The first converted bus you saw up close

[RnMAdventures]

I had never heard of a bus conversion until one day my brother told me about bus conversions. He let me borrow a couple of his Bus Conversion magazines and I was hooked. A short time later I was talking to the preacher of the church I went to and he was a bus nut. He had several old bus's that we not working. He had one 4104 that was an 80's conversion that was in decent shape, but the engine was blown. We made a deal and he had a mechanic rebuild the engine in his cow pasture... new injectors, rebuilt blower, and a inframe rebuild on the engine. It was a 1958 4104.

[artvonne]

  In 1988 we were wrecking Buses, and were at Interstate Diesel selling them some Detroits, and noticed a 4106 parked there, only it looked "camperish". I asked about it and the guy said I could peek, and one look and I was hooked.   

[white-eagle]

my first experience other than talk, was at Jack's Rally which i attended with my Winnabago Vectra.  180 buses of all flavors, colors, styles, and degrees of conversion.  That was about 6 years ago.  I was Hooked, with a treble hook all the way down, no chance of pulling the hook out.

Good stuff, these buses.  and so are the men and women that convert them and use them.

Bob, i'm having a Pinch in your honor!  thanks for bringing this up.

[Ace]

My first experience seeing a bus conversion was when I came to Florida to visit my dad and while trying to find my way back to his  house because I got lost, I happened to see a 4104 during half in a old wooden make shift garage with all its windows slid open and extension cords hanging out of each one. Stopping in to get directions, the man working inside gave me a tour and explained the potential plans. Something about the coziness of your home on wheels in that bus got me searching for my very own.
When I found a 4107 that was not only affordable but somewhat done, I couldn't resist!
The rest is history!

[TomC]

In the early 70's (I was 14) we were in Grand Canyon RV park and a Gillig school bus (mid engine like a Crown, but with a NTC350 in it) came in.  They allowed me to take a look.  The biggest thing that got me was their 8ft long kitchen countertop (mine now is 9ft) and having bathroom electric heaters in the ceiling (looked rather hideous).  Bathroom had a full sized tub and plenty of room.  This convinced me that this was the way I wanted to go.  Good Luck, TomC

[happycamperbrat]

Don Fairchild's awesome, awesome bus!!!

[zubzub]

I used to have a schoolie with a band I was in.  It wasn't really converted, but it had a table, and a cargo fence in the back to stop the gear in an accident.  It rode like crap unless fully loaded, but it had a splitter and could climb anything in 1st.  Then I was in Mexico one winter, on a beach, getting ready to head north, and a guy there had a converted 4107 or something (some kind of buffalo).  He was headed to Vancouver, and offered me and my buddy a ride.  It was a nice clean simple conversion, buddy lived in it all winter at the beach and on site when he worked in construction, we mostly slept on the way north, buddy drove 12-16 hrs a day, and we got north real quick.  I loved the air ride compared to the schoolie steel, also loved not having an engine growling near me all the time.  At the time I thought it sucked that he didn't let me drive, as I had plenty of schoolie experience, even Mexico schoolie experience, now I get it, and though I will train my sons to drive my bus at some point,  that spicer box sure takes a little time to get right.  That was when I decided I wanted a converted highway coach, forgot about it for awhile, then remembered.

[Flatspot]

A GM 4104 in 1963 was so cool it even had a built in Teac reel to reel tape deck with Altec speakers. Can you say 'l i k e  wow  man' ?

[Ed Hackenbruch]

 The first one was a shorty schoolie that i helped my dad do when i was  9 or 10. Very basic, no frills setup using 2x2 and 2x4 lumber and plywood, no insulation, no electrical.    The first nice conversion that i saw was our 5A when i went to get it after winning it on an ebay auction. That was before i became aware of the bus boards and that you should never buy the first one that you see.   Not one moment of regret.