This may be a little dramatic and I am lucky to have this "problem." I have a beautiful 1960 Pd 4104, but I'm the only one who thinks so. I have been told by a trusted family friend and life long diesel mechanic the bus runs smooth and strong. We have purchased new furniture. The electrical,plumbing,a/c,no generator,floor coverings,cabinets,glass and gaskets.....basically the whole inside needs to be done. My "problem" is this I have no time to finish it.Could I have the interior professionally done on that budget?I'm not thinking Italian tile and granite counter tops..but nice. My wife and daughter want to camp now! We have 10k to spend on this OR she wants to buy her mom's 2006 class C for 10k. It is a great deal on a basically unused camper, but I hate it! I hate the whole idea of a rig with no character or style, its just a lame white Kleenex box. Should I stop whining and accept a nice gift? Does the crystal ball say my bus will cost us more overtime than the S+S? I have tried to sell the bus recently but refused the highest offer of 3000.00. I hate to let her go for next to nothing. The "Boards" opinions and wisdom is appreciated.
Find a carpenter handyman and hire her or him to accomplish certain tasks as you direct?
Get the toilet done and go camping.
happy coaching!
buswarrior
Did you ever come to the wrong place to ask that question! Got to have wife on your side or your toast. I do know that. My wife is my best helper through 4 bus builds. Bob
Godzilla,
Buy the Class C and go camping with your family.
If you don't have the time to finish the interior, you don't have the time to deal with all the minor maintenance (at best) that an old bus needs and will bring on.
Look, if your Wife and Daughter go camping now, found out if you really like it. You will only be 10G's into the class C and if it doesn't work out, cut your losses and sell it.
If they don't like the Class C or wish they had the bus later, you don't lose in the long run.... :o
Of course if you finish the bus, spend the 10G's, and they don't like camping, you wasted the money on your "darn" bus that you had to have... >:(
All kidding aside. You know your family and what will work. We had a Class C and loved every minute, best use of space in any RV.
Best of Luck
Cliff
Why not buy the Class "C" at that good price... use it this summer to accommodate the family camping desire, then sell it to pay for the upgrade in the bus. At the price you mentioned, you could surely resell it without a loss after one season of camping.
Yeah, buy the RV, & keep the bus. You might only have pocket change for bus work, but if the wife lets you work on it, well, you got yourself a bus.
Thanks to all who replied. Cliff your right I want to spend time camping not "tinkering." If I end up with an expensive and large lawn ornament I would be kicking myself. We love to camp. We have been at it a while but always had campers in poor shape. It would be nice not to have to worry about anything. I guess its time to let the bus go for now. Maybe when I retire I'll revisit the bus dream. By then she will only be 83 years old! Just pasted the break-in period. Bus for sale :(
Just get a divorce........
This is your family decision. Here you are talking to people who have made that commitment. we are bus nuts. It is a way of life. It cost time money and is our hobby and vise to some extent. Bob over the edge
Yes, Bob alludes to it:
You have noticed that there is little to no discussion about actually camping...
This "hobby" is just an excuse to maintain and upgrade an old bus.
Camping has little to do with it.
beware, innocent civilians, beware...
happy coaching!
buswarrior
BW,
I hope my wife never finds my password---The jig will be up! ;D ;)
Steve Toomey
PAbusnut
Quote from: buswarrior on April 05, 2012, 05:55:11 PM
Yes, Bob alludes to it:
You have noticed that there is little to no discussion about actually camping...
This "hobby" is just an excuse to maintain and upgrade an old bus.
Camping has little to do with it.
You hit the nail on the head. My wife and I was talking about it a while back. My fun is workng on the bus and driving it where we are going... she likes to travel and see old friends and new places... and the kids like to go to fun places. Everyone wins.
Quote from: Godzilla on April 05, 2012, 04:29:05 PM
This may be a little dramatic and I am lucky to have this "problem." I have a beautiful 1960 Pd 4104, but I'm the only one who thinks so. I have been told by a trusted family friend and life long diesel mechanic the bus runs smooth and strong. We have purchased new furniture. The electrical,plumbing,a/c,no generator,floor coverings,cabinets,glass and gaskets.....basically the whole inside needs to be done. My "problem" is this I have no time to finish it.Could I have the interior professionally done on that budget?I'm not thinking Italian tile and granite counter tops..but nice. My wife and daughter want to camp now! We have 10k to spend on this OR she wants to buy her mom's 2006 class C for 10k. It is a great deal on a basically unused camper, but I hate it! I hate the whole idea of a rig with no character or style, its just a lame white Kleenex box. Should I stop whining and accept a nice gift? Does the crystal ball say my bus will cost us more overtime than the S+S? I have tried to sell the bus recently but refused the highest offer of 3000.00. I hate to let her go for next to nothing. The "Boards" opinions and wisdom is appreciated.
Before I purchased my bus I purchased my a Class A motorhome. My family got to experience the motorhome and all that goes with it. We sold it a few months later and broke even. I am glad we got it so we can say we have been there done that. When we compare it to what we have now, we are glad we have the bus. If I were in your shoes, I would buy the class C and enjoy it this summer. It sounds like your wife already has her heart set on it. I would find a way to show her a completed 4104 and show her the difference. If it were me, I would Keep the bus and continue to work on it as you have time. You will be able to sell the Class C if you choose to in the future and probably break even.
I agree with Cliff, and some of the others. Get the C. You probably won't regret it. If you are a decent mechanic, you might be able to keep your bus running enough to not break down on your trip. Buses will break down a cost a lot to repair. For us, we need a bus (next vehicle, may be a Toterhome and a stacker). We can fit in the bus, with all of our gear. Flip side of the coin? We spend a ton on maintenance. We still break down, on the road, but not like we would if we don't stay on top of it.
A bus is a huge commitment. Folks ask me about getting a bus to travel in. I tell them not unless you like fixing it and spending a lot of time working on it. It is worth it if you put the kind of miles on, that we do. For camping a few times a year, get the class C. Just drive carefully (sorry guys, I know this is a bus board). Those things blow apart in a wreck.
I think you made the right choice. Now if you price it to what it is worth to you, then you can probably keep both the bus and class C ;D ;) ;D
FWIW
John
Time after you retire? Wouldn't plan on it >:(
Buy the Class C and keep the bus. Tell your wife that you want to have fun but before you sell the bus you want to make sure that the Class C is what works for the family. Keep the Wifey happy. If you have any problems at all with the Class C ...perfect intro for the Bus.
Best way to get Wifey interested in the Bus is to get her to check out the insides of other finished buses.
-Sean
Spending time with your family is more important than spending time with your bus. Lucky is the one who can do both. Keep the bus though, it will make you a nice transition to traveling with character in the future.
Ok here's the fly in the ointment...
your MIL is selling you a MotorHome at a firesale price and your gonna sell it in a short period of time for a profit and thats going to make her feel good ????
she must really like you.... ;D
You mentioned letting the bus go. Why would you do that? If there is a problem with keeping both, then I understand. If you can keep the bus and slowly work on it until you retire, then you have the best of both worlds. My wife and I made a decision when we bought our bus to go camping one weekend a month in whatever state it was in. We get to relax, and I don't get burned out working on it all of the time. He is now 75% done, with power, water, and waste, completed. It was an adventure the first couple of times, but the stories are with us forever. We were tent campers, so a gutted bus was equal to a tent. I say if you can, enjoy both. As others have said, you must have family support in anything you do.
Good Luck,
Mike
My 1967 MCI5A was completed KISS style in only 30 days by only two people, and has been used full time for 12 years now.
It can be done! Won't be beautiful, but if functionality is the most important than go for it.
Many people that own an old bus call it a labor of love, and takes years, and lot's of money. I'm not one of them. Not including solar expenses (1200 watts), only 15,000.00 had my bus/RV on the road, and that includes the price of the bus!
Ed
I guess the OP asked the wrong crowd if he truly wanted to get rid of his bus. ;)
If he decides to keep it, maybe someone can offer suggestions on how to placate his wife. I'm the wrong one to answer that question: I could never placate any wife I ever have. :(
If he decides to sell, I hope he let's us know the details. Though I have a bus (not yellow anymore), I'd sure like a good ol' 4104. ;D
Tranquilizers or sedatives will work. ;D
I agree with others buy the class C Fact the its a class C where you know the owner is huge.
There is no way to turn that down. Great price plus you know all about it is a huge huge huge bonus.
Now when the bus is done then if you must sell the class C you can. But if you can keep both even when
the bus is complete that is also huge to have a backup to the bus.
Lonnie
You just got to go to her and tell her, " lookey here woman. I'm the hook and bull around this house..."... ;D Just pickin, if I did that it wouldn't go over very well.
A warning about "knowing" the Class C you are looking at. I purchased my class A from my dad. I had even lived in it once for 4 months. He owned it for 12 years and had drove it 27000 miles all over the country. He is very meticulous about taking care of his cars. However... it was still a S&S. I owned it for several months and the transmission went out and one tire blow out wasted a side panel. During the time that I owned it I learned a lot about the shoddy construction of the RV.
On the bright side, when I decided to sell it, it sold very quickly.
Sommersed's & MEverard stories sound like a good start if you could get your family into the idea.
Ok you already screwed up. You could have avoided all this if only you had included her in the building of the Bus. Mine copied and pasted all of RJ's helpful hint and made plastic covered check lists for the Bus. She picked out the curtain and drap material. She got on the phone and got directions and things for me to go pick up Cabinets from people giving them away on CList for free. I would tell her to find me good remodel kitchen takeouts that were Oak and golden Oak in color so i could cut them down. I found tile that was leftover stock or estate sales that had things we needed to build the bus'
Include the kids, make a game out of it, who finds what we need first kinda thing. We even had the neighbors helping look for stuff, flooring, carpeting etc. It works.
Plus then you don't need as much money you could buy or not the C and if this work she may want to go camping in a one of a kind that she and the curtain hangers all help to build!!!...
Cause right now pal it sounds like it is all yours??? FWIW
Dave5Cs
I have to tell you - been there done that... Bought the in-laws class A - before I bought our Eagle. They maintained it perfectly... used it little... but guess what - the first bit of unexpected maintenance caused discomfort... the next issue it had was about 3 grand in front end repairs and upgrades to fix steering issues - that caused me discomfort - then the fridge went... needless to say, even though you know the previous owner, things will go wrong and that makes both sides feel bad. Don't buy the in-laws old RV it will most likely end in both of you getting upset in some way. Get the wife involved in the bus, use the bus, use it as a mobile tent... sleeping bags inside - use the bathroom at the campground, whatever it takes to get the bus out on the road and used... The class A we had was so noisy when driving you couldn't even talk to each other. Everything squeaks, rattles, and bangs. In our Eagle - we can talk, chat, whisper, and love every minute of it.
Just my input - but I have done exactly what you are asking about.
PS: bought the Class A for 23K - 5 years later sold it for hardly 10k. Used RV's are hard for people to get loans on because the sale lots can get them loans on new ones easier then used ones. Again just my opinion.
Good Luck with your decision,
John
Thank to all who have weighed in on my dilemma. I have great news! We have decided to keep the bus. Now my bus is alive and off to the glass shop.
This is the number one reason to always buy a finished bus or 99.9% finished, sometimes a conversion is so many years to completion that the fire goes out.
At my age it would have been foolish!
I started my conversion in 1996, it is 99% finished. I love every single part of it-- from mechanical to paint and interior layout.
Driving it is as good as camping in it-- truck stops or RV parks.
However, now at age 61 there is no way I could do it over again. So all I do now now is maintenance and plan trips that I can afford.
--Geoff
'82 RTS AZ
My advice to you is buy-in. You need to get her involved in the decision-making process so it is ours not yours. My wife was running the air riveter this weekend, because "she didn't want to just hang curtains and put the dishes away after it was done." (Plus I have someone to blame the crooked rivets on. It was NOT the fault of the guy drilling the holes! ;D )
Geoff,
Sounds like you had fun all those years, that is what counts most.
However, since I'm 21 years older than you I don't have that option!!
I'm still having fun, though, right now, generators are driving me crazy getting ready for about three months of trips and probably 8-10,000 miles of driving.