Converting a heavy-duty bus/coach/truck into a motorhome (page 10 of 161)

Hi Patrick, my paperwork was sent to the prefecture today and apparently it'll take about ten days before I can pick it up. I'll send it your way after. Hoping this helps move things along.

Hi, I just signed up to this site and this bus conversion idea is awesome, and I'm wondering if you can drive these converted buses with a heavy-vehicle license or if you need a bus license...???antoine

GOOD EVENING,

if you register it as fewer than 8 seats plus driver, a C license will work just fine.

if you drive it unregistered, your vehicle is still a bus, so you need a bus license.

but as I've already said above, in that case, if you're going to drive illegally anyway, you might as well drive without a license! (humor).

see above in the discussion thread, we've already debated this issue.

PATRICK26

🤪 So this means that if I convert a bus with at most nine berths and transport at most nine people, I stay within the law, , , , , correct?...antoine

Hey benhurd, I just saw your site, awesome!!, I signed up and I'm going to help spread the word😉

See you soon on your site, thony

Hey Patrick, I'm Gavin (07, Lamastre), I've read some of the stuff on your site with real interest. I've had an S45 for a few years (registered as a truck... for now!) and I'd like to get in touch with you if possible. Computers aren't really my thing, and it costs me a lot to go to the library to check things out. I haven't been able to read everything on the site—it would take a whole day! I do have a couple of questions though (maybe the answers are already there, but like I said, I haven't seen it all). WHO KNOWS WHERE I CAN FIND A SAVIEM S45 GT 1973 TECHNICAL MANUAL????????? HOW DO COLLECTION VEHICLE INSURANCE POLICIES WORK?????? Right now I have special carnival vehicle insurance (with AGF), they're the only ones willing to insure a private truck, and it costs an arm and a leg—I could buy two buses a year at that price! Could you contact me by email sometime? The address is gavincomalamez@free.fr—I'd really appreciate it! In the meantime, keep it up, good luck with the emergency exits, and watch out for that guy with the glasses around Valence—he's tough, really tough with old buses! This message is also an invitation to others checking out the site.

Hi,

I'd like to convert a bus into a non-mobile secondary residence on private land. Do you know what regulations I might need to follow? Are there parking permits or a building permit I'd need to apply for? The regulations are pretty unclear: HLL? wreck? caravan? 🤪

The S53 seems like a good base to me, especially since I understand it's fairly common and cheap in scrapyards... On that subject, do you happen to know of any specialized heavy-vehicle scrapyards that might sell buses as-is (broken engine or for parts)? Are government sales worth it?

Thanks for your help!

Manu

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot:

How do you move or transport a non-motorized bus? Towing solutions must exist, but are they expensive? Wouldn't it be easier and more practical to find a bus that's on its last legs mechanically but still able to drive the few hundred kilometers to where you'll be setting it up?

Manu

Well, if you're sure you'll stay put, in my opinion you can convert it without official approval—it'll be classified as a mobile unit, and nobody's going to come inspect your work, if you want it roadworthy, it won't cost much more to buy (even old S53s for scrap usually still run), but you'll need a technical inspection every year, or at least whenever you want to move it—same thing with the tachograph (every 2 years) plus, you need to start the engine at least once a month to avoid problems, and for the installation, you need to go through the proper procedures and deal with all the paperwork!!

for the towing solution, you need to check with heavy-duty tow companies to see if it's possible!!

Hey Patrick, I received my registration on April 14th for VASP caravan bodywork for an S53 without driver's door (DRIRE Allier). What's the difference between caravan bodywork and motorhome?

WELL, WE'VE DONE IT!!!

You send me the approval report, the Individual Reception certificate, and photocopies of your registration document, and you'll get a..... NICE BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE SENT TO YOUR ADDRESS!!!!

For your info, I was at the Valence DRIRE (Drôme) this afternoon, and they were still on about the door issue. They confirmed to me that one mines inspector will never go against another, and that if those documents I listed above are submitted, they'll be forced to accept them.

With your permission (and by masking your contact details), I could put these documents online so everyone who's stuck with this problem can finally drive legally!

Your turn now, and give the community here a helping hand. The exchange of tips and good info is what keeps these free communication spaces alive. (For my part, I'm participating in two ways - putting the documents online and the bottle of bubbly! -humor!)

We're all just waiting for your say-so now....

PATRICK26

Got your car registration via fax.

but the key document is the acceptance report for independent use because it includes the door specifications.

Can you send it to me at the same fax number as the registration?

Thanks in advance

PATRICK26

Hi Patrick, I was just wondering – when you remove seats from a bus, do you need the manufacturer's authorization, or is an inspection enough?

Hi everyone!

I'm planning to convert a Mercedes 711 into a motorhome. It was a small coach used for school runs. The back is completely glazed. It was rebodied by Trouillet (if I remember correctly...) — they're large windows, 3 per side (about 1m long), mounted in an aluminum frame. So these aren't original Mercedes windows. My idea is to remove the two rear side windows and replace them with large aluminum panels of the same thickness as the glass. The advantage is being able to drill openings for ventilation and attachment points more easily. Has anyone already tried this approach? This is just the start of my project and I can't wait to get going. Thanks in advance!

Watch out here—make sure to allow for significant clearance between the window frame and the aluminum sheet; aluminum expands quite a bit in the sun, nearly 3 times more than glass. Check this out: www.verreonline.fr/v_plat/prop_therm1.php

Acrylic is the worst, and that's why manufacturers recommend very substantial silicone seals for boat portholes: 5 to 8 mm wide per meter of panel.

Christian

HI EVERYONE,

For your seats, you just need to visit the vehicle inspection office.

Check with the vehicle administration office closest to your address.

Just watch out though for what you're going to do with the empty space left by the seats you're removing! If you're installing equipment, you'll need to install a cargo retention partition. If you're making it a kitchen area, you'll need to go through the certification process with an official certifying body (Veritas for example).

PATRICK26

Thanks for your reply, I'll go check with the DRIRE. Actually, I went to the prefecture to see if I could get an exemption on my class D license to drive a motorhome. They told me they'd contact the ministry directly. Did the people you were in contact with who were in my situation go through that kind of process, or did they work it out with the person at the prefecture who authorizes exemptions? Thanks, have a good day, see you!

Hi everyone. I've already mentioned my conversion project and its goal earlier in this forum. I was going with the standard S45 or S53 model... but I wanted to know if it would be more complicated with an SC10 model.

Thanks to the experts!

Hello everyone, I've been following your discussions for a while, and I'd like to ask for some advice. I went to check out an Iveco 702 bus from 1993—it's in good condition, has 500,000 km, and comes with a maintenance log (an agricultural school is selling it). If anyone knows this model and can share its strengths and weaknesses for a motorhome conversion, that would be amazing. And if by chance someone knows whether the engine is reliable and if secondhand parts are easy to find, that would be wonderful. Thanks in advance!

Thanks to everyone who writes about this topic—it's been such a great help to me. I thought I was the only one with this idea in mind! Happy travels and safe roads to all of you.

forgeron.

SO, I know the laws vary a bit from one town council to another; if they don't mind you living on your land, you can have a bus without any problem, because it can still move (even without an engine; you just need to be able to push it a few meters if they ask you to.) In your shoes, I'd buy a bus that still runs; it's not expensive, and even if you don't have a license, you slip €500 to a mechanic and he'll move it for you (I did that when I bought mine because I didn't have public transport). Plus that way you can resell parts later..... but keep the wheels! Good luck lionmasta! Does anyone have an answer for me about collector's insurance and the technical inspection????