[Dan]

I know some years ago there were privateer/amature motorcycle racers getting pulled over and ticketed (one was even impounded until someone with a CDL came and got the setup) due to not complying with DOT rules. Problem was these were “club racers” who race as a hobby inbetween their jobs that let them go play on weekends.

Police in a couple states started looking at the situation and seeing where there were some grey areas. They were using the fact that these club racers were potentially winning contingency prizes (useally in the form of discounts on products or free products) at the races and the officers categorized that as winnings, meaning they were getting paid for their activities and therefor, they were now transporting materials used in a commercial aspect.

I know this activity died down after a while, but you never know.

Some on here use their coaches to go back and forth between places that they perform paid for activities and transport items that they use in those activities. Some state DOT officer could be having a bad day and turn that into a potential commerical violation if they really wanted to push the “grey” area.

[Peter]

If you deduct motorhome expenses on your taxes, wouldn’t that place the motorhome use in the commercial category?

[Archived]

If I used my car to travel to trade shows and deducted the mileage expense would that make my car a commercial vehicle?

The problem we are dealing with is there really are coaches used for commercial purposes, but to beat the obligation to comply with the commercial regulations owners are registering them as RVs. We all know that so we all can understand why the cops are going to question some owners.

Some commercial activities are obvious. If it is used for entertainers, or is used in conjunction with racing activies, or if it is used as a hospitality suite during the promotion of the owner’s business those things likely require operation of the coach as a commercial vehicle. And I think that is all the cops are looking for. But if your coach is used as an RV the message I got is they have no interest in us. They don’t require us to stop at the scales, possess a CDL or have other than personal vehicle plates.

[Tim]

I wont even come close to writing off our coach (or before it, our toyhauler) on our business taxes, even though I use the coach for work and we used the ToyHauler to bring us to events that were specific to our business. Just like I never liked the idea of writing off our truck on any of our businesses even though we used it to handle business activities (moving horses, motorcycles, etc..).

Even with that, I not about the use my tax status with a DOT officers on the side of the road 🙂

I keep our truck/coach/trailer sticker free of anything that can be considered as advertising or as a signal that we are doing something other then being an RV’r enjoying our life. Racers are notorious for putting their racing team name, sponsors, etc. stickers all over their trailers. Not only is this a big sign to cops that you may be transporting a race vehicle to the track where you could be earning winnings and could be argued that is a commercial activity, but it also is a big BILLBOARD to thieves what you have in the trailer. “HEY COME STEAL MY MOTORCYCLE STUFF!”

[Jerry]

What Mark and Peter said is correct about moving left and slowing down. Here in Texas it’s the law to move one lane over left or right and if you can’t you have to slow 20 miles off the posted speed. I also think that here in Texas any vehicle registered as a commercial vehicle it will have a commercial licenses plate on it as well as the DOT numbers. And to clarify what I stated about moving over one lane to the left or right is this, on I20 comming through Arlington the police will stop you on the left and right side of the interstate, matters not to them.

[Archived]

The following link was posted on another bus related site and all of our members who are commercial should be aware of this.

I suspect they write a lot of tickets, take a lot of vehicles out of service and collect a lot of money as a result.

http://www.cvsa.org/programs/int_roadcheck_2016.php

[Dorel]

We like those checks Jon are company does lots of work on those days , when they put a vehicle out of service we get a call to get it going it’s a safety thing , it is a good thing you can’t believe what kind of shape trucks and buses are in going down the road, it’s a good thing it keeps the rest of us safer.

[Jerry]

I absolutely agree with the benefits of weeding out the unsafe vehicles. Even our motorhome members should strive to have their vehicle safety checked by Prevost or other qualified service shops if there is any doubt.

[Peter]

wow – they charge $45 to get a copy of the rule book.

[AL]

Dan I can see if I can get I copy of one , we have them at the shop and see if I can post one

[Larry & Diane]

I am glad to see that there is finally some answer regarding how law enforcement views LLC registration. As you know, this has been a bone of contention over and over as we judge each other for whether or not we are registering in an LLC for tax avoidance, evasion, or some other reason.

This law enforcement view confirms what I suspected. Still, I have to point out that while we originally had the bus titled in a MT LLC which did afford some tax benefits we also complied with the laws to do some in the state of Florida.

Subsequently we moved the bus into our own names in Florida and have had them that way for about two years. Now we are in the process of moving it to a Utah LLC, registered as a foreign entity in Florida. Why? Asset protection. I think that most of us are probably concerned with this and, given the tax benefits of MT LLCs, may want to consider this as a secondary reason.

Summation, I always felt that our approach was both legal and reasonable, and now I feel vindicated.

[Mike]

I agree with Karl in that I always felt that this strategy to minimize tax is legal and reasonable. We all have our own strategies for managing our tax liability. Others may employee some of the following ideas too:

1) Own a bus instead of a second home to minimize property tax.

2) Take only minimum required distributions from an IRA to minimize income tax.

3) Buy products on the Internet from a company in a different state than yours to avoid sales tax.

4) Invest in municipal bonds to avoid income tax.

5) Move one’s residence from one state to another to avoid high business tax, property tax, income tax, or sales tax.

The Mt LLC seems small from the perspective of these other strategies. Maybe we should construe this matter as political and not the place.

[Archived]

Before everyone that buys a coach registers it in MT read my words above relative to what was told to me by a TN highway patrol commercial enforcement officer. He never said they were legal. He never said a CDL was not required. He said if the officer believes it to be used exclusively as a motor home it is off their radar.

The cops know it is a means of tax evasion (not avoidance) but that is not their focus. His words.

[tom]

With all respect, one might “feel” that an act is “reasonable” and “legal” but if it violates the law, it is neither. As past discussions on this subject have revealed, each state like Texas has a set of laws that require the vehicle to be registered in the state of domicile…..if the RV is actually kept in the state. The “commercial” status of the vehicle is irrevelant.

Again, as has been stated by our BART State Committee in Texas on which I have served, in Texas, after a resident of the state has their RV kept in the state of Texas for a period of 30 days, the RV must be registered and road use fees paid on the vehicle. If the owner is transferring their own personal state of domicile to Texas,it is simply a matter of transfering registration and payment of the license fee.

It is against the law to acquire an RV and dominclie the RV in Texas under an assumed name or foreign LLC and not pay the initial road use fees if the owner is a resident of Texas.

The concept of a MT LLC and not paying taxes in the state where the RV is domiciled is not even in the same discussion as that of paying taxes on municipal bonds or in comparing the act to that of tax planning allowed by statute.

Jon is correct, it is a question of avoidance versus evading…. Texas says it is evading. So does Florida.

Again, respectfully stated,I pay all taxes and road use fees on my coach and expect everyone else to do so on theirs.

Pres

[Archived]

I forgot to respond to Dan.

Discussions relative to registrations of our coach, domiciles for full timers, and commercial versus private use of our coaches is not political because those discussions relate directly to ownership of our coaches. We have even discussed pending or proposed legislation that relates to RVs or our coaches and those discussions as they relate to the impact on us as owners are also not political.

BTW, my opinion on MT registrations is mine alone and doesn’t count. Each of us can and should do whatever we want relative to the ownership or operation of our coaches. We are all entitled to our opinions and a more than welcome to express them. My response to Karl above was to clarify that a private coach registered in MT and not used for commercial purposes is outside the scope of what the TN highway patrol officers are focusing on.