Introducing Technomadia - We are hunting for our first bus!

[technomadia]

Greetings All -

My partner Cherie and I have been full-time traveling technomads for over five years now, living/working/traveling in our geeked-out solar-powered 17' Oliver travel trailer. To learn a bit more about us, check our website (www.technomadia.com).  We are young, non-retired software developers, and we've somehow also managed to become highly ranked travel bloggers over our past few years on the road.

And now we are ready for something a bit bigger - and are considering making our next home on wheels a converted bus.

We had planned to spend the upcoming summer on a bus hunt, but we've just gotten an offer too good to pass up on our Oliver and our Tundra too, so this week we are heading north from Florida to drop our baby off with her new owner in Virginia.

In just a few days we will be very literally homeless, without even a vehicle in our name. We opened the door to possibility, and serendipity swept in like a tidal wave, leaving us with a completely blank slate to paint our next adventure upon.

Suddenly our bus hunt has a bit more urgency to it!  Hence I am delurking here, hoping to connect with other bus fans, and to get some leads on potential new homes.

We are bus novices, but ready to move quickly if we find something that feels right.  This is what we are looking for:

1) Ready for us to start living in day #1. This isn't going to be a project bus, it will be our home.  We intend to work on it and upgrade it over time, but we need something that is ready for us right from the start. We thus need something mechanically sound with at least mostly working systems, and not anything needing a major overhaul.

2) As versatile of a vehicle as possible - the smaller and more maneuverable the better.  We know we wont be able to go to some of the more remote places we've been in our trailer, but we don't want to be tied to just "big rig" friendly sites either. We want to still be able to get into remote state parks, etc... I don't think we would want anything longer than 35', and smaller is just fine.  We are used to a 17' trailer - even the smallest bus is going to feel huge to us!

3) Another aspect of versatility is an engine and transmission that can handle getting around. I'm up for the challenge of learning to double-clutch an old manual, but I'm not sure we'd be up for a bus that needs a tractor tow to get up a steep driveway.  Being potentially underpowered is one of my biggest worries with the older 4104's that we've begun to look into.

4) Boondocking-friendly. We've occasionally gone for months without hookups in our trailer, and we don't want to be tied to needing to always find hookups in our bus. We also try to minimize our generator usage. I've designed the solar systems on our past two trailers, so I am actually looking forward to speccing out and installing our ideal new electrical system. We just need to make sure we have a bus that is a good foundation to invest in installing these upgrades. A power hungry "all electric coach" is thus probably not ideal.

5) Island queen. We don't want separate beds, and we want to avoid needing to crawl over each other (unless we want to).

6) Open, spacious, and airy interior. We love windows, and since we work at home on our laptops most days, we love to have inspiring views while we work. I've seen some buses severely lacking in the window department, and with interior space very broken up by walls and dividers. We want the space to have ample opening windows (and screens) to allow for natural ventilation without needing to run the AC.

7) Affordable to buy, and not an infinitely deep money pit.  This is definitely a great time to buy - there seem to be some amazing bus conversions selling for great prices out there. Avoiding the worst of the money pits will be key though, but at these prices we can afford to invest a substantial amount in upgrades after the purchase.

A cool and unique looking vintage design is important to us - we love the old Flxible look, and the GM 4104. When it comes to interiors, we would prefer to avoid some of the vintage 70's dark woods and 80's pink and pastel interiors we've seen, but might just have to plan on a major redecoration once we move in. More important than the style is that the systems be well designed, and well built.

And beyond all this, we are not even sure what we should be looking for. Advice, pointers, and leads are all VERY appreciated.


We have to solve some imminent logistical issues considering that our Oliver has already sold, and are opening ourselves to a range of possibilities...

We are considering buying (or maybe renting) a cheap ($2k – $10K) older 23-35′ motorhome that we can move into temporarily while we head off in search of our ideal next home-on-wheels. Leads are appreciated on suitable RV's for sale between Florida and Virginia.

Or... Maybe we'll find a suitable vintage bus in move-in condition within the next week, and head towards it once we hand over the Oliver in a one-way rental U-haul or borrowed vehicle. If you know of any converted Flxible, GM, Wanderlodge, or other cool (35′ and under) buses for sale – let us know!

Or... Maybe we'll decide to buy a less-than-ideal but very affordable and ready to live in "starter bus", so that we can try out bus living for a few months before we invest more in a different rig and/or extensive upgrades. We have our eye on one promising starter bus in Salt Lake City (Jordan's Penguin!), but that is a long way to travel for "promising", so we're not sure we are ready to jump on that right away.


We are also looking to see as many buses as we can to get a better idea what is out there, and what we like.  We know about the Bus Nuts rally on May 20th in North Carolina, and if fate allows we will try to make it. Are there any other rallies we should try to hit?

We are new to the bus world, but we are good friends with Ben and Karen (http://www.creativecruiser.com/) , who currently live in a Prevost and who are converting a 1963 Flxible Starliner.  And we are also good friends with Sean and Louise of Our Odyssey (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/), who currently live in an amazing double-decker Neoplan.  We've been getting a lot of great advice from them in our quest, and are now ready to reach out to the broader bus conversion community.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all,

  - Chris (and Cherie) // www.technomadia.com

[Joe Camper]

I would stick to the advice of the 2 couples that you have already listed in an attempt to eliminate the possibility of info overload.

Your already consulting some very competent folks by anyones standards. Ben has been here we know each other. Sean is obviously many folks first choice for answering electrical issues. Both couples full time.

Good hunting and have fun doing it.

[NewbeeMC9]

There is one going on right now at Palmetto Cove Campground.  If you hurry you can make it for supper,  Latsa busses there I've heard and I'll be headed up this afternoon.  the Southeast Busnuts club is having there yearly official meeting, and most nuts don't mind showing off their buses.  Also may be some good leads.  Check the adds here too.

Good luck and welcome

[TomC]

I know you want to stay with a 35 ft'r, but if I were to do another bus conversion, I'd use the MCI 102C3.  102" wide (extra 6" makes a big difference-especially if you don't have slides), big windows, high ceiling (6'10"), big under storage compartments, parts are still made for them.  I'd stay away from some of the really old buses (older then a 1960) since parts are scarce and sometimes different then what is used today. 

For a 35ft'r look at the MCI 3500-basically a Dina in MCI clothes.  2 axle, with smaller engine and cheaper to run.  Good Luck, TomC

[Slow Rider]

Welcome aboard Chris and Cherie.   If you had more time I would advise look, look, look and look some more.  But since that is not possible then do your best to have a knowledgeable bus mechanic inspect what ever you buy.  

The most financially important consideration of your new bus is the drive train.  Everything else you can work around.  If you buy your bus and then the engine/transmission  dies you are looking at 10-25 K to rebuild/replace it.  

Where abouts in Virginia, we have several bus nuts here.  I am about 30 miles from DC and we have a couple of guys near Roanoke.  Let us know if we can help.

What ever you choice, good luck and enjoy the ride.....

Frank

[Hi yo silver]

Slow Rider,
I gotta do better. My last trip up in your neck of the woods was busier and rainier than I expected, and I never got around to calling you as I promised. Sorry about that. I am getting better at this bus traveling thing, and trying to take it a little slower.

Chris and Cherie,
Welcome to the nuthouse! My best advice; do what you gotta do to kick a lot of tires and see a lot of buses, for sale or not, before you dive in. By all means, call or email some of us when you are in our area so we can swap lies. Ask dumb questionsl; it makes us feel important! A bus is not for everybody's lifestyle, but we're liking ours more every trip out. Heck, sometimes we enjoy happy hour sitting in the bus, parked right beside the house! LOL No wonder they call us nutz.
We have an MC9, already converted and ready to use when we got it. Works for us. We are about 20 miles north of Roanoke, and 8 miles off I-81. Hollar if you find yourself close by.
Expect a lot of give and take, back and forth, on every issue re. your choice in a new rolling home, whatever it is. Just do like the rest of us here, beat it to death. Driving the folks around you crazy with this is half the fun.  Good luck,   
Dennis   

[technomadia]

Where abouts in Virginia, we have several bus nuts here.  I am about 30 miles from DC and we have a couple of guys near Roanoke.  Let us know if we can help.

Thanks everyone for the great and welcoming replies!

We will be handing over our truck and trailer to the new owner in Lynchburg, VA later this week.  And then the latest plan is that we will be borrowing an old Class B campervan from a friend to use as our base as we explore some bus options around the east coast over the next few weeks.

If it works out, we'd love to meet some of you all sometime soon to see your buses and to pick your brains.

Cheers,

  - Chris (and Cherie) // www.technomadia.com

[Barn Owl]

You are welcome to travel to Roanoke Va. and take a look at two 4106 conversions (Mine and my fathers) to get a feel for what they are like. The 4106 bus is as close to the 4104 you can get, but it has the advantage of having the modern underpinnings. Being able to see conversions in person is invaluable. Your price ceiling will determine how close you can come to meeting your goals.

[Kevin Warnock]

Keep in mind that a 35' bus can have a wider turning radius than a 40' bus. My old 35' MCI 5a had a wider turning radius than my 40' RTS conversion. The RTS is much easier to drive at parking speeds, because the power steering is so much more powerful. I can turn it with one finger while not moving. That was impossible with my power steering MCI 5a.

Kevin Warnock
http://KevinWarnock.com - my blog

[technomadia]

Keep in mind that a 35' bus can have a wider turning radius than a 40' bus.

That is a very interesting point, Kevin.  Is there a table of turning radiuses compiled anywhere?  What about of ground clearances and approach / departure angles?

I'd really love to know which bus models are better able to handle backroads, driveways, and twisty campground parking situations.  But comparative information seems to be really hard to find.

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback, here in this thread and via PM and email.

   - Chris

[technomadia]

There is one going on right now at Palmetto Cove Campground.  If you hurry you can make it for supper.

Doh!  If I had been paying better attention, we might have made it.  Even so, we contemplated dropping everything to drive out.

But this week is just a bit too chaotic preparing to hand over the trailer that has been our home for nearly the past three years. 

Next week the bus hunt starts in earnest.

  - Chris

[Dave5Cs]

Hurry it is at 36K right now but sweet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1949-Flxible-Clipper-Starliner-motorhome-conversion-/330558326084?pt=Buses&hash=item4cf6cfc544

Dave

[john9861]

Chris,
   This is John Mellis from Bowman, SC. I know of a couple of buses ready to go. Call me at 803-829-4242. Leave a message. I will call you back. I can also put you in contact with some others here in the East that can provide some good leads. You are right about now being the time to buy!

[PP]

Welcome to the madness! Good luck with your hunt, Will and Wife

[skihor]

technomadia  P.M. sent

Don & Sheila