Has anybody been to Ron the bus nut's lately?

[RickB]

Good morning,

We're considering a 4 hour run to Ron's to peruse for things we need like awnings and other specialty items that he may have. I wish we could do the Elkhart trip but that is alot farther and would require more planning.

Just trying to get the cobwebs out of my bus/head...

Maybe I'll see if Gumpy's up for a ride this Friday

Any thoughts?

Rick

[luvrbus]

Rick, if you go do me a favor and check and see what he has in the way of Zip Dee, looking for window awnings for a friend. 


good luck

[RickB]

Clifford If I go I'll post what Zipdee stuff he has for you...


Thanks Rick

[akroyaleagle]

I was there a couple times last year.

He now has 3 warehouses. They are 60 miles apart! Allow a couple days or more.

Take a BIG trailer. He's got a lot of stuff.

[scanzel]

Where is this Ron the Bus Nut. We don't have squat here on the east coast in New England.

[belfert]

Ron the Bus Nut is based out of Specer, Iowa with two additional warehouses in Early, IA and Sac City, IA.  A lot of the bigger RV stuff such as stoves and the like is located in the Early warehouse.  Sac City is mostly wiring harnesses and other parts from Spartan chassis.  The main Spencer building is mostly the gasket business that is Ron's main business.  There is small RV stuff at the main building like lights, gauges, and plumbing parts.  He had a lot of aluminum wheels, but mostly in smaller sizes for diesel pushers.

Rick, If you are going on Friday I might be interested in taking the day off and going with you.  The only thing I really want is a dash warning light cluster from a Spartan that is for a Series 60.  (The firetruck chassis sometimes have Series 60.)  The bad thing is what I want is probably in the Early or Sac City warehouse.

I would call Ron before you go to make sure he even has what you want and that he would be in the office.  I have Ron's cell phone number if you want it as he is hard to reach otherwise.

If you go I would also stop at Jake's RV surplus in Fairmont on the way.  You pass right by on I90.

[gumpy]

I'd call him first. I've heard it can be nearly impossible to go there when he's around.

I'd like to find out if he has some awnings, but I don't think I can go on Friday, unless I can get some extra time in at work in the next couple days.
Let me know for sure, though.

I, frankly, wouldn't waste much time at Jake's. They have a lot of stuff, but they got so greedy you can buy new for wholesale or discount and beat their prices for used. At least the
last time I was there it was that way, but that was probably 5-6 years ago.

Did you get those batteries, Rick?

[belfert]

I'd call him first. I've heard it can be nearly impossible to go there when he's around.

Not sure what you mean here?  If Ron isn't around you probably won't be able to buy any of his RV surplus stuff.  I haven't asked for sure, but that is the impression I get.

It doesn't take long to stop at Jake's.  If I was going to Ron's I would stop at Jake's also unless I was really pressed for time.  They have moved in the last few years and most everything is in the one building now.

Call ahead and be sure they are open on Friday.  The last time I was there the place was closed on Fridays.  Ron will often meet you there on Friday or even the weekend, but you have to make arrangements in advance.

[RickB]

Well, here's the scoop. Ron will be around if we want to go. He has a limited supply of awnings though.

My plan was to go to ABC in Faribault and get a passenger side entrance window (The little window was more than the big windows at Peninsula so I'm gonna put a regular one in the door and get two more big sliders.)
I figured I'm 1/4 of the way to Ron's place at that point so why not keep going?

The problem is I have no couches in my bus right now which means I don't have sleeping spots for more than 2 so unless my couch from the house will work or unless some doesn't mind sleeping on an air mattress we may not have room.

I really think with the long drive it may not be worth it to go if we don't spend a big chunk of Friday and part of Saturday there. Let me know what you guys think, we can certainly go another time in the near future.

Rick

[belfert]

I think it would be hard to spend that much time there, but I guess if you go to all three warehouses you could do it.  The warehouse at Sac City is interesting, but not really much of anything bus related.  I didn't know you planned to drive your bus.  I thought maybe you had another vehicle like a pickup to haul stuff back.

[Dreamscape]

I hope you guys have better dealings with Ron. I ordered stuff from hime twice, no ship, no call. I just gave up. I had ordered from him in the past and it went well. Oh well, have fun.

[Fredward]

Boy there's a bunch of us looking for awnings from the sounds of it. I wonder if there is some way to get a deal on three or four of them somewhere around here? I want one and Troy is going to put one on the Eagle.
Fred

[cody]

Paul, you sure had a run of bad luck, if it isn't windows going on a world tour then it stuff not getting shipped lol.

[Dreamscape]

Paul, you sure had a run of bad luck, if it isn't windows going on a world tour then it stuff not getting shipped lol.

I still have my teeth!

[ruthi]

We got some stuff from him, including our 2 basement airs. That was back last summer. Some wrong parts were sent, and had to keep calling to get them. We are still trying to get a wiring harness for the heat pumps. The wrong ones were sent, so, we are still calling and trying to get them. When we call, he says he has been busy, and will get to it, but it aint happened yet. Good luck. Ruthi