I took the bus out this morning—in a couple of inches of fresh snow— for an hour-long drive across town. New tires are going on, the back window is being reinstalled, holes in the roof are being sealed, and hopefully a few other projects that would suck up a lot of my time (especially in sub-zero temps) but shouldn’t be too taxing for a nice warm shop. Especially a nice warm shop whose owner’s wife is a Bum friend and has admonished her husband to take good care of us Bums.
The bus drove perfectly, cell phones were constantly being stuck out of windows of passing cars by people with big grins plastered across their faces, and for the third time now I drove the bus in below freezing temperatures—this time with absolutely no heat and a missing window. I can’t wait to drive this thing down the road with the windows open and a warm breeze blowing through.
I also can’t wait to wash and wax the bus. It’s not always easy to tell in pictures, but this thing is absolutely smothered in grime right now.
Ahh, those are nothing but far off dreams right now.
29 Comments on “Drive to the Shop”
Is the dual exhaust on that thing original?
It is new as of 2010. If your question is “Was this always dual exhaust?” then the answer is that I have no idea.
Love the look, except for that front bumper and rear skirt. The really mess up the lines of the bus.
As someone who has been behind an RV and had a rock crack my windshield, I LOVE the rear skirt. It may not be the prettiest thing in the world but it sure does save those behind you. As for the front bumper, in my opinion it has the perfect blend of funky-sheik that I associate with the Bums.
Wouldn’t green mudflaps do the same?
“…sheik…”
ROFL
Love the pink Crocs in sub zero weather…..:)
If you take off the bumper and hula skirt there will be no pizza or tacos for you when you come through Texas one day to see us. LOL!! Awesome good stuff there! That RV is like a time machine and is going to be a blast to travel with. Where will the surfboards be stored?
I love the front bumper. It just screams funky!
I can’t tell from the pictures but if the exhaust pipes are isolated you can pick up a noticeable increase in torque and mileage by installing a crossover between the pipes close to the engine. Cool bus by the way!
The front bumper gives that thing so much more character. Gotta leave it on!!!!
At least put a poll up and have everyone vote. Be a man of the people!
There is no voting here. This is not a democracy. That said, the bumper is staying.
Mustache ride! Maybe you should just give up and become an RV mechanic.
Having had an RV with a towed car (Karmann Giha and a New Beetle) the rear skirt is there to protect your tow from gravel the RV’s rear tires may throw up. Unfortunately it won’t protect from bigger stuff, but that’s a sad story for another time.
Is that brake fuild on the inside of the rear tire?
No, that is Minnesota winter sloppy road fluid.
With the right paint it could be the Oscar Meyer wiener mobile!
Maybe paint a big H.R. Pufnstuf mouth on the front of the bumper. It looks like it’s crying out for one.
For the record: the bumper is staying, the hula skirt is gone.
Aesthetic/Practical decision appluaded
Do the front bumper storage bins have locks?
You bet.
Love the product placement, “Precision Frame and Alignment”. Is it code/law that dualies have mud flaps? Might want to take a look at this pdf: http://www.jonesindustrialsales.com/uploads/Mud_Flap_Laws_NETA.pdf
Jerry, if you think I’m going to spend one minute reading about mud flap laws then you don’t know me nearly as well as I thought you did.
Aloha to the hula skirt!!! Mahola!!!
Heh . . . it’s “mahalo,” haole! 😉
Are you guys going to be doing home schooling?
We came across the Pacific with lots of Kid-boats (Totem included)who were always busy home schooling and I always thought that those kids were getting an infinitely better education than they could back in the states. All of the kids seemed eager to learn rather than bored with the 5 day a week grind hoping for an occasional snow day.
Saw a bus just like yours by the beach (Portugal – you know, Europe). Logged on to your site to confirm the similarity, an almost exact duplicate except for the rear windows (three large panes) and no front bumper. They roared off before I got close, bummer. Didn’t have my camera, bummer again.
But it sure looked hip and funky.
Love the color! Very ‘IN’ right now. Is that a rusty frame underneath? What a project! I thought you sold the boat so you didn’t have so much to work on? 😉