Help me find my Mongo

You guys are the kings of locating all things weird, so I might as well ask the best.

My wife and I have talked on and off over the years about living on the road during retirement. It's still a few years off, but it's not too early to plan.

Our kids are starting to disperse, and we are beginning to realize we will need to be a bit mobile if we want to see our grandkids (don't have any yet).

I had always pictured a nice tow vehicle (truck) pulling a trailer so we could drop it and I could continue to use the truck. But my wife recently expressed an interest in a motor home. That lead me to all things weird.

There is this dark inner part of me that would love to have a fabulous old bus renovated into an eclectic rolling art-piece-home-on-wheels. Woohoo!- I've almost got her hooked.

At the moment, she doesn't want me to build anything. She is picturing a nice newer RV. Not gonna happen- there is no way I'm spending 6 figures on a crappy box on wheels with some upgraded paneling. Besides, money is gonna be a real issue.

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.

I would LOVE a '40's vintage Art Deco bus with storage underneath, but I doubt I will ever find one I can afford. Perhaps an old logging truck, or something with a respectable payload and towing capacity.

There are a lot of running diesel school buses out there for pennies on the dollar, but they have lower payloads, no stowage under, and just not much pizzazz.

A Flxible OTR bus with a bump up "clerestory" might be cool...

So, what says the herd? Know of anything worth saving??

Old greyhound bus plus modified Ikea furnishings has been rattling around in the back of my mind for awhile.

Can't help you on the quirky custom RV front...But my parents are now into their 9th year (I think) as "full timers", and have a good read at tdhoch.blogspot.com. They started out with a 40' Class A, that 6 or 7 years in was relegated to primarily 'home base' duty while they now mostly travel in a pickup camper. It's definitely a lifestyle that requires both people have to genuinely enjoy it, living accommodations (or lack there of) and all.

A friend of mine had his parents do this. Sold the house at 65, bought a sweet motor home and traveled the entire country for 10 years. Then they had some health issues and had problems finding decent healthcare - the wife died and then a few years later they found dad freezing in a central Illinois campground.

The kids pulled the plug and he came in off the road - but he was broke and moved in with a son. Ten great years and two tough years at the end..

Having seen my folks buy and basically wear out 3 or 4 campers in the last 15 years, and knowing how poorly they're built in the name of light weight... I think a commercial bus must be the best starting point.

Alternately, Class A camper values drop like rocks. Surely with years to look.. a good cheap lightly used Diesel pusher chassis can be found. Bonus points if it doesn't have to be gutted.

Also... This makes me wonder if Curtis ever built his FritoLay trailer domicile.

Some candidates:

https://columbusga.craigslist.org/rvs/5176223321.html

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/rvs/5168391393.html

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/rvs/5141103286.html

https://athensga.craigslist.org/rvs/5160407482.html

I bet if you tried you could get the real Mongo.

If not, then what I have learned here is Bluebird Wanderlodge.

Sample

1982 35 ft Bluebird Camper - $22000 http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/rvs/5168706371.html

Go grassroots, find a trailer you like, a nice used straight truck and start fabricating:

If i didn't plan to do much driving I think this would be fun. I would cut the roof off the back half of the top and make that an outdoor patio. Get to the races, back it towards the track, fire up the grill and enjoy. If I was going to drive it I think this would be horrendous on top of being a nightmare to maintain. http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOUBLE-DECKER-LONDON-BUS-LEYLAND-TITAN-/161794696789?forcerrptr=true&hash=item25abb72655&item=161794696789

If I was going to put miles on it I would look into building a body onto an over the road tractor like a toterhome. They are generally simpler than a bus and can be fixed pretty much anywhere if need be. If your heart is set on a bus I'd be looking at an MCI or Prevost from the late 80'S early 90's. For simplicity's sake I wouldn't want to go much newer and deal with all the computers that come with it.

In reply to Wally: Believe it or not, I'd already seen the double decker.

If you really wanted something different you could look for a Prevost H3-60. That should keep you busy for a while.

In reply to Wally:

Nah, for a better view build a 3rd story patio.

Nothing useful to add here except I'd think that Wally is your go to source for all things bus-like.

Oh, and have you looking into various government surplus auction sites? If you want a bluebird or any other heavy bus type contraption the government liquidates them every day.

Wanderlodge. But I am not biased....

That one is ours and not for sale, but here is the deal of the day. FC with new driveline. $6000.00

http://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23407

I also like this one for a bit more money: $36500.00

http://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23301

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1981-Airstream-Excella-31Ft-Class-A-Motorhome-A-C-Furnace-Shower-ARIZONA-/291537430754?forcerrptr=true&hash=item43e0fc28e2&item=291537430754

Kesey tribute would be groovy, man!

jstand wrote: Go grassroots, find a trailer you like, a nice used straight truck and start fabricating:

holy fuel capacity batman!

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.

edizzle89 wrote:

jstand wrote: Go grassroots, find a trailer you like, a nice used straight truck and start fabricating:

holy fuel capacity batman!

I'm betting, fuel, water, gray water and black water tanks. Nice big ones too.

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?

The original

Why did I immediatly think of Electric Mayhem?

$3500. Imagine it with windows cut into it, a nice deck on top...

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...

pinchvalve wrote: $3500. Imagine it with windows cut into it, a nice deck on top...

Dear Bob, I need that for my timing truck!