Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 07-16-2016, 11:41 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Dayton, Tx
Posts: 19
Year: 2008
Hello! I'm new to the idea!

Good evening everyone! Yall can call me Pudge, it has always been a bucket list item of mine to buy a bus and convert it into something that will allow me to dissappear from the real world so to speak and travel the country. I live in a small town in Southeast Texas and I'm also a US Navy Veteran. I have quite a few mental disorders from my time in service so I believe that having the escape of a bus to travel with would help me immensely. With that being said, I don't even know where to begin, I will be buying a bus in the next few weeks for sure and that's all I know at this point. My plan is to build this bus with a group of friends that I am very close with so that I always have the memories. We all have different skills and personalities so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Any advice anyone could offer would be great, especially if you know the legal requirements for the State of Texas or anything else like that.

Pudgewomper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2016, 12:46 AM   #2
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Garden State (rural NJ)
Posts: 378
Welcome, Pudge! Thank you for your service.

Texas seems to be one of the more forgiving states. I'm sure another Texan will chime in here with his/her thoughts. If you can find a bus in Texas, you'll have a leg up in the rust department.


Good luck!
BusFiend is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2016, 01:32 AM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Dayton, Tx
Posts: 19
Year: 2008
Ive found a 1993 blue bird with 200000 miles on it that looks pretty good in the pictures for only $2600. I, going to go take a look at it this week I think. I wish I could find me a good step by step guide on how to do this. I have very little mechanic experience and like to have a solid plan before I start lol military habit.
Pudgewomper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2016, 08:19 AM   #4
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Howdy Pudge and welcome from another Navy vet skoolie Texan (Houston). Best start is to read as many of the build threads here as you can cram in. You'll find a wealth of info about various makes, models, engines and trannies. Get a handle on how you want to use your rig (weekends, occasional long trips, full-time) then try and find the very best bus you can afford that fits the bill as your platform. And Texas is a great place to shop. Little if any rust and many variants from van based shorties to 40 footers. Don't rush in and grab the first thing that comes along. Do your homework, compare prices then stick to a plan that will get you what you want. There are plenty of buses here.

Best of luck Bud...enjoy the hunt and keep us up on how it goes.
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2016, 10:10 AM   #5
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,707
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pudgewomper View Post
Good evening everyone! Yall can call me Pudge, it has always been a bucket list item of mine to buy a bus and convert it into something that will allow me to dissappear from the real world so to speak and travel the country. I live in a small town in Southeast Texas and I'm also a US Navy Veteran. I have quite a few mental disorders from my time in service so I believe that having the escape of a bus to travel with would help me immensely. With that being said, I don't even know where to begin, I will be buying a bus in the next few weeks for sure and that's all I know at this point. My plan is to build this bus with a group of friends that I am very close with so that I always have the memories. We all have different skills and personalities so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Any advice anyone could offer would be great, especially if you know the legal requirements for the State of Texas or anything else like that.

im a computer programmer / DEV guy thats never seen a bit of military service.. however I can totally attest to the fact that having a bus is a great escape.. positive thing to do, and puts the mind in a different place... my Bus is my escape... my build is minimal as im not the casmping type but just hopping in and getting it on the road and finding someplace to park and set up my Software dev lab and work .. even though only done it a couple times in my short time has been incredibly rejuvenating..

-Christopher
cadillackid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2016, 03:00 PM   #6
Bus Nut
 
Carytowncat's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Richmond Virginia
Posts: 932
Year: 1984
Engine: 366 Big block Chevy! :) w/ Stick shift
Welcome pudge, your screenname delights me to no end


These bus have magical effect on my ptsd. Thank heaven this Bus found me
A great reminder how grateful i am to have that mobile space.

Good luck brother and Thank you for your service!
Carytowncat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2016, 03:19 PM   #7
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Dayton, Tx
Posts: 19
Year: 2008
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
Howdy Pudge and welcome from another Navy vet skoolie Texan (Houston). Best start is to read as many of the build threads here as you can cram in. You'll find a wealth of info about various makes, models, engines and trannies. Get a handle on how you want to use your rig (weekends, occasional long trips, full-time) then try and find the very best bus you can afford that fits the bill as your platform. And Texas is a great place to shop. Little if any rust and many variants from van based shorties to 40 footers. Don't rush in and grab the first thing that comes along. Do your homework, compare prices then stick to a plan that will get you what you want. There are plenty of buses here.

Best of luck Bud...enjoy the hunt and keep us up on how it goes.
I am from Houston as well! Actually a little east of Houston in Dayton. I'm glad to see that there are resources and people so close that I can go to for help if need be

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Pudgewomper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2016, 03:21 PM   #8
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Dayton, Tx
Posts: 19
Year: 2008
Anyway it has been a dream of mine to use this bus to travel from place to place and when I get tired of being somewhere just go somewhere new.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Pudgewomper is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
beginner, help with building, texas

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.