New and clueless

[SknnedWlf]

Hello!
My name is Ecko, I'm 18 and me and my boyfriend have decided to do what we've wanted to do since the day we met. Buy a bus and travel.

I'm a little (a lot) new and clueless to the whole mechanical side of this scene. When looking at a bus to buy, what should I look for? What questions should I ask?

We found a 1994 Bluebird, it needs new batteries.

I have technical questions, like, what do I do about the floor AC unit? Can I just rip it out, or do I have to get under it to mess around with more wires and such?

Long story short,

HELP IM LOST AND I DONT KNOW WHERE TO START.




possibly important info:

Will be traveling the Pacific coast, then into the upper Midwest, then loop into the southwest, before heading east.
Will have two dogs and a cat (one day, on the cat)


Thanks!!

Ecko & Justice

 

[raulaleman84]

get some pictures or videos of the problems that you run into and people here can help.
other than that. same money for your conversion ;-)

 

[Tango-SKO]

Try to read every build thread on this site. Other folks have most likely already dealt with and recorded their solutions to the majority of things you will encounter.

Best of luck and most importantly...do it your way and have fun!

 

[bhaley51]

Hello!

My name is Ecko, I'm 18 and me and my boyfriend have decided to do what we've wanted to do since the day we met. Buy a bus and travel.



I'm a little (a lot) new and clueless to the whole mechanical side of this scene. When looking at a bus to buy, what should I look for? What questions should I ask?



We found a 1994 Bluebird, it needs new batteries.



I have technical questions, like, what do I do about the floor AC unit? Can I just rip it out, or do I have to get under it to mess around with more wires and such?



Long story short,



HELP IM LOST AND I DONT KNOW WHERE TO START.









possibly important info:



Will be traveling the Pacific coast, then into the upper Midwest, then loop into the southwest, before heading east.

Will have two dogs and a cat (one day, on the cat)





Thanks!!



Ecko & Justice

Google the same topic. Lots of you tubes. If taking out heaters reconnect hoses so front defrost still works

 

[Rovobay]

Ecko, welcome. this site has been extremely helpful to me in my build. read read read.... youtube youtube youtube.... google google google. need to brainstorm and come up with a real plan to find a bus that will fit your needs. post questions here and you'll find folks willing to help.

 

[jjhwick119]

Welcome! I too was in your shoes a few months ago. I didn't make the decision for a bus until November of last year. When I did, I found this site and started reading and reading, and asking more specific questions in other threads if I needed more explaining to understand. Your biggest source of help will come from build threads in the conversion projects sub forums, and from using the search button. The search option up top works quite well on this site using Google, and you'll find lots of threads about where to buy a bus, how to buy a bus, how to pick up a bus, etc...
The build threads are going to be beneficial figuring out what to do after you buy your bus. You can see what everyone did as they did the conversion. Everyone does it a little different, so read as many as you can. That's where you'll find the tips and tricks and mistakes and all the good stuff. And you get pictures of the progress as well to get a better idea of what you're doing.

The first question though, is how long do you plan to travel? A year, 2, 10? That's going to determine what amenities you'll want in the bus like a shower, laundry machine. Let us know some more details about what your plans for life in the bus are and we can help steer you in the right direction

 

[SknnedWlf]

I probably should've said how long we plan to travel, haha. We plan on traveling for about five years or so, then sell the bus and settle down in whatever town we loved the most throughout our travels.

We can hand wash laundry, no problem. I'll use a clothes line to dry them in the summer, but in the winter? I have no idea what I'll do, just yet.

I have a dog now, in the summer of next year, I'm getting a border collie.
My boyfriend wants a cat, I want my pets to be just as comfortable as we are. So, they'll be a priority in our plans, for sure.

We also want as much storage space and room as possible, we're doing this because we're both very.. against the norm? We've been told for years the only way to be happy is to have a sucky job, buy a house, get married, and pop out a bunch of kids. We're not about that, or at least not ready for it yet.

I'll head over to the build forums now, start reading there. I'll start watching more specific YouTube videos.

 

[Yukon Cornelius-SKO]

Try to read every build thread on this site. Other folks have most likely already dealt with and recorded their solutions to the majority of things you will encounter.

Best of luck and most importantly...do it your way and have fun!

THIS..... aside from the that your imagination is the limit.