Bus Conversion workshops - Your input needed

[HighTechRedneck]

We have received a few calls/emails wanting to know if we will be reviving the old BCM conversion workshops that Tom Winterhalter used to teach.  The answer is we are working on it. For those new here, Tom is a professional in custom coach interior design/construction and has a special talent for teaching it.

For starters, we are going to have two 4-hour mini workshops at Bussin' 10 in Arcadia, FL (open to all attendees).  They will be on specific interior design/construction topics (different topics for each of the two) that are common to most/many self conversions.  That is where your input is requested:

What specific common interior design/construction tasks/challenges would you like to see taught there?

Down the road (perhaps Spring 2010), we are looking into hosting a full scale training workshop. Those would be five or six day comprehensive workshops on bus conversion and have a significant tuition fee (perhaps $1200).  The class size would be kept small to facilitate maximum benefit for each participant.  Tom would be the primary instructor, covering the interior conversion work.  Other specialists would come in to teach specialty subjects.  So far we have lined up two additional specialties:

• Proper care and maintenance of bus drive trains taught by a professional diesel mechanic. (approx 1 hour)
• Basic introduction to welding (approx 3-4 hours)

Other specialties may be added as qualified/willing teachers are found.  One specialty session that I am looking to arrange would be proper pre-trip inspections.

So on the topic of the full workshops, my question is: Would people, especially those new to bus conversion be willing to pay the tuition and spend a week in Chattanooga, TN for it?

[JackConrad]

 One specialty session that I am looking to arrange would be proper pre-trip inspections.

HTR,
  Over the years bus Warrior & RJ Long have done Pre-Trip Inspection seminars at Bussin' Rallies.  I can't think of anyone better to do such a seminar/workshop.  Jack

[Sean]

Other specialties may be added as qualified/willing teachers are found.

I would be willing to teach workshops on electrical systems (AC, DC, batteries, etc.) and/or plumbing and hydronic heating systems, depending on actual schedule.

I would need fair warning to prepare curriculum materials.

Contact me off-list if you want to discuss further.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[paul102a3]

I would be very interested in attending & paying tuition for workshops.

Would it be reasonable to assume we would bring the bus/toad for the week?

Paul

[HighTechRedneck]

Assuming we are able to hold it at the location that I have in mind (Choo Choo Express Garage), then there is parking space for dry camping and maybe a couple of spots with limited electrical hookups.  If that location doesn't pan out, then dry camping space would be one of the criteria for selecting another facility.

[Freedom Rider]

Hello everyone! I'm a wannabe newbie. Still looking for my coach. I would be willing to attend a workshop if I felt fairly comfortable that I was getting enough hands on experience. Would it be possible to do something like what you see in shop classes where you actually work on a coach. Maybe someone who wanted their coach painted. You could hold a seminar where we actually come in and prep the coach and paint it. Or maybe we do actual buildouts or installations of other things that are common on coaches. Of course the donor would understand that all of this is being done by the class under the instruction of the teacher.  That would be a good hands on learning seminar that I would be willing to attend. Just a thought, but I bet there are a lot of guys out there who are trying to finish up their conversions and this just may be a good way to do it. They get it done and we get the experience and knowledge of a bus conversion.

[ktmossman]

I don't have a bus yet, and might not by that point, but I would still be interested.  It would probably come down to the ability to carve the $$ out of the budget.

[loosenut]

From a new owner, I would like to know what I have and what needs to be watched.  I drove a school bus for 4 years so I didn't feel like I needed driving lessons but it too seems like a good idea.

I bought my bus converted but there are several things I would like to upgrade.  Don't know how that fits in with your plans.  You might invite/charge for vendors to handle those questions instead of your brain trust.

I don't know if it is possible but I would think you could add value to your want ads by inviting the buses in your magazine to attend.  I would think it would benefit both buyers and sellers.

Would giving seminars at the big conventions such as FMCA increase your visability in the RV world.

Hope this helps

Mike

[Dreamscape]

This is great Mike!

You might think of doing a survey of five topics to find out the most interest. Anyway, the idea is a good one and deserves to be a sticky for future bus owners who are looking for information on classes to attend.

Some that are interested might not be able to attend because of the location, maybe satellite places east, central and west might generate some interest also.

You have to start somewhere and this is a good beginning.

Maybe one on air brakes as this seems to be a hot topic of late.

My two cents,

Paul

[Busted Knuckle]

Assuming we are able to hold it at the location that I have in mind (Choo Choo Express Garage), then there is parking space for dry camping and maybe a couple of spots with limited electrical hookups.  If that location doesn't pan out, then dry camping space would be one of the criteria for selecting another facility.

Mike,
If anyone has need of more than dry camping available if held @ the Choo-Choo garage dn't forget the 2 campgrounds there close by! (one close enough to walk) I see bus sized rigs w/toads (non-trained drivers and all) running the locals and myself off the rd going into & out of every time I'm up that way!

And of course I don't where we'll be then, when these classes are offered, but I will offer what ever place we land to the cause! FWIW!
 BK  

[Van]

I'll donate the bus! ,I need every thing doneLOL ,seriously now!

[JohnEd]

YES>>>>YES!  Many times over!  also, encourage the kind of work Brian was doing with the air brake system troubleshooting.

Can we get a place on the board where this sort of effort can reside?  Lot of good work has gone into some of this stuff and i would like to see it get maximum exposure.

John

[rv_safetyman]

Mike and I have talked about this a bit. 

I took one of the BC training sessions that Tom taught and it was absolutely worth the cost.  Tom is an excellent teacher and was well prepared.  Probably the thing that I appreciated the most was the catalogs that Tom gathered for us and the huge list of parts suppliers that he had assembled.

But please don't have expectations that you will be able to make a bunch of sawdust or convert your bus in one week with the class doing all the work.  A bus conversion takes thousands of hours and 5 days of class is maybe 50 hours. 

What you learn will be tools and techniques that make the job easier and make it look like it was done by a professional (assuming you take the time to do the job correctly). 

Tom emphasized basic tools, not hugely expensive equipment.  He talked a lot about planning and how to plan. 

If Tom does the class and you go, you will be a happy camper!

Jim

[trucktramp]

Put me on the "Heck ya I'm interested" list.  I don't have the bus yet but I know that I have things to learn.

[lostagain]

-Air Brakes system

-Electrical systems: AC, DC. (Dick Wright in Oregon is really good, I've been to a couple of his seminars at Busn'USA).