And it can change over time.

We were Texas “residents” for 7 years, then our situation changed. On the other hand, I have good friends who recently switched from South Dakota to Texas because their needs changed.

We saved over $1,000 a year on vehicle insurance between our bus, van and motorcycle. That was significant.

We also ran into a hassle getting our bus inspected in Livingston, because the inspection station kept insisting that it was a commercial vehicle and had to pass the commercial vehicle inspection. It started out as a commercial bus, but had been registered as a motorhome in Texas ever since we bought it. I’m sure we could have gone to another inspection station and had no problem. But we had a family emergency and were limited on time. I got ticked off, and it was enough to push us over the fence to the South Dakota side.

Thanks for the answer Nick, that info helps.
I'll check into attending www.rvlifeonwheels.com
Chris

Just an update...If you ever have to talk to the Department of Motor Vehicles directly do not ever mention that you own property anywhere else. I made the mistake of saying that my bus was located at my lake house in Maine, an uninsulated cabin. The two ladies in charge then decided that since I had property that I no longer qualified as a full timer and therefore register my bus in Maine. It took intervention from the Secretary, Dept of Revenue and Regulation to get my bus registered until I can get it to SD for an inspection and retitled as a MH. The two ladies are not fun to deal with!
Wally

Not sure this will help.
in Washington state, a Conversion or just plain RV is considered under realestate for evaluation.
so first convert the bus with a Sink, Shower and cots as a Hunting RV. Once license as a RV, then do the major conversion.