"DER BUS"

[Diesel Dan]

A friend of a friend of mine has a 19' RV awning if you are interested. I'm not sure how much he wants for it, but I'll bet you could get a good deal on it. It's too long for my bus. I just responded to a craigslist ad for a 12' awning, so I hope I get that one.

[swhite832]

Note to self....and others

Buy three or four different types of good eye protection....then use it!

$225 and counting....

[jkindt]

Originally Posted by swhite832

Note to self....and others

Buy three or four different types of good eye protection....then use it!

$225 and counting....

I sense that there is a story that goes along with this...

[Seeria]

O.O What happened?!

[swhite832]

Minor update on a major hurdle.

I am now titled as a passenger vehicle. In Texas you have to provide picture of inside showing living and kitchen which must have ice box, sink, microwave and carpet(?). A picture of the outside. The weight from a certified scale. A regular inspection, not DOT. Proof of insurance and $180.70.

I took the bus with the deck rails folded down to a certified Cat scale. Talk about noisy. It was comical. The bus, with the additional deck, 3 ft extension, stairs, and added furniture weighed 18000#. 8500#(11k MAX) on the front axle and 9500#(19K max) on the rear. I have plenty of room if I so desired as long as I load the rear axle. I will prolly add another 1000# with current plans. At any rate I am now legal.....

[cheezypsnookle]

greetings fellow texan up in amarillo i am working on the legal asspects for motorhome title and this is what they want from me
title application form130-u
insurance - liability
idetification certificate form vi-30
weight certificate
and other ..rebuilt affidavit with pics of inside and ouside
sounds like a lot but its not

good work ur bus is huge

[Stuff]

the top deck is doing good!

ya i had lots of loop holes to jump here in sask. my mini was a "bus" so they wanted a bus inspection, then i got it licensed as a converted heavy vehicle, now i cannot have passengers other then immediate family, and cannot cross provincial/usa borders... so all i need is a bed and a fridge and a table or something and i can get it changed to a RV status.

hope it goes smooth for you!

[jkindt]

Wow, with all the hoops I am glad my bus registration said "Motorhome" when I bought it. It had beds, cabinets, fridge, and carpet. No 110V electrical system, no plumbing, no furnace. Couldn't even charge the batteries unless you run the motor or manually connect a battery charger. That will all change.

[Diesel Dan]

Maybe it just depends on which tax office you go to in Texas. I only had to show my title and inspection and 130a form and I was good to go. No weighing or pictures or requirements to have any "RV" stuff. Of course my bus is under the CDL weight limit by 500 pounds (25,500 I think...), so I don't know if that factored into the equation. But I just told them to title it as a motor home and they were fine with that. I go to this small, outlying title office where there is never a line and they have a real "down-home" attitude about stuff. Works out great for me!

[swhite832]

Dan

You are correct...my pepes actually called the State folks. I got charged based on weight. I'm glad I had it weighed. Now I have some idea of how much mass is careening down the road.

Cheezy,

If I remember correctly the vi-30 is the rebuilt statement. It was all fairly basic stuff. The scales were 20+- miles out but you wont have that problem in the big truck mecca of Amarillo.
Ever heard of a band called Lonesome Goat that plays at the Golden Light Cantina?

[cheezypsnookle]

i have been known to go to the golden light from time to time
and i think i saw lonesome goat wrote in the bathroom

i just read that the vi-30 is because i bought the bus in mississippi ...this is from the txdps site

(b) Out-of-state registered vehicles. Vehicles required to be registered in Texas will be required to be inspected at an official vehicle inspection station and obtain a vehicle identification certificate, Form VI-30-A, before the registration process can be completed. Valid out-of-state safety inspection certificates will not be honored on vehicles required to be registered.
srry didnt mean to turn ur thread into the texas inspection/registration thread

[swhite832]

No problem. I went in their office, twice, and stated give me the forms you need and tell me exactly what you need from me." The very next day I showed up with the info while it was still fresh in their collective minds. In the end what it comes down to is how much money do they require.

Another pic...ready for a scrub and primer...

[swhite832]

After working our hind ends off the last three days we are a few minor details away from taking the maiden voyage to, the tailgate of all tailgates, Texas Motor Speedway. The bus is FAR from finished but it is legal, fresh fluids(mostly), large deck, powered, water resistant, and covered by both liability and roadside insurance. We leave on Thursday morning returning on Monday. This will be a trial run to tweak final design plans and "needful" things.

Welcome the the Enormous Apparatus. Enter at your own peril...if you're not careful you just may have a good time.

[swhite832]

Well, drove 500 +- miles with no issues other than oil leaks. I got a whopping 8 miles to the gallon cruising a fairly comfortable 65 mph. RPM guage does not work so no info there. Temperature ranged between 170 -200* Oil pressure 75-100. Air pressure 120+-.

After this "test run" I will be changing the interior design as well as all storage issues. We were parked so tight in our spot that I could not access my battery box. I was going to put my genset, aux. batteries, fuel, etc along that side. I need the access. Back to paper.....

S

[Diesel Dan]

Glad to hear your trip went well. I like the way you installed the deadbolt on the front doors. How long did it take you to put that in? Looks like it involved some welding. Anyway, I think that is great solution to the door locking dilemma! Are you're welding skills for hire?

[swhite832]

The dead bolt did require some welding. I bought the square piece that accepts the lock from a metal supply store. They normally use it for custom metal gates. It took a couple of hours to make. The door itself was another story as the bus had been wrecked and whoever pieced it together did a very poor job. It was a mess and we had to cut out and fill in some areas. We actually installed it inside out. If you want to bring your door over we can hook it up. Just pay for the material, prolly 15 bucks or so.

Yes Smitty. The bus priority will be for the particular spot we control at TMS. It wouldnt have been such an issue if the guy next door was actually present. Since it rained most of the weekend he stayed home. i am sure he would have moved his slide out for us if he was around. I tend not to rely on other people too much so I will prolly redesign some stuff The girls liked the openess of the bus and a few other guys who had buses commented on it as well. i looked at their bus and I tend to agree. For our use "open" is better. I think I will reduce the bunks to one and build a wet bath vs. a seperate toilet and shower, keeping the front 2/3rds as sitting with minimal countertops.

I will definitely spend some time insulating the dash and motor area. Quieting this thing down is a priority now. This first race was a good test run for what needs to get done but I will be parking the bus for a few months to give the house some much needed attention.

S

[Diesel Dan]

Thanks! I'll get in touch with you after I get my bus a little further along. I'm working on the cockpit right now, so it's not really roadworthy; but I hope to have it on the road in the next week or two. I'm itching to take it for a drive, so a trip out to Wimberley would be perfect. Then we could stand around, drink beer, kick tires, spit, and do all those things Texans are supposed to do... "yup, I'll tell ya what, dang 'ole, nice bus, uh huh".

[putterspitt]

Whos gonna bring the brisket, thats what texans do.........Lived in Bastrop before

[swhite832]

some pics ya'll havent seen yet. Far from finished but workable. Due to popular demand there will be NO bunks built. I will install a wet bath, small cabinet with countertop, some head level cabinets throughout to hold supplies and down lights, and a stereo/tv cabinet. They want it wide open...so be it.

[swhite832]

more work.....