Reason for Having a Bus

[bcaddel]

I realize this is a great place to network and learn from the experience of others on how to convert a bus into motorcoach (or whatever the correct term is?). But once that is done what do most people do with their bus. I see a lot of people actually live in it and we are considering that option in a few years also. Is the main thing converting the bus, living in the bus or traveling in the bus. To me it is the latter and I think that is the main advantage of having a bus over a regular motorhome.

My folks converted the MCI-7 that I now own and we are wanting to do as much traveling as possible while working a full time job. I missed out on most of the conversion process but my dad did a pretty darn good job I think. In 4 months we have owned our bus I have gotten a lot of grease on my hands but I really enjoy it quite a bit. I was a commercial general aviation pilot and A&P mechanic back in the 70's but haven't turned many wrenches or flown many miles since then but since the bus sat in the driveway for 4 years I had to go through everything to get it back ready for the road. I think we finally have everything in a pretty roadworthy condition currently and plan to take a coast to coast trip in the spring.

My question is where are some of the really great experiences you have had in your coach, either must see places that have RV friendly spaces around them or maybe national forest that are RV friendly. I understand that many national and state parks are not really made for 40 ft buses. We enjoy the traveling as much if not more so than the actually getting there.

We are in the early stages of planning our spring trip, does anyone know of any must see places within a couple hundred miles of the route I posted with this message? We are hoping to take about 4 weeks but with the economy we may not be able to get away from work that long. I am planning on talking with the owner of the casino I work for on Tuesday about the possibility of a 4 week sabbatical in March or April (hopefully he doesn't recommend I make it permanent)

I love this sight and check it several times a day for the last several months. I have gotten quite a bit of an education from everyone and appreciate all the knowledge available here. Thanks in advance for any comments, advise or ideas.

[zubzub]

Unless you enjoy grey miserable days I would not recommend going that far north in March and April.  By mid to late april Chicago is alright but is you want to enjoy yourself stay further south/  FWIW.

[bcaddel]

You make a good point and we have discussed trying to stay further south but we really want to go through Washington DC, and it is next to impossible for me to get away from work for any length of time once summer actually gets here. We planned to go to CA and the southern part of the route first so the northern part would be in late March or Early April.

Last year we went to Yellowstone (rode the snowmobiles through the park, it was beautiful) in March and through the Dakotas (in a pick up camper). We went from Reno almost up to Canada then down to Texas and over to Yuma so we had quite a variety of weather. We obviously don't mind cold grey (not miserable though) days. We had an F350 with 4 wheel drive and I purchased chains for all 4 wheels. Luckily I didn't have to put them on but it would have climbed a tree if needed with those chains on.

Anyway thanks for your suggestion, and the wife pretty much agrees with you so we will definitely do quite a bit of discussion prior to locking the route and actual dates.

[kd5kfl]

I can't anwer your question, because you  asked for the wrong thing.

Why I will have a bus when I retire:

I do not intend to sit in one spot and wait to die. Too much world I haven't seen.

Sticks and staples do not do what I need. I intend to make the last 8 feet of a bus a hippie era van, a Sin Bin. The front 32 feet will be a workshop with workbenches on both sides. Washbasins outside so I can degrease before entry. Kitchen that occupies about 3 cubic feet; I don't cook.

No point gutting a motorhome to get where I need to be. Buy a robust box and build what I need from scratch.

[RJ]

Bob -

Since your screen shot photo didn't expand that much, I sort of guessed at your route on Google Maps, coming up with about 6,600 miles RT, w/o any little side jaunts.  If you get four weeks vacation, that works out to covering at a minimum about 250 miles per day, just to make the loop.  That's an average of five hours driving time daily, w/o any time to really "see" stuff.  (Heck, you can spend a week in the Smithsonian alone!!)  Add to that five hours of driving, you also need to factor in finding a place to sleep (even if it's Wally World or a Flying J), fuel stops, grocery/meal stops, etc.

If you drove the legal commercial driver's hours, you could cover about 500 miles per day (10 hours), but if you're the only driver, you'd be exhausted by the third or fourth day, running that hard.  Especially since you don't drive commercially for a living, where you'd be more used to that kind of abuse.  OTOH, if you've got another driver or two, the behind-the-wheel time can be spread out amongst you, reducing the burden.

Not saying it cannot be done, it certainly can.  Just realize that you're not giving yourself a lot of "spare time" as it's currently planned.

FWIW & HTH. . .



PS:  You might consider taking your coach over to Ted Campbell's place in Williams, CA between now and your trip to have the West Coast Guru make sure it's in good shape for your journey.

[bcaddel]

Very good estimate on the milage (6730) and I agree if we averaged it out it wouldn't be much fun driving 6 or 8 hours every single day,but we enjoy the driving and seeing the country as much as almost any destination. The wife and I share the driving and easily cover 600 miles (usually on the interstate) a day then stop somewhere just to spend the night. Two or three days of this gets us to a destination where we relax with no driving for a day or two then we do another 2 or 3 days on the road. My folks said 250 was the most they would ever consider traveling in a day. I think if your retired and have plenty of time that is fine, but for us working folks that have some restrictions on time away from home/work we have to compromise somewhat.

While I definitely agree we don't get to see much if any of the sights by traveling on Interstates and only staying a short time anywhere we do get to see lots of the country by just going down the highway. We also get to spend lots of time with each other in what is a fun and relaxing atmosphere for us. We had a motorhome many years ago and the last 10 years have traveled in a pick up camper. So we are anxious to get to spread out a little more in the bus.

We are both 60 now and retirement is still a couple years away, so we want to do as much traveling as we can now. We have traveled most of the west coast and want to see more of the east coast.  The plan is to drive up to Alaska next summer. I used to fly supercubs up there in the 70's, I remember the roads looked pretty rough an primitive from the air, I hear they have improved somewhat now and motorhomes go up there routinely.

While we are both quite healthy now, I have several friends that health concerns have started limiting their activities and I definitely don't want to be saying "I wish I had done more back when I was younger/healthier". My folks only had about 5 years of traveling in the bus once they got it converted. They spent much more time working on the conversion (which they did enjoy very much) but I know they wanted to have more years traveling and their age just caught up with them.

I appreciate the two comments as they are both on point as to being cautious of going too far north in the spring and don't plan on driving more hours that you have time for. We will probably make several changed in our plans prior to departing and probably during the trip taking both of these thoughts into consideration

[pvcces]

Another way to make a long trip is to cut it into two pieces. If you buy round trip tickets and fly back from some point a long way from home, you can use the second half of the round trip to fly to your coach and resume your trip.

We can't be gone more than about three weeks at a time and this is how we figured that we could travel the east coast. We figured that we could find a good way to store the coach while it is over on the eastern seaboard.

We made one run from Washington to Florida in a single trip and found that we didn't have enough visiting time. We dicided not to do that again.

For what it's worth.

Tom Caffrey

[bcaddel]

Tom
What a clever idea, we have never thought of that option and it might work out really well for us. Thanks for the thought.
Bob

[TomC]

Personally-I would suggest you make your visit to DC, New York City, Boston, etc, by flying there and renting a car (or just take public transportation) since you can spend alot of time in DC with all to see there. 
I would take the southern most route (I-10) all the way and make a loop through Florida all the way down to Key West.  Lots of RV parks and snow birds will be leaving that time of year.  I drove for 21 years and after eliminating California as my favorite state, Florida was my second favorite state.  Lots to see and do and love the water sports.  Then just come back across I-40 back to Reno.  Good Luck, TomC

[niles500]

I would not RV with D.C. as a destination (and I speak from experience) - as said before it's easier done by plane - Be that as it may, Pick a maximum destination distance and if you get there fine, turn around, if you don't make it that far, that's fine too. The answer is to travel like a gypsy, have a turnaround point, be in NO HURRY to get there, and enjoy all the experiences along the way without leaving yourself in too much hurry to get back without the ability to enjoy the return trip - I started traveling with my kids when the youngest was three - We did circles originating from our home - the older they got the larger the circles, bypassing what we'd already done unless it warranted a second visit (as agreed by all) - In 14 years, 49 states, every province and territory in Canada (except Quebec, Newfoundland), and Mexico - Don't try to plan it too much - Pick a direction, head that way and  make adjustments along the route - When your half way out time wise, turn around and find a different route home - In the 14 years with the kids I never knew where we were staying that night until lunch (if that) nor where we would be the next day till the evening before (I did do some preplanning before the trip) - Never have ever had a RESERVATION anywhere nor needed one, nor a DESTINATION other than some highlighted spots along the route - the rest of it I figured as I went - We did cook out almost every night and kept our eyes open for  the places with the brown and green signs (state and national parks/monuments/campgounds)

[gumpy]

I realize this is a great place to network and learn from the experience of others on how to convert a bus into motorcoach (or whatever the correct term is?). But once that is done what do most people do with their bus. I see a lot of people actually live in it and we are considering that option in a few years also. Is the main thing converting the bus, living in the bus or traveling in the bus. To me it is the latter and I think that is the main advantage of having a bus over a regular motorhome.

First off, a bus is never finished, so there's always going to be fun there. Second, every converter should be using his/her bus while doing the conversion. It keeps the interest up, and helps clarify plans. And finally, buses were made to travel in.

You've got a pretty good start on your plans for this trip, and all the responses so far are spot on and very logical.

You didn't say exactly what time of year you plan on making the trip (or I missed it if you did). That can make a big difference on routes and attractions.  My biggest suggestion is you cut your distances or increase your time frame, and move your routes OFF the interstates. Get onto the two lanes and lesser traveled roads of America and see what the smaller towns have to offer. It doesn't really take much more time to get from
point A to point B that way.  Personally  I would move your routes either up or down by a hundred or two miles and make a goal of not touching an interstate highway, except to cross it. 

The suggestion to leave your coach and fly back and forth is a great one, too, considering you are so far away from the right coast. I have a friend on the board who does that with his large family. He's a commercial pilot so he gets great discounts on flights. They leave their bus all over the US, and fly back to it when they have time to travel more. There are busnuts all over the country who can help you find locations to leave it for awhile. Of course it takes a lot of planning to get the vacation time and purchase tickets well in advance, etc.

If you're taking the time to go that far, you should detour up through VT, NH and ME. I'd much rather see ME than NYC or WDC, although the Smithsonian is worth a few days.

Your plans to travel to AK are right on, too. We did that trip in 2005 with our MC9. It was great. I don't recommend even attempting to drive it unless you have a minimum of 6 weeks to really enjoy it. If you only have a couple weeks, fly up and rent an RV in Anchorage. That takes the bus
thrill out of it, though.

Enjoy the journey.

craig

[bcaddel]

Thanks for the input Craig, when we retire (3 to 5 years) we definitely will take the advice of staying off the interstate and take the lesser traveled roads. But as a working couple we just don't have that kind of time but we still want to spend time actually burning up diesel fuel traveling the country in the bus now.

I have viewed all your pictures from your Alaskan trip and that helped me feel our bus could make the drive with no problems. As I have mentioned earlier I used to be in the aviation business back in the 70's back in Texas. I would purchase old Super Cubs and rebuild them with a few custom features and fly them up to Fairbanks and sell them to the guys doing the pipeline. I would fly low and slow following the highway often only 100 feet and I got a pretty good view of the condition of that Alaskan highway back then. It would beat the crap out of most vehicles you would see on the road, especially the S&S campers and trailers. I think it was a one way trip for most vehicles back then. It looks like it is in much better shape now so we think we will try it out next year, but we will still only have a month to get'er done.

One way I think we are different from some here is we actually enjoy being in the bus going down the highway all day long. We often hot swap driving duties so we can cover more miles in a day. That's one of the biggest reason we didn't get a 5th wheel. I think even when we retire we will spend as much time going down the highway as we can instead of stopping in RV parks or Campground. I guess its because we deal with tourist in our work lives so much we enjoy just driving down the road by ourselves all day and viewing the different parts of the country.

We do want to plan a trip after we retire to the north east in the fall to see all those fall colors we have heard about our entire lives. The Smithsonian also sounds like it would worth several days so we will save that trip until we have all the time we need.

[bcaddel]

Niles500
BINGO, you explained exactly how we have traveled and vacationed for the last 30 years. I think that is the only way to do it and that is kind of what we are talking about  here. We want to generally take the route i drew out, but I am quite sure it will change as we head out and get ahead or behind schedule. I almost never make a reservation anywhere because we don't want to be locked into a set agenda. We are able to spend more or less time at any one spot and carry on.

Every sentence of  your post matched my thoughts exactly. May not be the way a lot of people want to do it but it works for me. That is one of the major reasons we decided to purchase my parents bus, plus the fact they spent so many years converting it, it gives me a feeling that they are with us when we are traveling down the road and that makes every mile that much more enjoyable...

Bob

[luvrbus]

Bob, it may not be for you but we enjoy traveling with a small group of 2 or 3 other buses we do it about every year and if one breaks off to visit family we decide on a place to meet up again.We have friends that were met on the road 20 years ago traveling in a bus and today they are still close friends enjoy your travels and take the time to do it   good luck

[bcaddel]

Luvrbus
That is something I really look forward to also. Currently we don't have any friends that have an RV that we could join up with, but as we travel more I am sure we will start to make those acquaintances. I am kind of a loner but the wife hasn't ever met anyone she didn't enjoy visiting with and that gets us connected. Kind of like having a puppy everyone loves her and enjoys being around her.

In my business, right or wrong, I kind of isolate myself from lots of people but I am really very anxious to get retired and be able to let my guard down and get to know people better. My parents talked about it quite a bit, the camper on the right side of them might have been a ex-security guard and the camper on the left side of them might have been a ex-banker but they are all sitting beside the campfire playing the harmonica and guitar as friends and equals. No one better or worse than the other. In the work world it sometimes isn't that simple but I definitely look forward to making those kind of Friends and more importantly being one of those kind of friends.

I am sure that will all start happening once we get retired and have time to attend the rallies and just meet more people with the same lifestyle as we are planning in the next chapter of our life. It sure sounds like a really enjoyable way to spend the next 10 to 15 years.