DE-CLASSING

[steveleadfoot]

Hi Jonathan; anyone in the know
Regarding MOT,s and the different classes.
Motorhomes are class 4 i think.
Ihave managed to secure parking till April then off to Suffolk for summer working.
Need to find out how much CONVERTING has to be DONE
before i can RECLASS her.
To take her up to suffolk aswell.

[Jonathan]

As far as the MOT is concerned its the seating capacity, if you present a vehicle with seats it will be tested as a bus, if you are not using it as a PSV it will be tested as a private bus.

The difference is how much you pay for the MOT, if they don't have to test all the seats it costs you less. It's only about £20 difference. You pay extra for the additional work invovled in testing the seats and seat belts if fitted.

My bus had seats in the first time I put it in for the MOT, so they issued a private bus MOT Class V, I took the seats out and left less than 9 in so it is classed as a private car of motorhome for MOT purposes.

I was then issued with a class IV MOT which was cheaper.

Don't confuse the MOT class with the driving licence categories.

For road tax my bus[motorhome] is classed as a private HGV due to the unladen weight of 8.7t

You can ammend the V5 by changing the seating capacity and sending it to the DVLA in Swansea, they send a new one out with the new seating capacity on it.

You can change most of the details on the V5 simply by filling in the boxes with the new details and sending it to the DVLA.

If you want to change the revenue weight you need to take it to a Weigh bridge and get a certificate. The only benifit of this would be if you want to drive the vehicle with a restricted licence.

[daddy2aore]

Well i will obviously be charging the customers for the stag nite etc, but i won't actually be stopping at bus stops and picking uo pasengers. Would this be classed as a private bus MOT?

[Jonathan Smith]

daddy2aore said:

Well i will obviously be charging the customers for the stag nite etc, but i won't actually be stopping at bus stops and picking uo pasengers. Would this be classed as a private bus MOT?

The vehicle would have to be operated in the same way as a coach, full PCV MOT, PCV operators licence and the drivers will need PCV licence and tachographs.

[edio101]

Hello, Im Ed Spring from Presteigne, mid Wales border town.
After planning a trip to europe last december with my girlfriend Emma, her sister Vicky and Vicky's partner Dylan we finally decided on a bus as our base and transport. Last week we brought an ex-M.O.D. dodge commando stage coach/bus and plan to convert it into a traveller. Would very much appreciate any tips or pointers anyone can give as to the best way to renevating such a bus. Its 22ft long and rounghly 9ft wide and currently has 15 seats.
Also does anybody know about how the bus registration cateogory can be de-classied down to camper status as many people seem to have done, so that it could be driven with a UK car license. The bus weights 7.5 tons.
I've only held my license for just over 2 yrs and so may not be able to drive in while in the UK.
Cheers. Ed

[lbretth]

Hi Ed,

It's really simple to declassify the bus to a motorhome on the V5. Simple complete the conversion ensuring that it includes fitted bed, cooking facility, dining table (can be foldable) and seating and then send the V5 of to Swansea with the Motorhome classification written in. If you're lucky you'll get it back with the new description on, if not your local DVLA office might want it checked out so they know it's not a con. Also it can be reclassed from HGV to private HGV (PGV I think) once converted. Sometimes it's a good idea to have each change done seperately as the DVLA can be funny about changing more than one thing at a time.

Hope that makes sense and is helpful. BTW I can highly recommend www.sbmcc.com club for very helpful people and tips on self building a motorhome.

All the best,

Luke