Ask, Convert, Then Run?

[lornaschinske]

Why does it seem that folks come on this forum, ask all kinds of questions about converting a bus. Then they do all the converting and post pics. Then they disappear and are never heard from again? Makes me feel so.... used!

There is life after converting. I know they are making changes and tweaking over time. I used to post on a coach conversion site and they posted before, during and long after the conversion was "finished" (it's never finished and these guys are still posting... I registered there in Aug, 2001... same guys still on there). They had a huge knowledge base sitting there waiting to be tapped. Here, you can't really ask "how did XYZ hold up to traveling/use/time... what would you do different?". Some things that are done here are experimental and it would be nice to know if the concept held up to reality. And then there is the acceptance question everybody asks (Can a skoolie get into a commercial campground). So many unanswered questions. So much expertise gone. So sad.

[Stuff]

they could be average joe's and 'ah its good enough' or just dont care anymore once the trip is said and done.

[bus-bro]

As someone who never finishes anything, which explains why I've been on this board a long time, I've seen them come and go. You get those who do bang up conversions, then disappear, and those who give up--the price of a set of new tires is enough to make a grown man piddle in his shorts.

I keep all my bus conversion sales slips in a drawer. Fortunately, I've got so many of them that I'll never get around to adding them up. Ouch.

I suppose that once you convert one, then you got to figure out what to do with it, or maybe, as they say in boat world: "there's thems that build them, and thems that sails them."

[gbstewart]

thats a good point lorna, maybe people just get board with it, move to newer projects. our plan is to finnish the bus, and do more travelling, if I can afford to, DW does some vending at trade\crafts shows\pow-wows, we would like to expand on this useing the bus, just looking to pay for some gas. I will probley allways be working on the bus, so I should be on this forum for as long as it takes.

gbstewart

[Diesel Dan]

I think unlike some other forums like Escapees, this forum is focused primarily on the build phase and not so much on the RV lifestyle that follows after the build is done. I too love to hear stories from the road and how things panned out with various aspects of a build, and I appreciate the few snippets we get. But I can see how once the build is done, there is less incentive for people to hang around since their level of interest in the build process is diminished. It would be nice though if the General Forums were more active with tales of camping, traveling, tailgating, full-timing, etc... I mean, that's the whole point of building these things, right? Although, like bus-bro said, there are some people who just like to build things...

[bus-bro]

One thing those other forums have is some sort of rally, so there are people who have met each other, and then hang out on the forums. We Skoolies are spread out, younger, and I suspect most won't, or can't drive any distance. Of all the groups of recreational (including fulltiming) vehicle users, Skoolies are the most in need of an "advocacy" group.

Maybe some sort of regional camp out?

[frank-id]

My dear woman you have good thots. I hope life is good for you. I have been working/playing with buses for a long while. I do man other things but I never get tired of my BB and Crown. When one is broke, I use the other. Some folks are converts and others are for the here and now. I share when I can but enjoy reading and grinning from the replys. This place is for an education and fun. Ya cannot have too much furn. My Crown has been nearly done, several times..
One idea leads to another new better idea. Ask some times about my solar panel experiments..... hahahahaha Frank

[browncrown]

Not the most recent pic of a camping, but Browncrown is still here...just been real busy with work. I love the forums and enjoy reading what everyone is doing...Keep on Busin! This one is of camping in the Orange Grove, which is real close to home and is a good place to go just to get away from all the trials of life for a day or two.

[keith]

where's all the tree's ???? nice looking lots.and i love when we get to park next to them high dollor one's and when you have one on both side's


boy,, they get all bent out of shape

[browncrown]

Those are California Orange Redwood Trees

[Skunky Bus]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

Why does it seem that folks come on this forum, ask all kinds of questions about converting a bus. Then they do all the converting and post pics. Then they disappear and are never heard from again? Makes me feel so.... used!

<snip> Here, you can't really ask "how did XYZ hold up to traveling/use/time... what would you do different?". Some things that are done here are experimental and it would be nice to know if the concept held up to reality. And then there is the acceptance question everybody asks (Can a skoolie get into a commercial campground). So many unanswered questions. So much expertise gone. So sad.

More power to you, Lorna! You're a wonderful fount of knowledge, including firsthand experience with both school buses and stix-'n-staples RVs. That's great for folks like me.

I don't know how many people follow me here, those that do know I've been here for more than a year-and-a-half and still no bus. (My avatar is a just an altered photo from the web.) Depending on my personal/financial circumstances, that may happen in a month - or not for several years. In any case, I intend to stick around (keeping the username Skunky Bus) for as long as Skoolie.net is still around, or until I totally lose interest in a school-bus conversion. On second thought, the latter will happen when I'm in a persistent vegetative state or just plain dead.

I'm also a member of Classic Winnebago Motorhomes. In the slideshow on the home page, you can see my white-and-orange Minnie Winnie with me standing by the cab. Ironically, I spend more time here.

A couple weeks back someone inquired re: police harassment of Skoolies. The dearth of answers may be due to this issue Lorna is raising. Certainly one of practical relevance. I too would like to see more about skoolies in commercial campgrounds. It'd be nice if there could be on here somewhere the Skoolie equivalent to Woodall's Campground Directory. That seems like a pipe dream.

Life with a converted bus seems like it'd remain an adventure even long after you call your rig "finished" (does that really happen?). Great anecdotes are meant to be shared!

BTW, you have a very handsome bus, Browncrown. An earthtone scheme with high finish quality is a fine thing. Frank Lloyd Wright used such colors for his whole career with great success.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by Skunky Bus

... It'd be nice if there could be on here somewhere the Skoolie equivalent to Woodall's Campground Directory. That seems like a pipe dream...

Don Wright's Guide to Free (and Cheap) Campgrounds Is the closest I've found to a "skoolie friendly directory". If it's listed in his books it is generally safe to assume that a skoolie conversion will be allowed in. We've used them for several years now. I will say that you need to drive a towed in before you commit the bus. Not all listings are for RV's (many are tent sites only) and you need to watch the rates. The lowest rate is what is listed prominently. That is often a senior discount... we're not seniors. And there are some campgrounds that it is very rough to get a standard RV into (like Wildcat 1 & 2) but a high riding unit like a skoolie may work. But I couldn't hardly get my 4WD Jeep up WarWoman (Warwoman Dell is listed as a freebie). At the time we had the Eagle coach... no way that could have made it into many of the campgrounds in the book.

[SeanF]

I still pop in occasionally to lurk & see what the new Skoolie people are dreaming and doing.

This past August marks 5 years of living in the bus (minus 10 months when I was motorcycling around the world). During my absence my batteries died (long story, but I sort of expected it), but since I have grid power, I use a cannibalized PC power supply to provide juice for my native 12vdc items.

My bus will be home for the foreseeable future. I'm still working out my employment situation, but in the meantime I'm living cheaply and happily in my rolling home.

Cheers fellow Skoolies!
Sean

[syke]

Good to see you around SeanF.
I followed your thread over at advrider along with gaining a ton of knowledge from your bus conversion site. Not to mention I've spent a ton of time in Flag so it was fun to read about a guy from the same-ish area. Take care.

[revoltindevelopments]

Personally I think the level of vitriol in threads like this one: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6064&start=60 are a big part of why a lot of people don't stick around. I haven't even learned what I came here to learn and I'm thinking maybe I should look elsewhere. Do I really want to "hang around with" people who act like this?

[RevBill]

.. loved reading your ride report over on ADV .. now go finish it .. lol ..

Welcome home btw .. that was one helluva trip ..

Ride Blessed,

Bill

Originally Posted by SeanF

I still pop in occasionally to lurk & see what the new Skoolie people are dreaming and doing.

This past August marks 5 years of living in the bus (minus 10 months when I was motorcycling around the world). During my absence my batteries died (long story, but I sort of expected it), but since I have grid power, I use a cannibalized PC power supply to provide juice for my native 12vdc items.

My bus will be home for the foreseeable future. I'm still working out my employment situation, but in the meantime I'm living cheaply and happily in my rolling home.

Cheers fellow Skoolies!
Sean

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by browncrown

Not the most recent pic of a camping, but Browncrown is still here...

I'll bet your rig was the coolest RV in that campground!

[Skunky Bus]

Originally Posted by revoltindevelopments

Personally I think the level of vitriol in threads like this one: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6064&start=60 are a big part of why a lot of people don't stick around. I haven't even learned what I came here to learn and I'm thinking maybe I should look elsewhere. Do I really want to "hang around with" people who act like this?

When perusing the "Everything Else" forum, I steer clear of the threads that I know will piss me off. If someone calls that "wimpy" or something in that vein, I won't rise to the bait. The skunk knows vitriol when he smells it.

Thankfully the bus-specific posts remain vitriol-free for the most part. I've found a lot of good stuff under "Conversion Discussion" and "Skoolie Conversion Projects."

[SeanF]

Originally Posted by RevBill

.. loved reading your ride report over on ADV .. now go finish it .. lol ..

Welcome home btw .. that was one helluva trip ..

Ride Blessed,

Bill

Thanks Bill...I'm on it!
I actually finished the blog (found here), but not the ADV ride report yet.

[Redbear]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

Why does it seem that folks come on this forum, ask all kinds of questions about converting a bus. Then they do all the converting and post pics. Then they disappear and are never heard from again? Makes me feel so.... used! . . .

Originally Posted by timmylc

Then you go the weirdo's without buses and have been lurking for years only to register and lurk some more :P

*still dreams buses*

I haven't been as active with my 'pre-skoolie" posts this summer as I had been for a couple of years. But I still check in every now and then. When I see someone else has stepped up and already answered a question in my areas of knowledge, I don't jump in and muddy the waters . . . .

But Lorna, since you asked the question, I noticed you had about a 5-year gap in posting here. I just checked PUX, and found you had moved on and hadn't posted there in almost 8 years. In the meantime you were probably spending time on the coach conversion site matching changes in your living arrangements, because that may have been more relevant at the time.

When I signed up at Skoolies, in response to a challenge to lurkers probably posted by Elliot Naes, I knew about you from reading the Aluminum Asylum story, and maybe reading some Escapees posts, too. I was happy when I began to see you contribute here, as you have a lot of knowledge.

In fairness, every BBS has lots of people who are active for a while and then taper off. I found this site following links starting from the Escapees BBS. I joined that site 4 years ago, in order to follow some relatives who became nomads. Once the newbies get the hang of whatever it is they are trying to understand, other things begin to be more "important' uses of their time. While the Escapees who started out traveling at the same time as my relatives were once extremely active in posting, they have now tapered off to just living the lifestyle and firing off an occasional message.