Operator Are Standing By for a Three Day Marathon!!!

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Bruce from CT called today to renew his E-Mag subscription early.  Joe owns the same model bus I started with an MC-7 Combo.  The Combo buses had two sets of dual wheels in the rear and a rear side door where Greyhound used to ship engines, transmissions and other large heavy parts from one repair depot to another.  The rear seats were of course removed and there was a bulkhead between the passengers and the greasy parts. 

Bruce's bus was originally converted by a professional conversion company but it is now time for a makeover after several years of use.  Bruce is doing a lot of mechanical repairs and also replacing the flooring in the kitchen and bath and replaced the TV's, like everyone seems to do as soon as they buy a used conversion.  He said he had to replace the genset wiring because it was all dried out and crispy, probably from the heat in the genset compartment.  Being an Electrical Engineer, Bruce had no problem replacing the wiring with a bit of help from Dick Wright of Wrico International.  Dick has been a great help to a lot of our subscribers. 

But Bruce now has a problem.  He needs a new set of sneakers for his bus.  Not only that, but he needs 10 new sneakers not just 8 like most 40' bus owners because of the double dualies under the Cargo hold.  At $500 to $600 a pop, that comes out to $5,000 to $6,000 total, more than the cost of my first house.  So if anyone knows a good source for either new or partially used tires off something like School Buses or Garbage trucks, please start a new thread so Bruce can get some ideas.  I suspect other Forum readers may also have to buy tires now and then too so this could benefit a lot of our readers. Bruce hears of great deals in CA, but nothing in CT where he lives.  Bruce has also agreed to send us a Cover/Centerfold article for BCM so you too can better understand Cargo buses.

Everyone take another shot of Jack Daniels with me.  1, 2, 3 Down the Hatch and shout "Hip Hip Hooray"!

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

The "Melvo" from Albuquerque just called and renewed his Standard Print Magazine for a year and chose the E-Mag add-on so he could view the additional content we started adding to the E-Mag this year.  Mel owns a 1978 MCI-8 he purchased about 10 years ago as a conversion that had been started, that the previous owner had given up on.  Mel felt he needed more horses so about seven years ago he took his bus to B&B Coachworks to have it repowered.  He said it made all of the difference in the world.  Now he can pass the 18-Wheelers going over passes.   Before the repower he had to wait in line in the bumpy Granny lane along with the truckers and breathe their exhaust.   He also bought an Inverter from Wrico International and it works great.  Melvo travels to Mexico and through the Midwest when he takes his bus out on the road.  He has started an article to send us to include in BCM about installing an air throttle which is his current project.

Everyone take another shot of Jack Daniels with me.  1, 2, 3 Down the Hatch and shout "Hip Hip Hooray"!

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Scott from RI just called to start a new subscription to BCM.  Scott purchased a 2-Year E-Mag subscription to start out with.  He heard about the magazine on the Forum, somewhere, don't know where.  Last September he purchased a 1959 4104 which he found locally which he thought was in pretty good condition.  After getting it home and looking it over more closely he discovered the ceiling had leaked and has been leaking for quite some time.  When he opened it up he found most of the walls around the bathroom and bedroom which were made out of particle board and covered with paneling were mostly rotted out and falling apart. So now he plans to renovate most of the bus in stages starting with the back bedroom and bathroom.   Mechanically he has already replaced two air bags and said he had a few air leaks which he intends to find and repair over time.

Because Scott is new to owing a bus, I suggested he purchase a copy of every Printed Back Issue we have in stock, which is over 135 (at this posting) to get ideas on how to renovate his bus and also because some of the older issues also have 4104's in them which you don't see as many in the more recent issues of BCM.  He is now considering that option.

Scott has a posted short video of his bus on YouTube which shows the beautiful murals on the sides, one of a 4104 coming out of a tunnel driving down the road.  Check it out at...

youtube.com/watch?v=_suSUrOiYac

Everyone take another shot of Jack Daniels with me.  1, 2, 3 Down the Hatch and shout "Hip Hip Hooray"!

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Jason from PA called to renew his Standard Print subscription for two more years.  Jason owns a 1981 MCI-9 and his bus was featured on the Cover of the July 2010 BCM with his article "The Making of a Dream".  Dig out your old copy to reminisce what you read just a few years ago.  As you will see, he did a great job with his bus.  Since then he has replaced 8V71 with an 8V71T to gain more horses to make it over those mountains in PA.  Jason puts about 5,000 miles on his coach each year and travels to SC for a week every year.   Jason owns his own company building custom cabinets.  To see his beautiful work check out the pictures of his bus in the July 2010 issue.

Everyone take another shot of Jack Daniels with me.  1, 2, 3 Down the Hatch and shout "Hip Hip Hooray"!

[Emcemv]

As Gary has said, I did a 2 year renewal yesterday and had a great conversation with Gary, looking forward to meeting him!  He seemed to be in pretty good shape given all the JD he's been drinking

C'mon everyone, let's support our magazine!!

Bruce

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Kevin from IN called to renew his 2-Year Standard Print subscription and also added the E-Mag upgrade.  He liked the idea of being able to click on any picture in the magazine and being able to see it open up full size on his computer in a higher resolution than possible in the magazine.  Kevin owns one motorhome and two buses.  He recently picked up a 2002 38-foot Fleetwood Discovery with only 75,000 miles on it.  My first motorhome was a 1986 Discovery and it was a nice riding motorhome with a great layout with a jog in the back through the bathroom, so you could not see directly into the bedroom. 

Kevin also bought a 1982 Eagle Model 10 some time ago and uses it on a simi-regular basis.  About a year and a half ago he picked up a 1991 Eagle Model 15 with only 50,000 original miles on it. It needs some work but it doesn't have any rust, so he won't have to do any serious frame repair on it.  He is planning on renovating it from scratch to design a layout more up to date and to his liking while he uses his Model 10.  When he completes his Model 15, he will put the Model 10 up for sale. 

He plans to put about a 15 foot slide in it with a 30 inch depth in the Model 15.  Kevin plans to take his bus to the races quite frequently because that is what you do if you live in that area.  He plans to retire in September so he can devote more time to building his bus so he can hit the super slab as soon as possible. He said he will write an article for BCM about how to build a slide in a Model 15 Eagle.  So be watching for future issues if you are considering this yourself.

Everyone take another shot of Jack Daniels with me.  1, 2, 3 Down the Hatch and shout "Hip Hip Hooray"!

[bansil]

Gary
did you get my email renewal?

Hope your heads not hurting