| Author | Message | ||
| Tony & Kim Rian (Rianrts)
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Hi All Now my pain, my wife made me look a 5th wheels all afternoon. Her idea is for us to sell our 2 buses and to buy a new 5th wheel. She is tried of the buses nickle and diming us to death. I love my buses and don't want to part with them. But I have to admit they are sure nice now days allthough the walls are flimsi. The salesman showed me aluminumun framing which appears to make them lighter and stronger. As well as central heat and air. But I still have the bug | ||
| truthhunter@shaw.ca Rating: N/A |
You coukd keep one bus and live in it, give her the other to sell and use to purchase a 5th wheel. Fairest comprimise I can think of. Share the pain! | ||
| motorcoach1 Rating: N/A |
i can see that 5th wheel hitch on the back of the bus ..... i'd be in pain too ..good luck | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
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Remind her that she can't ride in the trailer. | ||
| Greg Roberts (Gregeagle20)
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Those dinky little trailers are for wussys and sisters. Come on man, hang on to your cajones!!!  | ||
| R.J.(Bob) Evans (Bobofthenorth)
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BTDT - the nickle & dime crap will only get worse if you buy a store bought RV Tell her that you will spend the first 3 years fixing all the stuff that the manufacturer either jobbed out to the low bidder or didn't build the way you like it. Then you will spend the rest of your ownership fixing the stuff that breaks because no stick and staple RV is really meant for more than a trip to the lake in the summer. | ||
| Eric Lake (Dc_bus_nut)
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You're wife is a smart woman. Listen to her. I am thinking of doing the same one day. My wife hates my bus...doesn't know I have 2 working on a 3rd!! Look at the high end fifth wheels with the granite counter tops. Run you aout $150K...but awesome!! | ||
| Brian Elfert
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The stick and staples aren't as bad as you guys make them out to be. My wood framed Jayco trailer with aluminum siding made it through 20,000 miles of towing in three years with few problems. The aluminum framed trailers will be even better, but the fiberglass doesn't hold up that great Yes, I had to fix things, but some were my own fault. How many of you could drive your coach 4,000 miles in a single trip and not have to fix a single thing? I sold my travel trailer and truck because 4,000 miles with 5 adults in a crew cab gets old real fast. With a coach, the passengers have more room and can use the restroom or get a snack while cruising down the road. One huge advantage of a stick and staples is it is ready to go with no hours of work required. Brian Elfert | ||
| tony bare Rating: N/A |
I would love to build a bus conversion. It would be an enjoyable project- but I got outvoted. We just got our third 5th wheel. Busses and factory rvs are easy to set up, you can ride in them instead of driving them, busses are built to last. But- our camping consists of driving to campgrounds, parking,setting up,unhitching the truck and vacationing. A 36 foot 5th wheel with 3 slides gives you as much room as a small house. We went the 5er route because when "She who must be obeyed" retires we want to work-camp and the 5er gives us more room and we wont feel like we are living in a long tunnel like in our old airstream. That said I would still love to build a bus. | ||
| Eric Lake (Dc_bus_nut)
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The ultimate 5th Wheel. Learn it! Know it! Buy it! Live in it!!!!!!!!!! http://lazydays.com/rvs/Fifth_Wheels/Carriage/Carriage_Royal_International_Fifth_Wheels_00 1.html | ||
| Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
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Hey, how about an Airstream. The quality of construction is more what you look for in a bus. They are said to tow like a dream. I am talking about the original aluminum monocoque construction ailrstream travel trailer, not some of the new things with the airstream name but different construction. They last like buses too. Many are out there 40 years old, plus. If you want the quality of an airstream with a little more weight, the Avion was designed to be a deluxe airstream type. i have considered this myself. I do not want a fifth wheel though. More money, less quality and you need a big guzzler to tow it. The earlier airstreams were light enough to be towed by a full size car. Size? The first six feet of my bus is only useful when driving. A 34 ft trailer would have the same room. I think I could live with a 31 footer. You can start with a used one and see how you like it. Many are out there under $10K. Actually I have bought a 31 foot Airstream and am trying to figure out how to tow it with a Mercedes 300SD. I really prefer the sedan when I am at my destination. I found this summer that my bus usage approximates trailer usage. One thing I will miss is being able to park almost anywhere and be ignored. I am afraid a trailer might as well have red flags on it when trying to park overnight in a nonallowed area. The bus might have someone important in it so it is more likely to be left alone. Steve | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
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I believe I've seen little trailers that have the 5th wheel connection, but hook up to a regular ball hitch. Get the 5th wheel trailer and ..... Oh never mind. Stay with the bus. I have a friend with a 5th wheel. He got it because he likes his truck (a big Chevy 4wd turbo diesel). He drives the truck daily, but when he wants to take the trailer somewhere he hooks up. On the other hand, it sucks for fuel economy and handling once he starts towing. | ||
| sylverstone (Sylverstone_pd4501864)
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i'm using a 25 ft trailer so i can tow it with my bus... -dd | ||
| Brent Coursey
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Tony, Here's what we did when we needed living/driving accommodations for 6: 1) We bought an Ford F700 Toterhome that slept 5 itself and had kitchen and bath/shower. 2) We bought a 40 foot King of the Road to pull behind the Toter and it opened up to about 400 square feet. So bottom line is you get the big truck(Toter) and she gets the 5er. Now we have an Eagle because we plan on traveling more and a 5er can be a hassle to setup every night you pull off the road. Brent | ||
| FAST FRED Rating: N/A |
"My wood framed Jayco trailer with aluminum siding made it through 20,000 miles of towing in three years with few problems. The aluminum framed trailers will be even better, but the fiberglass doesn't hold up that great" Compare that to busses that would do 200,000 miles a year for a decade with only parts replacement and PM. Sure Bus Campers dont do that style milage , but the reliability is built in. There are few "Nickel & Dime" items on a bus , real heavy duty parts are NOT CHEAP. FAST FRED | ||
| Geoff (Geoff)
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I'm sure most of us ENJOY driving our buses-- to me, driving is more fun than camping. Once you get your conversion finished and working right, it can be very comfortable to use as well as drive (of course, what you put into it matters). Forget the trailer, do you want to be like everybody else? In my new neighborhood I have people compliment me on my RTS thinking it is a high dollar factory RV, they get a black look when I tell them I converted it from a passenger bus to a motorhome. For some reason the conversion ends there. And don't attempt to talk systems with them-- they don't have a clue. That is why we as bus converters have to seek each other out! --Geoff '82 RTS AZ | ||
| Bruce Henderson (Oonrahnjay)
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__. I must be a lucky guy. I told MzLauraLee "I wanna buy a bus, convert it into a moving house." She said, "sounds like a lot of work and money, are you sure you're up for it?" I said, "yes, big commitment but let's do it". She said OK. __. Only thing she's said since is "do you need any money from me?" __. I must be a lucky guy. ' | ||
| Jarlaxle Rating: N/A |
"Actually I have bought a 31 foot Airstream and am trying to figure out how to tow it with a Mercedes 300SD." Please tell me you're joking. You will probably end up killing someone if you even attempt this. I'm converting the bus...my friend's old 1977 Dodge-chassis Coachmen class C had 166,000 miles when sold. The replacement is an older (74) Dodge-chassis Coachmen...it has ~130,000 miles. The less-expensive Airstream is the Argosey...they aren't the usual Airstream polished-aluminum finish, but the quality is there. My uncle is redoing a 1972 Airstream (the aluminum-side design), and will pull it with a Ford C7000 semi tractor. Does that make him as nuts as we are? | ||
| Pat Bartlett (Muddog16)
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When I was thinking (or maybe not thinking)about buses, I was talking to a friend that has a MCI9, he mentioned having a tag along trailer once upon a time! He said he spent many hours in camp grounds waiting for his loving wife to finally wake up so they could move on, he mentioned walking many miles doing this! Not being disrespectful of his wife who may very well be related to my wife, (sleeping sickness is hereditary isn't it?) That struck a cord for me, that was the straw that broke the camels back, the bus was the only choice, my loving wife could sleep and do her thing as I would be happy to be on the road!.......... | ||
| CoryDane Rating: N/A |
You really need to find that site with all the LITIGATION against the manufacuturers of NEW 5th wheels and Trailers as well as Motorhomes. They are being sued for poor craftsmanship, falling apart, failures to work slides, warping side panels, leaks, bad bearings, OH THE LIST goes on and on and on. AND THIS IS ON NEW models. Someone here must have the link, I know it is in the archive. CDane | ||
| Dale Waller (Happycampersrus)
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I'm so glad I am in the same boat as Bruce H. We tried towing campers (THAT SUCKS!!!)$1k just for the special hitch that I can remove so I can use my Dually as a truck would have bought alot of nickel and dime stuff. After I converted the bus, The wife says she won't go back to a travel trailer. She loves her FULL size kitchen with ADULT size appliances. With my bus I can pull off anyplace and fix a snack, watch tv, take a dump, and even shower if I want to all while having heat or ac. Now try that with a pull behind. I have had to many meals in the hot box trailer while traveling on VACATION. A bus with the right PM schedule with give our converted buses decades of service with a very low amount of problems. Brian said, "How many of you could drive your coach 4,000 miles in a single trip and not have to fix a single thing?" Now Brian, Are you gonna try and tell us you did that pulling a camper with a pickup truck?? I would have hated to been stuck on that vacation 70+ hours of riding in the pickup. | ||
| R.J.(Bob) Evans (Bobofthenorth)
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Brian, just for the record, when we go to Mexico in the winter 4000 miles is the one-way portion of the trip - then we turn around and do it all over again. We pulled a 5W on that trip 6 times. In that time I replaced the running gear twice. By "replaced the running gear" I don't mean "replaced springs" or "did the bearings" although we did that as well. What I mean is we cut the spring perches off at the frame, dragged the old gear out to the junkyard, pulled new axles & springs underneath and welded them back on. That was on a high end fifth wheel with supposedly their heavy duty running gear - according to the axle manufacturer we were overspecced on the original gear but the last time we did the replacement we went up 1500# on the axle specs. And that is just a small portion of the work we did. I guarantee you that if you actually travel with an RV trailer more than just out to the lake a couple of times then you will do major maintenance. It took us the first two years to get the cabinetry up to the stage where drawers wouldn't fall off their tracks when we went over rough roads. Fortunately we had a 2 year warranty but that doesn't help much when you are 2500 miles from home and the drawers just puked out their contents for the 5th time or the drawer face just pulled off when you tried to open it. The plumbing was inadequate for long term use. We had a slideout which wasn't the ordeal that some have suggested but it required constant maintenance and we had to be careful how we set up if we anticipated rain. The landing gear is meant for infrequent use - we found it just plain wore out and needed regular repair after a couple of years. I think a lot of the frustration that some of the posters here have expressed with their busses comes from not having enough money or time to do the conversion right in the first place. If you start comparing a bare bones (or cut-corners) conversion to a $100k plus fifth wheel then you aren't really comparing apples to apples. We bought a converted coach, went through it when we got it home and we have done maintenance since. There's a difference between maintenance and repairs. For the most part we don't do repairs while we are on the road. Sh** happens but if you do the maintenance and do it right a bus will be a much less troublesome critter than any store bought RV, IMHO. | ||
| B"H"M (Dragon)
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How about 10k miles and no repairs? Some Sticks and staples,(not my choice of terms),have no sticks or staples in them. Mine is an '86 and still turns heads. It has passed as a 2000 several times with folks who should have known better and has full steel framing like a bus,(it's also a Custom Gillig frame underneath), it also has 22.5 tires, rides as nice as any bus and gets 10mpg with a 20' tow! It's a rear diesel and Allison trans of course too. I once saw one that left the road at 50 mph and rolled it took them about 2 months and 10k to fix it, also it didn't knock one cabnit loose or anything that was built in, not to bad for a roll in a S&S. I only have fiberglass instead of metal siding but it's 1/4"+ thick and only 5 pieces cover entire coach I have never seen a leak yet. My bays are a bit small more like an RTS with bays. I was only able to squeeze 3 friends in one bay and I only have 2 that big. And my gen bay only fits a 6.5 propane Onan. So while there are drawbacks they arent many. I would like a bus still someday but only for the bays. So do your research. While there aren't a lot of these for sale they can still be found. By the way it's called a Vogue Cosmopolitan (this is the supposed cheap Vogue). I have disk instead of air breaks but everything else is air from shift and gas to suspension and parking brakes. And I didnt get the Webasto heat either also nice gel coat w/ Imron Paint trim instead of entire Imron paint job but other than that it's it's the same as the Pricy one. Cost over 200k new and I got it for 25k at 93k miles and put 5k into redoing all the stuff I wanted to never worry about again. Had all maint logs that showed no major repairs in its history of 1 owner(most Vogues arent passed arround much. Do searches on Vogue II thru IV and Vogue Prima Vista and Vogue V (for those with more to spend Oh and GVW is 27k not a light weight but starts and stops and handles like a luxury car like a Lincoln. | ||
| Geoff (Geoff)
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How about 30,000 miles and only one breakdown? I lost a blower drive hub in Quartzsite and spent a few days getting parts and fixing it. Other than that I just maintain the bus and conversion. --Geoff '82 RTS AZ | ||
| Brian Elfert
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Dale, yes we really did 70+ hours with five guys in a pickup. The pickup was a Ford F-350 with crew cab. We towed a 8,000lb travel trailer. Three of us left Minneapolis, MN at 9 PM on a Tuesday night. We drove I35 to Des Moines, IA and picked up two other guys at 1 AM. We then headed west on I80. We drove all the way to the Nevada/Utah border before staying in a hotel. We arrived around 10 pm CT. We then drove another 8 hours or so to Reno, NV. We arrived maybe 5 PM Pacific time Thursday afternoon. We camped in the desert until about 2 PM Sunday and then headed home. We arrived back home in Minneapolis Tuesday evening maybe 7 PM central time. The guys really weren't too unhappy sitting 3 adults in the back seat. The Ford rear crew cab seat is huge! I sold the F-350 and trailer this fall because I wasn't using them enough for the $60k or more invested. My original idea for this next summer was to get a 1997 F-350 crew cab and drive out there and camp in the desert in a tent. The other guys came up with the converted bus idea. Brian Elfert | ||
| Brian Elfert
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Geoff, I never had a breakdown on the road with my F-350 and travel trailer in the 20,000 miles. The repairs I had were all things like the furnace not lighting, screws coming loose, water valves leaking, and so on. Most bus conversions are going to have these types of issues too. Brian Elfert | ||
| motorcoach1 Rating: N/A |
Thank you Geoff and frad its so true > | ||
| Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
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Note that Brian was towing an 8000 lb trailer. They get a lot bigger. That is not a heavy load for an F350. Yes, I am serious about outfitting a Mercedes SD to tow an Airstream. They were towed by cars for years before everybody had to have a truck to tow one. The secret is light weight, aerodynamic design, a well balanced trailer and good trailer brakes. I have towed 6000 lbs with that car and the only problem is tongue wt. I need to beef up the rear suspension with air shocks or helper springs. | ||
| David Hartley (Drdave)
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A Frame hitch and heavy duty load leveler should do it. Remember the commercials with the load leveler and the Olds Toronado with the rear tires removed back in the 60's and 70's ? On the Mercedes I would worry about the driveline being able to handle the extra heat and stress. The "cars" of yesteryear also weighed 4 to 5 thousand pounds. That old mercedes probably is close.... | ||
| David Hartley (Drdave)
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The Bus is BIG and even scares those HUMMER guys! I like the bus, Makes lots of air brake noise too! Honda's are just used for speed bumps.. Just astoundingly Fun...... I actually found that my MC9 will ride in the draft behind a semi at about 500 feet back if the truck is running 65 or better. Soooo Coool ( Dangerous but Cool...) | ||
| CoryDane Rating: N/A |
Oh no OFFICER. I wasn't speeding, I WAS DRAFTING! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA CDane | ||
| Jarlaxle Rating: N/A |
I saw a big American Dream pusher MH last week, towing a Hummer H2. Talk about more money than sense... The only major repairs needed to any of the 3 motorhomes my friend owned (and I wrenched on) were new rear springs on both Dodges (both near or over 30 years old, original springs in both), a radiator in the 74, a wiring junction in the 77 (of course, it died in the pouring rain), a seized front caliper on his 1972 RevCon FWD; the 74 & the RevCon needed the front spring airbags replaced due to severe dry-rot (77 didn't use bags). Also, all of the RV's had some tweaks: huge transmission coolers, oil & PS coolers, auxiliary electric fans, freer-flowing exhaust (dual 3" on the 74 ) with Dynomax mufflers, trans temp gauges, and DOT5 brake fluid. To my surprise, running the 77 at or near WOT essentially all the time & spinning 3000+RPM on the highway (5+ tons of RV, 4.56 gears, and a 2500lb toad) didn't seem to bother the 318 a bit, despite the fact the first foot or so of exhaust pipe would be glowing a bright cherry red after a highway run. The 74's potent 440 & Gear Vendors overdrive (3.92 axle gears) makes for much more relaxing cruising. The 77's reefer has been replaced (before he bought it); the others have the original appliances. Some RV's are better than others...I wouldn't own a Starcrap (Starcraft) on a bet. | ||
| Brian Elfert
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Yes, an F-350 dually with diesel was overkill for an 8,000lb trailer. The GVWR was 10,900lbs as it was a toy hauler, but I never hauled any toys. I regretted the dually part after spending $20 getting it washed at a truck wash. An automatic carwash does as good a job for way less. An F-250 would have been plenty for the trailer. The latest F-150 and Titan claim to tow over 9,000 lbs, but no way would I try it with either one. There is/was a guy out there towing at least a 25 foot Airstream trailer with a early 90s Intrepid. He was using a Hensley Arrow hitch that costs big bucks. Even the best hitch won't help if the trailer brakes fail. Brian Elfert | ||
| Jack Conrad (Jackconrad)
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Or "Officer, I wasn't speeding, I was qualifying!" | ||
| David Hartley (Drdave)
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At least in a Bus you can "Bump Draft".. Jack, Funny part.. I found that out while enroute to Arcadia going down 27... Oh.. next year can I park inside with everyone else? I know my bus looks like a derelict. But in the street and in a hole too? Just Kidding... |