1960 4104 first big trip

[Nel]

I have owned this bus for almost 3 years,it's been gutted , interior redone ( still working on it),exterior stripped and painted, cleaned,  most mechanicals maintained and gone over, most plumbing and electrical working good enough to camp with and many small drives locally( mainly because you fear what will happen if it dies out there)  and alot of dreaming and waiting to take our first long trip.
    Well we finally went for it this past weekend , from West Nyack NY to Wildwood NJ about 200 miles each way on the Garden State Parkway to a camp ground called Holly Shores in Cape May.
   I will say the 4104 although not a hot rod , drove as smooth as silk, the most amazing machine I have ever driven over 10,000 lbs. I got the shifting down pretty damn good and felt like a trucker in no time , the ride was amazing , the Detroit 671 sounded and ran perfect ( you don't need a audio device of any kind in the bus because the engine sound is music). We did hit some traffic and being in a manual shift , you just have to anticipate the traffic movement and hang back in 2nd gear and crawl which saves a lot of clutching . What was amazing too is in 80 degree weather I had the two vents in front open and the dash fans running, 2 side windows open and it was real comfy. The wife loved it too. The rest stops were easy to manage too including fueling up. I think one of the biggest challenges was getting thru the tolls and arguing with almost every toll taker that this was a private motor home and not a bus,even though I had the private coach emblems under each front side window, a difference in toll of 8.60 to 3.00, although I did get burnt twice in the first couple because I didn't know better.   
      So to you seasoned bus/rv people out there, this may seem like a no big deal trip, but to someone who never owned an rv much less a 56 year old bus , It was a great experience and confidence builder that these machines when maintained and repaired are fantastic vehicles and can't wait for the next trip.   Nelson   

[MB LeMirage]

Congrats Nel. It sure is good to see another one hit the road on a, while short by some standards, long by those of us still converting, road trip. It encourages me and maybe some others here on the board to keep going, even when it looks like we are a long way from being done and are impatient and frustrated.
Ryan.

[DoubleEagle]

Enjoy your bus, the 671 is not powerful, but it is dependable and smooth running. It has a very pleasant sound which is unique among the 2 cycles.

[Nel]

Yes , It's all worth it once you take it out on it's maiden voyage, my wife and I slept in it at the campsite for the first time and looked at each other like " did we actually do this? " not to mention all the attention it gets on the road and parked where ever you go.When we got to the camp site not a whole lot of people stopped to ask questions but there where a hell of a lot of pictures being taken as they walked by, even the camp managers took pictures for their website
  So yes keep working on your buses and don't get discouraged .If I had to say one thing is these buses were built like tanks so yes pay attention to the important mechanical s , but don't focus on things you think will keep you from taking it out because they are old, the engineers that built these things made them to last . Having a road side service will help in a little piece of mind too.
Ryan, keep plugging away and Walter , yes it's a blast to drive. Nelson

[Sealark]

The maiden voyage is a memorable experience.  Like you, we took our maiden voyage about 2 months ago from PA to Fla and back towing a Jeep.  Ours was a smooth run as we settled into the 60 - 65 mph, except for the hills which got down to 35-40mph, to provide a more relaxing opportunity to enjoy the scenery.  Now we have to tweek the conversion to suit our needs.  It seemed that no matter where we stopped, whether a Walmart or a campground the bus draws a crowd and gets its picture taken quite a lot.  The highlight of a voyage is not so much the destination but the adventure of getting there.
Happy Trails............Dan

[Nel]

Yes Dan a lot of tweeking, even down to realizing you forgot the cup holders, etc. What type of bus do you have? You might want to put it in your signature or profile. Thanks, Nelson