New Alt Housing Nut

Headache · Post by **Headache** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:03 pm

Thanks for the ideas Mark and Chuck. I've looked them over but I'm trying to keep things "sort of" on the small side.

More specifically...if I'm pulling something I will also need wheels I can park anywhere, such as a public library, college campus, medical facility, the grocery store, genealogical and historical museums, etc. That's where the Subaru comes in. I can't park a Class 8 everywhere and I've found out the expensive way that not everyone welcomes them. Even if I did go with a tiny house a one ton pickup is still more "socially acceptable" and easier to find parking for than a tractor.

I was never comfortable pulling something small behind something big, such as a car trailer behind a large size puller of some sort. I don't know why and it's something I've never been able to reconcile. I was this way even before becoming a truck driver. If I couldn't see it "good" I didn't want it behind me. That leaves out pulling my car behind a bus.

Cost is a more important consideration. The smaller I go and the less units I have(such as not having a car trailer, I'm trying to keep the number at 2), the less I have to insure and the less fuel I'll have to buy in the long run.

The main reason I'm doing this is to be nearer to my dad and the apartment complex he lives in won't let me park a tractor or bus there.

I'm assuming that the 96" wide is an exterior measurement. My car is 70" wide so it should fit and I can always pop the tailgate to get in and out of it. I've read of people doing a beaver tail on the rear end, making a folding ramp and using a winch to use it.

I'm definitely not an engineer and weight is most definitely on my mind. That's a 4000 lb car I'm thinking of stuffing back there and math(i.e. weight distribution) is not a friend of mine. About the only thing I would know to do is get the front end(the heavy half of the car) up at the wheel wells so it was over the axle.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:37 pm

I know you mean about needing to see what you are pulling. One consideration is to have a camera with a dash monitor..I pull a jeep and leave the monitor on all the time so I know it is still there...Ive only lost one so far!

Dennis The Bus Dweller · Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:18 pm

I have a camera on mine

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:42 am

I have a rear door through which I can see what's behind me with my rear view mirror.

Mark R. Obtinario · Post by **Mark R. Obtinario** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 6:39 am

School bus bodies are made out of a lot of steel.

A local fire district had one they were using for training to learn how to get into one if the exits weren't available. They determined their equipment wasn't large enough to tear open a hole in the side of a school bus.

If you were to chop the rear end of the body of the bus off and put on a roll back, I would be willing to bet the weight of the lost body would equal the weight of an aluminum roll back bed and a 4000 lbs Subaru.

Headache · Post by **Headache** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:54 am

Hmmm, the monitor sounds reasonable, sort of. I'm not a fan of things that would distract my paying attention to what's going on around me. Yet pulling my car would be something that's going on around me. It would possibly allow me to acquire a smaller bus.

I've read on some other sites about people cutting the ass end of the body off(the sides are left on), installing a folding ramp of some creation and when closed the ramp is the new ass end of the bus which then makes the back of the bus the garage.

For either I think it would come down to cost. The cost of the trailer, rear viewing system plus installation and additional monthly insurance for the towing. Or, the cost of the fabrication of the bus and ramp door to park my car inside.

Question; How did you decide what size bus you needed? Were there things you absolutely had to have? Or, did you decide by finding that great deal and then engineering the space?

Thanks for all the information, you've all been very helpful and I know I'll be asking many more questions.

Post by **Sharkey** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:09 am

Headache wrote:How did you decide what size bus you needed?

Simple, they don't make them any bigger (if they did, I'd have bought that instead).

Dennis The Bus Dweller · Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:53 am

Simple, they don't make them any bigger (if they did, I'd have bought that instead).

Headache · Post by **Headache** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 5:17 am

Hahaha, I like that answer. It's logical too.

I'm leaning towards a coach like Dennis is sporting. The more I look at it the more I like it.

However, there's something about the interior of Roger's housetruck( http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/roger/roger.htm ) that I find completely outstanding. The potted garden and the jar storage next to the sink really grab my attention. And I love wood, especially knotty pine.

The craft area, jar storage and tile work in the kitchen of this one caught my interest as well.

http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/sam/sam.htm

The kitchen and ships stove in this one...

http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/oney/oney.htm

Oh well, off to Pardo.....

Headache · Post by **Headache** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:48 am

Well, in doing some reading on the Pardo site, on some other sites and of course here, so far I'm liking what I've read about both the GM 4106 and I'm gaining interest in the Crown.

I went to Buskid's website from the links but it doesn't exist.

Post by **Sharkey** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 12:07 pm

Thanks for the tip on the dead link, I'll comment that one out of the page until I find a valid source. Taf used a variety of "free" hosts for her pages over the years, I guess link decay is setting in. Google has been a POS in the afternoons for me (won't load a page or find anything), or else I'd see if there's an alternate site that still has her content.

Mark R. Obtinario · Post by **Mark R. Obtinario** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 12:48 pm

I think the Buskid has developed other interests and has allowed her website to "time out".

Stealth Camper · Post by **Stealth Camper** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:15 pm

I could only find this very old page for her. Hasn't been touched in a long time. Don't think she is doing anything anymore.

http://buskidspage.tripod.com/1969crown.htm

Then I got here,

www.crownbus.com

Which got me to here,

http://crownbus.proboards.com/index.cgi?

That place is kinda like walking around in an old abandoned house. Very lonely. Very sad.

Post by **Sharkey** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:22 pm

Who knows, maybe now she's a soccer mom with four kids and a busy schedule???

You can get some of the crownbus.com content by investigating the archived pages at this site: crownbus.com at web archive.org. From a quick sampling of the pages there, it looks like the site was never fully finished, but there is more content than just the 1969 Crown descriptions.

As for the proboards.crownbus.com forum, someone should post a notice directing visitors here!

[edit] Actually, here's a version that's mostly complete! [/edit]

Headache · Post by **Headache** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:45 am

Thanks for the links Sharkey. Really good reads although it's too bad that many of the pic links are dead. I've noticed in my travels around the web for bus research that many links have expired. It's too bad that much of the information wasn't preserved on something like Wikipedia.

One thing I'm concerned with regarding a Crown is the tool set I've seen mentioned. It seems that would be an issue if someone hasn't decided to make them.

Dennis, do you have a thread or site dedicated to your ride? I'd like to know more about it. I've been looking for others and haven't found any.

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