An introduction and seeking advice.

[Lasernomad]

Hi I am Kyle also known as Toaster. I will start where this insanity began. 2016 I was sitting comforting my dog as he died and I thought him and my other dog are the only things keeping me/us tied to a location. I had earlier that summer found the world of stealth vans and was trying to convince the lady friend that we should build one. As I kept what inevitably turned out to be a death watch I learned about skoolies. I realized that while not at all stealthy I/we could live with dogs and roam and never be stuck! She was on board. While looking into things more and more I realized a couple of things, Skoolies are limiting, hard to find insurance for, built to protect CHILDREN (not adults), but are ultimately disposable. As I dug deeper I found Technomadia and with them the real answer a intercity bus conversion. I also realized that step one would be starting a business that can support a life on the road, so I have. Step 2 find a bus to convert/ get enough money to buy a bus to convert.... well the plan was to do that next summer but as I have come to learn when the land lord calls and asks if you want to buy the house (also the place I ran my business from and where i planned on converting a bus at) this is code words for "I am going to sell the house." Seeing as we were month to month renting this meant even if we did want to stay there they was no guarantee that we could afford it. So that was July, we luckily were able to downsize and move in with my folks by September (which is a mixed bag). I will say living with them at 37 is not an easy thing.

So I currently have some other bits of information, and questions. The plan was to try to stock pile $20k and start this but..... I think starting sooner makes more sense even with only $13k. I am a leather worker and make bags, wallets and other leather accessories. My goal is to build out a rig that can be half leather workshop half living quarters. While I would love to try to free camp as much as possible I know that might not be realistic with what I need to carry to do my work (a refrigerator sized laser, industrial sewing machines, workbench big enough to work most of a cow hide, and other industrial leather tools) the goal is to situate the weight of those over the back axle(s) as much as possible. I also know that I will need to be able to travel to shows so I bought a car with massive show supply capabilities that was also 4down tow-able. So the plan is to find out major anchor events (ones that we can make a lot of money at) move the bus to an area near there (no more than 2 hours drive) set up shop make stuff and use the toad to get us to the events in the surrounding area. As I see it this will be our home for the foreseeable future, therefore I think buying a really good bus is the best place to start and work upgrades into it as we can afford to. So 2 years of reading and watching videos has lead me to this, I love the look of vintage buses, but at the end of the day I want the most transportable rig which means my dream rig would be an eagle 35' with the m11 b500 combo (I am aware that the likely hood of touching one of those is rare and you couldnt buy a bad one for 20k). So I am willing to go for any modern 4 stroke with the b500 transmission. There is currently a provost h3-41 that is a former Colorado tour bus being sold by another bus company that acquired the assets of said Colorado bus company. I cant get any answers as far as engine or transmission rebuild status or their miles but its a DD 60 series and a B500 for about $10k. How much of a can of worms will this bus be? Do you know of anyone looking to get rid of a bus with a B500 (lets be honest this is really what I am after). I dont imagine I want to be too far off the beaten path with my rig as if anything were to happen I dont want to loose my home, business, and tools all at the same time which means easy near to the road boondocking or campsites. I would like to get a bus before the end of February ideally sooner so I can get the hell out of my folks' sooner. I am seeking guidance from those who have come before. Am I dumb for not going the easy route with a Xv92, is holding out for a good powertrain a good idea... please help.

[buswarrior]

It sounds like the business end of things would go a lot smoother inside a big trailer.

Go stand inside a tractor trailer van, and let your imagination go...

You will be very cramped inside a motorcoach, and won't be able to separate the business area from living area very well.

Some combination of a truck/tractor trailer based motorhome and a big trailer will be well suited to your ideas?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Lasernomad]

I already spend most of my awake time in my shop, so my thoughts are what living area? I also plan on making a giant roof top tent like half of the length of the bus in size because I really like the idea of a sleeping loft.

[lvmci]

Hi Laser, there is a 70s era MCI7 called a "combo", it had 2 duallys in stead of a tag axle,had a single side radiator and it's intent from Greyhound was to carry half the passengers, but also to carry Detroit engines and transmissions to Greyhound garages to replace quickly and put buses back in service. The weight capacity would be more alligned with your needs also, better in an accident for protection. No series 60 in that era, but I've always heard 7s have the biggest engine compartment, lvmci...

[buswarrior]

I already spend most of my awake time in my shop, so my thoughts are what living area? I also plan on making a giant roof top tent like half of the length of the bus in size because I really like the idea of a sleeping loft.

Dangerous territory... You'll be traveling alone shortly...

The living quarters needs to be isolated from the customers, lookers and mind set of the business parts or she won't be along for long.

You've been warned...

If all that equipment is cause to consider a combo, then the motorcoach chassis might not be the right way to go?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Jim Blackwood]

Bus and shop trailer big enough to carry the toad?

Jim