state of the hobby?

[busguy01]

Just spent the month of Sept traveling in my S&S from South Dakota to Maryland and on  to Florida. Saw only one converted MCI, NO Eagles and NO GM's. Started me thinking - what brought me to the hobby 25 years ago was seeing the converted buses on the road - so started thinking about the state of this hobby we love. Why no conversions on the road? Are the buses and or owners getting too old? Wrong time of the year? Saw a LOT of RV's, just no conversions. In this day of somewhat lower diesel costs the lack of traffic in conversions has me wondering if our hobby is dyeing. Any thoughts??
Thanks
JimH

[Scott & Heather]

Jim, we Fulltime, and travel around 45,000 miles a year combined between bus and car. We see private buses all the time. MCI's Eagles, Prevosts. Most of the Prevosts are tour buses for musicians, but we see private units too. Squint a little harder...maybe you're paying better attention to the road and I'm probably not paying enough attention to the road lol. But we keep an eye out and between my wife and I we see plenty of private coaches out there. Our newest coach (102C3) is getting a lot of attention as we go place to place. Even here at the campground we are currently at, people have come up to us and asked us about it. These buses still turn heads. Hobby isn't dying. You should see the insane amount of activity on the BCM Facebook group page. Its nuts over there....in a good way


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[dtcerrato]

I agree with Scott & Heather, after the almost 12,000 mile Alaska road trip we just returned from, lots of conversions, not nearly as many as RVs but enough to notice on a daily basis. Canada & Alaska probably seen more up there than in the States.

[gumpy]

I see a resurgence in the hobby in the past year. There was a period of about 2-3 years when diesel prices were $4 and up when people parked their buses, or decided it didn't make sense to have a conversion. That has changed some and there are new and younger people getting into it all the time. The online presence has changed also, with the advent of social media. I see a lot of new faces on Facebook that I never saw on BCM. I think the tides are changing from the dedicated bulletin board site to the social media sites. I don't think it's necessarily a good thing, due to the limited search capabilities, but it is the current wave. 

[Jon]

I am at a complete loss when bus owners use high fuel prices as a justification for leaving the bus parked.

If owners were honest and thought about what is spent on a bus annually, especially those expenses not related to mileage they would realize the added cost of fuel is unimportant.

Tires, air bags, brake chamber diaphragms, and batteries age out. Every one has their own definition of aging out, but the reality is whether the bus sits or is driven the meter is ticking on those items. Then there is insurance. And despite what we all wish wouldn't happen, buses don't do well when not driven and all kinds of stuff stops working or creates issues.

While a very old coach is unlikely to suffer from  depreciation some coaches do and those usually have a greater amount of depreciation than fuel at any price.

We travel a lot and I cannot say we see a lot of bus conversions in our travels. We see a lot of entertainer coaches, far more than motorhomes.

[Oonrahnjay]

... If owners were honest and thought about what is spent on a bus annually, especially those expenses not related to mileage they would realize the added cost of fuel is unimportant.   

      Very true, of course. It applies to airplanes, sports cars, boats and just about everything else that it's stupid to own unless you really want it.

[Jim Eh.]

It's NOT a hobby .... it's a way of life! 

[gumpy]

I am at a complete loss when bus owners use high fuel prices as a justification for leaving the bus parked.

If owners were honest and thought about what is spent on a bus annually, especially those expenses not related to mileage they would realize the added cost of fuel is unimportant.

I think you are oversimplifying it. People's lives change over time. Their ability to afford things fluctuates and sometimes priorities have to take precedence over luxuries.

In my case, my belief was that if I couldn't afford to use it I should not have built it. I believed that right up until I couldn't justify the cost of $4 a gallon diesel for it. Then my bus sat for a couple years and then I got another job and diesel prices came down and now we can afford to use it again and yes, I'm fixing things on it that are reaching their life span.

[scanzel]

I see a few bus conversions on occasion locally but they always seem to be going the opposite direction of me. The RV park that we go to usually has a few but when I stop and ask it seems they just bought it from someone else so they know little about the build except what they can show me. A lot of the younger generation wants something they can just get in and go now and not have to wait as they build it. It is us crazy "BUS NUTS" that want to buy something old and needing a renovation that wants a bus conversion. I just spent a few days putting down a new Armstrong click/lock vinyl floor and now my knees are letting me know that this is something I would not want to do as a living. My wife thinks we should name our bus Blood Sweat and Tears for all we put into the conversion just to say we did it our way. With all the great deals I see for newer buses on Ebay and other sites hopefully there are some youngsters willing to do the Blood Sweat and Tears and do it their way. Would I do it again, only if I was 30 to 40 years old, not 60 to 70 years old. Good Luck and Enjoy !

[DoubleEagle]

I would say that the downturn in the economy from 2007 on put a damper on activity, and the fuel prices compounded that. As far as seeing Eagle's, MCI's, Prevost's and GMC's on the road goes, the older ones are diminishing in number because they are not being made anymore, and the newer ones, that are made, are pricey. The enrollment in FMCA has dropped, which indicates that RV's are affected as well. While there are younger people that are getting into buying conversions, and even doing their own, the drop in equipment suppliers and sources for parts is another sign of decline in total numbers. All of this makes the conversions that remain more precious. Unfortunately, that does not mean they are more valuable, and the death knell for manual transmissions has been rung. 

[luvrbus]

Here in Az where we live we see a lot of bus conversion lol like I saw 3 in our yard this morning

[Dave5Cs]

 Clifford told you to lock that gate!...

[Dave5Cs]

State of the hobby. Somebody is either not talking or wishing to be a busnut or thinking about being one. Look at the stat's on page one at the bottom. Today there were 91 Guests and 6 members. Last night 123 guest and 15 members? So when we are on the road in our Buses having a good time do these people fly above us watching and hoping to be there one day also, Just wondering.....Come on in guys we don't bite and make this hobby even better.....
Dave5Cs

[lvmci]

Dave, did you stop biting people? tom...

[Van]

Clifford told you to lock that gate!...

Now dat bees funny!

      Very true, of course. It applies to airplanes, sports cars, boats and just about everything else that it's stupid to own unless you really want it.

I think you are oversimplifying it. People's lives change over time. Their ability to afford things fluctuates and sometimes priorities have to take precedence over luxuries.

In my case, my belief was that if I couldn't afford to use it I should not have built it. I believed that right up until I couldn't justify the cost of $4 a gallon diesel for it. Then my bus sat for a couple years and then I got another job and diesel prices came down and now we can afford to use it again and yes, I'm fixing things on it that are reaching their life span.

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