The floor

I really wanted to use the same plywood flooring that was in the bus, I started at the back and worked forward ripping up the rubber mat. The plywood looked pretty darn good. I was ecstatic. Would save some bucks and one less project. I was a little worried about rust underneath - but it was a 1997, how bad could the rust be?

Then I got to the rear wheel well - and the plywood was rotted. Rust underneath - it had to come up. I rapidly discovered it all needed to come up. Rust was underneath every panel - luckily it is just surface rust and should be easy to remedy.

As for the emotional side of things - I think Thera and I are both feeling a little disheartend we are working opposite schedules so we have money for this excursion, but we do not want to put Cayden in day care (nor can we afford it!) so we don't have much time together. Thera's job is working her nearly every weekend, so I have Cayden on the weekends, this basically means time for working on projects is really limited. We need to get our house done so we can sell it before we go on the journey, and obviously need the bus done for the same reason. At the pace we (I) am getting things done...it could be years. Cayden is growing by the day, and the time frame for travelling shrinks by the second.

We need a boost - but not sure how to find it. Lot's of prayer and meditation needs to be a staple. I really want out of the rat race and want to start helping people.

This too shall pass.

Ecerpts (how do you spell that) From the skoolie.net diary

I thought it might be nice to have the whole story in one spot. Why I think I'm still not sure, never seems to turn out good for me....

6/23/09

I got it registered yesterday with little hassle. Key word little.

I walked in, she said in order to do it she needs an inspection - I talked her through the spiel - they used to do inspections, but no longer do, I called and verified this with the DMV as well as the WSP.
She called her supervisor, who made another call, who confirmed this.

She then asked me the GVW, she said I needed to have it weighed on a certified scale before she could register it. I told her since it is an RV, I believe it be exempt, she called her supervisor again, who confirmed this.

Since it was an odd numbered year (1997) she said I have to have a current emissions test, So registered it to my in laws house who live out in the stix where emissions testing isn't required.

After much adieu, she asked me for a check for 309 bucks, and I walked out with plates!

Don't ask me why it was so freakin expensive, but at least I walked out with Motorhome plates!

7/6/2009

We got the bus home from my inlaws house. We managed to get it parked in the yard after a 22 point turn, a missing fence post, and we are going to need some new sod. (and sprinkler head) The bus overheated on the way home, wasn't much fun. We parked and turned it off (not supposed to do that) a dumped some water on the radiator (not supposed to do that) and then waited. Eventually it cooled off enough and we were back on the road. Besides that it was rather uneventful

After getting it in the yard, it felt really good. All the neighbors came over one by one, and we talked about what we are planning to do, and everyone seemed okay with it. My neighbor even has a friend with 2 skoolies, who'd of thunk it. My other neighbor said he was jealous and wished he had a bus to tinker on. All in all, neighbors complacent for the time being. We brought some fresh picked strawberries around, that helps too.

I got half of the seats removed. I think my initiation has begun. I went to harbor freight, got some channel locks and tried that method. It worked for a couple seats, but it was a real pain crawling in and out from under the bus. It was painfully slow as well. It took me 30 minutes for the first seat. When I started I was real careful not to damage anything, on the third seat I would have used a chainsaw if I could have.
I then tried using a sawlzall to cut the heads of the bolts off. No good. I hooked up my compressor and grabbed my angle grinder. The compressor wasn't big enough, I needed more power. Off to lowes to buy an electric angle grinder. I picked up a 6 amp hitatchi for 50 bucks or so with 5 grinding wheels. Much better method! The bolts got hot, glowing red hot, after about 10 burns later ( use safety equipment ) I had most of the seats removed. I got a piece of glowing metal debris in my eye, that wasn't much fun. One stuck to my lip as well, and one on my eyelid. Did I mention you should use safety equipment?

It was getting dark so I was done for the day.

The next day I had my son to watch while my wife was at work, so no angle grinding. I did get a chance to clean out half of the engine compartment and engine. It was really disgusting with years of really nasty diesel dirt everywhere. I ended up dumping some of the water on the grass, and I'm really hoping I won't have a huge dead spot now. It looks much better though, and I can actually read some of the part numbers. Hopefully I won't have to read any of them any time soon.

My tranny fluid smells burnt, so I am going to replace it before any trips. The oil is a little dirty but seems okay. The coolant is going to get analyzed before I go changing it. Air filter is okay based on the gauge.

Bought a Bus

We are now the proud owners of the 1997 Amtran / International 66 pax school bus. T444E engine - 190 HP w/ turbo, 112k miles. Air breaks. Rear Engine. 85% tread on the tires, Heated mirrors, No rust at all, semi new alternator (they wrote replacement date on it with magic marker - end of 2007)

The bus is 35' long, with 6'6" of headroom. It is in great shape - a little dirty on the inside from leaving the door / windows open on a dirt storage facility in the middle of nowhere. I brought my father in law with to check out the bus prior to purchase, he owns a large mechanic shop and is my mechanical guru. The bus has been sitting idle since 2007, and it cranked on the first try. The air breaks were still charged with air, all of the lights work.

It even has a camera and VCR, and alarm that goes off when you enter the without doing something? It just says the authorities are being called...it doesn't actually call them though, kind of an odd feature. It has a CB radio of sorts, but not sure if it works or if it is an actual CB.

It was a locally operated bus - owned by First Student, but once their contract was up with the school district, Durham got the contract and they parked about 25 buses. I talked at length with the mechanic who really liked to T444E engines, he stay stay away from the 6.0 at all costs. He told me about the maintenance program at First Student - mandatory 4000 mile full inspections. Any leaks must be repaired, the engine has to be scanned, oil changed, suspension checked, breaks checked (replaced at 50%) - etc.

I paid $2,000 bucks and it has a 3/4 tank of gas.

It started with Ecuador

I've always had this dream about walking the white sand beaches of Costa Rica, with a fishing pole and no where to be. I thought about it alot, I always thought "some day" That some day never came because I was typically in a alcohol induced coma of sorts.

When I got sober, and the world opened up, I started thinking, "Why wait" I told my wife about this incredulous idea, and surpirisingly enough, she was on board. I started my search (in the typical all obsessive fashion) and learned more than I ever cared to know about South America. Costa Rica was pretty damn pricey. It seems as if I wasn't the first person with this idea or living in paradise on the cheap.

We started looking for alternatives. I used to work for a guy from Venezuela. I heard enough about Chavez to cross that one off the list. Columbia, as much as I like armed abductions, my wife didn't think it sounded so good. Honduras, seemed a little unstable. My godparents were from somewhere in South America. Ecuador. I started reading all I could about it, it seemed as if we had found our dream.

Unfortunately, reality and doubt snuck into my little scheme and started making me second guess myself. My rational side was quickly kicking the shit out of my whimisicle side. It sucked. Being the provider for a newborn son didn't help either.

Rationale one out for the short term and I started searching for an alternative excodus to our daily grind. I had always wanted to travel the country, and I knew for a fact Thera wanted to see more of it too. She hadn't been much east of Montana, or south of Oregon. There was a whole world for us to explore, right here within the continental US. (Did I mentioned getting a visa would be damn near impossible for me?)

I told Thera the idea. Long term travel, go where the day takes us. She bought it hook line and sinker. We had a plan. Sort of.

I started worrying (thats what I do) about being away from my friends in AA. Could I stay sober? I knew I could hit meetings in every state, but would it be enough? I seriously contemplated this dilemma. How could I stay sober? I knew takign the focus away from me, being humble, and helping people always worked before. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The trip would have a theme. Go where the days takes us and help those we run into along the way. Volunteer and a food bank, bring a meeting to someone who can't make it to one, help build a house, paint someone's car...the list goes on ad infinitum (you know where that's from, right?)

The idea was born, and I finally stopped worrying about it. It felt right, it felt good, and I couldn't wait to dive in.

So if we are going to be travelling, we need something to travel, hotels wouldn't cut it in our minimal budget (read minimal as next to nothing) not to mention we have 2 pit bulls and a bird. We've got a Durango, so we thought we could pull a travel trailer... we both wanted something unique, something to put our own touches into. An Airstream. Perfect. We searched. They are expensive.

Then the thought of traveling for extended periods of time, in the Durango, with 2 dogs, a bird, our 1 year old Cayden, Thera and I, just didn't seem all that appealing. Actually, it sounded about like doing the dishes, not terrible, but certainly not something I want to do, especially on a regualr basis.

Well...the next logical solution is an Motorhome. Perfect. We Search. They are also expensive, and they break down. Thera's Dad, who owns a big mechanic shop in town hates motorhomes. When I say hate, I mean like probably would like setting them on fire hate. They are hard to get parts for, near impossible to work on, get shitty mileage, constantly break, are constructed poorly, etc.

Our dream was rapidly coming to a screeching halt. On our budget, it just didn't seem like it could happen. I was nearly about to put it to rest. I would keep working, Thera would keep working, maybe, just maybe someday (after Cayden is out of school) we could start living our dream. It was pretty deflating. I cried a couple of times I think (don't tell anyone)

Now, I don't remember the date or time it happened, or even how the hell I found the idea. It must have been a God thing, because It has been erased from my memory. I do remember texting Thera who was at work and telling her "I hope you like school buses"

She thought I was nuts, I knew I was nuts, and we were back on track. I found skoolie.net, a great resource, and started talking to people. Thera's Dad thought it was a great idea! Check! It was almost a necessity from my standpoint to have them on board. Since I quit drinking I actually started valuing their opinions. I talked to my Dad, he thought it was a great idea! He has always wanted to convert a school bus, he even had a book about it! Check! Convincing the rest of the world, not so easy, luckily society be damned!

The search was on. I checked government surplus outlets within 1000 miles, ebay, craigslist, called the school districts, and generally became obsessed with finding a bus. Months went on. We didn't really have a spot to park a bus, so I was waiting for the right one. About 3 months into it, I found out the local school bus contractor First Student, lost the bid with district 81 to Durham. They parked their fleet of buses in a town about 10 miles from Spokane. It took me about a week to get a hold of someone who could actually tell me if the buses were for sale. They guy said yeah, we'd sell some of them. Go ahead and pick one, 2k. I don't know anything about them. I brought Thera's dad and we went to meet the guy from the mechanic shop that was supposed to open the gate. He didn't show. After more calling, we finally got someone to show up (about an hour later) he didn't have they keys for the buses, and didn't know much about them Even why they were there.

Thera's Dad checked them over, we settled on the one with the lowest mileage. It had air in the breaks still, the battery was still charged, good tread on the tires, overall in good shape.

It was the moment of truth. Actually cutting the check, it was hard to do. I FedEx'd the check overnight and got the title 3 days later. I went with my brother in law and Dad to drive the beast home. I was scared as hell. It is one big bus.

The drive was realitively uneventful, and our dream was back on track.

We were bus owners, for better or worse.