A new house to park the bus

Buffalo SpaceShip · July 20, 2006, 04:10:42 PM

Although it must seem like "the tail is wagging the dog", we just closed Friday on a new house to park the bus. My wife would also like to note that it has two more bedrooms than our current home, an extra bath, a thousand more square feet, and (unlike any other home we've bought) is totally "move-in ready."

Since 1992, we've been remodeling houses, turning around and selling them, and then starting all over again every 3-4 years. On House #4, we're saying "enough is enough!" It's time to settle down with a house that's "finished", and move on to the next chapter in our lives. The sagging real estate market here in CO certainly helped with that decision. And the kids are getting older now, and want to travel more... instead of watching Dad do framing, wiring, plumbing and finish work.

We'll be done with House #3 in the next several weeks, and hope that it sells for about what the new one cost. The old house is in a "country club" neighborhood that has an HOA with rules against RVs and parking them on site for more than 72 hours. So we've had to keep our busses parked at a storage lot a few miles away. It made it a pain to pack for a trip and especially to do maintenance work.

Anyways, the whole family's excited about our new house... and I'm very excited about having The SpaceShip close at hand.

If that wasn't good news enough, we sold Bus #3 (the 4106 "Blue Velvet") earlier this week. The cash helped pay down some of the massive debt we're quickly accumulating to make this house transfer work.

I'll be a busy boy for several weeks... and hope that the old house sells fast, since we're burning cash now. Then, we'll all breathe a sigh of relief... and prepare to do some serious Bussin' later this Fall.

Wish us luck,
Brian Brown
Longmont, CO
4108-216

Buffalo SpaceShip · July 20, 2006, 04:11:33 PM

another one...

ceieio · July 20, 2006, 04:19:57 PM

That's great! It is very nice when the bus is just outside the door. Good luck for a quick sale on the current house!

Craig - MC7 Oregon

pete81eaglefanasty · July 20, 2006, 04:52:08 PM

I just wanted to know how did you get out the door.

Pete

TomCat · July 20, 2006, 05:40:29 PM

Quote from: pete81eaglefanasty on July 20, 2006, 04:52:08 PM
I just wanted to know how did you get out the door.

I was wondering the same. All the work Brian is doing on his buses and houses must be keeping him skinny...

Runcutter · July 20, 2006, 05:46:37 PM

Brian, congratulations. You don't know it, but my wife and I were watching the 4106 on ebay, shopping, and it was the best coach in sight (I'm strictly a GM guy). We were doing our research and due dilligence, since it was only a couple of weeks after discovering that there were some coaches in our price range (we still have some remodeling/work to do on the house). We weren't ready to buy until we had sufficient knowledge about values, etc.

It looked like it didn't reach your reserve, so I had your (real business) website saved, in case I wanted to follow up with you. About a week after your ebay auction ended, we found our 4107 on Spike Michaud's website - and I know the Michaud's - I worked for a competitor in the 1960's & 1970's.

So, your work and efforts on your 4106 had some influence on our purchasing the 07.

Now, an extra 1000 square feet - woodshop or model railroad - model railroad or woodshop, or both, that'd be my question.

Arthur Gaudet Carrollton, TX

Buffalo SpaceShip · July 20, 2006, 06:05:59 PM

Pete & Tom:
Yup, she's a tight squeeze in there. Definitely NO 102" coach in our future.

The door opens enough to get out w/o too much effort. And yup, we're fairly skinny folk, but our new neighbor next door wanted to check it out when we came rolling in with the coach last night. She's a bit more, umm... rotund, but got in and out OK.

Now... the bays are another story, so I'll have to pull her forward to open any of those. Still, it's better than going to the storage lot. I could keep her sticking proud of the garage as far as I wanted, but would like to park another car or utility trailer in front of the bus.

Arthur:
Thanks for the kudos on the 4106. An interesting dude came from VA and drove her home. A post-modern hippie filmmaker that actually shoots on film. He planned on stopping somewhere along the way and having a WVO conversion done to her. Then, take her and a bunch of buddies to Burning Man, where he was filming a documentary.

The extra square footage on the new house is already finished (except for maybe 200), so it has a lot of living space. More danged furniture purchases in my future, I suspect.

BTW, I grew up in Carrollton, TX and went to Newman Smith HS (class of '86). Got married in '91, left in '92 heading for CO and never looked back. I went back a few years ago to visit Carrollton/ Lewisville... and didn't recognize the place! Amazing.

Good luck on your 4107. Email me anytime with questions, comments, etc. And please keep those driver stories going along with Russ Long's. I find it all quite fascinating! I should make a documentary on bus drivers and the "golden era" (I'm a very amatuer filmmaker myself).

Thanks,
Brian

Nick Badame Refrig/ACC · July 20, 2006, 06:11:03 PM

Brian & Family,

We wish you the best of luck in your new home!

It looks great! Enjoy it

Nick Badame-

gumpy · July 21, 2006, 05:03:02 AM

Looks to me like that shed has got to be moved so you can get your bus into the back yard! Plenty of room to open the bay doors then!

Casper4104 · July 21, 2006, 05:24:41 AM

Good eye Gumpy,

Move the shed - enlarge the 'crete pad - parking for days. Brian, how much farther back from the shed wall to the fence? Got room?

When I first got my bus, I opened all of the bay doors, engine compartment doors, emergency escape doors etc. and shot a couple of pictures. Man, there's lotsa holes in these things! The bus is 8' wide, but you'd need a 13' or 14' wide area to get all the doors open.

Congrats Brian. Keep us posted. I love your stories about traveling with the kids, and they are part of what inspired me to make the move now while my teens are still (barely) at home. We've had some good times and I'm glad we did it.

Casper

FloridaCliff · July 21, 2006, 05:41:55 AM

Brian,

Congrats to you and your family.

Now keep an extra eye on that light post at the end of the driveway

Cliff

Paso One · July 21, 2006, 06:23:05 AM

Look' s good Brian You can also service the air conditioner from the upstairs window, slip out on the roof then on to the roof of the bus. I know one of your son's has already thought of that, the one that is always climbing something in your film adventures. Also if you paint the front of the bus with a mural that looks like your house it will blend right in looking from the curb.

Glad to hear your other bus sold. paul

Charles Seaton · July 21, 2006, 07:33:29 AM

Having a spot right next to your house is the greatest way to own a bus. I park mine at a local bus company with an excellent reputation for service

Hey, I guess that's the next best thing.

Good luck with the new home!

Buffalo SpaceShip · July 21, 2006, 09:05:17 AM

Thanks, guys! Yes, Craig, that shed should move! It's one of those Tuff Shed type things, 2x3's and plywood, and freaking heavy... but maybe with some come-alongs and manpower (fueled by beer and pizza) I could get it done. It sits on steel stud runners that I'd have to somehow avoid tearing up the backyard and landscape irrigation stuff.

With the shed gone I could pour another 30' or so of conc. pad, letting me put the bus over 40' further back, so it would be totally in the back yard, and much more accessible. Heck, I could even fit another bus in front of it! Hmm... might have to find a new wife, though.

When we sell House #3 some cash that we'll need to put somewhere. Maybe part of it could be diverted to the driveway project!

Thanks to Google Earth (the #1 time-waster yet invented), you guys can see the house and backyard from space... check it out.

Thanks folks,
Brian