It was twenty years ago today... or Back the fun bus up

[chardog1971]

Twas about twenty years ago that a buddy and I thought that it would be a good idea to buy a bus and drive to patagonia. I suppose its still a good one. I have had previously traveled on buses on Grateful Dead tour. some were kind of funky but cool others were awesome to the core. old Volkswagen micro buses welded on top . theres nothing like waking up on the golden gate bridge up high at 55 mph. Any way, one fine Montana spring day we bought ourselves a 1978 international with a gas engine and a new allison 5000 auto trans. drove away for a cool 1500 dollar investment.
We lived across the street from each other and Hans had room to park next to his house so we went to work. We scored a bar set up from a gal who had gone to bar tending school. Her father built it for her house to practice with. It had an r/v double sink an ice box and a bunch of oak trim. I came up with a convertible couch with a freshwater holding tank underneath and a 4 burner gas range. We were ready.

I am a carpenter by trade so i quickly dispatched the bar in to its component parts. out of it I was able to build base cabinets and counter top with the sink already mounted. I was also able to fashion a dinette- sleeper. with the sleeper couch and tank installed and a 12 v. water pump installed and attached to deep cycle battery with isolator we were getting some where. Where Im not so sure. built in the propane stove and gas lantern.

We started cruising it around the local area hitting ski hills, music festivals, 4th of July parties and such. Packed up with rafting gear and other weapons of mass fun we hit the highways and byways of Montana and beyond. Fast forward 2 years. Had to move out of the house across the street. I lived in the bus for the next two years with a crappy propane heater and a small electric heater. It used to get really cold here in the winter and it was kind of a drag not having money to buy a decent heat set up or a good wood heater. At some point along the way i met a woman and we got married and soon after she was with child. Thinking i probably should get a larger place to raise a child we moved out.

Fast forward 18 years later. Bus has been stored in various places and has had a few tenants for all that time. Daughter is grown. wife is gone on to other things. bored some. decided to resurrect her. the engine hadnt been run in at least 6 years. Had to by pass the main tank to avoid fouling the carburetor all up but, with a little ether down her throat the engine roared to life. Purrs like a kitten. in the process now of deciding how to finish the rear 13 feet that is pretty much open space. I have a tub from an r/v but im not so sure im going to use it. Im in a position now to where I can afford to invest in the things I need to make it a happy home.

At this point this will be a weekend project until the heat issue has been rectified. At that point i will live on it on a friends property rent free so that frees up some funds. I cant retreive my pictures from my phone for some reason but i should be able to post from the phone.

thanks for the sight and the ideas I will keep this thread ongoing so tune in next time.

[chardog1971]

oh and we still havent made it to patagonia yet

[EastCoastCB]

Nice.
Caught a lot of Dead shows, eh?

[Tango]

It's alive...it's alive!!

Cool resurrection story, keep it coming. Oh...and Patagonia is still there bud.

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by chardog1971

Twas about twenty years ago that a buddy and I thought that it would be a good idea to buy a bus and drive to

I thought it was twenty years ago today that Sargent Pepper Tought His Band To Play.:

[chardog1971]

How do you add pictures? I did some work this weekend and I have a couple of pictures. Tried to add from the phone. No luck. Re building the front couch and stainless steel stair risers. Coming along. Still need to get stovein and heater going on.I'll have more time to work on it in the next few weeks. Next time mabeyance some pictures thanks

[crazycal]

Here are some pictures of Shakedown Street and backstage from a Dead concert that I took.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/member...albums394.html

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by chardog1971

How do you add pictures? I did some work this weekend and I have a couple of pictures. Tried to add from the phone. No luck. Re building the front couch and stainless steel stair risers. Coming along. Still need to get stovein and heater going on.I'll have more time to work on it in the next few weeks. Next time mabeyance some pictures thanks

Host them on Photobucket or Imgur, and use their provided links-

[emmaomaha]

Sounds awesome, can't wait to see it!

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by crazycal

Here are some pictures of Shakedown Street and backstage from a Dead concert.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/member...albums394.html

I'm confused... Did YOU take them?

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'm confused... Did YOU take them?

Yes, sorry I didn't make that clear. I took the pictures after dropping off backstage. I've always heard about shakedown street so I wanted see / experience it for myself.

I thought it was amusing. The 2 guys trying to get cash to get home because the got arrested was interesting. Some stuff I didn't take pictures of like one dude walking around holding up a 6 inch bud. It was like going to the zoo.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by crazycal

Yes, sorry I didn't make that clear. I took the pictures after dropping off backstage. I've always heard about shakedown street so I wanted see / experience it for myself.

I thought it was amusing. The 2 guys trying to get cash to get home because the got arrested was interesting. Some stuff I didn't take pictures of like one dude walking around holding up a 6 inch bud. It was like going to the zoo.

You really should have seen it back in the day!

[chardog1971]

Let's see if this works . Instructions didn't seem to work. Any way I just scored 100 sq.feet of vynil plank floor Wich hopefully will go down Saturday.also going to stain the remaining wood work. Should be ready to roll for Neil Young in Missoula. I like the pics.

[bansil]

look here for picture tutorial

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f10/ho...lie-11846.html