As of today we have finally decided on a basic plan for the interior bus layout. Of course it may change as we get further along. Top is top level, bottom is bottom level. If you have any suggestions or ideas, let me know.

Oh, this is not dimensionally accurate but pretty close. I chalked this up so that I can begin to mark all the electrical outlets and lights so that the electrical guys can give me a quote.

As I said this is basic. Upstairs we plan to incorporate a washer/dryer, clothes closets and drawers, as well as a craft desk/storage for Avira. Across from the bunks will be a play area for the kids. Downstairs will have plenty of cabinetry in the kitchen, and the breakfast table will have some kind of drop down design so that we can serve espresso and goodies out of that window when we go to events It will be a lovely home.

So after considering what a task it would be to deal with the issue I posted about before this post, I decided to say scew it. I am going to JB Weld that hole shut. Why? Well, I have no intention of keeping this engine. Once I sell it, it will likely be parted out and that part is beyond repair. In addition to that, I am only intending to drive it 40 feet a day from where it is currently parked to the front of the shop and back to where it is now. The only reason we need to drive it at all is so we can get the bus close enough to the shop door (that it doesn’t fit through) so the equiptment can reach it and the body work can get done. I talked to my cousin about timelines and they will start it as soon after Christmas as they can and will likely have it done by the beginning of Febraury. In addition to that, I have located a few different companies that can make a “reversing gearbox” that will reverse the rotation of the driveline so we can put a domestic engine and transmission in without changing out the rear end. Don’t ask, that is a long explanation but trust me, we can’t change it out or switch directions on it. The reversing gearbox will be finished mid to late Febraury if I order it soon.

So here is the plan. I am going to JB Weld that hole shut just so it can drive without shooting out radiator fluid, that way it can make it the 40 or so feet it needs to each day in order to get the body work done. At the beginning of Febrauary the body work will be done and by then we will have replaced all the windows to the kind we want. We will also have our engine and transmission. Once the reversing box is done, we will put the engine, tansmission and reversing box in, then sell off the old engine and transmission. Toward the end of Febrauary when we get this done, we will drive it over to have all the electrical and plumbing installed which will take about a week. Then we just build our new home. Once the Bathroom is done, the kitchen is done, we are going to throw some matresses down and start living in it that way we can tell through experience where we want all our lighting, cabinets etc. We got a pretty good idea but nothing beats actually experiencing it and taking your time to make sure it is done intelligently and right.

I am planning to install the DT466 Turbo Diesel Engine and the Allison MT643 Automatic Transmission. I have located a few different ones for really cheap and in good running order. One is $1,000 for both and the other is $2,500 for both. The cool thing is I was told my engine would easily sell for $3,000 running  (which it is now =) hehe) if not more. Not sure what I can get for the transmission but already that pays for my engine and tranmission.

The current reversing box quote that I have is $3,000-$3,500. I will be getting another tomorrow and I am expecting it to be lower. I will post once I know how much it is.

So there is the current plan. I want to be living in this bus by mid-spring! We have to take it one step at a time and I will post the details as time goes on. Wish us luck on everything because we are gonna need it.

Today we started our engine to let it run for around half an hour after filling the radiator with anti-freeze/coolant. After starting it coolant poured out from the side of the engine like niagra falls leaving a huge puddle under the bus (and beyond). My wife and son yelled to me that it was happening and I imediately turned off the engine. It took a while before it stopped pouring out but I investigated and found a hole in the side of the engine where it was coming out. Luckily, this part with the hole in it comes off and can be replaced IF I can find a replacement. Considering how rare the BVW engine is, I doubt I will have luck. The cool thing is that even though I don’t know what to call this particular part, a part number is actually on the unit. It is the 293bvw. Basically put, it routes coolant from one hole in the engine to a hole next to it. There are about 4 of these parts on the visible side of the engine. Here are some pictures of the holy part and the non-holy part for comparison. You can click the pictures to see them bigger.

Here is a farther view back from the engine.

Ironically, I need to remove the fuel injection pump so that I can replace a choke valve that is all rusted out and not turning the engine off. I was dreading taking it off just for that because of all the work involved but now I have to take it off to replace this part, so now I am not dreading it. haha. See, the glass IS half full.

As of Thursday December 11th we have a running bus! =)

Friday we spent the day changing the oil out and fixing a radiator hose before we started it for the second and third time. The second time it died after running for a while and then the third time it ran better and better the more we let it run. By the end, it was running beautifly. The only problem now is to deal with what sounds like a fuel line or air line issue. We aren’t sure but it is causing it to run a bit rough. Sooooo, we video taped the events and here they are.

Second time starting the bus

Third time with interview of Wenn family

I love you soooooooooooo much!

I have recently started a new blog to be website online that is going to be a neat resource of technology and business related information in addition to a showcase of my talents. Most of it is technology based, but it will be a bunch of random stuff that I feel is interesting. This is primarily my business blog where as I will soon be introducing my third blog. I will be starting a blog based entirely on social progress, sustainability, green living, simplicity and technology. There are reasons this will be unique to other blogs out there, but I cannot reveal what they are at this time. I will probably be announcing the  info on both blogs within a month, but I wanted to give you all a heads up because I am really excited about them and needed to get them off my chest. 

Pretty soon I am going to take my blogging to a whole new level, so keep your eyes open.

So, if you have been paying attention you know that things have been a little rough for us in our goal of accomplishing our dream. We knew before we started that this would not be easy and man, we called that one. hehe. The obstacle we have had is finding jobs so we could fix up our bus has now turned into needing jobs to just live here. That was not what we anticipated. So as you can imagine, not having money doesn’t mean you don’t have expenses and we actually sank into a small debt. In the last couple of weeks I have managed to score a job that looks like it is sent right from heaven although that could still be wrong. I have not been able to work yet because of legal paperwork but it will soon be done and I will report on how it is going. Hopefully it is as good as it appears.

Two days ago we were driving past the restaurant that “hired” Avira and noticed that the restaurant signs are down and they have been replaced with “for lease” signs. I guess that means Avira’s job that we were waiting for has officially fell through. It was probably a really good thing that I took the opportunity to pitch the idea of hiring Avira to my new employer because a few days before that they decided to hire her too. We are no going back to Los Angeles (probably next week) for her to take the class I took two weeks ago. So if this job is as good as I am hoping it will be, then it will be twice as good because we both will be doing the same thing. The good news is that we should have money to start working on the bus soon and it may be much more money than we ever made before which means the bus will be getting done quickly. We aren’t giving our hopes up yet but just taking it one step at a time. Keep us in your prayers as we continue on this crazy journey toward a new lifestyle. Maybe we will look back in a few months and think this was only a small trial to test how bad we wanted this. Yesterday I sat in the bus for a few minutes imagining how it will look when it is all done and on the road. My heart welled up with joy. I think it is going to take much much more tribulation than what we have gone through so far to make us give up on our dreams.

So I got one FINALLY. A very bizarre market I knew nothing about. It is a straight commission sales job but requires some explaination. So here it goes…

Every month, all gas users pay a surcharge of only a few bucks that is usually percieved to be a tax. It is actually a federally mandated charge that the utility companies are required to charge to provide programs to assist low income energy users. On thing it does is help lower the bill for people who are low income. It also helps increase the efficiency of their home to lower their bill. That is where the company I work for comes in. Though the utility collects and holds that money for their program, they do not advertise it nor do they tell people about it. They contract with independent companies, like mine, paying them for each person who they sign up for the program. Not only do they pay them to sign them up, they also pay to have them do the work on the home. Change light bulbs, ballasts, seal windows, check a/c and heater for leaks, attic for ensulation and so on. Whatever needs to be done to make it more efficient, they do it absolutely free. Well, not free because they pay out of their bill each month, but free in the general sense. They just have to be low income and qualify for the program. Pretty amazing huh?

My job is to appoach these individuals and try to get them to sign up so my company can come out and do the work. The program is not very successful and they need a certain percentage for the Feds to be happy, so they pay pretty good to those who can get it done. I will get a descent chunk of money for each person I get to sign-up for the program. Thats it. I am basically “giving away a free service” for poor people to make their home more energy efficient and make their air conditioning work more efficiently. For doing that, I can make serious money. I am not kidding. The money is almost too good to be true. Today when at the office getting hired, my manager (who is a really really nice guy) showed me how many people he signed up in half a days work. Lets just put it this way, he worked half a day and would have made $375 if he wasn’t on a salary for being manager. Catch my drift? Good money.

To do this job I have to spend a week in Los Angeles taking a class with the ultility company to become a licensed contractor so that I can do this job. Have to pass the test of course but it sounds pretty easy. Then I start the following Monday basically giving away a service for profit. Now, if you are thinking this is too good to be true, I feel ya. I am like, NO WAY. However I have spent many hours researching this company and it is legit. The people are very nice and I am still waiting for the catch. They are paying my trip down to LA, hotel and food. When I start working they give me a $300 gas card to spend every month to get around that is in addition to my pay. If I spend any money for the business, they cover it. So, there is litterally no risk unless they don’t pay me back like they claim, if so, I leave. It isn’t costing me that much money to do it. 

I am still waiting for somebody to pinch me and wake me up from this dream I am having right now. We will see what happens and I will keep you posted.

  Call it the dualistic nature of the world but I, for as long as I can remember, have always looked toward opposites to define things. For example: If you want to understand the nature of darkness, you look to the light for answers and vice versa. If you want to understand love, look at hate. Things can be hard to define and furthermore, to understand. Especially things that have aspects of it that are not obvious. So, when thinking about freedom, I look toward my personal experiences that show me what freedom is not. That has helped me to understand it, to love it and ultimately, to be willing to give anything to experience it.

   Sadly, I can honestly say that I have encountered way more situations in life that oppose freedom than those that support it. Yet, I believe those experience brought me to a place of understanding that could not occur if I had not lived what I have lived. This extends beyond physical freedom, it includes spiritual and mental freedom.

What I have learned is that spiritual and mental freedom are my first priority. Without it, physical freedom wont feel free. I have done a lot of work to unwind myself from the social pressures of being “the right way”, as if there is such a thing. My first awakening was realizing that the right way was NOTwhat everybody else is doing. If it were, we wouldn’t have the problems that we have in the world today. I also realized that the right thing is going to be different for everybody. My right way,  is not going to be another persons. Accepting this has been an even longer voyage of self discovery. One that led me to realize that I couldn’t look to anybody for the right way but myself and God. The most important lesson I learned is simply that the right way is constantly changing. Todays right way may not be tomorrows. So if I want to live “the right way”, I need to be willing to seize the moment and quickly move on to the next right way if I want to be happy. I think this is what keeps each of us moving and experiencing life. It is the water to the tree of life. The tree next to a healthy river is always the greenest right? So I am taking bold steps toward my goals and dreams. I am shedding myself of the unatural social pressures that choke a persons freedom and taking a chance that there is something out of the norm,

 but perfect for me. Spiritual, mental and physical freedom are the ideal. They are, to me, as close to heaven as we can be on earth. Most never get to experience any of them and even fewer all three. I dream of a day when I can experience all three, simultaneously.

By “we” I mean My wife, kids and myself. No this is not a post about aliens. Well, some people may find our idea of living on a bus alien, but it is not. Here is where I post others who have had the same idea to show that were not the only people who are insane enough to try this. Enjoy!

Here is a link to a family who are dreaming of a certain special bus.
http://doubledeckerbuses.org

Here is a video of a family who has actually done it.

Here is one for sale but it isn’t really our style. Very well done though!
http://www.MyVintageBus.com/

Here is a really nice more modern version of a double decker bus converted into a motorhome

Another fancy double decker
http://www.privatemotorcoach.info/

Another one showing the conversion process

and last but not least, The Sprockets. A circus family traveling the world in a double decker bus and living off their performances.
The Sprockets

There are also a few websites assisting people with doing their own conversions one of which is..
http://reddragonbus.proboards.com/index.cgi

So, are we crazy for wanting to convert a double decker bus and live in it? Perhaps the answer is still yes, but the point is, we are not alone!