HandyAaron
Member
Here is our bus which we have named Chester, partially because it is from Rochester and because I think it sort of looks like a Chester. I don't know why. Our instagram is: ChesterDaBigBus
About Me/Us:
I'm a 26 year old husband and father of two children. A two year old son and a six month old daughter. I grew up in rural Ohio on a farm. My dad started and runs his own custom cabinetry shop and my mom runs a greenhouse. Both businesses are on the property that I grew up on, so I grew up around business, farm life, and woodworking. I've always been curious about how things work and I'm not afraid to jump into something new. I live by the quote: "If it can be done, why can't I do it." I have some mechanical know how, I'm good with wood, and I have a good dose of common sense. My parents did a great job letting me figure things out on my own and teaching me necessary life skills.
The Bus Details:
- 37' Thomas 2007
- 5.9L 24valve Cummins
- Allison 2500 transmission
- 100 Gal Fuel tank
- 72,000 Miles!
What We Plan To Do:
- 16" Roof raise
- All original windows going bye bye
- Dual Pane RV windows to be installed
- Moving the doorway to the mid-point
- Custom storage boxes between the wheels both sides
- 2400W solar on the roof
- 300ah 24v lithium batteries
- Victron Components
I've dedicated the next 3-4 months or however long it takes to finish this bus so I'll be working full time on it. Yup, that is fast. My previous job was a drafting job as a millwork shop so I've spent the last several months drawing up the plans and thinking through how everything will work together. Hopefully this means I can just build and not do a lot of problem solving in the moment.
Nine days ago we set eyes on the bus for the first time and got a feel for what we had bought online a few months earlier. I have to say she is in better shape than I dared to hope. Only having 70k miles is showing. It does have some rust under there but nothing too major. I did some maintenance to the bus at an uncles shop and then drove it 600 miles to my in laws place were we plan to do all the demo and metal work. In fact the demo work is pretty much done and we are very close to the roof raise. I'll get into more detail on the demo in upcoming posts. I will say that everything is going better than expected and I hope to raise the roof tomorrow.
Feel free to come along for the ride and I welcome any input, ideas, or criticism you may have. I hope to keep this somewhat updated but if you're interested in more pictures and details, we started an instagram account. Go give us a follow: ChesterDaBigBus