bus ownership.

[Dave5Cs]

Dave; Your asking ME?" You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!"  Quote: Cash Carter D. My 5 yr old grandson.  Sort of the way you got to look at it.  If you let it ruin your health or life you just better walk away.   Bob   PS I did not say go into it blind!!

Bob which Dave ( there are to many Dave's on this board ,LOL)?
If you were meaning me, No I wasn't asking, I was merely wondering what some people's thinking when they just bought a Bus with no idea of what they could be getting into. I find it very interesting.

Dave5Cs

[robertglines1]

Just sort of grinnin. Life is good.  99% of bus people are great; the other 1% keep us on our toes. Guess I'm hopeless because I'm on #4.  Dave5Cs looks like you have the busnut bug also. Lots of long time fulltimers here and we haven't heard much from them!  Would you do it again?   Bob

[Jnbroadbent]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels a bit concerned over the future of our busses only because one decided to go kaboom.

[Miss Scarlett]

When comparing RVs and busses you have to look at what most of us are actually doing. We are buying old, well worn busses and fixing them up. My guess is that most spend under $20k to get their bus before starting the conversion. If we spent the time and money to replace all the moving parts we might go many years without major issues. However we would be spending about $30-$40k per bus on drivetrains, seals, bearings, tires etc. So we fix what we know is bad and hope for the best going forward. If we did the same with a used store bought RV we would likely have more repairs as RVs aren't built to last like busses are.

When completed I should have around $25k in my bus. Of course anything can happen at any time but I feel much better about my $25k bus than I would about most $25k RVs I've looked at.

[luvrbus]

Jon, you need more sunlight  I have had 3 here in the shop in the last 3 months or did you mean 1 a month

[Dave5Cs]

Bob yes we would do it all over again. We love it when we were fulltiming and even now that we are sidelined temporarily. But at least momma's foot is reattached and working well , now for the knees and back. Then back to the road but so far we don't know when. I am just enjoying finally being able to work on it again.
We actually sleep better in the bus than we do at the ranch we are at right now. The Bus is quite and seems more comfortable but then I built it to be!
yep I am sure we will have to get things fixed if it is something I don't do, sometimes it will be something i don't want to do. We are not rich by any sense of the word, but we put some aside just in case and that is the piece of mind that helps.
I even like washing her and watching her shine.

Dave5Cs

[robertglines1]

We had a Crewcab dually and a 36ft 5th wheel. You want sticker shock! Also-- Try riding down the road with 3 children.( We did just fine.) That was before we discovered the bus life. Much more under/around you going down the road and parked. The Dually was expensive to drive back and forth to work also.  We flat tow a HHR  25mpg Avg. Bob

[belfert]

So then the real question is; Why do people buy a Bus if they either are not prepared for the cost or if they can not afford the repairs?
Is it the old it will never happen to mine attitude or just not doing their homework.

How many people buy older cars and are not prepared financially to replace an engine or transmission if it blows up?  Did you have enough money set aside to replace your engine and transmission when you bought your bus?  I bought a bus with a Series 60 factory installed partially in hopes of not having issues with a four stroke.  How many besides Jim here have had to replace/rebuild a Series 60 in a bus?

I know many, myself included, would have a hard time coming up with the money to rebuild their engine if it needed a rebuild.  There are buses selling for under $10k right now and chances are they don't have the best engines.  If I lived in my bus and it wasn't just a hobby I would have a far easier time coming up with money for an engine rebuild.

[sledhead]

In 2005 I got our bus from spike in Boston the price at the time was $32,000 ( same bus today $ 12,000 - $ 16,000 )  . Was in good condition with about 180,000 on rebuild 6v92ta so I was told .  So I knew it would need to be rebuilt . Converted it to a rv and in dec. 2006 we went to florida for our 1st long trip . We used 12 gal. of oil on the way down (wrong oil 15 / 40 ) After I changed to 40 w oil I used 4 gal on the same trip the next year . In 2010 I started looking for someone to do a out of frame rebuild Like most I looked close to home .The 1st price I got was from s/n diesel in Toronto $ 26,000 next was harper diesel $ 29,000 to $ 31,000 . I started looking on the web and after some time I was told about leid diesel in PA usa . I called and talked to them and found out they rebuild them all the time not like harper or s/n diesel who had not rebuilt one for months . I shipped it to them on a skid and 2 weeks later it was back total price $ 9,500 plus $ 1200 for shipping . Now , I knew when I 1st bought the bus , it need a rebuild but if I   had to pay the $ 30,000 I probably would have stayed with a sticks and staples . ouch that hurts . All is good now time to go camping .                         dave

[rv_safetyman]

Brian, usually it is Clifford the reminds me that I am on my second Series 60

As I look back on the purchase of my original Series 60 I reflect: "WHAT WAS I THINKING".  It had well over 600K miles and from the looks of the truck, it was not well maintained.  In a minor effort to make  me seem less stupid, it was the only Series 60 available in the area.  Besides that, everyone knows that Series 60 engines are "million mile engines".    I have good documentation on the rebuild of this engine (had a bit over 200K on a full rebuild by a DD dealer).

I was going to stay out of this subject, but now I have been drug into it kicking and screaming

Like many folks, I have way too much money in my bus and it is considerably less than great looking.  BUT, it is fully functional and extremely comfortable.  We have spent nearly 800 nights in the bus since we got it on the road in 2006.  We now have over 72K miles on it.  We don't use it as much as we did when we were in business, but we still do a few trips per year.

When we started our business, the bus was not done, so we bought a new motorhome (lower-mid range) and justified that purchase by putting it in rental service.  What a piece of crap it was.  Had a Ford V10.  Terrible mileage and no power.

When I built the bus I used the very best parts (Aqua-Hot, full sine wave Trace inverter, Wrico generator, etc) and that makes living in the bus very comfortable.  Even have apartment washer and dryer. 

Would I do it again?  Don't know.  Part of the issue is age (70).  Just don't have the ability to put in long hours.

Unlike others, I did not enjoy working on the bus for the most part.  Always seemed to be on a tight schedule.  Plus I had to give up working on some fun car projects (getting back to them in the near future).

Many of us play the game of thinking what we would have if we hit the lotto.  I tend to go two directions in that thought process.  One direction is to have someone come in and finish the interior of our Eagle (I am not good at working with wood).  The second direction is to buy a semi-truck conversion. 

Sorry about the ramblings.

Jim

[luvrbus]

Well said Jim my latest project every time I go to the hanger and see it I ask myself "why in the world did you do this" being in my 70's it not going to happen I know that plus I have had a few offers where I can break even well sorta of lol so I am going to forget about it and enjoy my wife of 40+ years,my kids,grand kids and friends it doesn't get any better than that IMO


good luck