F.Q.A.
(Frequently Questioned Answers)
Lately, I've been getting mail from folks who are
interested in constructing or purchasing a House bus or truck, and have
questions that I am only too happy to answer. To save them some time and
maybe help them to formulate new questions, here are the tips and tricks
that I have compiled so far. Almost everything here is copy-and-pasted
directly out of e-mails that I have replied to. Remember, The advice below is
my opinion, and that is all that it is!
Q: Are there any books you would recommend, killer web sites
or House bus/truck 'gurus' we could consult?
A: I don't profess to being a 'guru', but as far as I can tell,
my site is the most definitive resource currently available on House trucks
and buses. (You can call me 'Baba Shark Das'). Several books exist, all of
which are out of print. Check the 'Book Reviews' page in the bus barn for more information on these. Some of these are 'picture books', great for getting ideas, while others are 'how-to' manuals, imparting
information to inform you about the actual conversion process.
You may find useful knowledge about converting a bus or truck in Bus Conversions Magazine, although it will be directed at those who convert buses with a big bankroll of money
and want a sophisticated finished product. Installing the plumbing and
electrical is the same in your funky rig as in a big cruiser though, and
many 'how-to' articles are available. (Or, like Prakash, you can do only
a little of each, using a hand pump for water, etc). Follow some of the
URL links on my 'Links' page, they will lead you to others
who are practicing the craft, and their sites will have links to other
URL's which may help. If you come across a particularly good site, let
me know, I'd love to put additional useful links on my page.
Q: Should I buy a school bus, a transit bus, a tour bus or start
with a bare truck chassis?
A: I spent a considerable amount of time on the Housetruck, replacing
the engine, radiator, transmission, clutch, u-joints, wheel bearings, brakes,
etc, before actually getting to the house building part. In 25 years, I
have only put 7,600 miles on all of those new parts. I always wondered
if a trailer would be a smarter way to go, one could then use the tractor
to either pull it around, or for other jobs when the house is stationary.
At least the Crown is in fine running shape. I hope to never have to take
a wrench to it. The chassis has 609,000 miles on it! Given a choice, I
would build my rig 8'6" wide (legal in the U.S.). It REALLY makes
a big difference inside.
School bus or 'tour' bus? Hard choice in some ways. Most school buses
have been taken care of by the school district because of their precious
cargo. Mine came with 20 pages of maintenance records. The drawback? Most
school buses are underpowered and/or geared very low (low top speed), as
they were designed for 'stop and go' student pickup. Same for city transit
buses. There are always exceptions. School buses are fairly cheap, less
than $3,000 in most cases. If you are going to only move it occasionally,
a school bus is a good choice. Tour buses are usually more powerful, but
are also usually VERY worn out by the time the bus line sells them. Nearly
ALL of the tour buses I looked at had bad rust, missing engine parts, wiring
that had been cut and taped up, mufflers supported by bailing wire, etc.
Add to this the price ($12-30k and up), and you will see that you will
be entering into a major rebuild project unless you find that right one.
MCI and Prevost tour buses are designed to go 1 million miles before they
are put out to pasture. Tour buses are the right choice for a full time
live-in rig that you will use to travel constantly. School buses usually
use medium-duty truck motors and running gear, expensive, but readily available.
Transit and tour buses use specialized running gear that may only be available
at great cost. Although a reliable bus may never require service, the school
buses can usually be serviced by ordinary mechanics, while the big rigs
have to go to the dealer for repairs ($$$$$).
If you start with a truck chassis, you will have the maximum in design
flexibility, and also the maximum challenge, as you will be building it
all from scratch. A truck with a van body can be a good starting point,
although they are somewhat boxy and it's a real pain to seal up the leaks
in the flat roof! Small rigs are very nice when started in a step van.
Q: How will I know if what I buy is some kind of mechanical lemon?
A: If you go to look at a rig, take along a mechanic if you're
not so inclined yourself. Mechanical stuff is second nature to me, but
when I bought the Crown, I had a friend who does home inspection along.
While I was negotiating with the owner, he was crawling all over and under
the bus, checking stuff I never thought to look at. Having someone follow
you in an auto while you are test driving it is also a good idea, watching
for smoke, bent wheels, flapping parts that are supposed to be attached,
major misalignment of the frame (crab-crawls down the road), and to verify
the speedometer accuracy (wow, this bus will do 100 mph!). When I test
drove the Crown, I wanted to see how it climbed hills. My chase car couldn't
keep up on the grade! I won't be tailgated by diesel trucks in this baby!
Q:After I put all of this work into building it, will it be
worth a lot?
A: Don't buy any bus because you think you will even come close
to breaking even in the deal. You will find out that the taste of the buyer
will probably be different than yours when you converted it. Buy it because
you want it, need it, and will use it. Remember that the people who are
best suited to appreciate your bitchen' home on wheels are the least likely
to be able to pay you big bucks to buy it, while the wealthy retiree is
going to go out and purchase a Monaco, Itasca, or Country Coach, if not
a Marathon ($500k and up!).
Q: We're thinking of purchasing a XYZ (used R.V., partially
converted bus, travel trailer, etc) and make it into a House bus/truck. We
definitely have something with loads of character and charm in mind....is this possible?
A: What do you like? If you can put up with someone else's idea
of interior fashion, a completed or semi-completed rig might be for you.
Not bothered by Formica, Naugahide and chrome, no problem. Like all of
your spaces divided into little individual boxes? Go for an RV. Seriously,
you may find something you like and with a little bit of remodeling, get
a very satisfying result. Much of the utilities (tanks, plumbing, wiring,
propane, etc.) may already be installed, which could save you lots of work,
time in locating the appliances, etc. Buy an old travel trailer, rip out
all of the plastic, and install your own custom fixtures.
Q: Where do you get your design ideas?
A: During the planning phase of my project, I made it a point
to go to recreational vehicle shows and sales and looked at as many different
types of mobile habitations as I could. I also went to boat and yacht exhibits,
and got better ideas there (it's always easier to let someone else do your
thinking for you, so I just copied the best I could find). One thing I have
noticed is that many of the trucks and buses I have been looking at have
several striking similarities, things which I can only attribute to the
whole movement being a 'genre'. Certainly, there may be some copy-cat
factors, but others look like a sort of housetruck 'genetic trait'. Every
woodstove I have ever seen in a bus seems to have a couple of off-kilter
angle joints in it (mine does). Did we all figure out simultaneously that
old cabinet hinges, stained glass, brass doorknobs and funky metal signs
were the cool way to decorate? Were oriental rugs invented just for us?
Too much coincidence for my taste. This could be one for the X-files.
Gad, think of what would happen if Martha Stewart found this
site!!!!!
Q: How do you come up with all of the materials?
A: Of course, all of the metals are purchased new. Much of the
wood is recycled, salvaged from dumpsters outside of remodeling projects
or purchased as 'seconds'. The local Safari RV manufacturer has a 'factory
outlet' where they sell scratch-and-dent supplies from the assembly line.
(I got an $800 RV-sized washer/dryer for $25. It had a dent and needed
a wire attached.)
Mostly, the furnishings and fixtures come from the flea market, garage
sales, second-hand stores, and from buildings about to be demolished. Unfortunately,
much of the 'junk' that goes into the average House truck has been discovered
by antique dealers and is now classified as 'primitives', fetching top
dollar to greedy upper-income yuppies. Even beat-up old-fashioned painted
cabinets sell for hundreds of dollars, and true antiques are out
of reach for most of us on a budget.
Q: I'm going to build a truck/bus, and will want a 'cabin in
the woods' look outside as well as inside. I can frame up the new walls
and roof with 2x4's just like building a regular house, right?
A: Wrong! Driving your new creation all over hell and gone is
just about like going through a continuous San Francisco Earthquake during
Hurricane Andrew! Regular wood and framing techniques just won't cut in
in a vehicle. Do yourself a favor and either learn to weld (it's fun!)
or find a partner who can. You can still have that funky cabin appearance,
but you won't have to worry about stuff coming crashing down with every
speed bump you roll over. A steel frame is stronger and for the size lighter
than wooden framing. Just about any kind of joint you can imagine can be
fabricated and reinforced to withstand many times the stress that you will
subject it to on the road. Save your woodworking skills for the appearance
and cabinetry work.
A note about those cedar shingles on the roof and walls: Want to find
out if your house is watertight? Get up on the freeway and do 60 mph for
a couple of hours in a rainstorm. I imagine that the rough texture of shingles
and siding would adversely impact the already dismal fuel economy of a truck
or bus as well, due to wind resistance and weight (particularly when wet). Steel or
aluminum is best suited for a rig that will travel
much, and there will be fewer cracks for the bugs to creep in through as
well.
Q: What's your opinion on insulating methods? I stripped out all
the inner body panels on the bus and insulated to R-13.5. All windows, with the
exception of the windshield, door panes, and roll-down driver's window
are double-glazed. Am I being excessive?
A: In my opinion, there is no such thing as "over-insulated". Even if you have a rip-roarin', wall-searing, tree-gobbling wood stove, when the fire gets low and goes out, the temp inside will drop fast. Trucks and buses don't have diddly for thermal mass, and don't tend to keep the heat for long.
Rigid insulation is the way to go, either styrene (Styrofoam®), or polyisocyanurate (R-Max®, etc). When I built the Housetruck, I used mostly fiberglass and rock wool insulation, because I was able to recycle some from a building that was being remodeled. Two problems with this are that this type of insulation needs to be fully expanded to give proper thermal performance, R-11 is supposed to be placed between 2x4" studs. Cramming it inside the walls of a vehicle compresses the air out and the R value goes down. The other problem is that this type of insulation absorbs and holds water vapor from the air, leading to even more heat loss, and worse, rust and rot of the body of your home. In a frame dwelling, with correctly installed vapor barrier, wood siding, vents and all the rest, the water vapor is allowed to dissipate. In a metal vehicle body, it just sits there and eats away at the metal.
If you use styrene, be sure to cover it completely and protect it from heat and flames. Once ignited, it burns viciously and emits clouds of black, stinking, poisonous smoke. For each inch of thickness, the isocyanurate sheeting is a slightly better insulator, somewhat less flammable, and about twice the price! Guess which I used in the Crown.
A well insulated bus or truck is also an asset in the summer. Yesterday, the Crown sat in the full sun from dawn until I opened it up to get some tools at 2pm. Outside temperature was 80° F, inside after all that time it was only 82°. Of course at this stage of the game, I don't have any side windows or skylights to admit light and heat, but even if the thermal performance is compromised a bit when they are installed, I think I can live with the level of insulation I have installed. Walls and ceiling are R-17, in two layers, 1", covered by 1¼. Insulation is positioned so that no metal extends into the living space without at least one layer covering it. The floor has R-19 fiberglass, I figure that it will breathe better, as the original bus floor is plywood.
About insulated glass: I'm not using it. My windows are being manufactured using 'energy panels', which is a second layer of glass fastened, but not sealed, inside the window frame. It is removable for cleaning. The sources I checked with had a problem with a hermetically sealed window being driven up and down mountain passes, where they would be subjected to changing air pressure. Nobody really thought that the seals would be ruptured, but none would stand behind their guarantee if used in a vehicle, either. If you get some inexpensive used double pane units, go ahead and install them, it's worth the risk f they're cheap. The rear door and five windows in the Crown cost me almost $4,000 alone. That's a lot of cash to experiment with.
One last note. Your well-insulated bus or truck will do well keeping you warm, but the better sealed up it is, the more problems you will have with moisture. Even when using a wood stove, supposedly 'dry heat', you'll find that the humidity inside will be uncomfortably high most of the winter. I have to run an electric dehumidifier several times a week, removing a pint to a quart of water from the air each time. Water will tend to collect under your mattress, especially if, like me, your bed is over an exterior space and insulated underneath. I have my mattress (5" of high-density foam) placed on ¼" hardboard "peg-board" (the type with all of the holes that is used to hang tools on), which is supported above the insulation and plastic sheeting cover with a 1" air gap. This allows the water to condense away from my mattress, and makes mopping it up when I change sheets a lot easier.
In spite of all of this, I have to be vigilant, as the edges of the sheets and mattress tend to grow molds where they touch the walls. On laundry days, I have to shred up the whole mess and dry things out, using 75 watt reflector flood lights to heat the corners to drive the moisture out. During these times, the dehumidifier can remove as much as a gallon of water from the air, drawing it out of the mattress, hardboard and woodwork.
Q: Do you have any tips or info on building a second story onto an old school bus?
A: Well, the second story thing is tricky. Obviously, the downstairs area will have a just-above-your-head ceiling and the loft will be tall enough (hopefully) to sit upright comfortably in a cross-legged position. The low ceilings will get old really fast if this is a live-in, particularly if the entire interior is covered with the loft. Look at the pages on Grace. Prakash has lofts at both ends, connected by side shelves, with a large open area in the middle. This relieves the closed-in feeling one would get from all-loft ceilings, and allows light, air, and most importantly, sight lines from below. Greg's bus has a similar setup, with the bed over the kitchen, and the living room has a high ceiling.
I am building a loft-over in the Crown. As the frame rails stop just behind the rear rear axle, I cut the floor out, giving me a 10' 6" height to construct a room below and a loft above for sleeping. The ceiling in the room will be 6' 3" to the rafters, which is tall enough for me.
In any case, please don't just graft a VW bus on top of your rig. It will squeak, leak and will provide very little in the way of useable space for the effort required to put it there. Any extension of the roof will cut into your already dismal fuel economy, make it harder to maneuver around trees and power lines, and add considerably to making the center of gravity of your vehicle higher, when lower is best. If you are going to go to the trouble of raising the roof, do it right the first time.
Q: I have heard that solar power is expensive and unreliable, so I am planning on installing a cheap generator in my bus conversion. Any suggestions?
A: I have been living with solar power for about 11 years, and couldn't recommend it more highly. All of the power for my lights, small appliances, computer and hand tools can be supplied by PV's (photovoltaics) and batteries. True, it won't power air conditioning, heating
appliances, or big stationary tools without being excessively large and costly. Yes, the
initial cost is high, but once purchased, it requires no maintenance, fuel, or repair parts, and produces no noise or pollution. PV panels last virtually forever. A PV/Generator (or PV/grid) hybrid system should be capable of meeting virtually ALL of the needs of someone living small in any sized vehicle.
Currently, PV's are running about $4/watt for bitchin'-ass brand-new 20 year warranty units, so two 50 watt panels are going to cost $500, about the same as one of those cheap, noisy Briggs & Stratton 5Kw generators you see advertised at lumber and tool stores. When you decide to upgrade the solar to more power, you just buy more panels and hook them up along with the first ones, they don't even have to be the same rating, size, etc (obviously, the voltage needs to match). The cheap generator, on the other hand, will need to be replaced entirely when it is too small, worn out, or you get tired of the noise, vibration, fumes and dealing with gasoline. You're going to have batteries anyway, right?
True, a 100 watt solar array sounds small, but consider that it runs silently all day. 10 hours of sun times 100 watts = powering a 25 watt reading light for about 50 hours, or about ten evenings worth, depending on how late you stay up. And this is just one day's worth of sun. In the summer, my 150 watt solar array powers all of my lights, stereo, and kitchen appliances, and runs the pump for the hot tub, and I still end up diverting power into the refrigerator to keep from overcharging the batteries. Wintertime, I get the lights, stereo, and appliances, but don't divert any excess, because there isn't any. Remember, I live in Oregon, where the sun seldom shines after October, so I get
sufficient power out of the clouds to meet minimal needs. Imagine a user living in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, etc.
The point is that you can install solar starting with any size array,
beginning with a $25 cigarette-lighter battery charger panel, and build it larger as your needs or pocketbook require. Smaller systems don't require charge controllers, elaborate fuses and wiring, complicated metering, inverters, etc (inverters are another subject, they are awesome!).
My system is gargantuan mostly because I am an Engineer, and know how to make it that way. I have installed small systems that are perfectly
serviceable and free the users from the candle and kerosene lamp scene, while allowing them to power modest loads like (!!!) coffee grinders!,
P.S. Q: Do you know why they put a single solar panel on top of a $750,000 Marathon Motor Coach? A: To keep the generator battery charged!
Q: If I had one of these rigs, where would I live in it? I hate
trailer parks!
A: Everyone I know who lives in a housetruck/bus has ALWAYS had
an adequate if not exceptional place to live. If the lifestyle is appropriate
to you, then it takes very little effort to support, and the proper opportunities
always present themselves. A more detailed reply would also take into account that
most of these people are Craftsmen of some sort. Many of our living situations
present themselves as an extension of self-employment. I have lived variously
behind a Natural Foods store, at a 12 unit upscale townhouse project under
construction, several private remodeling projects at residences in and
out of town, at an estate overlooking the Monterey Bay, where the owner
not only paid me, but fed me and took me to concerts, etc. I have lived
as a caretaker, shared a 1906 one-room schoolhouse with an assorted household,
and just plain rented, with the monthly rent being between $10 and $200 a
month. I have lived in side and back yards here and in Portland, and lived
on the street for a short time, but only by choice. I can't even begin
to imagine how much money I have saved because of living in the Housetruck
for the last 26 years . Currently, I own the property where I park the Housetruck.
Prakash has had similar experiences, during one period, he was a caretaker
for a 500 acre private valley. How do we get these situations? Well, they
'Just Happen'. Having the appearance of Having Your Act Together helps a
lot. In my interactions with authority figures (police, managers, park
rangers, etc), I have usually found that they are more interested in seeing
the truck than hassling me. If your rig has an interesting, off-beat,
yet non-threatening appearance, people will want to know more about it,
information that they won't be able to get if they come on to you with
an adversarial attitude. Of course, this means you will also be getting
a lot of attention from everyone else as well. I usually end up with visitors
everywhere I go. Having Your Act Together also means projecting the image
of responsibility. Creating the impression that you aren't going to leave
a mound of trash, sewage, or a pool of used crankcase oil behind when you
are gone is important. When your Act is Just Happening, you will know it,
because everything you need will present itself to you. When I began building
the Crown, materials and tools just started coming into my life by themselves.
The same thing happened when I built the first Housetruck. This is not
to say that it is an effortless act, obviously, the Crown project (almost
in it's fourth year) involves a lot of labor, but most problems seem to
solve themselves.
I know that the 'It Just Happens' stuff sounds a little New-Ageist,
but it really has worked that way for me. A couple of years into the construction
of my permanent house, I realized that the Housetruck was still the Happening
Thing for me, so I rededicated myself to that lifestyle. (I never moved
into the house).
Q: Is this true that converted school buses are turned away from rv parks, KOA, or national/state parks and if so where can we park?
A: I have heard of the prejudice directed towards school bus dwellers, but have not experienced it myself. Probably the very most important thing is the appearance of the exterior of your bus. Get rid of the yellow-and-black scheme and paint it in a tasteful (but still interesting) motif. Not having a bunch of clothing, kitchen goods or other junk pressed against the bus windows from the inside will also spiff it up a bit. Neat personal appearance (and I don't necessarily mean looking "straight"), and not
traveling with six big, mangy dogs will be a help also (I hope I'm not insulting you in any way here).
A lot of this will have to do with the "Having Your Act Together" mentioned above, but also consider bringing something interesting or valuable along to share with your fellow campers. A display of crafts, photos or food (someone on one of the lists thought ice cream would go over well) might help you settle in with the others around you. Save the rave music festival for some time when you're way out in the desert!
Generally, I'd think that the decision to allow a school bus or house truck into a camp would be made by the manager on a case-by-case basis. Coming on too strong (in whatever way) would very likely be a bad idea. On the other hand, if such a park or campground had a hard-and-fast "no buses" rule, it probably isn't anywhere you would want to stay anyway, right?
Q: What do you do for insurance?
A: Oh yeah, the old insurance problem. Well, first of all, you
don't want to tell them that it's a school bus. If possible, have your
local Dept. of Motor Vehicles change your title to passenger vehicle, farm
truck, or maybe better yet, motor home. In most states, this means taking
it down to be inspected to show that the seats have been removed, and perhaps
that some motor home conversion has at least been started. Our DMV doesn't
require registration to get a title, so I buy Trip Permits (temporary registration)
to drive mine. Motor Homes here are registered by length, and the Crown would
be about $350.00 for two years. Ask them a lot of questions to get a feel
for which is the best way to register your title before you actually do
it. I insure the Housetruck through Farmers. When I purchased insurance
for my other two vehicles, I also insured the Housetruck, telling the agent
only that it was a 1962 Chevrolet Motor Home, nothing more about it's construction,
purpose, etc. I told the agent that the 'motor home' sits 51 weeks a year,
and is only driven on vacation one week. He allows me to cover the truck
for comprehensive during that time for $11.00 a year. When I want to take
my yearly trip, I call him up, tell him to give me complete coverage for
a week, and send me a Certificate of Liability Insurance. This costs about
$2.50 to cover it fully for the week's use. After the trip, back to comprehensive
only, and the insurance carrier doesn't notify the state, because I am
still insured, the policy doesn't end, only changes terms. All of the above
is on the level, I really don't drive it any other time. The real kicker
is, if the big walnut tree that it is parked under lost a limb and crunched
it, I am covered with a $500.00 deductible! Such a deal!!! Other solutions
to this problem may exist, and may be specific to the codes and laws of
your locality. Of course, I would never advise you to drive around without
insurance, or to try to deceive your insurance agent. You may be able to
obtain liability coverage as I did, by being vague about the purpose of
your vehicle, but remember that collecting in the event of an accident
might be difficult. Someday (I hope), each of us will be judged by our
own actions and responsibilities. Until then, we are just 'statistics'
and 'probabilities' on the insurance companies spread sheets of profit
and loss. Anyone who doesn't fit the profile will be considered an unacceptable
risk, regardless of their driving record.
Keep in touch, let me know about your progress!!
