RIPPLE on the road

[TinTapping]

Greetings!

My name is Chris. The bus is Ripple.

We are 7 months into living full-time on our build. Left Iowa in late 2021 when the snow started flying.

I'll be starting a proper build thread in the appropriate place but wanted to have a chance to say howdy , meet some folks , and express my gratitude for all that I've learned from this astounding community...both this forum and the folks we've met along the way thus far!

Our rig:
1998 Thomas MVP RE
CAT 3126-A (round dome HUEI with AdeptApe approved "built proofing")
MD3060 (currently in a state of needing some work...we're settling in for a summer/fall in Wyoming )
Dana Spicer 5.38

Our build: (we still have loads of projects remaining from trim to powering the balcony/bike rack...not sure it will ever ALL be done )
-4 bedrooms: 3 crew cabins, 1 captains
-full bath with composting toilet, soaking tub and misting shower
-full kitchen with range, sink, hood vent, dish drip rack
-custom fiberglass tanks: 200 gal fresh / 100 gal grey
-ramp stairs main side entry
-cab converted to partitioned office space
-2000 watt solar
-chest freezer / chest fridge
-dinette converts to queen guest bed
-roof racks for kayak storage and solar access
-folding bike rack that doubles as rear balcony

When we started having kids twenty some years ago my wife made me a deal; she'd get to stay home with kids for the early years and I'd get the last few years. We kept to that agreement and starting three years back I went full-time dad and began looking for a project to do with my three sons.

I have a lifetime of building (heavy timber was my specialty) and degrees in architecture and urban planning. I took the boys through a design studio process and treated the build like a graduate level design/build studio. So my sons are both the labor and a good part of the brains behind our build.

Excited to be here and looking forward to becoming an active member so that I can give back a little of what I've received.



And a few teaser pics (I captioned them but one may need to navigate to my albums??? not 100% on forum posts...yet ) until I get that build thread rolling in the coming days.

[peakbus]

Very cool build! Great the kiddos are involved. Looking forward to seeing more.

[TinTapping]

Originally Posted by peakbus

Very cool build! Great the kiddos are involved. Looking forward to seeing more.

I truly feel like I won a lottery having gotten to spend two years with the boys just planning and building and traveling. Guess it's ok to have a peak life experience at 45. Might as well retire! Or get back to work!

Thanks for the welcome.

[A_Bus_Called_Quest]

Very cool rig, I love the stepped roof raise!

Where in Iowa are you from? I was raised in Iowa City, now Las Vegas local.

[TinTapping]

Originally Posted by A_Bus_Called_Quest

Very cool rig, I love the stepped roof raise!

Where in Iowa are you from? I was raised in Iowa City, now Las Vegas local.

Thanks! As I’ll detail when I get to posting the build the stepped roof raise was a last minute solution. I’d love to claim that it was design genius but…it was just pragmatics.

Iowa City for us too!! We actually landed there after a consulting contract I was on in northern Manitoba went sideways…my sister has worked at UI for years and we didn’t have any other compelling place to head to so decided to spend a few years closer to her.

We spent much of Feb/March at Lake Mead. Our trips into Henderson and Vegas really surprised us…didn’t think we’d like the place but will absolutely be spending more time in southern Nevada.

Cheers!

[Dbacks2k4]

Holy roof raise! I look forward to seeing it on the road sometime.... I'm in North Liberty and my shop is in Tiffin.