I searched the nation to find the bus I wanted and this girl from Portland Oregon found her in Virginia.
Long story short.... I have an ailment called "Wonderlust." Not sure when I got it, but I'm pretty sure I was inflicted at a young age. 47 now and facing the empty nest this year. Yes, I know what you're thinking...midlife crisis. I'm so glad to have found this community as I see I'm not alone.
So - I found my bus in Virginia and flew there two weeks ago to see her. It was just what a wanted. I didn't want a huge bus as I'm doing the work myself and felt a big bus was overwhelming. Virginia, as I aptly named her, is a 2003 Thomas Saf-T-Liner. Once purchased I traveled to my daughter and Son-in-law's home in Jacksonville NC. They are converting a bus too and knew they would be a huge help to get started. In the 7 days I had there we did the following:
-got insurance and tags
-removed school safety equipment
-removed seats
-removed lift
-removed floor to metal
-removed two AC units
-removed floor heater
-reconnected heater lines
-removed all stickers and reflective tape
-treated all rust (grinding wheel, rust remover, rust inhibitor, and rust primer...that said rust was VERY minimal)
-removed caulk and recaulked roof
-filled floor holes from flooring nails
-sanded entire outside
-filled or patched with body filler
-primed and painted outside
-recycled all scrap metal and 2 dump runs
-finished floor plan
I'm too old for this. Lol. We had an amazing week. I laughed, cried, dreamt, drank Fireball, laughed some more, second guessed myself, but mostly had a ton of fun.
I'm traveling home now. Been on the road for 4 days and should be home on Sunday. The ride is slow as her max speed is 56. I'll get to work on fixing that soon. My goal is to take my first vacation in her in June.
The real reason for my first post is to show y'all my first built out project. I didn't intend on doing work while traveling, but it became necessary. Picture attached.
Thank you all for the amazing info you've shared on these boards. I enjoy all your stories.
Janel
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Long story short.... I have an ailment called "Wonderlust." Not sure when I got it, but I'm pretty sure I was inflicted at a young age. 47 now and facing the empty nest this year. Yes, I know what you're thinking...midlife crisis. I'm so glad to have found this community as I see I'm not alone.
So - I found my bus in Virginia and flew there two weeks ago to see her. It was just what a wanted. I didn't want a huge bus as I'm doing the work myself and felt a big bus was overwhelming. Virginia, as I aptly named her, is a 2003 Thomas Saf-T-Liner. Once purchased I traveled to my daughter and Son-in-law's home in Jacksonville NC. They are converting a bus too and knew they would be a huge help to get started. In the 7 days I had there we did the following:
-got insurance and tags
-removed school safety equipment
-removed seats
-removed lift
-removed floor to metal
-removed two AC units
-removed floor heater
-reconnected heater lines
-removed all stickers and reflective tape
-treated all rust (grinding wheel, rust remover, rust inhibitor, and rust primer...that said rust was VERY minimal)
-removed caulk and recaulked roof
-filled floor holes from flooring nails
-sanded entire outside
-filled or patched with body filler
-primed and painted outside
-recycled all scrap metal and 2 dump runs
-finished floor plan
I'm too old for this. Lol. We had an amazing week. I laughed, cried, dreamt, drank Fireball, laughed some more, second guessed myself, but mostly had a ton of fun.
I'm traveling home now. Been on the road for 4 days and should be home on Sunday. The ride is slow as her max speed is 56. I'll get to work on fixing that soon. My goal is to take my first vacation in her in June.
The real reason for my first post is to show y'all my first built out project. I didn't intend on doing work while traveling, but it became necessary. Picture attached.
Thank you all for the amazing info you've shared on these boards. I enjoy all your stories.
Janel
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
