Where do you do your work?

[sparkydude]

Hi all!
Well, introductions are in order, I'm guessing. I've lurked around here for quite a while. It's quite a wealth of knowledge and information, really invaluable! I've been wanting to dive in and do this for years! My question, is I own a home that has an HOA, and I'm pretty sure they'd be all over me if I tried doing this kind of conversion in the street in front of my house. Are there any of you who are in similar situations? If so, where do you do your work? Public parking lots, etc.?

Just trying to get all my ducks in a row before I go out and buy a bus, and then find I don't have anywhere to do the work!

Thanks all!

[TygerCub]

I don't live in an HOA neighborhood, but there are some rather snootie busy-bodies who can be annoying. To avoid the nastiness, I parked my first bus in an RV/Boat Storage lot down the street. While that was secure and had power, the owner was one of the aforementioned busy-body types. It was a little expensive and rather inconvenient since I had to work around his times, but I was able to work on it in relative peace.

This time around, I'm just parking in my driveway until I receive some official city notice to move.

HOA's will bite you in the butt every time about every little thing they see as unacceptable. From an American flag flown in your front yard, to a bus parked in your driveway. Your best bet will be to find a storage lot that you can afford, or have a friend with property that doesn't mind the bus.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[chev49]

I know of two coach busses that were converted in the owners short driveways.... cause i helped. One driveway was a incline, and the trailer hitch made a large grove in the concete.

You can probably find somewhere within driving distance to work on your bus. The first two busses i did, one was converted in a large gaveled storage yard for big trucks that i rented cause those guys were allowed to change their oil, do brakes, etc, so the owner let me work on mine, and the second was done at an RV Park in Missouri that was new, and not entirely completed and the owner let me make all the noise i wanted in the unfinished section...(It also helped to make friends with him and go fishing, and look for old cars.)

You just have to be resourceful.

[lornaschinske]

We removed the seats on the 7 acres my mom has in NC. Then did all the paint & exterior stuff (windows, door, + install toilet) in my daughters back yard in NM. We will do the rest while in campgrounds. We have cut sheets of insulation in the parking lot of Home Depot/Lowes just to get it into the Jeep (we have "borrowed" a large sheetrock T square to cut sheets of insulation down inside the store after buying it). We have a battery powered skill saw to cut plywood/lumber to size. We can do that in parking lots. We also have a hand saw that cuts rather well and quickly. We have a battery powered drill/screwgun and racheting drivers.

WITH CAREFUL PLANNING It is possible to stealth convert in a campground.

With planning, you can roll a paint job on while staying in a little used campground or abandoned parking lot (not in town or in little used area). You need all your paint supplies and be prepared to paint a section at a time. It may take you a while bit it is doable. I painted the Class C while in a privately owned campground in Vienna GA. We were the only folks there and I was careful that I did not leave paint stuff laying out all over. For the Class C, I used latex house paint and a 2" brush. For the bus, I used oil based enamels and a mixture of brushes and 4" foam rollers. Did not sand, used liquid deglosser so all I did was wipe down the area to be painted. Take advantage of the breaks in the metal. Paint a panel at a time. Foam rollers makes for a very forgiving finish with a slight orange peel texture. The Hammered paint is very forgiving and I used paint brushes for it (rub rails & bumpers). My goal was simply to get the exterior looking good enough to be accepted in a campground. Everything else we can do in the campground with the exception of using the skill saw. For the generator setup (enclosure, added on fuel tank and install) we may need to find a remote location. With all the nearby national forests, I'm pretty sure I can locate someplace. Other wise I may have to make some "skirts" for the bus and hide under them. Lots of 5th wheels with complete skirts to break the wind under the rig.

By using a faux finish inside, I can simply wipe down with deglosser and sponge on a layer at a time (finish requires 5 layers over the original base paint). I paint a layer on a section at a time and then wait for it to dry.

[Motobus]

I feel for ya, I would hate to live in a HOA. My nearest neighbor is a mile away with hill in between us.

[syke]

Most of the work on our bus has been done on the side of our house in the middle of the city. No HOA but I did have the city officals come a knockin'. Once it was registered as an RV I was good to go.
It's a tight squeeze down the side yard but doable.
For the bigger projects like skinning the windows, that was done at my parents house. They have 2 acres out in the country. No HOA.
The paint is going to be done at my parents shop in a small commercial park on the out skirts of town. Being zoned commercial I will have no issues there.

But like Lorna mentioned, with a little planning and some stealthy moves you should be able to get a ton of work done just about anywhere.

[roach711]

I decided to ask my HOA for a copy of the bylaws and discovered that the HOA didn't have a problem with where I was going to park my bus but the city did. We ended up having to extend our driveway 30' to comply with the city codes. On our lot, any RV over 6' tall has to be in the back yard. I hated to spend the money but at least I don't have to worry about a nasty letter arriving telling me to move it or lose it, and if anyone crabs I can whip out my bylaws and city codes and tell them to get used to it 'cause it's legal and I'm not moving it.

One surprise was that there were different code requirements for different lots in the same area. For instance, corner lots had different rules because technically they don't have back yards. We have a fairly large lot and got a bit more slack than the smaller lots just next door.

Check with the HOA and city, find out what the rules are then go on from there. At least you'll know where you stand. Playing the outlaw has a certain allure but in the end you can't fight city hall.

[sparkydude]

Thank you all for your replies, it is very helpful to see what others have done to fulfill the "bus bug." Yes, this was my first house, so my next one will have NO HOA, and plenty of room for an RV!! I admit that now everywhere I drive I look for places to do the "stealth upgrades."

Keep on truckin! (or should I say bussin?)

[Stuff]

I use my fathers shop or do my work in the yard. Im in a trailer court so my lot is long and narrow so i have parking all the way from the rear fence to the front yard.

[dirtygoat]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

We removed the seats on the 7 acres my mom has in NC. Then did all the paint & exterior stuff (windows, door, + install toilet) in my daughters back yard in NM. We will do the rest while in campgrounds. We have cut sheets of insulation in the parking lot of Home Depot/Lowes just to get it into the Jeep (we have "borrowed" a large sheetrock T square to cut sheets of insulation down inside the store after buying it). We have a battery powered skill saw to cut plywood/lumber to size. We can do that in parking lots. We also have a hand saw that cuts rather well and quickly. We have a battery powered drill/screwgun and racheting drivers.

WITH CAREFUL PLANNING It is possible to stealth convert in a campground.

With planning, you can roll a paint job on while staying in a little used campground or abandoned parking lot (not in town or in little used area). You need all your paint supplies and be prepared to paint a section at a time. It may take you a while bit it is doable. I painted the Class C while in a privately owned campground in Vienna GA. We were the only folks there and I was careful that I did not leave paint stuff laying out all over. For the Class C, I used latex house paint and a 2" brush. For the bus, I used oil based enamels and a mixture of brushes and 4" foam rollers. Did not sand, used liquid deglosser so all I did was wipe down the area to be painted. Take advantage of the breaks in the metal. Paint a panel at a time. Foam rollers makes for a very forgiving finish with a slight orange peel texture. The Hammered paint is very forgiving and I used paint brushes for it (rub rails & bumpers). My goal was simply to get the exterior looking good enough to be accepted in a campground. Everything else we can do in the campground with the exception of using the skill saw. For the generator setup (enclosure, added on fuel tank and install) we may need to find a remote location. With all the nearby national forests, I'm pretty sure I can locate someplace. Other wise I may have to make some "skirts" for the bus and hide under them. Lots of 5th wheels with complete skirts to break the wind under the rig.

By using a faux finish inside, I can simply wipe down with deglosser and sponge on a layer at a time (finish requires 5 layers over the original base paint). I paint a layer on a section at a time and then wait for it to dry.

I love this reply... It made me feel all sneaky...

Years ago I used the drive thru at the bank as my garage on the weekends... Wasn't for a bus, but I did all kinds of work on mine and my friends cars out of the rain... I also used car washes in the winter to get out of the rain and work on stuff...

As far as the bus, I live on a dead end road in a doublewide on owner lots... All my neighbors are as redneck as me...

[Ob1]

I work in my driveway most of the time, but use my body shop sometimes. No HOA, and the city could care less as long as it has a valid license plate. My neighbors have their own idiosyncrasies, and understand that I'm a handy guy to have around!

[gbstewart]

I do all my work in my yard, town hasnt said anything, as long as it has current plates. so far no problems,

gbstewart

[chev49]

I do my work both for me and commercial on my property...