danpaul000
A man, a van, no plan
Hi all,
Many of us here are in the process or have completed a DIY conversion of a stock cargo/passenger van into a part-time or full-time camper/home-on-wheels. I am in the process of turning my cargo Sprinter into my full-time home next year.
I am trying to figure out what is the most sensible approach to insuring the vehicle once we are living in it, as its value to me as a vehicle+house is much greater than its cash value as a vehicle alone.
The vehicle is currently registered and insured as a "Light Truck", which in my home state of Colorado is defined as:
"Truck equipped with a body, which is generally and commonly used to carry and transport property over the highways including sport utility vehicles with a truck bed and cargo vans."
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/regular-license-plates
My present insurance through GEICO has the vehicle type listed as:
"Private Passenger (Car, SUV, Pickup, Van, etc.)"
I would like to hear from anyone in the community who has gone through the process (what exactly is the process?) to get your DIY construction protected/legal.
My desire here is two-fold:
1) If something bad happens to the vehicle, such as a kitchen fire, crash or property damage/theft, I want to make sure that wife/me/van/possessions are covered and not find out far too late that my insurance company won't honor a claim because it is insured as one thing but it is actually used as another.
2) Want to ensure that I am not going to have a headache with the long arm of the law if I am ever stopped for some traffic infraction and have some discrepancy in the registration, etc.
I know both of those 2 scenarios are widely variable based on the insurance company, legal jurisdiction, and emotional disposition of the traffic officer, but surely someone has figured something out!
Some questions:
- I can't find any published information on changing a vehicle's registration type, or what usage would require that. I could try to re-register the van as "Recreational Truck: About: Used exclusively for pleasure, enjoyment, recreational purposes or transportation of the owner, lessee or occupant. May be used singly or in combination with a trailer or utility trailer, which is used in the same manner as the truck. Not used to transport cargo or passengers for profit or hire." This is more accurate to how I will use the vehicle in the coming months/years. What is the advantage/disadvantage to making this change?
- At what point does a van/camper/sleeper "become" a motorhome/RV, if at all? I think I read on http://vandogtraveller.com/ a while ago about all the hoops he had to jump through when registering his DIY construction as a motorhome in the UK and all the additional requirements/fees he became subject to. Someone told me once (not sure how much merit this has) that it needs a fixed bathroom to be considered an RV? Seems like that wouldn't hold much water legally. I have a hidden porta potti in a cabinet, but no dedicated walls for a bathroom, so...?
- Are full-time camper constructions subject to additional safety/legal requirements? The vehicle passed inspection so that is probably 90% of it. Are there certain safety features or equipment (such as road flares, etc) that one is required to have on board?
- Internet argument warning: Is any of the above actually worth it? I imagine there is a good amount of paperwork and fees associated with all this, and RV Insurance can't be cheap. My van will look as stock as possible from the outside, not a blatant camper until you poke your head inside. Should I just fly under the radar? How do the full-timers protect their home on the road?
Thanks!
Dan
Many of us here are in the process or have completed a DIY conversion of a stock cargo/passenger van into a part-time or full-time camper/home-on-wheels. I am in the process of turning my cargo Sprinter into my full-time home next year.
I am trying to figure out what is the most sensible approach to insuring the vehicle once we are living in it, as its value to me as a vehicle+house is much greater than its cash value as a vehicle alone.
The vehicle is currently registered and insured as a "Light Truck", which in my home state of Colorado is defined as:
"Truck equipped with a body, which is generally and commonly used to carry and transport property over the highways including sport utility vehicles with a truck bed and cargo vans."
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/regular-license-plates
My present insurance through GEICO has the vehicle type listed as:
"Private Passenger (Car, SUV, Pickup, Van, etc.)"
I would like to hear from anyone in the community who has gone through the process (what exactly is the process?) to get your DIY construction protected/legal.
My desire here is two-fold:
1) If something bad happens to the vehicle, such as a kitchen fire, crash or property damage/theft, I want to make sure that wife/me/van/possessions are covered and not find out far too late that my insurance company won't honor a claim because it is insured as one thing but it is actually used as another.
2) Want to ensure that I am not going to have a headache with the long arm of the law if I am ever stopped for some traffic infraction and have some discrepancy in the registration, etc.
I know both of those 2 scenarios are widely variable based on the insurance company, legal jurisdiction, and emotional disposition of the traffic officer, but surely someone has figured something out!
Some questions:
- I can't find any published information on changing a vehicle's registration type, or what usage would require that. I could try to re-register the van as "Recreational Truck: About: Used exclusively for pleasure, enjoyment, recreational purposes or transportation of the owner, lessee or occupant. May be used singly or in combination with a trailer or utility trailer, which is used in the same manner as the truck. Not used to transport cargo or passengers for profit or hire." This is more accurate to how I will use the vehicle in the coming months/years. What is the advantage/disadvantage to making this change?
- At what point does a van/camper/sleeper "become" a motorhome/RV, if at all? I think I read on http://vandogtraveller.com/ a while ago about all the hoops he had to jump through when registering his DIY construction as a motorhome in the UK and all the additional requirements/fees he became subject to. Someone told me once (not sure how much merit this has) that it needs a fixed bathroom to be considered an RV? Seems like that wouldn't hold much water legally. I have a hidden porta potti in a cabinet, but no dedicated walls for a bathroom, so...?
- Are full-time camper constructions subject to additional safety/legal requirements? The vehicle passed inspection so that is probably 90% of it. Are there certain safety features or equipment (such as road flares, etc) that one is required to have on board?
- Internet argument warning: Is any of the above actually worth it? I imagine there is a good amount of paperwork and fees associated with all this, and RV Insurance can't be cheap. My van will look as stock as possible from the outside, not a blatant camper until you poke your head inside. Should I just fly under the radar? How do the full-timers protect their home on the road?
Thanks!
Dan