UPDATE:
Hey everyone, sorry we never updated this, I intended to in December but we've moved our location so life has been busy. Since our last post we have moved to SE Wisconsin with our bus and Subaru Legacy. Before that we did a rushed front cap job with the scrapped/saved sidewall sheet metal. At this point we're planning on redoing it this Summer, though we haven't fully decided on how. I'm leaning towards fiberglass but when time/weather is available I'll have to do some research. We also set-up and are continuing a Progressive Commercial liability insurance policy which you can read
here.
I wish we had more pictures of the front cap in-progress but we were rushed we just didn't have the time. Julie got a job with the DNR, which is why we're moving, so we wanted to get settled ASAP before it started. Here are some pics from the drive over (we ended up taking the Interstate even though the bus maxes out at 60 mph, we considered taking back-roads but it would have been a pain)
We had planned on staying at Walmart or Menards when we got to the area, but both places ended up not allowing overnight parking. I actually didn't have my clearance lights hooked up and tried to wire them up at Menards but it wasn't working out so we ended up driving to a local county park without them. We slept two nights in the bus (I think it was $18/night w/o electric/water for the off-season which I think was a little high, but cheaper than a motel) until we found an apartment that fit our needs.
A little play time with Sally in the bus.
She was really happy to get an apartment though.
As this is going to be the first time we're both going to have jobs (since Julie just finished her Masters degree) I ended up buying a 1999 Ford Ranger so we could have two vehicles. This is also in anticipation of having to move building materials (instead of driving the bus to Menards every time) and for future limited/off-grid living.
After a week or so on the borrowed air mattress from our landlords (they live underneath us of a two story house) I built this double hammock stand (requested by Julie) as a test run for potential sleeping arrangements in the bus (I slept in a hammock for about 6 years before). Unfortunately Julie has decided after two weeks that it's not going to work for her. We considered the option of buying a mattress but actually decided (after some research) to try sleeping on the floor permanently and so far I think we're pretty content with it. It will allow us to keep our bedroom area more open and convenient and it actually has my back/spine feeling really good even though I'm still trying to sleep laying on my back more consistently.
I think that's it for now. We probably won't be making many, if any, posts for a couple of months until it starts to warm up so we can start working on tearing out the stock bus floor. Oh, and I forgot to mention, our bus is in outdoor storage again, but its costing us $15 a month instead of the $25 previously.