I've seen many post here and on other forums where many busnuts hate not having a printed version of their beloved magazine...or even an online version as a matter of fact. I know that many lost some hard earned money in the process. If someone else started and published a PRINTED Conversion Type magazine, would any of you be interested?? Also if you would be interested, what type of material would you all like to see in a new magazine. Let me be real clear and say that "I am NOT starting a magazine"... I have NO plans, No way, No funds, and NO experience in publishing a bus magazine nor any other type of magazine nor do I have the time to do so. I'm just putting the question out there in case someone with the experience and time to do so did, would they be supported by the Busnut crowd. Some of the TOPICS I would like to see in a conversion type magazine would be:
1)Bus Conversion Tips and Ideas For Those On A Smaller Budget.
2)How To Articles for Newbies that are not over their head.
3)Featured Buses from $5k buses up to 100K buses.
4)A printed Version
5)Modest Subscription Cost
Again.. I am NOT starting a magazine... just wondering how much support would be out there if someone did decide to..
I certainly support the idea, primarily based on the points cited.
Being one that loves strays, I enjoy reading of someone who rescues a project and returns it to glory. I quickly get bored with the ultra elegant whatevers because I know they are forever out of touch for me.
Magazines should be in print, and oh if you're interested, it is available online deal.
I don't want to convey that price is no object, but if a magazine had to go up $5 a year on subscription rates to be profitable, would it kill anyone?
I for one do like the printed Mag, and I would support any such endavor. With that said can one assume the said BCM is dead?
If I hadn't enjoyed and wanted a printed version I wouldn't have bought a 3 yr subscription!
Oh yeah and several yrs ago @ Christmas time I sent a gift subscription to my uncle as well! ;D BK ;D
Jimmy, I love the ideas you have listed for another magazine! I too really enjoy having a hard copy lying around the bathrooms and coffee tables. I enjoyed the bus mags that I did received, probably more than any other magazine out there. If there was another bus magazine out there, you could count me in.
Personally, I would like to see BCM continue... even considering buying it if in fact it is for sale. i hope they are in the process of restructuring BCM.
Folks, it is easy to ask who wants a magazine. The real question should be: who wants to step up to the plate?
For the life of me, I can't imagine anyone with any common sense attempting it. Who is going to sell the advertising - but more importantly how would you sell the advertising? We are a very limited market with very poor potential for circulations that would justify advertising. Advertisers generally measure their advertising investment by looking at income impact. Talk to any of the advertisers in the magazine. I suspect that the vast majority will say they did not get a good value/impact.
Then, where do you get quality content? A few of us really worked hard to provide content in order to give the new owners a fighting chance. You simply can't develop a quality publication with good content by relying on a hand full of contributors whose compensation is extremely small.
Magazines with much larger markets have been dropping like flies the past few years. It is a terrible business to be in if you are going to try to make a profit.
Jim
I am very new to this hobby and my thirst for knowledge seems to find no end. Trying to find information about the most complex to the extremely simple procedures can be very daunting for those without the skill set to find it. This board has accelerated my education in this area beyond my expectations. I too would like to see the BCM continue with more technical articles and perhaps some comparable products put up against each other. My background is in the Custom Motorcycle and Car Fabrication Business, of which I am finishing up my career of 35+ years. Perhaps even some submitting of some articles from members of this board would make the knowledge that all of you have more accessible. I will say that I was mesmerized by the videos of the two Scenicruisers being brought back to life, I cannot wait to see more! Thank you in advance for all that you are teaching me!
Tracy Spencer 8)
After being in charge of a specialty publication some years ago, owning the bus conversion magazine would not be something i would like to do.. would be, all work - no pay" . Rv safetyman was right of course...
Something that Could be done and published at a very reasonable cost is the small specialty newspaper.. It does not cost much for small runs if everyone contributes a reasonable amount, but you still would need enough circulation and misc advertising to pay for the expenses... Lots of local printers can do this. Then some good hearted nut could mail them all out...
Just a thought.
When we had our first bus conversion in the mid 80s, there were no bus conversion magazines or internet, only an occasional article in the Family Motor Coach Magazine. We were out of bus conversions for several years raising 2 teenage boys (motocross and rodeo). When we got our current bus in 99, we immediately subscribed to BCM. We also subscribed to Coach Builders Bulletin and Private Coach. Both of those pblications are already gone. Coach Builders Bulletin was a very simple "low budget" publication that had no color photos and was was almopst entirely "how to" articles.
For better or worse, the "information highway" world is changing. Look how many major magazines and newspapers have closed their doors. I saw last week that Kodak has filed bankruptcy. It is becoming a digital world and that is causing a lot of change. Not sure all the change is for the better, but it is and will continue to change. JMO, YMMV Jack
Let me also just add another voice to this. If there is anyone out there considering publishing a magazine, do it because it's what you love and what you want to do. Do it because you have money & time to burn and would rather sink it into a hobby like publishing a magazine, than spending time with your family, work, bus or other interests. Drop any pretense of it being a profitable business idea, or even coming close to breaking even.
Acquiring & publishing quality content on a routine basis is a difficult task. If you have a limited budget, you have to get your best contributors onboard with the ideal and hope they're happy to write for you with little compensation. (And thank you to those who have done so.. you rock!). Most articles you read have easily 30-60 hours of writing and editing involved with them. And that's just for the short ones. A lengthy technical one? It's quite an investment on the author's part, and the publisher needs to use every social networking grace they have to find those authors and keep them motivated to stay onboard. Because not only is the author investing their own time and efforts into writing, those writings will be under microscopic scrutiny from people who think they know better (but yet don't write publicly themselves) - and they will either need to have incredibly tough skin to just grin & nod and/or invest dozens more hours arguing their case.
Don't provide quality content? You have no magazine.
Then there's the technical aspects of putting a 'zine together. There's expensive software, training and needing computer hardware up to the task. Page layout is an art form. You must be proficient with typeface, graphics, colors, pagination, orphans, widows, margins, columns, etc.
Then there's trying to fund the physical costs of printing and distribution. Subscription fees don't even come close to covering those costs (let alone the time involved in writing content & laying it out). Your subscribers have a number in their head that they're willing to pay for all the efforts involved, exceed that - and they stop subscribing. And that number is nowhere near close to what it actually costs to deliver the product.
$5 extra per year? Doesn't even come close. Truly want to fund your share of producing this sort of magazine? Let's start talking in the $30-50 range. Per issue. Per copy.
Oh, and bonus - you get to learn all about the inner workings of the postal system and become your own bulk mailing center! Whee!
So you must seek funding elsewhere. Either your own personal bank account and/or a few benefactors chipping in. But usually, advertising dollars is essential. Which is a huge operation to find advertisers, and keep them. And the majority of your readers? They'd really rather prefer you didn't show them advertising at all, after all, they're "paying" for their copy. Most will try to use adblock software to avoid seeing the ones on your website - which your advertisers know - and thus are less willing to help fund you in that venue. Heck, we got chewed out for even *talking* about one of our own products on our own blog - gasp we're such 'evil advertisers'.
So.. let's add this up. Publishing a magazine like this means finding someone who wants to pour countless hours and money into providing a shiny magazine so that people can set it on their coffee table for years to come. And they don't want to actually pay for the costs & efforts involved to have that product, and few will be up for contributing in other ways - such as writing quality content. And don't meet expectations of providing high quality content, great print and enough shine, too much advertising or start missing deadlines? You'll get the honor of being bad mouthed on the forums you provide.
Yes, it's a nice legacy. But that's about all it is. Be very clear about this if anyone is even considering it. Talk to anyone of us who has ever been involved in a niche magazine - and I think you'll find that none of the above is an exaggeration.
- Cherie
(Who has been deeply involved in every aspect of the above, and long ago learned my lesson)
I went to a talk a couple of evenings ago by a guy involved with a new music website (not my thing, but 2nd biggest in the UK apparently), which has spun out a very successful print magazine - ie. digital evolving into print, not the other way round. Having said that, their target market is 18-25 years old early-adopters, so they have advertisers throwing money at them.
I do believe that a new bus converter's print magazine would be viable, but only if it was combined with other related topics to increase the reader and advertiser base - realistically, the bus-converting bit would be one of the smaller elements of the magazine. I don't think it's something for amateurs to consider if you expecting to produce a profit-making 'news stand'-quality magazine though. But an enthusiastic busnut looking for a retirement-project could probably make a success of a low-production-value newsletter-type publication.
Jeremy
The wav of the future is e-content. The world has been moving that direction since the mid-90's. A successful venture would be to convert the whole operation to internet only, but for folks that want a print magazine, offer the content in a format that could be printed by the user. There is nothing too daunting about that and the overhead is minimal.
I haven't done web content in years, but way back when setting up streaming video or audio was not hard. Setting up a flash presentation or content delivery via flash wasn't hard either. I really had no knowledge of how to do it going into it. I am no genious either. ::) Much like a regular magazine, once you have the foundation built, you just change the content for the current publication. overtime you develop several different formats and vary it from time to time to keep things fresh. Once you have this setup, it is just a matter of plugging in the content. That process can be automated. The process requires some coding and that is time consuming, but it's not hard.
I have been pondering doing this since I was told that BCM is for sale. However, I do not want to be seen as trying to do a run around the current developers of BCM NOR do I want to be in a race against others that may be considering doing the same thing.
Personally, I would rather see BCM evolve into the future. If there are issues with keeping the website going or no interst in developing it into the format I mentioned, I am willing to help with the hosting and development. I got the impression from what Mike wrote that he is moving that direction. If there is no plans for that, then I would like to build an ezine to replace it. I am willing to fund that effort and do some or all of the development for it. I am not against others getting involved and developing it as a group. In fact, that would be better. However, the intellectual content would need to come from the users and experts. If I (we) took on the project it would NOT be to make money. It would be to support this hobby we all love. In the end, the financial goal would be to break even and profits put back into the ezine.
Anyone that has thoughts on this PM, email (mike4106txATgmail.com), or call me. Or post it here.
Me, me.
Developing and hosting your own in-house 'ezine' system isn't the issue nowadays as there are numerous fully-developed, remotely-hosted systems out there - it's an area I work in myself. The difficulty is not displaying the content, it's producing content to display.
Jeremy
Is there any reason that an already successful magazine couldn't incorporate a regular occurring article on bus conversion into what it is already putting into print?
There are a ton of areas in bus conversion that overlap with the content of other magazines -
Car conversion mags,
Antique Car mags,
RV Magazine,
Diesel Power Mag,
busesmag.com
busandcoach.com
There are 100's more. If anyone is motivated enough to get out there to take pictures and write some articles about what we do and how we are doing it and you can put together a professional level article about it you can get published. Be prepared to get shot down a bunch of times but I think the stories and work that goes into this hobby are amazing and readers of any one of those mags would be interested enough to follow along. Plus the mag that picks up the articles will get a guaranteed 100 more subscripitions ;D. This way you can get paid for writing articles and everyone wins.
Quote from: Seangie on February 16, 2012, 11:07:21 AM
Is there any reason that an already successful magazine couldn't incorporate a regular occurring article on bus conversion into what it is already putting into print?
This is exactly right - I almost said in my earlier post that the best solution would be to get content into an established title, rather than try to start a new one from scratch.
Existing publishers are likely to be very receptive if someone was able to guaranteed them several extra pages of exclusive, well produced, print-ready content every month, along with extra readership and perhaps advertisers. I'd be thinking in terms of a regular section within an existing magazine, perhaps 2 or 3 articles, a page of editorial and product reviews, and maybe even a letters page and classifieds. No reason why it couldn't be done quite easily - and with limited space and no production issues to worry about more attention can be paid to the quality of the content and photography etc - something which I always felt was very poor in BCM frankly. Quite how you'd structure the financial arrangements with the host magazine I don't know, but they should at least pay professional author rates for anything supplied.
Jeremy
Well it looks like MOST would welcome a printed version of some type of bus converting magazine if either BCM did come back to life or someone else ventured down that road. I agree that a printed version would be more costly but it seems it would be more popular. You can get almost any and all information online as it is now even without an online magazine Even IF BCM came back to life with a printed version, I wonder just how many people would send their money to them with all that has happened in the past...that in itself has probably already doomed them from getting subscribers..
Lots of folks restoring vintage travel trailers from the 40's into the 60's. Some of the aluminum trailers from the late 40's are a real high end camper when finished. See the website Tin Can Tourist's and you will see what I mean.
Maybe a publication combining the bus conversion community and the travel trailer restoration crowd would help with the numbers problem. Could even include folks restoring some of the more tradition RV'S like BlueBirds, Barths,Newells.....I used to own several Travel Trailers from the late 40's and at one time had a little 22' Barth, they all have a following, all hungry for printed information. Probably would still not be cost effective and would require deep pockets as Cherie stated in her post
Rick
Quote from: Rick59-4104 on February 18, 2012, 11:51:06 AM
Maybe a publication combining the bus conversion community and the travel trailer restoration crowd would help with the numbers problem. Could even invite folks restoring some of the more tradition RV'S like BlueBirds, Barths,Newells....
Rick
What about the schoolie conversions?? Seems there are more of them than they are us..
The long-term survival of any magazine rests with the relationship between its content and its advertisers.
The principle advertisers in a camper trailer magazine would necessarily be firms engaged in the business of making and marketing camper trailers. I don't think they would be overjoyed to see the magazine also contain articles about how to make your own.
Here's a history lesson:
The original Bus Conversion Magazine was known as FMCA. The content of its early issues were about bus conversions and not much else. BCM came into existence about the same time as FMCA suspended the conversion content, and the early issues of BCM contained perfect copies of some of the same articles seen in FMCA before it went commercial.
FMCA survived by broadening its advertising base, adjusting its content, and giving the readers a reliable product.
The lesson seems to be that there is no bank of available advertisers positioned to support this activity, which is, by definition - a hobby.
tg
Reality check:
Update the story a little. FMCA is in pretty desperate condition, compared to days gone by.
BCM has failed.
Whether those RV related publications and services that are left are navigating, or being tossed about, through the combined financial/internet/demographic storm... I suggest they are being tossed about...
The honey moon of the entire post WWII recreational vehicle experience is finally come to an end.
And that isn't a bad thing.
When there is such a freely available wealth of detailed and correct info being typed by us, for free, on here and other RV related sites, just what are the middlemen traditional purveyors of mediocre, incomplete and sometimes flat wrong printed content going to do? RV magazines pimped themselves out to the very thieves who made RVing miserable, taking advantage of folks with their poor quality and outrageous prices. Did you ever read a review in an RV mag that panned the featured unit?
They have no idea of what I type, or they wouldn't be in this mess.
You either serve your customers, or you shall perish.
The thing that has changed is that customers aren't forced to participate anymore, as there is true choice now.
Subscribers and advertisers are both customers to such a venture.
Before the internet, we, both subscribers and advertisers, got screwed no matter where we went, but what choice did we have? We subscribed, advertised, and joined.
Now, we have boards such as this one, vendors have websites, and we all have Google to find one another.
But, give MAK a call, BCM is still for sale.
happy coaching!
buswarrior
BCM still for sale? LOL.
Where is the value in a mag that hasn't put out an issue in months? With all the advertisers and subscribers long gone, it looks to me like a liability that nobody would touch with a ten foot pole...
JC
Jimmy and Bus Friends,
I'm up for the challenge. I've given this a lot of thought. As some of you know, my company already produces another print and web publication. (unrelated)
I'm not worried about advertising, that isn't a problem, however we will be seeking advertisers. What I am more concerned about is good quality content. If we dive into the deep end of this pool we will need you writers to begin to come out and make yourself known.
I've been thinking exactly along the lines that Rick mentioned, some kind of "Rolling Conversions" theme. Anything from the very cool vintage trailers to schoolies, all the way to RTSs and our big coaches.
Certainly this will have a web base, with all the advantages of a website; that includes easy access to the current magazine as well as past issues and archives. Plus the advantage of displaying video and additional photos. Websites even give easy access to outside links for advertisers and email access to advertisers, writers, and more.
Those of you who follow the forums know that I've taken over the administration of the MCI Bus Talk forum (http://mcibustalk.com/bbs/index.php (http://mcibustalk.com/bbs/index.php)) and have made a number of updates and improvements, plus we've added many new members.
I don't have any intention of taking the BCM magazine (unless they open that door). They have done an awesome job in the past and there is no question the content and style of their magazine was excellent. The same is true of this forum. No place on the web has the quality of bus conversion content and pure quantity of users as the BCM bus forum. I'd love to work some magic with the BCM website and forum, but for now, at least the forum, seems to be in good hands.
Before I would divert any of my company resources to this project I would want to see some interest from the writers. I know BCM has a modest compensation program that truly isn't much more than a thank you gift to the contributors. I don't believe we could offer anything more. Contributions need to be simply for the love of the hobby and for the benefit of those who follow in your footsteps. I expect we would mimic those compensations, at least until the magazine is able to stand on its own.
We would need the full list of topics:
Technical "how to"s
Restoration Stories
Highlight or Feature Stories
Travel Stories
And much more...
plus, lots of short stories, jokes, and tips. My experience is that the short one-line quips can have an incredible impact and advantage, especially during the layout process.
So, with all the above pros and cons aside, are you the writers able, available and willing to contribute to the project? Those of you who enjoy writing and are willing to share your experiences and talents please send me an email. Also, if any of you know folks that I should be talking to, let me know that as well.
You're response will give me an opportunity to gauge the potential of this project. Let's see if we can get this off the ground.
Dave
dave@tikvahmarketing.com
Dave, where I have a problem is all the guys want to help but when it gets down to writing the articles they all want to be paid if you are going to help other bus nuts convert their buses do it for free instead of asking for a 100 or so bucks.
I'll be glad to help on articles I know something about like the 2 stroke engines and the Allison transmissions won't cost you a dime now Bob step up and do one on your slide designs and AC that is what it is all about IMO lot's of talent on this board for doing articles
good luck
Is not everything a busnut needs on the various boards?
We all help the hobby for free on here, whether by typing or by checking in regularly and reading.
It's time it was said straight out:
UNWITTING TOWNSFOLK, WAKE UP, AND PAY ATTENTION!!
Your very presence on here is paying for the site via the Google ads income.
Same as every other site with those ads on it.
The more of us clicking, the more pennies in the jar from Google.
Nobody has to add a dime to keep the forum going, we keep it going by reading and clicking and typing.
Too many on here don't know that, as evidenced by the comments regarding lost subscription money.
And all the moderators/techies are volunteers. Be sure to thank them regularly for their time!
To be fair, it isn't a king's ransom, but I do wonder who is getting the cheeseburger combo with what's left over every month? I'll also bet it isn't being set aside for software upgrades...
However, to write complete and accurate articles for a publication, and hold the liability for those works, I'm going to have a hard time contributing to someone else's profitability and adulation for no compensation.
It has to be at least a symbolic kiss?
happy coaching!
buswarrior
I subscribed to BCM starting with volume one, issue one, and continuing more than ten years, along with National Bus trader, FMCA, and many of the various smaller pubs that came along. They were a wonderful resource to an information starved busnut. However, after a few years, there was nothing new and the magazine just started repeating over and over again the same articles and stories, sometime literally reprinting old pieces.
Most of that was well before the internet and these boards came along. There is far more current information here than in the magazine, and much more that that at a bus rally.
My guess is that there is very little a paper publication could add to the mix today. It was a wonderful resource in it's day but no longer relevant.
I would not pay a dime for a magazine. Knowing that it is not viable, I could not trust it to keep coming regurlarly.
All the information I need is here and on the other boards.
If anybody wants to write an article for free, it could be put on one of the boards and read and enjoyed by the rest of us for free. Let the owner/operator of the board collect the advertising revenue, if any.
JC
Quote from: luvrbus on February 20, 2012, 07:50:54 AM
I'll be glad to help on articles I know something about like the 2 stroke engines and the Allison transmissions won't cost you a dime now Bob step up and do one on your slide designs and AC that is what it is all about IMO lot's of talent on this board for doing articles
good luck
If Clifford can't get the ball rolling...then no one can... Nobody I know has more knowledge about buses or has more connections than he does.. Heck..He could be a magazine all by himself..
Jimmy
Folks, you are your own worst enemy.
Many of you have the opinion that anything you want to know is posted somewhere. You might be right, but by the time you do a ton of searching, find the information and sort through all the really bad BS; your head will be spinning. And, unless you have a pretty fair understanding of the subject, you might not be able to sort out the BS. Worse yet, if you make a bad choice of opinions, you can pay a hell of a price for it.
Then a few of you seem to think that only old information is published in the magazine. That pisses me off. In the past two-three years, I have published articles on the following subjects in BCM:
Antifreeze
CO and Smoke detectors
Computers on the Road
Three part engine conversion
Headlights
Relays
Tow bars
Towing safety
Wheel bearings
Towing wiring
I spent at least 30 hours researching each article, many double that. To the best of my knowledge, these articles contained perhaps 30% content based on the bus bulletin boards and the rest was my research - to build on the data presented and put it into a format that could be used as a reference document. All of these subjects were carefully focused on Bus needs/technology and none were published previously in any bus related publication to the best of my knowledge (certainly not by me). Each of these articles contained detailed references, applicable standards, and lists of component suppliers. Some had significant contributions by other people on this board. Most were a singular effort on my part.
My engine conversion series took well over 100 hours to write. My CO/Smoke detector article was written after I nearly lost a daughter to a fault furnace. Yes, a couple of them were a bit fluffy, but most had a fair amount of meat in them.
A couple of the articles were written as a result of some very bad/misleading information/opinions on this and other bus boards. I simply could not stand by and let new readers make potentially bad mistakes.
Jack Conrad and Sean Welsh also contributed a large number of other well researched/presented articles.
We all presented these articles and knew they would be subject to peer review.
So, you folks who say that the article are recycled or that the information is easily available elsewhere, ***DID YOU READ BCM IN THE PAST TWO YEARS****?????
And you think there is a room full of folks waiting to take the time to write articles for a new publication? Certainly, I am no longer one of those folks. I had at least two more articles in the works, but it is simply not worth the effort any more.
Jim
Cabin fever huh Jim lol
good luck
Jim,
I think your articles were great, very informative, well documented, etc. Learned a lot from them. What I am saying is I don't see a viable market for a printed monthly. There are only a few of us bus nuts.
Couldn't those technical articles, columns, and featured centerfold coaches be presented on an electronic medium such as this forum? Wouldn't the increaded traffic on the site generate more advertising revenue for the owner? Therefore making the idea a win-win? After a while, there might be enough money to pay contributors, maybe?
Anyway, I still can't see how a printed mag could make a go of it. I would not pay for it, not trusting it to come next month.
JC
Clifford, not just cabin fever. Lots of bad things going on for us right now. In the past, I would bite my tongue and been politically correct. Finding it harder to do in the past few months.
I am clearly pissed off by a few of the attitudes/comments in this thread.
Jim
Quote from: rv_safetyman on February 20, 2012, 05:43:52 PM
I am clearly pissed off by a few of the attitudes/comments in this thread.
Jim
Jim, if anything I have said has pissed you off I apologize. I appreciate all the hard work you and the other folks that contributed to the magazine. I have learned a lot from your post on here and the articles you have wrote.
You are absolutely right about the internet. The internet is full of knowledge and if a person doesn't know enough about the subject or how how to weed out the BS they will get burned. There is as much BS as their is real knowledge (at least that much).
JC, first of all, thanks for the kind words.
When I loose control of my emotions, my somewhat limited communication skills really go downhill. My only battles here are:
1) Folks who think they can punch a key or two and get detailed, accurate, researched information on these forums and the internet in general.
2) Folks who say that BCM only republished old information the past few years.
3) Folks who seem to think the closets are full of productive authors just waiting for a chance to be famous in some sort of new bus publication.
I clearly said earlier that only a fool, or a really dedicated busnut (one in the same? ::)) would think about publishing a printed magazine or newsletter.
While an electronic version would be much less expensive to produce, the publisher would still face the need to be fed large numbers of articles and spend tons of hours editing the articles and formatting the publication. They might not have to address advertising, if the could get by with Google type ad income.
Now, I need to take a few minutes for the sedatives to take hold :P
Jim
I understand Jim's frustration with what he hears and I too had that feeling in the past as well. He wrote a lot of words with the best intentions and yet was either questioned or was told he was completely wrong and did not know what he was talking about. I know this because I had a technical column in a couple magazines called Hot Bike and Street Chopper for about 2.5 years which catered to the Harley Davidson and Custom Bike market, both of which were owned by the Primedia, the automotive conglomerate that has since sold the portfolio. I received numerous disputes of my knowledge and attacks on my mental capacity, all this thanks, for caring enough for trying to impart some good information that I had gleaned from working on American V-Twin since they has AMF on the side of the tank. I am very new to this "hobby" / "way of life" and I am completely involved in my bus project which I am shooting to have ready for "full timing", by the end of summer. Jim I understand your anger, but do not loose that part of you that wants to share your experiences and knowledge! I for one look forward to checking this board and others every evening, to answer my questions and to further enhance my knowledge about my bus!
Tracy Spencer
Tracy, the HD crowd is a rough one. I suppose the motorcycle crowd in general is, but my main experience has been with the HD crowd. I can only imagine the experiences you must have had dealing with reposnse to your tech articles. There are more weekend warrior expert biker wannabe's than you could shake a stick at online.
It's cool to see another motorcycle enthusiest on this site ( there are several ).
Jim,
For the record, I would like to say that I have really appreciated your articles. I have always found them very helpful and informative. Thank you for your dedication and time. I, for one, always enjoy them.
The same goes for Jack Conrad and Sean Welsh.
Thank you for all the time that you guys have spent working on articles and such. That stuff takes a long time.
And for BCM itself. A little communication goes a long ways. I think that is where the problem is. If Mike would man up and say that he is broke, I think a lot of us would understand. Problem is, he isn't man enough to say that. That is where I have a problem with him.
John
Tracy, thanks for understanding. Interestingly enough, the only subject that had any feedback was the antifreeze article and it was very minimal. That is like writing about oil ;D (note, I am stupid, but not stupid enough to write about oil :o :D).
I have encouraged feedback in a few of my articles (computer on the road was one of them), but never heard a word. Really never heard any feedback about the articles on the forum either. That leads me to believe that no one read them ;D ::)
I suspect I have offended a few folks with my outburst. As I think about what I said, it got pretty close to the personal level and that is simply not acceptable. I apologize.
Jim
Let 'er rip, Jim!
If anyone has license to do so, you do. You wrote lots of articles.
I do not recall any significant "re-printing" occurring during the renaissance of BCM, fronted by Mike Sullivan.
Indeed those who wrote fresh material during that time were key to the brand gaining some lost luster.
I do not recall receiving a magazine since Mike Sullivan returned a rejuvenated, turn-key brand, with a magazine in the pipe, ready to print, to Mike Kadletz. That would have been the "online" edition we were treated to in the fall.
Be very clear, readers, of who is who.
Mike Sullivan is a far better man than most for staying quiet about these matters. He is deserving of our respect, it is his choice to be gracious about these events, which have been out of his hands for some many months now.
Our argument is with Mike Kadletz, who has now ruined the brand's reputation through inaction and silence.
Unfortunately, the hobby will be suspect of any who try to follow.
Wouldn't it be neat to eat crow with the arrival of a magazine in the mail tomorrow?
happy coaching!
buswarior
It is through this dialogue we all benefit! We all glean what we will and apply it as needed! I find you all to be of kindred spirit because we all seek and find in each other what we need, that type of grouping is hard to find. Of course we will butt heads from time to time, but that is the humanity of it. I build and service mainly Harley Davidson and Custom bikes of similar ilk. I have also build quite a few Hot Rods and Customs, they kind of go hand in hand with the bike stuff. The shop is being sold to one of a few people whom have interest when my bus is habitable, I say this because like most I build, there are never done. Jim and all that read this, we are all adult and most of us have thick skins and enjoy a good ribbing, I certainly do! This is a topic that can bring various opinions that in their own right are all correct if you are far enough away, like me, I am the new kid with no history, at least for the time being! Not hardly a kid at 52 but in the bus world I am and I am not so full of myself not to realize this!!!! I find every subject to to hold my attention, even if it does not apply, Thanks to you all for making this extremely addicting, I kind of need to find out something new everyday!!! I am sure our paths will cross face to face as I finally go "full time" wandering around the country!
Tracy
Well whaddya know another motorhead with a bus lol, welcome aboard!
VanMan ;)
Van, the other intresting thing i found to do in Yuma other then putting a waterpump in the jeep , is i found a stack of bcm mags from the 90"s at a yardsale, i will be giving them to you when we see ya.
Matt
Quote from: rv_safetyman on February 20, 2012, 06:04:58 PM
Now, I need to take a few minutes for the sedatives to take hold :P
Jim, I'll share my meds with you. And pay $100 each for the unfinished articles, finished, if I can have internet rights to publish them.
Ian
I am saving all of my BCM mags.. They may be old, but they are sure to become collectors items.
I can faithfully admit, that a great deal I learned or needed to know, I learned here. There are other Bus forums, but the vast majority of discussions you find here, are repeated on the other forums.
The main issue I see with the magazine deal is some people paid for a subscription, and haven't seen it. Thats the kind of stuff gets under peoples skin. Excuses only go so far. My suggestion would be to either admit there will be no further magazine publication and refund the peoples money, or go forward.
Perhaps the idea of a magazine that caters to such a small group, especially in this internet age, is not really that viable. What may be needed is a change in how this information is shared and put together. Maybe rather than a published printed magazine, an online magazine would have much better purpose?
There are forums for everything today, but they all lack one thing. None that I have seen have a good search engine, and no one has taken the time to group the articles into sections. What happens each time a noob shows up, they start asking the same questions that were asked 100 times before. When were dealing with 25 to 70 year old technology, the answers are always going to be the same, we shouldnt have to continually re-hash the same subject over and over and over.
And what we all see happening, is the continual dumbing down of the proper or correct way to do something, rather than sticking to the book. Thats not to say there arent simplified ways to solving problems, or that there arent a few different ways to skin that cat, but to often these various forums allow idiots to suggest fixes that are simply beyond the pale.
An online magazine could blend the best of forum discussions, projects, and howto's, while preventing all of the outright bizarre, useless and dangerous information from ever seeing the light of day.
An online magazine could post online manuals, project poster boards, schematics, and discussions, in a format that could stay fresh, and easy for subscribers to find the information they are looking for. There could be Bus of the month, as well as Bus of the week, day, and year. Bus project of the week, month, etc..
Just some thoughts. We all have something to offer, either through direct experience in mechanical, electrical, and engineering, as well as adventures and some of the emotional things that we experience. It really is all kind of about sharing.
We seem to be mixing two thread themes here. There are two other threads on the current magazine and all the problems:
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=22551.0 (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=22551.0)
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=22827.0 (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=22827.0)
My understanding is that this thread is addressing the possibility of a new/different publication.
Ian, that is a generous offer. Your current article format is quite different from the BCM article format which includes pictures/tables/drawings. I am not too sure how those two formats could be mixed.
Unfortunately, it is academic for the near future. I am really burned out and overloaded with a couple of other fun ??? ::) activities right now.
Jim
Quote from: saddleup on February 21, 2012, 08:10:05 AM
Van, the other intresting thing i found to do in Yuma other then putting a waterpump in the jeep , is i found a stack of bcm mags from the 90"s at a yardsale, i will be giving them to you when we see ya.
Matt
Thanks Bro! ;)
I would certainly subscribe and I agree with the contents list of the first post . I'm a real do it yourself kit and like to know what others have done and I like to share what I have done also. Keep bussing !!!
Honest opinions...as a 20 something...everything I do now is electronic. My bills are electronic, my banking is electronic, in fact, I donate to my church electronically now. That being said, the direction things are headed, I also think on online guide/magazine would be a better and more commercially viable deal. Not saying don't do the magazine, but giving you my two cents.
Jim, just wanted to say that Ken and I appreciate the time, and effort put into the articles that you, Jack, Sean and others did, so that others could benefit from your knowledge. We sometimes get wrapped up in our daily struggles, and forget to let others know we appreciate them. It is so easy to get discouraged from our experiences. We struggle with that constantly, with folks we deal with. Anyhow, just wanted to say a Big THANK YOU! Mike S. did a great job, and Mike K, shame on you for your silence.
Ad me to the list of wanting a printed version again! As far as content it was generally good before, but leaving an opening every edition for input from the old timers. I.e. special tricks, shortcuts, money savers, jury rigs, etc. I believe would be a good addition and the cool photos at the end, I think it was one for the road was enjoyable! Hope this helps. Busgeek.
That's funny,
I was thinking about the same thing today. I happened to be reading about Mike Lutestanski's bus in the May 2011 addition. I've read it a several times already. It is so nice to just pick up a magazine and read it and look at pics. These dog gone computers hurt my eyes. Lol!
I would probably pay a little more for one if it would help.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
Add me to the list for the printed version too. I had a problem while on the road in a non-cell territory.
We have a lot of those in the Ca desert. Anyways I had a current issue (thin mid 90's) k that had a quick fix for the problem in the magazine. An hour later back on the road. PDF doesnt work if you are out of range.
You can count me as another nut who appreciated the printed version of the magazine. If it wasn't for the back issues given to me by a long-time friend Jerry who was already a bus owner, I would not have taken the plunge. I have never looked back...OK, maybe once or twice, but I'm still bussin'! I owe a huge debt of gratitude also to folks like Jack, Jim, Sean, Laryn, Bob and others who have researched and written articles, shared experiences, and offered encouragement and friendship over the last few years.
I miss the magazine and would subscribe to BCM or one like it again. This ain't just about the buses. Thanks guys.
Dennis