Help my dream is going up in smoke!

Seangie · April 06, 2012, 09:27:58 AM

Buy the Class C and keep the bus. Tell your wife that you want to have fun but before you sell the bus you want to make sure that the Class C is what works for the family. Keep the Wifey happy. If you have any problems at all with the Class C ...perfect intro for the Bus.

Best way to get Wifey interested in the Bus is to get her to check out the insides of other finished buses.

-Sean

Barn Owl · April 06, 2012, 04:01:04 PM

Spending time with your family is more important than spending time with your bus. Lucky is the one who can do both. Keep the bus though, it will make you a nice transition to traveling with character in the future.

eagle19952 · April 06, 2012, 08:58:27 PM

Ok here's the fly in the ointment...
your MIL is selling you a MotorHome at a firesale price and your gonna sell it in a short period of time for a profit and thats going to make her feel good

?
she must really like you....

MEverard · April 07, 2012, 06:13:10 AM

You mentioned letting the bus go. Why would you do that? If there is a problem with keeping both, then I understand. If you can keep the bus and slowly work on it until you retire, then you have the best of both worlds. My wife and I made a decision when we bought our bus to go camping one weekend a month in whatever state it was in. We get to relax, and I don't get burned out working on it all of the time. He is now 75% done, with power, water, and waste, completed. It was an adventure the first couple of times, but the stories are with us forever. We were tent campers, so a gutted bus was equal to a tent. I say if you can, enjoy both. As others have said, you must have family support in anything you do.

Good Luck,

Mike

sommersed · April 07, 2012, 08:54:57 AM

My 1967 MCI5A was completed KISS style in only 30 days by only two people, and has been used full time for 12 years now.

It can be done! Won't be beautiful, but if functionality is the most important than go for it.

Many people that own an old bus call it a labor of love, and takes years, and lot's of money. I'm not one of them. Not including solar expenses (1200 watts), only 15,000.00 had my bus/RV on the road, and that includes the price of the bus!

Ed

Brassman · April 07, 2012, 09:27:00 AM

I guess the OP asked the wrong crowd if he truly wanted to get rid of his bus.

If he decides to keep it, maybe someone can offer suggestions on how to placate his wife. I'm the wrong one to answer that question: I could never placate any wife I ever have.

If he decides to sell, I hope he let's us know the details. Though I have a bus (not yellow anymore), I'd sure like a good ol' 4104.

Ed Hackenbruch · April 07, 2012, 11:58:33 AM

Tranquilizers or sedatives will work.

Lonnie time to go · April 07, 2012, 12:52:03 PM

I agree with others buy the class C Fact the its a class C where you know the owner is huge.

There is no way to turn that down. Great price plus you know all about it is a huge huge huge bonus.

Now when the bus is done then if you must sell the class C you can. But if you can keep both even when
the bus is complete that is also huge to have a backup to the bus.

Lonnie

RnMAdventures · April 07, 2012, 04:00:38 PM

You just got to go to her and tell her, " lookey here woman. I'm the hook and bull around this house..."...

Just pickin, if I did that it wouldn't go over very well.

A warning about "knowing" the Class C you are looking at. I purchased my class A from my dad. I had even lived in it once for 4 months. He owned it for 12 years and had drove it 27000 miles all over the country. He is very meticulous about taking care of his cars. However... it was still a S&S. I owned it for several months and the transmission went out and one tire blow out wasted a side panel. During the time that I owned it I learned a lot about the shoddy construction of the RV.

On the bright side, when I decided to sell it, it sold very quickly.

Sommersed's & MEverard stories sound like a good start if you could get your family into the idea.

Dave5Cs · April 07, 2012, 04:43:42 PM

Ok you already screwed up. You could have avoided all this if only you had included her in the building of the Bus. Mine copied and pasted all of RJ's helpful hint and made plastic covered check lists for the Bus. She picked out the curtain and drap material. She got on the phone and got directions and things for me to go pick up Cabinets from people giving them away on CList for free. I would tell her to find me good remodel kitchen takeouts that were Oak and golden Oak in color so i could cut them down. I found tile that was leftover stock or estate sales that had things we needed to build the bus'
Include the kids, make a game out of it, who finds what we need first kinda thing. We even had the neighbors helping look for stuff, flooring, carpeting etc. It works.

Plus then you don't need as much money you could buy or not the C and if this work she may want to go camping in a one of a kind that she and the curtain hangers all help to build!!!...

Cause right now pal it sounds like it is all yours??? FWIW

Dave5Cs

CindyandJohn · April 10, 2012, 07:27:27 PM

I have to tell you - been there done that... Bought the in-laws class A - before I bought our Eagle. They maintained it perfectly... used it little... but guess what - the first bit of unexpected maintenance caused discomfort... the next issue it had was about 3 grand in front end repairs and upgrades to fix steering issues - that caused me discomfort - then the fridge went... needless to say, even though you know the previous owner, things will go wrong and that makes both sides feel bad. Don't buy the in-laws old RV it will most likely end in both of you getting upset in some way. Get the wife involved in the bus, use the bus, use it as a mobile tent... sleeping bags inside - use the bathroom at the campground, whatever it takes to get the bus out on the road and used... The class A we had was so noisy when driving you couldn't even talk to each other. Everything squeaks, rattles, and bangs. In our Eagle - we can talk, chat, whisper, and love every minute of it.

Just my input - but I have done exactly what you are asking about.

PS: bought the Class A for 23K - 5 years later sold it for hardly 10k. Used RV's are hard for people to get loans on because the sale lots can get them loans on new ones easier then used ones. Again just my opinion.

Good Luck with your decision,
John

Godzilla · April 30, 2012, 05:18:58 PM

Thank to all who have weighed in on my dilemma. I have great news! We have decided to keep the bus. Now my bus is alive and off to the glass shop.

gus · April 30, 2012, 05:53:49 PM

This is the number one reason to always buy a finished bus or 99.9% finished, sometimes a conversion is so many years to completion that the fire goes out.

At my age it would have been foolish!

Geoff · April 30, 2012, 06:10:49 PM

I started my conversion in 1996, it is 99% finished. I love every single part of it-- from mechanical to paint and interior layout.

Driving it is as good as camping in it-- truck stops or RV parks.

However, now at age 61 there is no way I could do it over again. So all I do now now is maintenance and plan trips that I can afford.

--Geoff
'82 RTS AZ

Uglydog56 · April 30, 2012, 08:35:31 PM

My advice to you is buy-in. You need to get her involved in the decision-making process so it is ours not yours. My wife was running the air riveter this weekend, because "she didn't want to just hang curtains and put the dishes away after it was done." (Plus I have someone to blame the crooked rivets on. It was NOT the fault of the guy drilling the holes!

)