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pinchvalve
pinchvalve GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/18/15 8:45 a.m.

What about 4WD?

mazdeuce
mazdeuce PowerDork
8/18/15 8:48 a.m.
oldopelguy wrote: If you are onboard with the fab work I'll give you a sweet deal on a '48 American Lafrance pumper truck with no bed... Or a '66 Chevy bread van... Maybe even a '67 IH CO1600...

66 Chevy bread van? Please continue......

oldopelguy
oldopelguy SuperDork
8/18/15 8:55 a.m.
mazdeuce wrote: 66 Chevy bread van? Please continue......

I didn't post it here because I didn't think anyone would really be interested. This is mine, $500 for a GRMer: http://siouxfalls.craigslist.org/cto/5165080945.html

bigev007
bigev007 Reader
8/18/15 9:53 a.m.

Not sure how common it is, but I've read a few times on an RV forum (they're kinda grass-rootsy for RV's, so Motorhome Magazine Forum ) that some parks won't take home-builts, or RV's that look "old". Like a bad HOA, I guess.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 11:26 a.m.
Duke wrote: There's a church selling a Flxble (I think - might be a Scenicruiser) clerestory bus up here. I will be going by it in about a week. Want me to get pics and details?

Sure. Why not.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 11:30 a.m.
oldopelguy wrote: If you are onboard with the fab work I'll give you a sweet deal on a '48 American Lafrance pumper truck with no bed... Or a '66 Chevy bread van... Maybe even a '67 IH CO1600...

Fab work doesn't bother me.

Bread van is too small.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 12:01 p.m.
Ian F wrote:
bgkast wrote: Some candidates: https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/rvs/5168391393.html
Of the 4, I like this one. Seems pretty much ready-to-go. Seems cheap enough that you could buy it now and use it for a few vacations to see if RV-life is for you. One problem with the double-decker bus is the dropped floor - leaving essentially no room for water tanks and underside storage. Sort of the same reason why car trailers don't easily convert to RV's. A friend on Facebook is in the process of converting a vintage Flxible Clipper bus into a full-time living RV. It's taking much longer than he anticipated (most recent website update is 2013, but he posts regular updates on FB), and I'm sure any budget numbers have long since flown... but damn it looks nice: http://digitalmastery.com/creativecruiser/?page_id=107 Vintage on the outside, but thoroughly modern and high-tech on the inside.

That Flxible Clipper is awesome. I am particularly a fan of the radius corner cabinetry with the book matched veneers - it's very appropriate for that rig.

I've got a lot of woodworking capability, and could build that, but it would take a LOT of time. I'd love to try.

I doubt I could afford a rig like that.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 12:12 p.m.
bigev007 wrote: Not sure how common it is, but I've read a few times on an RV forum (they're kinda grass-rootsy for RV's, so Motorhome Magazine Forum ) that some parks won't take home-builts, or RV's that look "old". Like a bad HOA, I guess.

Well, like a bad HOA, those are neighborhoods I will avoid.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 12:13 p.m.
mazdeuce wrote:
oldopelguy wrote: If you are onboard with the fab work I'll give you a sweet deal on a '48 American Lafrance pumper truck with no bed... Or a '66 Chevy bread van... Maybe even a '67 IH CO1600...
66 Chevy bread van? Please continue......

I know where there is a cheap Divco...

NOHOME
NOHOME UberDork
8/18/15 12:18 p.m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

Or, if you MUST grassroots the whole deal:

Then again if a rich relative dies there is this option:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32kK7lQZSks

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 12:21 p.m.

In reply to NOHOME:

Umm...

Why the berkeley would anyone need that? (The amphibibus)

You keep editing while I keep editing.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 12:26 p.m.

In reply to NOHOME:

I kinda like the Econobarge.

I have no idea what to think of the floating tenement.

mazdeuce
mazdeuce PowerDork
8/18/15 12:28 p.m.
oldopelguy wrote:
mazdeuce wrote: 66 Chevy bread van? Please continue......
I didn't post it here because I didn't think anyone would really be interested. This is mine, $500 for a GRMer: http://siouxfalls.craigslist.org/cto/5165080945.html

Showed it to Mrs. Deuce who was just saying we should get a van. She claims it's not actually a van. I argued that it says so right in the description, and it's against the rules to lie on Craigslist.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 12:30 p.m.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Would she call this a van?

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
8/18/15 12:59 p.m.

FMC Motorhome?

Not that common but they're supposed to be well built. There's one for sale in town but for $$$. Another one keeps popping up on ebay from time to time.

bigev007
bigev007 Reader
8/18/15 1:21 p.m.

In reply to SVreX: That forum's also a great resource for RV info/fixes/help/etc. A few great build your own threads in there.

mike
mike New Reader
8/18/15 2:02 p.m.

"I would LOVE a '40's vintage Art Deco bus with storage underneath, but I doubt I will ever find one I can afford. So, what do I have going for me? Well, money is certainly not one of the things. But I am good with my hands, excellent at design, great at repurposing cool materials, and even have an old camper with all the tanks and utilities I could scavenge. I also have time on my hands- I could spend 8 or 10 years building it if I had to. My sense is the cool stuff is not dropping in price, so I am casually beginning to look. If I find something I can afford, I would buy it and begin a renovation slowly"

http://theoldmotor.com/?s=curtiss++aerocar

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=123517

http://www.petersen.org/explore/collections-and-archives/vehicles/motorcycles-and-other/tractor

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=136548

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=90142

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=64344

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=23576

You mentioned Art Deco, just some food for thought ... Also you would have something cool to drive around in once you got set up in the camp ground.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
8/18/15 2:07 p.m.

In reply to mike:

Those are awesome. Thanks!

Ian F
Ian F MegaDork
8/18/15 2:19 p.m.

In reply to SVreX:

Hard to say... how long do you think it'll be until retirement?

It's definitely a cost-no-object kind of build. Or at least seems that way. I have no idea how a guy who does Photoshop how-to presentations can afford that build, but whatever. He previously drove around in a Prevost bus motorhome, but decided it was too big and needy so worked to design something smaller and more efficient.

I've made mental notes of a number of his ideas for if/when I do my own RV conversion.

92dxman
92dxman Dork
8/18/15 2:37 p.m.

The 77 MCI looks pretty turnkey and cheap to me.

ultraclyde
ultraclyde UltraDork
8/18/15 3:17 p.m.
oldopelguy wrote:
mazdeuce wrote: 66 Chevy bread van? Please continue......
I didn't post it here because I didn't think anyone would really be interested. This is mine, $500 for a GRMer: http://siouxfalls.craigslist.org/cto/5165080945.html

I seem to say this a lot....It sure is a good thing that's half a country away...

Gasoline
Gasoline SuperDork
8/18/15 3:20 p.m.

Jay_W
Jay_W Dork
8/18/15 3:55 p.m.

Go look at a bunch of rigs, then go here and read up on http://www.foreforums.com/ Yeah I'm biased, but these things are very well built. Think less RV, more yacht.

neon4891
neon4891 UltimaDork
8/18/15 4:28 p.m.

I have impure thoughts about converting a used school bus.

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/18/15 5:15 p.m.
SVreX wrote: In reply to mazdeuce: Would she call this a van?

My wife might. We had an apartment about that size.

It looks like an abandoned project is probably the best value. Preferably one that someone refreshed the mechanical bits on. I would avoid a used city bus. Ours go for scrap once we've wrung every bit of life from them and canabalized the remaining useful bits. To qualify for federal funding you have to keep them for 12 years so pretty much any one you find will have lived a full life.

School buses fair a bit better since they don't see the use of a line bus but most I've seen have been ill suited for highway use.

There are deals out there. My Dad's church bought a Thomas years ago from the Kennedy Space Center. It lived its whole life there doing tours and when they got it it was like new except for the faded paint. I liked how it drove but it was only geared for about 65 MPH. The did take it from NY to Missouri for a scout trip and countless other trips almost every week without missing a beat.

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