Irritating renaming of bus conversions tiny homes

lvmci · May 08, 2019, 08:22:32 PM

Hi All and especially Gary,
I've become recently irritated by the ever increasing usage by young people and newbys who are new to BUS CONVERSIONS, infatuated with the term "tiny homes". The tiny home movement was started as an alternative nonmoving house developing out of the guest house, mother in law bungalow, separate building in your parents back yard. Now Wikipedia calls it, "a residential structure under 400 sq. ft is generally considered[2] a tiny home.[3] The tiny-house movement promotes financial prudence, economically safe, shared community experiences"
Our community experience, we have always described and named ourselves BUS CONVERSIONS or BUSNUT community. The internet and Facebook chat rooms are full of people applying that term, tiny home to all kinds of trailers, structures, schoolies and increasingly bus conversions.
I'm sorry to single out the young couple in this months BUS CONVERSION MAGAZINE, they seem like very nice people, and I dont mean to sound as harsh as Im sure some will interpret it, but, this group of BUSNUTS, is a community based, self accepted term applicable to our bus community, and we really don't call ourselves, TINY HOME NUTS. There are certainly nuts here, there are some that live in their bus homes (we call them full timers), and we call a full time non motorized tiny home a trailer. And no bus nut is financially prudent.
It is great that this young couple has found our BUSNUT community, we have always been willing to extend our group knowledge to any newby, including me. But would it be possible for you Gary, when editing the articles to inform these great, ambitious, sprouting BUSNUTS, who like so many here have grown into our community and may very well grow out of their trailer/non wheeled tiny structure and graduate to a city/touring/inter city/bus or shell. Might you suggest, they should not refer to us and our hobby as tinyhome builders? And understand we are on to our own, in the land of RVs and small wheeled domiciles. thank you...

luvrbus · May 08, 2019, 08:47:18 PM

LOL you are late to the dance Tom those tiny home builders gather in the desert at Lake Havassu every years converting buses, vans,box trucks what ever they have and call them all tiny homes ,I think you are stuck with that term buddy

lvmci · May 08, 2019, 08:49:52 PM

Probably am...

windtrader · May 08, 2019, 09:13:12 PM

The term "tiny home" at face value blurs the distinctions between the various sects but the term is current, cool, and attracting many potential converts to all forms of bus/truck conversions, trailered wood homes, traditional RVs, sheds, etc.

That translates into increased interest in our special club. Hopefully, prices will gain some footing and remove the lead on the price scales.

buswarrior · May 09, 2019, 03:16:24 AM

"Tiny homes"

Putting lipstick on the hippie culture stigma pig?

Rich people slumming down?

Poor people putting on airs?

Fancy name for my broken bus?

Normalizing economic reality?

Like it or not, the tidal wave has come ashore.

What happens when it drains back is rarely pretty, but we'll see...

However, in the here and now, Gary has some hard choices to make in order to keep his enterprise alive.

Kind viewer, be glad you don't have to figure out how to keep the lights on. The "traditional busnut" is both dying out and the rest are evolving.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

richard5933 · May 09, 2019, 04:01:06 AM

What I've seen is that tiny house people and are just like bus nuts with one major difference - they are concerned almost exclusively with the 'house' portion of the build with little to no concern or thought for the bus portion. They are working on a house that happens to be on a mobile platform.

Many will use what ever shell they can find - bus, truck, van, storage container, wood box on trailer, etc. Many will never actually want to move their tiny house, and when they do they'll have someone else tow it to the next place. Some don't even bother to make their tiny home mobile and just assume it will stay put permanently.

We, on the other hand, are working on a bus that happens to have living accommodations inside it. We care about the bus systems and want the final product to be functional and safe going down the road, something we do often.

Of course there are tiny house people that also want a functional road-worthy vehicle, but the name itself shows where the priorities are. Just think about how many of us try hard to keep our buses looking like a bus, while tiny house people try to make theirs look like a cottage or something.

luvrbus · May 09, 2019, 04:23:52 AM

Tom if you look at the MCI on the MCI Facebook page now that is a tiny house it is not practical for RV use but he did a real nice job anyways

Sebulba · May 09, 2019, 04:45:27 AM

Quote from: lvmci on May 08, 2019, 08:22:32 PM
Hi All and especially Gary,
I've become recently irritated by the ever increasing usage by young people and newbys who are new to BUS CONVERSIONS, infatuated with the term "tiny homes". The tiny home movement was started as an alternative nonmoving house developing out of the guest house, mother in law bungalow, separate building in your parents back yard. Now Wikipedia calls it, "a residential structure under 400 sq. ft is generally considered[2] a tiny home.[3] The tiny-house movement promotes financial prudence, economically safe, shared community experiences"
Our community experience, we have always described and named ourselves BUS CONVERSIONS or BUSNUT community. The internet and Facebook chat rooms are full of people applying that term, tiny home to all kinds of trailers, structures, schoolies and increasingly bus conversions.
I'm sorry to single out the young couple in this months BUS CONVERSION MAGAZINE, they seem like very nice people, and I dont mean to sound as harsh as Im sure some will interpret it, but, this group of BUSNUTS, is a community based, self accepted term applicable to our bus community, and we really don't call ourselves, TINY HOME NUTS. There are certainly nuts here, there are some that live in their bus homes (we call them full timers), and we call a full time non motorized tiny home a trailer. And no bus nut is financially prudent.
It is great that this young couple has found our BUSNUT community, we have always been willing to extend our group knowledge to any newby, including me. But would it be possible for you Gary, when editing the articles to inform these great, ambitious, sprouting BUSNUTS, who like so many here have grown into our community and may very well grow out of their trailer/non wheeled tiny structure and graduate to a city/touring/inter city/bus or shell. Might you suggest, they should not refer to us and our hobby as tinyhome builders? And understand we are on to our own, in the land of RVs and small wheeled domiciles. thank you...

Here, here, harumph, harumph.

I understand what the rest of you are saying too, but the fru fru names conote a different goal than many of us have.

"Prudent" hah, if you are looking for a cheap way to domicile a 35,000 pound aluminum and steal can with internal combustion monster is not it. Buy a a garden shed kit at Home Depot and park it in you uncle's back 40. That's a tiny home

If you want the adventure and lifestyle of seeing the continent on your terms and time table you are a busnut.

My personal addition to the rant.

Seb

chessie4905 · May 09, 2019, 04:45:55 AM

I saw a conversion of a school bus on Facebook a couple of months ago and ago. I was really impressed how it turned out. A lot of whites and Pergo type floors. The issue I could see down the road was what the condensation and water leakage around those typical school bus windows was going to result in. The surfaces looked to be, I'm guessing now, particle board with a melamine type finish. Anyway, there are some impressive ideas in some of those jobs. Yes, there are going to be many who loose interest and many vehicles will end up in junk yards or be abandoned, but some will move on to coaches like ours and keep our hobby going. I would like to think that after I'm gone, someone will buy or inherit mine and will keep it going instead of it going for scrap. How about yours?

Oonrahnjay · May 09, 2019, 05:05:30 AM

The difference between a "converted bus" and a "tiny house". About $75,000 on the asking price!

DoubleEagle · May 09, 2019, 06:22:38 AM

What's more irritating, Tiny Homes, or Diesel Pusher?

chessie4905 · May 09, 2019, 07:20:11 AM

Skoolies.

Van · May 09, 2019, 07:27:29 AM

As opposed to the traditional term of "STICKS AND STAPLES" How about calling these folks "STICKS AND NAILERS? I don't expect to see too many of these out in the fun lane, to each his own I guess.

lvmci · May 09, 2019, 07:45:00 AM

Clifford, is this what you're talking about?

Utahclaimjumper · May 09, 2019, 08:06:57 AM

The main difference I draw form the "tiny home" "Busconversion" argument, is that most true "tiny homes" have no holding tanks of any kind and depend on grid providers to function.>>>Dan (Evan tho some have rooftop solar)

Another real problem with true "tiny homes" on a trailer chassis is the lack of stamina over the road,, they would fall apart in 100 miles of today's over the road use,, internal and external.>>>D

Another pet peeve of mine is the overuse of the slang term "RV".. In my opinion that term can mean anything from a motorcycle to a boat,, today its used as a substitute for anything more specific.>>>Dan