The Conversion of "Freedom" , our permanent bus home...

[GotSmart]

On the screens... Use some candle wax to make the screens slide without binding after you paint the frames.

Fantastic job!

 

[Clan Graham]

Nice work.

Those door hinges.. Are they the type that the hinge pins can be extracted with a chisel and a hammer?

Sorry to be the negative nelly, but that one photo shows a crack emanating from the door from the two screws.

I was just replacing an old interior door that had the same cracks in the same places, but only 2 hinges. I bet the owner I could rip old door off with one hand using no tools.
He did not take the bet.
He would have lost.

No sir. Those hinges will have to be drilled. The reason the soor cracked that way, is because I used 3.5" long deck screws to hold that heavy door on. But I also squeezed epoxy into the screw holes. The door, screws, and crack are set in very hard epoxy. I just need to go back and seal that crack now.

---

I had kind of a short day today. Did a lot of small things needing done. I worked on the front door area a lot more ... that seems to be taking a LOT of time I didn't expect. I finished sealing most of the door jamb, started putting on the door's exterior trim, put on the driver's side lower wall panels, stripped some of the exterior paint, and painted more of the entry way. I only took 3 photos, but hope you enjoy them.

.

 

[stude53]

Clan Graham,
I admire your persistence, your hard work, and your great choice of colors (lively but not garish).

I have been watching since your first post and look forward to each chapter.

Good luck and GodSpeed,
Bob

 

[Patrick46]

oh man...those screens worked out slick!!!

necessity is the Mother, or something along those lines.


Great job!!

 

[Clan Graham]

Exhaustion doesn't even begin to describe .....
I have new pics, and will post some time tomorrow. Zzzzzzzzz

 

[Clan Graham]

Oh man ... sheer, sheer exhaustion and stress on the body and mind ! I am trying to tie up the projects on the bus, which have to be done before we leave this weekend. While my son and daughter are trying to pack and move things into storage. Having our time cut drastically short as it was, we are having to work almost around the clock now.

I am at home today, and working on finishing some screens, as well as packing my own personal things. I will try and update the progress tonight. Meanwhile here are some photos ....


The front entrance now has a hand rail .... and it changes all kinds of colors. Neat paint !

As you can see, I had a real screen factory going !

But then I found out not all of the openings are exact ... so I had to plane down some of them ...

I finally painted the front headboard of the bus !

And I finished insulating under the bed ... A sharp eye will spot where I started cutting the floor straight, where it was messed up back by the bedroom. I must be repairing that screw-up soon

And I finally cleaned up the pig sty I had been working in LOL ... Organized somewhat at least !

My son is taping up the seams in the insulation ...

.

 

[akrvbob]

What a wonderful home that will be!!!

Amazing work!
Bob

 

[Clan Graham]

Oh man ... Does anyone have any advice on how to register this thing tomorrow ? As a bus, and RV, etc ?

 

[Patrick46]

A bus registration will be way more expensive and may entail an inspection, as a bus is licensed for hauling a quantity of passengers, and the 'MAN' is pretty finiky about that sorta stuff, and will likely have a long list of Pass/Fail qualifiers.

An RV on the other hand, is alot cheaper to insure, as they don't get nearly the same amount of driving a car usually gets...altho you may hafta show certain things to qualify it as an RV...such as a full bed (check) but a kitchen and maybe a bathroom may be needed as well...but I'd be inclined to pursue that route.

It might even be easier to register it as a truck...but your DMV guy can probably point you in the right direction.


Seeing that you're hitting the road to leave the state, I'd be inclined to just get a trip permit, which will allow you to drive this for a month or so on the road. (I wouldn't go telling the DMV inspector about how or where you're planning on going...I'd just say that you'd like to move the bus to another location and want a temporary trip permit to do so...which is the truth. The less you tell him the better.)


let us know how it all turns out! Good luck!!

 

[Lostinspace]

Not sure what state you're in but in Florida you have to have a toilet, stove (which can be a Coleman camper stove) and a sink. Then you register as an RV. My liability insurance through Progressive is $160 a year for $50K liability. I'm not going to do collision till I get it fixed up nice. I have a 1979 bluebird Wanderlodge with the same engine you have. Mine is turbo charged though.

I hope you checked your tire dates like I mentioned a while back. That's very important.

I love what you have done. You have really put a lot of effort in and it shows. You do great work.

When do you have to leave?

 

[Clan Graham]

Hi Wade ... we are leaving this Friday or Saturday. We just found out we can get a temporary registeration permit for only $5 .... But we have spent the last few hours trying to find insurance ... and NO-ONE will insure the damned thing now !

 

[Simran]

I hope your trip goes well. Your interior is bright and cheery. it should be fun traveling this time of year too.

 

[Clan Graham]

Hello everyone ... I am about to go to sleep. But we finally did get the bus insured as a "motor home" .... the price ? $60 yearlly !!! So we are feeling pretty good right about now. I DO have new photos ... but they will have to wait until tomorrow. Good night friends all ...

 

[Clan Graham]

I am so sorry everyone. Things got very crazy, very fast. We have no electricity, so no laptop yet. I am doing this from my phone. We are now in Simi Valley California. I will completely update tonight, if possible.

 

[Zil]

texas to california? cool,.

 

[karl]

Have really enjoyed your project.
Wishing you all the best journey

 

[GotSmart]

Glad you made it! Now for the details, (Its all details!)

 

[sassypickins]

Glad you got such a great deal on insurance and hope all is well.

Sassy

 

[Clan Graham]

Unbelievably ... I am still alive. All of us are. But yes, this is very difficult. VERY. So here it is; The story of the MUCH DIFFERENTLY THAN WAS EXPECTED journey. And the hell which follows ...


Quick recap : We had to leave MUCH earlier than was expected, and it cost us the funds to purchase our generator, the house batteries, or the battery charger. I have lots of photos, but the internet speed is so low where I am presently, I can not upload the photos.

We left on Saturday, March 22nd. We being my wife and I in the bus with the two grandkids, and two of the three family cats. ( remember, it was only going to be my wife and I going to Cali in the beginning plans ). My son and daughter, with the other cat was in the car following the bus. We only made it to San Antonio when it started overheating. I changed the very old radiator cap, to no avail. The fluid was only a pint low, yet the damned thing was not leaking. It was running right athe boiling point of 212, yet did not boil over. A mechanic pulled up in a nice Muscle Car and offered up he thought it was the hydraulic fan not working properly. WE LOST THE REST OF THAT DAY, as we stayed in a hotel that night. My daughter would not leave the bus alone that night, and slept in the bus WITHOUT HEAT, as I did not have the plumbing finished for it. It was 34 degrees that night ... she froze LOL. I awoke the next morning and purchased a $100, 16" electric radiator fan. It kept it much lower, at around 195 degrees. However it would get up to almost 220 degrees a few times, when the incline was so steep we could only muster 37 mph while floor boarded ! We drove only as far as mid New Mexico, when I noticed the front right tire's tread was separating. Next down was a $290 tire expense. This worked fairly well, but delayed us yet another day. We froze again that night as well ! We were then pulled over by a cop and told our Trip Permit was expired !!! No way, we just got the thing ! A call to TX confirmed this, yet our tag was still flubbed up ( more on this later ).
We then stopped for the night in the Tuscon area of Arizona. It went uneventful until the next day, when we were pulled over asnd I had to hit the brakes hard. We had broken glass, things everywhere, and my wife tumbled foreward into the floor shifter, which bruised or fractured her ribs .... on top of her bronchitis ! Coughing in this condition, is like going rounds with Ali. Another day lost. Waking the next day, we THOUGHT it was going to be an easy trip on to Cali. But 70 mph wind gusts in our face, and dust storms hard to see through, made going up the looooong mountains a 40 mph experience for miles. We did however make it to Simi Valley that day. We had arrived. Averaging 63mph and getting 7.8mpg.

I have to sleep now, but we have been chased around by police. Ran out of a County Park, because we had trip permit tags. We are having hell trying to just find a place to park our bus and live in it for a while. We are just running around trying to find places to park, night and day. This makes the job searching very hard. We pee in plastic cups, and use LED puck lights. We bathe when we can. We are just needing a break. IF ANYONE knows anyone in our area, we would love to rent a small spot ! Will type more as we can. Internet is a lower priority right now .... and yes, it is very hard.

 

[stude53]

Sorry you are still having problems, but like earlier pioneers, you made it to California!
Congratulations and best of luck. Just when things are at their stormy worst, the sun will break through and a rainbow will appear.

Pictures can wait. Take care of yourself and your family.

Bob