Singing Land Cruiser

2011-06-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Well I fired up Mrs. Jones today just to move her to a new resting place. She sounds so good. She wispered " lets go ". I backed her in and shut her down. I miss the road! All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, what to do with Mrs. Jones?

2011-05-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, what to do with Mrs. Jones? We moved out of Mrs. Jones! No, not because she is broke and not because we don't like her anymore. We needed more room. Our son Jared is 13 years old and growing. When we converted the bus we designed the floor plan for two. Jared was going to live with his father in Ca. and finish school. Christi and I hit the road touring the west. now a short time after Jared came back with us and we found ourselves living in a Bus built for two! So we tried a house for 6 months but hated it. We weighed all our options. The Bus had to be remolded before we could use it for the three of us, so we bought a 5th wheel (RV) and moved into it. It is a 33 ft. with three slides. Wow, we have a lot of room now and we love the lay out. Jared has about four years of school left before he goes off to collage and we will live in the 5th wheel until he goes off to concur the world. So here we are "Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, what to do with Mrs. Jones?" Now we are back to looking at all our options again. We, Christi and I, talk about remodeling her with slides, new bedroom, up scale counter tops, you know, all the dreams we all have and think a bus should be. Then we think we should look for a factory built bus and avoid all the work, but that would mean selling Mrs. Jones! And for what, 18 - 20 grand in today's market? Any Bus Nut need a Bus? We really don't know what to do, but we do have time. "I can't find my watch! Honey, What time is it?" All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Spring Fever 2011 Bus & RV RallySt George RV Resort( ENCORE Resort)

2011-02-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

Spring Fever 2011 Bus & RV RallySt George RV Resort( ENCORE Resort)5800 N. Old HWY 91Hurricane, UT 84737(435) 879-2212 Office(435) 879-2422 Fax(435) 237-2322 Cellhttp://www.rvonthego.com/St-George-Resort-campground-profile.html Rally Dates: April 28,29,30 & May 1 & 2, 2011(depart on the 2nd) It's time to mark your calendars and make your reservations for the "SpringFever 2011 Bus & RV Rallly" From Cedar CityHeading south on I-15, take the Leeds Exit (23). Turn left towardHarrisburg, then turn right on Frontage Rd and continue for 3 miles to theresort. From St GeorgeHeading North on I-15, take the Zion Park/Hurricane Exit (16). Continue onRte 9 for 3 miles. Turn left at Quail Creek State Park, onto road #318(which is Harrisburg turn #318). Go right at the first stop sign. Resort isfirst on the right hand side. RVers, Bus-Nuts with finished or not so finished coaches, Dreamers,Wannabes,Lookers & Curiosity Seekers are welcome. Reservations: Reservations can be made online @http://www.rvonthego.com/St-George-Resort-campground-profile.htmlor make your reservations directly @ (435) 879-2212. Please mention SpringFever 2011 Bus & RV Rallly.Early arrivals are welcome and will receive the group rate. Rates:Rally Fee.....$16.00 per personWater, 30-50 amp electric, sewer, cable.....$ 28.00 per dayDry camping in rally area...........$ 16.00 per dayCabins are available but are limitedWireless Internet is $1.00 per day "How It's Done", "How To Do It" , "Show & Tell", Seminars To Be Announced Thursday Activities:9am Check in begins. Receive your ENCORE RESORTS Welcome Bag (1 per rig)9am - 11am Coffee Bar & Donuts in the Resort Clubhouse1pm Tag-A-Long to the St. George Tabernacle and Visitor Center, TheBrigham Young Winter Home and, time permitting, The Jacob Hamblin Pioneer Home. These areall free tours.5pm Tag-A-Long to China Buffet for dinner, (Dutch Treat)7pm Fire Pit in the Rally Area, Bring your chairs and BYOB, enjoy goodcompany, renew acquaintances and make new friends Friday Activities;9am - 11am Coffee Bar & Donuts in the Resort Clubhouse12 noon Tag-A-Long to Zion Natl. Park (Dutch Treat) approx. 4.0 hrs5pm Dinner: Pot Luck. Bring a dish to share, Resort will provide entree.6pm Nickel's Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round Show (Pass the Hat)7:30 - 9:30 Hang out at the Pool, BYOB (no glass) Saturday Activities:9am - 11am Fresh Baked Cinnamon Rolls & Coffee Bar in the Resort Clubhouse9am - 11am Craft Sale & Swap Meet1pm TBA5pm Dinner Show: Taco Plate= Beef or Chicken, Red Rice, Beans & Dessert6pm The Michael Hargis Show (Pass the Hat) Sunday Activities:9 -10:30am Breakfast = Coffee, Hot Biscuits & Sausage Gravy4pm Pool Party- BYOB (no glass) and a chair to the pool.Music. "Minute to Win It" games with prizes.5 - 6pm BBQ Hamburgers and Hotdogs at pool side. Monday Activities;9 - 10:30am Farewell Coffee Bar & Donuts in the Resort Clubhouse12 noon Check out time Entertainment:The Michael Hargis ShowNickel's Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round& TBA - Guest Favorites -Heated Pool and Hot TubMini Golf / Basketball / Shuffelboard / Horseshoes / PickleballRally Friendly / Free Clubhouse and Planned Activities for your RallyGroup / $5 Meals/Entertainment $Cable and Wi-fi ($)Short drive to Zion and Bryce National Park, Lake Mead, and Grand CanyonClose to Quail Lake which offers boating, watercrafts, fishing and swimmingNature Trails / Red Cliffs State ParkBiking trails: paved or extremeLaundry and Shower FacilitiesPicnic area and playgrounds / Gazebo JOIN IN THE FUN! - Register Now! *Special Thanks to Jack Conrad for the use of his rally templates* Questions & additional information contact:Michael or Christi HargisManagersSt George RV ResortAn ENCORE Resort5800 N. Old HWY 91Hurricane, UT 84737(435) 879-2212(435) 879-2422 Fax(435) 237-2322 Cell All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

ALOHA Papa Bus

2011-02-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe its been a year since we saw Papa Bus. Now when I say Papa Bus I mean Papa and Donna Morgan. We got to spend some quality time with them and Bob, "Bob Of The North" and his wife Marilyn in Quartzsite, AZ last year at the "Q" Bus Rally. Sometimes when you 1st meet someone, you just know you will be friends for life and thats how we felt then and even more so now. About a month ago Christi got a call from Papa Bus that they were heading south from their home in Canada for their yearly vacation to the states. Christi told them that they must be our guests here in St. George, Utah. Papa called me from Az for directions and said they would be here on Thursday. A week ago, Thursday morning, I got a call from a Mark Morgan stating that they were in Lost Wages and they lost the directions to our resort. At this point I had no idea who Mark was and gave him directions like any other guest looking to stay at our resort. Then he said something about the bus running great or making good time in the bus and I realized it was "PAPA BUS". I got off the phone and told Christi they would be here in 3 or so hours. I have to admit I was excited! you know, to see the Bus. That afternoon the roar of a Detroit Diesel came in the drive. Christi said " Papa Bus is here!" I ran out to greet them like a little kid going to the candy store. It was so good to see them. I think Papa was a little taken back when I gave him a Big Hug. Then Donna got one. We had a great visit. We invited them over our house for dinner, we ate in town twice, had coffee and talked every chance we got. I wish Donna was not so hard on our car door handles. She tore one right off the door, handed it to me and said " This handle is Defective!". So I told her from now on I would open the car doors for her as if she were the Queen herself. Papa Bus only stayed for 3 days, Way to short if you ask me! They stopped for coffee and goodbyes on their way north. We talked about next years visit and of putting together a "After Q Rally" here in St. George. Sad to see them go. Its hard to believe its been a year since we saw Papa Bus.

ALOHA Papa Bus, until next year my friends, we will miss you.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Pictures are of Papa Bus in front of our home in Leeds, Ut

The path

2011-01-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

My wife Christi wanted to go hiking last week and I wanted to go scouting. She set the time, I set the the place. The was a trail I had spied from the ridge behind the resort that we climbed last week. The trail started in the resort an headed north thru a moble home park and then into the high desert. The total walk was about 3 miles long looping back to our resort enterance.Someone had done a lot of work to this trail, it was lined with stones the entire way. The path followed up a small stream that flowed thru both parks. This stream has been around a long, long time. As we hike up this water way we can see it has cut it's way thru the bedrock to form a 50 to 100 foot deep and 20 to 40 wide canyon aprox. 1 mile long hidden from view. One would never know it was here if you didn't follow the trail. Our hike was at a pretty quick pace, we were on our lunch hour, so we didn't have time to investagate anything in the canyon. I did see a few places I will come back to look at more closely. Most of all two spots peek my interest. #1 was within the narrowest, deepest place in the canyon I found some shallow caves carved by water and time with one that has a crude stone knee wall built at its enterance forming a small dwelling aprox. 6'x8'. The floor looked to be worn. I was a little stunned to find this type of dwelling here fore there are no listings of stone/cliff dwellings in this area. I will go back and get some photos this week.#2 was a trash pile I found near the end of the trail on a side of a hill. Trash is mostly rusted tin cans and small clear and colored glass shards. Looking closer, the cans are found to be the older "Lead Sealed" cans mixed with "church key" tins, all tin oil cans and Pull Top beer cans. I seems to me this was a work camp site that was used many times over the years. It could have been for mining or highway construction or both. Again, I will get some pics later this week. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Scouting hunting sites #1 & 2

2011-01-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took some time to scout the hunting sites #1 & 2. Behind the resort is a tall volcanic ridge, aprox. 600ft high, that I climbed to get a lay of the land. What a great view and sorry, I did not bring a camerathis time but will the next. From this view point I could see 6 or 7 diff. old home sites in the valley, all on BLM land save 2. I now have a better idea of the lay out of Old Harrisburg.The rocks on top of the ridge are stained dark brown and looked like a good place to find petroglyphs fore I have seen some on rocks like these in AZ before. It didn't take long to find them. The petroglyphs range from very old to modern. I found horses and men walking that are very old along with 1800's one off a house or chest near one that said " HYRUM HARRIS MARCH 8 1898, and one rock that had newer names and dates etched on to it. I only explored the north end of the ridge cause I ran out of time. I told my wife Christi about it and she wants to go up the next time. We are planning to go back up there next week. Here are the pics of our return trip; All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Where to Hunt 1st? Site #3

2011-01-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

Of course I am going to list the sites I have permission to hunt as my perferred sites. As I look around this great area and I can see at least 10 promissing sites with in 5 miles But, I don't have permission to hunt them. Site #3 is in my own back yard. We have a house in Leeds, Utah that has 3/4 acers of trees, tilled ground and grass. We are right on Main st. Leeds is a small town just off the I-15 with a rich mining history. The old mining town of Silver Reef is only two miles away. Now our house was built in 1985 but Main street has been here since 1860. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Where to Hunt? Site #2

2011-01-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

Site #2 is a pretty good one too. I found it on the North East corner of the resort. It is a larger area then site#1. It has a large lot that has been scraped for rv storage, a huge cottonwood tree that is found in all the old photos and a loose mosey stone wall that is the old property line. Also a trail that leads to the lake next door. I get a good feeling about this site. I dosen't look like it has been hunted before. I was thinking that I could this site for a meet in the future. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Where to Hunt 1st? Site #1

2011-01-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

As I get my gear together I think to myself, "Where to Hunt 1st?" As I stated in the 1st post, I have a lot to choose from around here. So I will go over them.The one that calls to me is the old Mormon rock house sitting on the hill within our property lines. It is just a shell now. No roof or floors. There is an old dead tree only 15 paces from the bldg on one side and a stump on the other side. I look at the site and can picture the ol' timer sitting on the ground under the tree and coins falling from his pockets. LOL. Hey it could happen and has! kids playing while mom heads down to the stream with the wash. I have learned over the years to think of these different scenarios when looking at a site. If you go over what could have been, you may discover what was. It works for me. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Gearing up for the Hunt - TH'ing

2011-01-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Well it's time to get off my Butt, knock the dust off my EXPII metal detector and charge up the batts. My wonderful wife Christi and I moved to the St. George, Utah area last April, 2010 to mgt. the St. George RV resort located in Hurricane, UT. The resort is sitting on / in the old ghost town of Harrisburg, UT, a 1840's Mormon settlement with old stone bldgs, water ways and crop fields.Now the resort has seen better days for sure! Very little money and mat. has been put into this park and it looks it. The pool, spa, clubhouse... everything needs work and to top it off, we have no staff.High ho, High ho. It's off to work we go. We started in on it, one day at a time, one thing at a time.Things were going OK and I could see a light at the end of the tunnel were I could get away and go hunt these grounds BUT, in July two man showed up and informed us that the resort was sold??? Back to square one. They offered us the mgt. job and we took it. Now the re-training began. This new company runs a tight ship. So here we are in school again, computers, sales, marketing, money matters. It all takes time.It's Jan 2011 now, we are up to speed and I am getting a day off on a reg. basis. Time to gear up and go hunt. I found a great website for TH'ing http://www.treasurequestxlt.com/ have fun with it. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone. May this year be the best of all. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Hello all, Christi and I are now living in St. George, Utah. We were transferred from San Diego to mgt. a RV Resort for Western Horizons in April. In early July the Resort was sold to Equity Life Style and became a ENCORE Resort. We were offered the mtg. job and took it. We now have a house in Leeds, Utah that is 4 mins. from the park. Things are going well for us, our son Jared has moved back back here and is doing great in his new school. We plan to stay here until he is done with school. Mrs Jones is sitting on a space at the resort without her furniture. We removed all of it to put in the house. This will be a good time to change somethings in the ole' girl. We built a small stage in the resort clubhouse and are currently doing our show every other Sat. during the season that will end on Dec. 1st. Off season we stay open but we will have time to do a few shows down south. We hope that some of our friends will come by to see us. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The Bus Learning Curve in Ramona, CA (part 1)

2010-02-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

The Bus Learning Curve in Ramona, CA On the return trip from the "Q" rally we were coming down a steep hill with a stoplight at the bottom. All RV'ers hate these hills! Well the bus had a hard time stopping. It did stop, but just in time. Now that hit me a little hard in that I felt that I was not in complete control. I sad to myself, " Why didn't I make time for BOTN to show me how to adjust the bus brakes". So I got on the bus board and asked for help. I asked for Show & Tell help. the request sat there for a couple of days until Buswarrior stepped up and asked the board to help me out. I got some offers to bring the bus out on a weekend to another busnuts house, but I work on every weekend. Then Bob Evans (BOTN) changed his plans to come and help. We built bus ramps, Adjusted the brakes on the rears and tag. Went over a lot of the bus systems under this monster. It was a little unnerving crawling around under a bus. It's so big and there is no were to go if something fails and the bus should come down on you. It took me most of the day to get over this fear. But Bob is a great teacher and helped me through it. Then we, or I should say Bob worked on the Jake Brakes. He found a brake in the connection from the dash to the switch that sits on top of the engine. He installed a new wire and We now have Jakes! He then installed a air hose connection at the front auxiliary air tank. That's going to come in handy! Not only did he work on Mrs. Jones but he and his wife Marilyn put on 2 seminars for our resort guests. One on Blogging and the other on Busing into Mexico. Then to bet all, they treated Christi and I to home made lasagna. They are truly good people and we are proud to call them our friends. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The Bus Learning Curve at the "Q"

2010-02-23T17:34:00.000-08:00

The Bus Learning Curve. It has been an on going thing learning about a bus. All the systems that came with it and all that we have added. That's my job, I have the task to keep this ol' girl rolling down the road. Only thing is I have no training in this bus world. So I say, Thank God For Bus Nuts! I have received a lot of good information off the web, as I have posted here in the past, but there is nothing that compares to hands on instruction from another bus owner. The hard thing is to find one that has the time for bus show and tell. We got to meet a few Bus Nuts at the "Q" Rally, (Quartzsite, AZ), hosted by Larry & Carol Hall. Pappa (Stormcloud) helped me install a small inverter to run the refrigerator as a last resort when there is no power to be had. I told Bob(BOTN)Evans about the brakes feeling a little sluggish and the jakes not working at all! Bob offered to show me how to adjust the brakes when I had the time and he took a look at the jakes. In the very limited time we had, Bob found that the jakes work but were not getting a signal. What ever that meant? We didn't have the time Iwe needed due to the rain, But I did learn a lot. We had a great time at the "Q" and we will go again. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

All we need to know, Should we stay or should we go?

2010-02-15T06:44:00.000-08:00

All we need to know, Should we stay or should we go? We recived this e-mail last Friday; Chuck Jones to michael, Elk show details Feb 12 (3 days ago) Michael It has been given to me the obligation to inform you that; the company officers have made a decision to go in another direction relative to the entertainment at Elk Meadow. So; it is with reluctance that I must inform you that your contract has been cancelled. We wish you the best! Chuck Jones This is very bad for our up coming tour. Our contract with Elk Meadow Resort in Estes Park, CO was to be a dinner show. We were guaranteed a minimum of 2 shows a week with perks for the whole summer season. As a norm we have to book shows 1 year in advance. Now here we are 2.5 months out and we have lost our summer! The whole summer! Now we are down to "the bird in the hand" syndrome. We are working at an RV resort in CA. that pays the bills and we can stay here for as long as we want too. We can book shows in the area and here at the resort. So, Should we stay or should we go? I think about the fact that I (Michael) am 50 y/o now and I don't have a lot of time to get my name back out there. On the other hand it would be a full time job to book shows this late in the game and the shows would be what ever we could get. Its very frustrating. The road calls to me. I want to show Christi this great country in our bus. Time is going by so fast these days. I don't want to wake up one day and say, " I Should Have Done That!" Should we stay or should we go? I keep asking myself. Should we stay or should we go? All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Its " WOW " been a year!

2010-02-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

Its " WOW " been a year!

A little over a year ago on new years eve/day I got the idea to hit the road and go on tour again. We have come along way since then. This time last year we were making arrangements to bring home Mrs. Jones. We have learned so much and we still have a lot to learn! Building a Bus Conversion in 90 days has its good points and bad points. Just to touch on this, the good thing was that we got to use the bus for touring right away without missing out any comforts of home, Like our large TV, king size bed, full size refer and lazy boy couch. The bad thing was/is that we are not set up that good for Boon docking, mostly the TV reception, inverter for power and we don't have high capacity holding tanks. Oh, and we happen to have the generator from hell, 120db's. OUCH! We moved out of our house into the bus and got on the road on June 1st, 2009. We have put 8,000 miles and explored the western united states. We have done a bunch of shows at FMCA rallies, fairs, clubs, theaters and RV resorts. We have meet some fantastic people from all over the world at the shows and on the http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php, Bus Boards. Christi and I are now in CA for the next 2.5 months, then were head off to CO for a 4 month stand in Estes Park.

If we had it all to do again, I don't know if I would change much. Christi probably would have cracked the whip a little more to get more done. All in all I think we did pretty good. It beats the crap out of the bus sitting in the yard rotting away and that knot in your gut when you look at it!

It has been a real adventure learning to drive this beast. Now when ever Christi hears a Detroit Diesel fire up, she start putting things away and securing the inside of Mrs. Jones!?! I think she turning into a Real Bus Nut!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

RV'ing 101 anyone?

2010-01-31T07:16:00.000-08:00

RV'ing 101 anyone? Have you had the pleasure of this type of RV'er? We manage a RV resort here in Ramona, CA (San Diego). We get new RV owners that spend big bucks for an RV and get no training from the dealer how to set up all the systems and much less, DRIVE IT! They show up at the gate and demand that "WE" do it all for them. They hold their keys out and say they have been on the road for 3 days an something smells like sewer!!!???!!! Then they get all red faced mad when we offer to help but only instruct them what to do. Now we own a bus conversion and we are still learning. We ask for help from the "Bus Yodas" but we do the work, you have to, to learn. I find this very odd that anybody would buy one of these RV's and not ask for training or pay for a class! RV'ing 101 anyone? We will always help out everyone that comes to our resort but you have to do the work or maybe you need to go back to tent camping and use the comfort station. Hey, this Ranting stuff feels pretty good!?! I would love to hear BOTN's take on this. He is a fellow blog'er, Busnut and good friend. You can read his blog @ http://travellingwithgeorge.blogspot.com/ . Good stuff! All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The Trip, Quartzsite Bus Rally.

2010-01-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

The Trip, Quartzsite Bus Rally. We left last Thursday morning in a driving rain from Ramona Canyon RV resort that we manage in Ramona,CA. We rendezvoused with fellow Bus Nuts from the MAK board, Mike and Lisa, aka, Loosenut in east San Diego along Hwy 8. They pulled up in a very nice 30' Neoplan. The rain and wind kept coming as we made our way to El Centro where we had lunch at the famous Mexican restaurant Camachos. We found the service to be a litte slow, the food was good but the portions were small. The waitress actually whined a bit that we didn't order their special; a handmade puffy quesadilla! Not a place to go if you are in a hurry. We waited 10 mins at the counter for the check! At least we had good company in Mike, Lisa and Lisa's mom, Mary Lou. When we pulled up in front of the restaurant, the parking lot was under a foot of water, so we had to park directly in front of the restaurant which is a little small for a 40' bus and toad. As we left, I tried to turn around onto the road but both front tires went on to the shoulder. Mrs. Jones slid in the mud about 10' and settled with her bumper and exit door up against a dirt embankment just missing a large wooden pole. Christi's eyes almost popped out of her head! The bus was blocking the whole road and part of the parking lot and I could see the large field trucks heading our way. I hit the door button but the door only opened 6 inches since it was lodged against the dirt. I pushed it open another 2 inches and squeezed out to frantically unhook the toad and survey the damage. We got the toad off and both bus drivers (rear tires) were still on the pavement. The front end was 18 inches deep in the mud. I got back in the bus, put her in reverse and she muscled right out of the muck. I love my bus! We hooked back up right in the middle of the road! There was no way my tires were getting off the pavement again. Back on I8, the rain and wind kept pounding us. As we went through the Imperial Sand Dunes just west of Yuma, we were sandblasted. The wind blew from the south, mixed with rain and the sand was sticking to everything. We made our turn on Hwy 95 in Yuma and headed north. We stopped for cheap fuel at Barney's Truck Stop. We started fueling and Loosenut pulled in. I asked, "What do you think of this trip so far?" He said, "At least we have lots of good stories to tell!" I think Lisa and Mary Lou are at their wits end it being their 1st long trip in a bus. I bet their last too! LOL We finished fueling and continued North on Hwy 95. The wind had calmed and I could relax a little driving Mrs. Jones. However this was short lived. After about 15 miles the wind and rain began pounding us once again hitting us broadside; but this time out of the east! Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse we had to deal with all the washes that cross the highway. In the desert, the ground saturates quickly and the washes flow. Because it seldom rains in the desert, the State Road Dept. doesn't seem to think there is much of a need to construct bridges or culverts over the washes. Therefore we had to contend with water running across the road. We counted 7 washes that flooded the highway. The depth of the water started at 4 inches and just got deeper and faster as we got closer to the "Q". The last 2 washes we crossed were well over a foot deep. About 5 miles outside of Quartzsite the sky turned black and the clouds were swirling and dumping rain in buckets. We heard a tornado warning had been issued for the area. We pulled into Rice Ranch and parked in the middle of the bus rally grounds. Bob Evans (Bob of the North) met us in the driving rain and proceeded to temporarily lose his hat to a gust of wind. He was all arms & legs running after it! A moment later Larry Hall arrived in his PT Cruiser and advised us to stay there until the rain subsided a bit. We made a run for it to Larry and Carol's bus and waited out the deluge. Good Hugs! Soon the rain stopped and we were able to get parked. Look honey! Look at all the buses! Is that "Pappa Bus?" It's rally time, Oh, Ahhhhhh BUS... All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Jones roars to life!

2010-01-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Jones roars to life! There is something exciting about the sound of a Detroit Diesel starting up. The hum runs through my body, the hiss of the air system reaching its peak. Mrs. Jones stating, "I'm ready now". We discovered the strange thing that happens when we are parked for an extended period. When another bus rolls by, we get that yearning to get on the road again. I have had the roar in my blood all my life. I've hitchhiked and driven across this country more times then I can remember. The far away places from my 8-3/4 Navy years and later the RVing & touring time. Christi & I had a house in Tombstone, AZ and thought we would never leave it, but the travel bug constantly gnaws at me. So we built Mrs. Jones. What was totally unexpected to me was that the travel bug bit Christi! And her case is much worse than mine. Now we are managing a RV resort in So. Cal. and now our blood boils every time we hear a Detroit Diesel screaming by. The only cure is to batten down the hatches and press the button. Mrs. Jones roars to life! "Honey, it's time to go." Oh wait, she's already strapped in! Here we go. North, South, Beach, Desert? We love our Bus! HUMMMMMMMMMMM. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

2 Weeks till "The Q"Rally

2010-01-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

2 Weeks till "The Q"Rally We can't wait!!!!!! 400 buses, 1,000+ Bus Nuts and all the MAK board chatters. We plan on getting to "The Q" on Thursday the 21st. We hope to trek over with some fellow Bus Nuts, Mike & Lisa, aka Loosnut. They would like to take the southern route along US Hwy 8, pick up a bite of Mex food then up the 95 to "The Q". We hope it works out. Until then we will be working on Mrs. Jones. Christi is busy making new curtains and I am scratching my head working under on our non-existent boondocking systems. I need to meet the Yodas of the Bus world! I have a ton of questions and hope they take pity on my ignorance. Did I say "We can't wait!!!!!!" All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Meeting & Greeting (michael)

2009-10-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Meeting & Greeting It is a very strange phenomenon living with a bus around you. Not just the fact that you built it to suit you and your needs and with the turn of a key, or flick of a switch in our case, it will take you to all points of this great continent. I am talking about the strange thing that happens every time we park. People, mostly men, stop and just stare at her. Not Christi, the bus! They just stand there looking up and down at her like they have been pulled back into their past or lost in a dream. Then the haze is gone from their eyes and they are at the door asking about her and reminiscing about the good old days driving for some big tour company. Their eyes light up as I take them through the bus. We talk about the past; theirs and ours, and the hours pass like minutes and before you know it, we are just like old friends. Now, can someone tell me what it is about an old bus? It does not seem to matter what year, make or model of bus you have. People seem to love looking and talking about them. We have made some great friends since we built Mrs. Jones and I am sure that we will make many more. It's a crazy life, but we sure feel safe with 15 tons of metal around us. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

I know it has been awhile. (michael)

2009-10-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hello All, I know it has been awhile. Christi and I have been very, very busy. After building Mrs. Jones, moving out of our house, a 4,500 mile, 9 states tour, we are now in Ramona, CA managing an RV resort for Western Horizon Resorts. While we were in Blue Mesa we were offered the job. Christi and I gave it alot of thought. We love being on the road touring but the "Pass the Hat" plan for our shows could not support the tour. So we took the job. We started on Sept. 21st, 09 and boy are we knee deep in it now. Well, we have done all kinds of jobs in our life time but nothing like this. This is like running a small city. Christi is the General Manager and runs the admin. side of things and is responsable for everything. I am a co-manager and deal with the resort systems and grounds. Thank goodness we have a great staff here to help us. With all this we are still doing shows within 100 miles of here. Every day we learn and then we learn that we need to learn more. One plus is that our son Jared can come down to see us on the weekends. All in all we are having a great time. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Elk Meadow Lodge Dinner Show

2009-08-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

We received an email from some guests at the Elk Meadow Lodge Dinner Show: Michael: "You asked us to send one of the pictures we took to your email. So here ya go. The best one of the group. We sooo enjoyed the show at the Elk Lodge on Aug. 14. We had a great time. Our two birthday girls were thrilled with the Birthday Song. And serenading our mother . . . she absolutely loved it! It made our Mother/Daughter Retreat especially memorable for her. Thank you. We all definately plan on catching your show again. Happy Trails", Jana Gregory...................... We also had a great time! We hope to see all of you again. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

KUDOS to DALLAS (michael)

2009-08-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hello All, I just want to say "THANK YOU" to a fellow Bus Nut. THANK YOU DALLAS! You helped Christi and I with our conversion of a charter bus into Mrs. Jones. The advice you gave freely to us not only saved us thousands of dollars, your expertise enabled us to complete this task on a "MUST" 90 day time line. Christi and I didn't know a thing about buses when we started, but with the kindness given to us by the people of this website, Nick,Cody,Larry,Tom,bill,Scott Paulx3,BOTN,Sean,HTredneck,mike,Buswarrior, I could go on and all the other "Bus Yodas", you know who you are, we are learning.

A specal heart felt thanks goes to Dallas. You above all helped change our life forever and gave us the confidence to do, what seemed, the impossible. We are proud to call you our friend. There are not many opportunities in ones life to make a profound difference in anothers'. If you are not here, what is the next guy to do? All we know is that we feel we couldn't have done it without Dallas. All the Best to you sir, Michael & Christi Hargis and Mrs. Jones

And Cat, Dallas's wife answered in a Personal Message: I just saw your post and read it to Dallas. He said "cool" which for him is a mouthful. I watched his face as I read and I could tell he was very touched. Thank you for taking the time to post that. It meant a lot to us both. I am really hoping he will be willing to come back to the board soon.Cat

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

I'm a lazy Man (michael)

2009-08-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a lazy Man

What happens when you get on the road? One seems to fall into a routine of sorts. At home, everything is in place. You know all your surroundings. You have your perma-list of responsibilities and you do the grind without hesitation. The Blah Blah everyday life engulfs you.

But something happens when you hit the road. Things change. The fresh and new sights and sounds stir the adventurer in you. Everything changes. Your senses tune in to a new environment, new people and you have to explore.

I found there are not enough hours in the day. By the time we walk, fish, eat, play poker, golf, sing, shop, meet & greet, show off Mrs. Jones and a hundred other things, it's time for bed. That "honey do" list keeps getting longer and longer and I just get more lazy by the day.

I think it's just that we don't want to miss anything. Why work today when you can put it off until tomorrow? I guess we just joined the procrastinators club.

So what's so bad about that anyway? Why did we hit the road in the 1st place? We wanted to see the great USA and take in all its' wonder. Putting a couple of things off for awhile is not going to hurt anybody! We need some time off.

Then I ask myself," How long is too long?" I don't know. The new has to wear off sometime, right! This can't go on forever. I'm sure boredom is just around the next corner. Then I'll get busy. Yea, that's the ticket, I'll do it then. I'm not lazy at all......Right?

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Negative into a Positive (michael)

2009-07-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

Negative into a Positive We arrived in Greeley, CO, we had a dark day (a day with no shows) so we wanted to be close to the next show and visit our dear friends Ann and Herb that live there. Greely RV Resort did the trick. I drove into the spot, hit the brake, perfect. Level? Check! Bay doors aligned for utilities? Check! Aligned to concrete slab? Close enough! We are good to go. I did the hook up ritual and removed the toad and Christi did her thing inside the bus. In record time we were ready to go to town. Christi handed me some stuff and out to the toad I went. About 30 secs. later it happened. Christi let out a blood curdling scream! She was on the ground and in pain. I rushed to her side and found that she had mis-judged the last step to the concrete slab and caught the edge of it and heard a crack in her foot and went down. OOPS, not close enough! Long story short, server sprain to her left foot. It appears that she tore the cartilage between her metatarsals. That means 4 to 6 weeks of hopping around. We are thankful it did not break a bone. So Christi was on her back and I had to figure out what was best for her and the show. We need to stay put for her foot to heal. We had called Loveland RV Resort a few days earlier and offered them a show, I found a voice mail from them saying they would love us in Loveland! I called back and booked a 2 show stand with them. Mr. and Mrs. Jones met us at the office. Chuck Jones is the manager for the park system, they have 5 or 6 parks. We checked in and I gave them a complimentary album and went to set up. We got settled in and I got called over to the Jone's house to talk about more shows in the other parks. After listening to the album Chuck stated that our show would be perfect for the lodge in Estes Park, CO in the summer season of 2010. We talked a little more and Chuck said we should go up and look at the resort. We did and it was beautiful! The Lodge, the park and the town was indeed "perfect" for our show. We got back and talked terms and Mr. Jones said we should get a final approval by October 1st. We did the 2 shows at the Loveland RV Resort with great reviews. Then we were off (40 miles) to Terry Bison Ranch for our next gig. I did some more calls in the greater Denver area so we could stay in one place. I received a call from Mr. Jones asking for a meeting. The owner of the resorts want to see us in person. We set it up for the following day. The meeting went well, then took an even better turn for us. They offered us an 8 show stand in their lodge in Estes Park, CO for the month of Aug. 2009. That's next month! When the gods offer you something to help, don't ask! Just take it and be grateful for it, and we did. We are very excited and can't wait to start setting up the new stage. I'll post some picks on the next post. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Jack and Bea Good (Christi)

2009-07-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Jack And Bea Good (Christi) We've fallen behind in our blogging since we haven't had internet access for about a week. Our experience this past few days, and lack of TV, has inspired me to sit down and blog. We spent the last three days in Denver with our dear friends Jack and Bea Good. (I love her name.) Michael has known them for many years. I've only visited with them about three times in the last five years. The story of Jack and Bea's friendship with Michael started many years ago when Michael was working as the general contractor for Western Horizon Resorts. Michael was working up on a roof and singing, as he often does. A lady came by with her little blind dog and stood listening. When he finished the song he was singing, she asked him if he knew anything by Ray Price. He did and started singing again. This went on for a quite some time. After awhile, the lady said she was on her way to the ice cream social, but if it was OK she would come back later and bring some of her friends to hear him sing. Well, what could he say? Before long she was talking to the Activities Director and he was doing shows in the clubhouse. The Michael Hargis Show was born, thanks to mama Bea Good. I met Jack and Bea about 5 years ago in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Michael and I had been married only a short time and there was a whole group of his friends meeting down there, so we joined them. We only stayed a few days but had a great time. If you watch Michael and Bea together, you see their connection clearly. These are two souls who love each other dearly. Jack calls it their love affair. She's his biggest fan and he adores her. We learned at this time that Bea had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Since then we have seen them twice and have witnessed the slow destructiveness of this disease. We just spent three days with them in Denver. Bea's face lit up when Michael walked into the room and he told her he was going to do a show in her honor. She still tells how she got him that job singing at Blue Mesa so many years ago. As I spent some time with her while Michael and Jack ran errands, I realized how far advanced the disease had gotten since we last saw them. We talked about her grown children as if they were still running around the house making a mess with their toys. She told me about people and places and things that must have happened thirty or forty years ago, but to her it was yesterday. At times she just seems to stare into space. Michael's show was at Jack and Bea's church. We didn't know what to expect, we've never done a show in the part of the church where they actually hold services. Jack wasn't sure if anyone would even show up. About 60 people attended, many of them walking up to Bea, giving her hugs and reintroducing themselves. It truly was a sight to behold. Michael dedicated every song to her, which got pretty funny after awhile. The show was mostly upbeat and at times thoughtful. It spoke to the heart. From where I ran the music, I was able to see Bea's smiles. As I watched Jack lovingly care for Bea, I can't imagine what it must be like to watch the woman he has spent 58 years of his life with just slip away. He takes care of her day in and day out by himself and worries that if he had to put her in a home, it would kill her. That kind of love is rare these days. When you look at the big picture and see what millions of people like Jack and Bea deal with everyday, you realize that truly, you just can't sweat the small stuff. It really is small stuff. No TV? No internet? So what! Michael and I have each other and we are both in good health. We are travelling in the bus we built together. We are seeing beautiful places and Michael is singing and making people smile; if just for an hour. We are visiting old friends and making new ones. We are truly blessed for all that we have and for knowing Jack and Bea Good. We love you Jack and Bea. All the best and don't sweat the small stuff, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Wonderful Blue Mesa (michael)

2009-07-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Wonderful Blue Mesa

A whole week has passed.

Fishing, Swimming, hiking, eating...

I could learn to like this!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Hiking the Blue Mesa (michael)

2009-07-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hiking the Blue Mesa Christi and I went for our 1st hike this morning and what a place to start! Hiking the Blue Mesa has got to be one of the best in the USA to walk around. It can be as challenging as you wish or as easy as you please. We did the one in the middle, about an hours worth of walking. I told Christi that she could set the work out schedule when we start our new life or I turn fifty. Yes 50 years old! We did pretty good for a couple of almost old farts. LOL. P.S. from Christi: Michael will be 50 this Tuesday, the 7th. Yes, he's already getting mail from AARP! LOL (He laughed at me when I started getting those letters, since I'm older) All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Blue Mesa, CO (michael)

2009-07-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

Blue Mesa, CO 240 miles We woke up late, that mountain air is like a drug. We said our good-byes to Bob and off to the GAS STATION we went. Now we were told that the bus got 7.9 mpg. It turns out to be about 6! When we get to some rallies, I'll ask a bus nut to look at it. For now we have to feed the beast! Monarch Pass in CO is a nail biting way to go in a 102 x 40' bus. I don't think I relaxed my stomach until we arrived in Gunnison, CO. On a good note, Christi ooh'ed and ah'ed the whole way through the pass. It was cloudy for most of the trip and rained a little. Our bus is very dirty now. So much for the grand entrance. The toad looks more like a turd. We arrived in WHR Blue Mesa around 4pm. The lake is high and beautiful. The resort is like an old friend. I missed it. I helped build some of the park. We got a great space next to the clubhouse and with a shade tree. Very nice. We are seeing lots of friends. We are home, for 2 weeks anyway then we find another home. Isn’t having a bus fun?All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Trinidad, CO (michael)

2009-07-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

Trinidad, CO 240 miles Spent 2 nights in Trinidad, CO. We stopped here to visit Christi’s brother Bobby who lives there. Our 1st night (June 30th) was spent at Wally World’s parking lot. The 2nd night (July 1st) we spent at Lake Trinidad State Park. Very nice setting. Cost $30.00 total ($18 for the space then $6 for each vehicle X 2= $12) Kind of pricey. Bobby treated us to the night off the road. Thanks Bob. It was a 240 mile trip that went without a mishap. Mrs. Jones is one hell of a bus. After 700 miles, she lost no oil at all and no coolant. I did find the driver side radiator screen was missing 3 screws. Quick fix. We are off to Blue Mesa, CO in the morning. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Our 1st 450 Miles (michael)

2009-07-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

Our first 450 miles are behind us. We are sitting at the Hollywood casino in San Felipe, New Mexico. Nex to the casino is a campground that Hilda & Randy Smith told us about for $10.00 per night. It has electric only with a dump station. We signed up for a card in the casino and got $5 free play each, so it panned out. This was our first long trip with Mrs. Jones and it went OK save some minor mishaps. About 30 miles down the road the sewer smell filled the rig. We put in some deodorizer to make the place livable. I will have to flush the tanks instead of just dumping them! As you know by reading our blog, all the glass was broken out of the bus when we got it. Trevor, the person we bought it from, had replaced the windshields and also replaced the small side glass with clear plastic. Well this didn't hold up very well at 70mph. The driver side popped out but I grabbed it in time to save it and Christi held it until I pulled over. We temporarily fixed it and moved on. Then the other side started to whistle! We need to find some windows bad!!! Lets see, what else, oh the brake lights would not work on the toad. Found a lose wire. I forgot to hook up the water pump to the batteries. “OOPS”. Had lunch in Lordsburg, NM. Then the “NOT GEN” light came on??? Then it went off, then it came on again. Then it blinked on and off for a minute and now its off!?! I am looking for it in the E-Manual that Dallas gave me but no joy yet. Going up Texas Canyon the engine temp. got up to 210 but she pulled the hill real nice. The whole trip Christi was finding all the things that were rattling, banging and falling and securing them. Oh and the Genny ran out of gas so, no air for a very short time. Christi likes her air conditioning. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

We're Are Off Into The Sunset (michael)

2009-06-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

We're Are Off Into The Sunset

Well, all the planning and all of the work is done. The time is at hand. Shake down is done. The good-byes are said. We hit the road in the morning. My confidence level is about 95% on the bus and 100% on the tour. The 5% is the unknown about a bus on the road. It was all almost overwhelming for me. I stand back and gaze upon the fruits of our labor. I think of all the great people that helped us get to this point and we thank them. Mrs. Jones is in good shape and we have enjoyed the last 3 weeks living in her. I feel a strange bond growing with the ol' girl. I have heard other bus nuts talk of this bond before. It is kinda like getting your 1st car feeling. It is very strange indeed! I have gotten rid of even more stuff. I have a little space opening up in the bays, well one anyway. Now it's off into the wild blue yonder. Next stop, Santa Fe, NM.

All the Best, Michael & Christi

PS: Hi Mom. See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Stuffed Bus (michael)

2009-06-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Stuffed Bus We lit out of our house in Tombstone on the 1st day of June. Our house was sold and we packed Mrs. Jones to the gills and headed off to St. David for the Shake Down. Then a strange thing happened. As we were parked, it seemed as if Mrs. Jones "Burped" all the stuff all over the camp site. Now that our 2 week stay has come to a end, all that stuff has to go back in! Fortunately I started re-organizing the bins and it looks like it will all fit. It has to fit. It came out of there. I ask myself, "Do we need all this stuff?" We have already gotten rid of so much. Do we have to leave more behind? Can we? At times life does not seem fair, but on the other hand, life is good. Its a good trade. We will give up the grind and some stuff for a new life style in a bus. Wow, Sounds like a win to me! I need this. Honey, is there any room under the bed??? All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

A Dozen Days (michael)

2009-06-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

A Dozen Days Mrs. Jones has been in service for 12 days now and she is doing famously. We have had some leaks, the kitchen sink strainer basket and drain line. They were a quick fix. I have to shorten a drain line because it rubs a bay door and I moved the incoming fresh water line 3/4 inches to miss a bay door support among other things. We kept popping an electric breaker on the park pedestal but, we moved to a new spot and it stopped. We still have some trim to do, grout the kitchen floor and organize the bays a little better. No Joy on the 2 side windows Larry Hall had in his toy box, they were out of an MC9 and are shorter then ones from a A3. We have to keep looking. Did get some cabinet doors though. We are having a blast full-timing. What a life style. Of course it can't always be like this, could it? All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Ants (michael)

2009-06-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Ants Can't live with them and we can't live without them. I am finding that the ants that live in and around RV resorts seem to be smarter than regular neighborhood ants. They seem to lie in wait until you pull into your site and hook up your lines. As soon as you go inside they attack. Within an hour they are in your rig sweeping your floor. Two hours and they have found your counter tops and sugar bowl. Left alone they will be into everything you own. I found them using the TV cable as a supper HWY to our food stores. They crossed over to the water piping and found the kitchen sink. From there they split off in all directions. I sprayed all the lines and tires. Christi vacuumed up the little nasties and we were enjoying the resort life until I was out in the bays and placed a set of golf clubs up against the bus. That evening, the floor was moving, again! I went out and found their new route in and removed it. Now we are more attuned to resort living and "dem dar ants"! All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Jones and a Busnut (michael)

2009-06-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Jones and a Busnut Mrs. Jones had her 1st visit from a true Busnut yesterday. Larry & Carol Hall made a special trip down to St. David, AZ to see her. I have to say I was quite excited to have them come over to see our labor of love. Larry said his hellos then sat down in the driver's seat. With a touch of a switch, our baby roared to life. I kept looking for a sign of approval from Larry but he was giving me nothing. He shut her down and immediately dove into the engine compartment. He was poking and prodding like a doctor giving a 50 year old a physical. Still nothing. I think he was staying somber on purpose! He brought her to life again via the rear panel. He was playing her like a fine tuned instrument; listening, raving, a concerned look only to glance off to something else. I felt like I was in the waiting room awaiting news of a birth! After enduring 20-25 minutes of agony Larry finally blurted out...I'M IMPRESSED! The horns went off with fireworks, HALLELUJAH the choir sang. Then Larry said, "This coach keeps impressing me". Mrs. Jones has her 1st stamp of approval from a guru of the bus world. Thank you Larry, for your time and the nod of approval. It means alot to us. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Water Will Find A Way In (michael)

2009-06-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

Water Will Find A Way In A big part about a bus conversion or an RV for that matter is water. We need to deal with the H2O factor. Water is an odd little beast that has a mind of its own. It can be very helpful at times and it can be very damaging if not kept in check. In the most extreme, water in large volumes can be very bad for your bus. Parked on the beach, a storm blows in and the waves have their way with your baby. Bad brakes at the lake and all of a sudden you own a very expensive boat anchor. Tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes are also very bad for buses. Other assaults by water the we need to consider are ice. Ice comes in many forms and conditions that can be very bad for a bus like black ice, snow, micro bursts and ice storms. We bus nuts have learned to avoid some of these conditions by putting the bus in gear and moving to better pastures. For those who didn't or couldn't move, our buses were built to shed water. The seams, doors and windows are water resistant. Paint and other coatings keep the rust at bay, for a time. There are other issues with water. We run elaborate piping systems all through our buses to bring us water on demand and discard it at will. We install tanks to hold our water in different forms like black, gray and fresh. We place water in sinks, buckets, pitchers and toilets. All is fine and well until a weak link develops that allows the beast to get out. In most cases you notice the leak and fix it in good time. But it is when a leak goes unnoticed that the real damage is done. I know, BLAH BLAH BLAH! Here's what happened that started this water rant. Day 4 we moved to a new site with shade. Beautiful cottonwoods sway over our new parking place with a great view of the lake, pool and clubhouse. We had the roof air on when a cloud bank moved over us. Then it started to rain, not outside, but inside the bus. Condensation had formed on/in the air conditioner and found its' way into our living space. It is just a clogged weep hole but it got me thinking. If that water did not drip straight down it could have found its way into the sub roof. Now that got me thinking of other drips that could happen at any time in a house on wheels. The bending, rattling and moving of a bus has and will place a never ending strain on all the systems. What else could I be missing? I need a bi-monthly inspection check list of all the bus systems that will/could help prevent water damage to our home. I will start putting together a list asap and post it. Until then I will ask the MAK board for their insight on this. My dad told me "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". I'm starting to sound like my dad? All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Waiting to Exhale (michael)

2009-06-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Waiting to Exhale We left our home in Tombstone for the last time... Just 20 miles from there seems like 2 hundred. We arrived at Western Horizons Resort St. David and was greeted by a friendly face at the front gate. A little paperwork and we were headed to our site. I am only 2 mins from parking and the rush goes through me. Wow, we built a home on wheels in 3 months. Will everything work? Well, leading up to this point our friendly neighborhood plumber changed our deal and said he would finish for $255.00 more. Well, spit on that. I don't know what is wrong with that town! Is it me? To me, a deal is a deal. How can one sleep at night when they say they will work for an agreed upon fee only to hold your dreams or life hostage. Well, again I say SPIT on THAT! It's like I can't breath. There it is, our moment of truth. A simple 40' long strip of gravel, a power plug, a hose bib, cable and sewer hole. It's only a standard RV site but to us, it is the moment of truth. It's shake down time. Mrs. Jones glided into the spot and I shut her down. Christi yells out the door, "I need more power captain!" I plug the ole girl in and hit the breaker. The electricity flowed through her veins and no breakers popped. I hooked up the water and the water flowed at our will. The cable came in loud and clear. We still have to get propane and a 3 inch spline to hook up the sewer. I'll do that tomorrow. That king size bed is gonna feel good. AAAAHhhhhhhhh!!!! Goodnight Bob (BOTN) All the Best, Michael & Christi P.S. Camera is still dead......Soon. See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

One More Day (michael)

2009-05-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

One More Day! No pictures. Some how the camera stopped working. O well. Lets see, the battery pak is wired and the inverter is installed, part or the 12v lights are in and working, all the plumbing is done, our personal goods are getting into their new home along with the TV and food. Tomorrow is the day. We will finish packing with one more trip to the thrift store. Wow, one more day. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The Big Stuff Goes Through The Window (michael)

2009-05-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

The Big Stuff Goes Through The Window Thank goodness for friends. Brother Larry Bowers, Ray, Jeff and Loyd came over to load the big stuff. I prepped the Ole' girl early. Took out the side window and removed the front door to the house. The guys showed up and took all of 20 mins to get the couch and the refrigerator through the window and in place.

Just fit.

Nice fit.

Tight fit.

Its all working out.

2 days left. Christi started nesting. Long day comming on Sunday.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Roof Air (michael)

2009-05-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

Roof Air I was going to wait on the roof air for a week or so But, I took Christi on a "show off" drive and she said that the air had to be next. So I said to myself, Why don't I install the roof air next! And I did.

I didn't know what I was doing. I never installed one before.

I just solved one problem and took it one step at a time. It took about 4 hours in all. The cold air flowed on the 1st try. A little trim and paint then on to the next task.

Here is the Batt. bank and inverter that I have yet to hook up. Still reading on this one.

And the 20 gal. elec. water heater.

My $20.00 yard sale tool box. I can unmount the box, put the wheels and have a roll around work table.

My good friend and brother Mason Larry Bowers gave us a 33 gal. air compressor. Very nice. Thank you Bear.

Look what we've done to our bathroom. Our singing land cruiser is coming to life.

Another view.

More plumbing

A little table to travel with.

Christi still caulking and painting.

Only 4 days left till we move in and go to our 1st park.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Jones is Now a RV (michael)

2009-05-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Jones is Now an RV Me and Mrs. Jones had a thing going on today. We went to town, just her and I. We danced down the byways of Tombstone to Sierra Vista. I took her to get some new class, well classification that is. We went to the Motor Vehicle Division of AZ to get her inspection. It was great. The inspector and the manager came out for the grand tour. Oohs's & Aah's. I was so proud of her. She passed with no problems. Then the inspector told me that she was not registered and I needed to get her a tag before I hit the road. $83 bucks later (cheap date) we were a legal Bus Conversion and/or RV. Then I took her to Wally World to buy her something nice. OK, it was white water hose and sewer pipe. Hey, when you got to go, you got to go and we got to GO! All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Chunch Time (michael)

2009-05-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Crunch Time

So many things to do and we are running out of time. The house is sold, more like, passed on. Down to 1 car. 1 more trip left to the thrift store. 1 to the recycling center. Yard sales are over. Conversion inspection on Weds. Mean while, the plumber is plumbing, we are trimming, painting, fabricating, wiring, installing, tiling, flooring and well, you get the picture. There is a lot that we know how to do and we are finding that there is a lot we don't know. But on the bright side, we are learning more with every passing day. Oh, the passing day thing, we are down to just 8 days before "Shake Down". Things are coming along well. I would like to have a little more done like the roof airs. But, all in all things are well. A good thing is we have a 30 day shake down. The whole month of June to tweak Mrs. Jones. We will need it.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Got Windows? FedX Opps! (michael)

2009-05-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Got Windows? FedX Opps! Mrs. Jones got a big pak of windows on Thursday. Doug Olson of Langley, OK is converting his 1992 MCI 102C3, 6V92, HT740 and was kind to donated 5 side windows so Mrs. Jones can get her grove back. I could not wait to put them in. We picked them up from Tombstone Hardware & Feed. They have a forklift to unload the 350 lbs required by the handler. Mr. West, owner of the hardware store stated the FedX lady was mis-handling the package while putting it on a pallet. Doug did a great job of packing But, I could see that the bottom frame was out of place. We got them home and I got after it. Unpacked the 1st window, Perfect! Fit like a glove. Mrs. Jones cried for more. 2nd & 3rd were very nice too. Then came the bad news, windows 4 & 5 are broken! Rats! Ok, so there was wood sheeting on top and bottom, shrink wrap in over kill mode, windows were in their frames and signs that clearly stated "Glass, Handle with care". I guess some people just don't like glass! Well the cracked windows are better then nothing so I put them in also. I put the good ones on the drivers side so at least one side of the bus looks good. Christi call the FedX claims dept. and they sent forms fill out and hoops to jump through. After 49 years I still don't understand why we get punished for other peoples mistakes? Somethings never change. Christi, I & Mrs. Jones want to thank the Olsons for all their help and kindness. We owe them a big one.

In with good and out with the bad.

My balancing act.

A little to the right.

Ha!

Now thats a nice view!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Start Modifications for Roof Airs (michael)

2009-05-20T05:12:00.000-07:00

Start Modifications for Roof Airs Phil stopped by on Sat. He said he had some pressing things to do so he could not help out today. But he did bring a new face to play with Mrs. Jones. Pat Mulvena is a gen. contractor in Tucson, AZ. Phil told him that if he could come down and work with us, we would have a barbecue or a picnic or something. Phil dumped Pat off and sped off like we had the swine flu. I asked Pat what he would like to do and he said "Lets start modifications for the roof airs". So we got into it. The roof airs are used, but they are all that was in the budget. We had some problem solving to do. I have never installed a roof air before and by the end of the day, I still haven't. Pat did a great job converting the emergency hatches to hold the airs. We cut holes for the air flow. Removed the fiberglass insulation and the locking mechanism. Then we filled the void with foam. We put them back in place and we will install the airs on another day. We also installed new motor mounts on the temp. Coleman genny. Thank you Pat for all your help. I would work with you anytime. Sorry about the barbecue.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Back Splash Done, Tin Ceiling Started (michael)

2009-05-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Back Splash Done, Tin Ceiling Started Dad (Randy Smith) came over last Friday to grout the kitchen back splash. He and Mom are heading to Texas for a month and then they will meet us in Blue Mesa, CO. Chirsti just loves her new back splash. Its a real class act. Thanks Dad. Later that day I started to install the tin ceiling in the bedroom.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mr. Halls Toys & Parts for Mrs. Jones (michael)

2009-05-18T06:44:00.000-07:00

Mr. Halls Toys & Parts for Mrs. Jones While the Toad was getting hooked up on Thursday we took Phil's van and made a trip to the Hall's ranch for some bus parts. Carol and Larry Hall hosted the GM rally we sang at in March. We didn't have our camera with us at that time, but we did this time. All I can say is "a boy and his toys". This guy has the toy box to keep them in. The Halls have an old mining property that has an old maintenance building on it. Here are some pics of his toys: Larry said he may scrap out this scenic cruiser. Very Sad! Larry & Carol sold us some bus parts that we really needed. Thank you so much. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Big Day for the Toad (michael)

2009-05-18T05:58:00.001-07:00

Big Day for the Toad

Last Thursday we drove the Toad to Redline in Tucson. Thats where Our Phil Guy works. He told us to bring the Jeep up so he could install the tow hitch and the stage mount. We knew that Phil worked on cars and built bikes But look at these:

http://www.redlineservice.com/ is the link should you feel the need for speed. It was dusk bye time we got back and the toad was done. Great job Phil and thank you.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Floor and A Back Splash for the Lass (michael)

2009-05-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

Floor and A Back Splash for the Lass

Well, the back splash was 1st. Dad (Randy Smith) came over to help with Mrs. Jones. I cut the 1/4 inch hardi-board just before he got here. Don't want him sitting around drinking coffee all day! LOL. While Dad worked on the back splash I put up the light fixture and a cabinet in the bathroom. Christi and I talked about flooring last night. We had picked up some laminate flooring for a real good price a few months ago, but when I went to install it in the salon, it would not lock together. It was to go in the kitchen also. No joy on that! So we do have extra tile from our friend George. We only need a little Hardi-board, glue, screws, mastic and some labor. Oh, Dad! Christi ran to the box store for supplies and Dad and I used up what material we had and started to tile the kitchen. Christi also said she would like one of those counter tops that fit over one sink so she could have more usable counter space. So, I made a cardboard template of the sink opening then rough cut the piece of counter top I cut out for the sink. Dad pulled out his router and cut a seat in it then cleaned the edge up with a rasp and belt sander. Good Job Dad!!! Then Dad said, "Can't we put that flooring in the bedroom if we screw it down, its better than nothing!" OK, we can give it a try. Hey, What do you know? It worked. It's not permanent but it will do for now. Christi arrived with more supplies and made us lunch. Bonus! We ate and got back to work. We finished the bedroom floor and then put the rest of the Hardi-board in the kitchen and cleaned up. Good day Dad, Thanks.

Note: Yesterday I piddled around as Christi painted and stained. I just wanted to finish up some almost done projects. So, I installed the 50amp Genny plug, cut and set the closet poles, ground off rivets and screw tips, nailed off the interior wall coverings and drilled the rest of the holes for the plumber to name a few. I have to say that sometimes during a project like this, some days seem like nothing gets done even though you worked hard all day. Just sit back and look at the whole picture. Every little thing you do brings you closer to your goal. Your Dream. I can see mine now, How about you?

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

A Little Work, A Little Play (michael)

2009-05-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

A Little Work, A Little Play, A Lot of Mother's Day

Today Mrs. Jones got the rest of her wall coverings courtesy of Jeff, some more paint by Christi, and I, 2 lights and plumbing prep; hang the valve board, affix the water pump and drill the holes for the waste pipes and water supply lines. Christi started sanding the pantry doors and prowls the bus. Now we are off to the Home Depot to get the h2o heater and other supplies. Our son, Jared wants to take Mom out to eat. The plumber may come by and start on the lines. I'll cross my fingers.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

One Busy Day for Mrs. Jones (michael)

2009-05-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

One Busy Day for Mrs. Jones

Today we got a lot done to Mrs. Jones. Jeff showed up at 9 am and started to cut in the stove top. I installed Christi's capt. chair. Phil, "Our Phil guy", showed up and installed the 6250 watt Coleman genny with a slide he made from old bed rails. Then we ran a 50 amp yellow cord from the genny to the back bay so we can plug in while underway. It will do until our big Onan gets rebuilt.

Christi picked up her pantry doors at

Cate's Hill trailer sales for $20 bucks on Friday so we laid out the face and Jeff put it together. I ran the rear roof air 12/2 wire. Smoked my good bit, Rats! Then Jeff started to frame the bedroom closet and Phil started on moving the air brake button. Where it is located made it hard to get in and out of the drivers seat, so Phil moved and modified

the housing to sit in a better place. He cut the housing with a hand grinder and then welded it together with my new Mig welder, (It's coming with us. A singer with a welder, Look out!) We had to pull out the spare tire to get to it. Good time for an inspection of the tire and the compartment.

They look good but dirty. Hmm, I wonder what Christi is doing? Hehe. Next we laid out the flat screen TV mount. To the salvage pile we go. We used the HD chair and upper compartment mounting aluminum rails. Jeff did a good job on this one. We saved a bundle! Also, the plumber Jack Jackson of Straight Flush Plumbing came over and lined out the water, waste & gas systems. I will cut holes in the AM so he can start running lines.

P.S. from Christi: Jared, (my son), and I spent the morning at Walmart, Lowe's and Home Depot buying parts for Mrs. Jones. When we got home I found an injured Michael with a paper towel wrapped around his thumb. He managed to take a chunk out of it when the drill gun slipped. Poor baby! So I found the bag balm and a large bandage and sent him back to work. We only have 3 weeks, you know.I had planned to get back to making Mrs. Jones pretty inside, (painting, yippee!), but soon found the rig was overrun with 3 sweaty, dirty males. Too much testosterone for me. I went in the nice cool house and did paperwork all afternoon. Aaaah.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Pooper, Pooper, No More Pooper (michael)

2009-05-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Pooper, Pooper, No More Pooper I was not going to worry about the Head in the rear of the bus. I've read all the horror stories on the boards and I again, didn't want to do it. I told myself that we did not have time and I would remove it when we got on the road and I had some down time. It started to eat at my brain last night. I woke up, walked out to Mrs. Jones and thought," I'm going to call Jeff again!" He came over at 1pm. I showed him the task at hand and without hesitation, he went for his tools and got to work. I didn't tell him all the stories I read on line. I just showed him where all the brackets were then I stood back and helped out when I was needed. Man, it worked like a charm. 3 hours later and just a little sweat and dirt and the tank was sitting on the ground next to Mrs. Jones. Life is good! I have more space!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Propane Compartment (michael)

2009-05-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

Propane Compartment

Another thing I was dreading doing to Mrs. Jones is the propane compartment. It's funny to me that I have all this knowledge and experience in building, but somethings I would just rather not do. Like PROPANE COMPARTMENTS. Now just because I don't want to do something, does not mean I don't have to do it. Christi makes me. She said, "An electric stove top costs too much and I would rather have gas". As you men know by now, Mama gets what Mama wants and Mama wants gas. So I said "Fine". I went out to Mrs. Jones, picked up my cell phone and called Jeff. I told him of the wants and needs of Mrs. Jones. He arrived and we went to work. I sent Jeff over to the thrift store with a grinder to remove an LP bottle base for an old trailer, while I pulled all the material we will need out of the salvage pile. Soon we had padded aluminum sheets and aluminum angle stock. Mmmm, salvage. It was pretty easy to do. Don't know what all the fuss was about. We put the base and bottles in the bay below the cook top. We traced the footprint on the floor and found that we could use the floor supports as the top framing. We set the angle aluminum on the bay floor and affixed them with self-tappers. Then the padded aluminum sheet stock for the walls also screwed in place. Then caulked all the seams. Set the base. Cut the drains and placed louvers over them. I found some rubber seals and fit them so the bay door would fit tight when closed. Nice! I will run the line to the cooktop later. Thanks Jeff. What are you doing tomorrow?

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

New Post on the MAK Board (michael)

2009-05-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

New Post on the MAK Board

I was on the Boards today and came across this post;

new guy how do you do these?

I am certain I don't know enough to know what I don't know! Some place there must be info on how to convert a bus, what kind of cost to do so, the best kind of bus to use or maybe the concerns and challenges using a particular bus. I am not interested in reinventing the wheel on every decision to be made. What are the values of these buses before and after? I know tough question. I see many advertised/ebay never see any selling prices? Just a start. Go ahead and answer these and those questions I have not thought of yet. many thanks

I went to work and could not stop thinking about this question. I remember when I was asking this question just 5 months ago before we got Mrs. Jones.

My Answer:

Well, bja1234,

First, welcome to the madness. I say that because that is what was said to me. New Years Eve/ New Years 2009 I couldn't sleep after a show. I got on the net and LSS "I want a Bus. Well, I got one and my wife and I are converting it. We don't have money But, we do have exp. in building and are working. That said, I believe that getting a bus has brought immense joy into our lives. The sense of accomplishment, meeting great people and working side by side with the one I love is priceless. We are Blogging the story of our "Change of Life, Bus, Event" Here is the link; http://singinglandcruiser.blogspot.com/ . We have sold our house and hitting the road. All the Best, M&C

It's funny that sometimes it takes someone to ask a question out of the Blue for you to realize just how happy you are!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

More Cabinets and the Kitchen Sink (michael)

2009-04-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

More cabinets and the kitchen sink I set the sink base but something was wrong. The cabinet looked like it was listing. I checked the measurement to the ceiling at each end of the base and sure enough, the floor is built at a slant. About a 1/4 inch in 1.5 feet. The sink base is a 1/2 inch out of plumb. So I cut and placed a 1/2 inch shim under the forward edge of the cabinet and screwed it to the floor and then to the wall. A straight edge continued the line along the wall to the corner and side wall. I used 2x4's screwed to the wall for the counter support. Then I attached the 18 inch base, shimmed, to the sink base in an island configuration. Set the counter tops and cut in the sink. The 18 inch draw base fit on the opposite wall, add a counter top and were done. Well, I still have to build the cabinet for the oven. I'll do that soon.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

A Post to Toast (michael)

2009-04-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

A Post to Toast

http://blog.toastfloats.com/

My Dear Toast, Christi and I think you and the Doc. are doing a fine job. We will be on the Road in just 60 days. Can you believe it? Our son Jared, a true tween, will be going to his dads' in CA for 7th & 8th grade. There is a small chance that he will come with us and we will home school. Christi has been reading your War Intell and will implement your tactics. We tried the traditional home school program before and it was a total flop. We truly believe you have paved the beaten path for a HS system that WORKS. Now for the important part, where do we send the Care Package??? Stay Safe, M&C

For those of you how don't know of her, her blogging was the catalyst for us to take the Giant life altering step into the bus and blog world. We will forever be grateful to Toast.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Bathroom Tile Grout (michael)

2009-04-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

Bathroom Tile Grout

Dad is at it again! Randy Smith came back to finish the bathroom tile job. He bought a big bag of goodies for Mrs. Jones (the Bus), IE: sand colored grout, sealer along with all the tools to do the job. I have to say" They don't make them like him anymore". He dove right in and in 5hrs. he was done with the shower AND he did the floor too. He stated that he needed to have the Boss sign off on the work, So he went and got Christi. No! not me, Christi! She gave it her blessing. Then dad packed up this tools, cleaned up and refused money for the supplies he brought. I think Mrs. Jones is in love. What a guy!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Treasures found after the Bus Demo (michael)

2009-04-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Treasures found after the Bus Demo

Well, I guess you could call it Treasure. When we were ripping out the Int. of the bus, coins started turning up. Not a lot, mind you, But still enough to get ones hopes up. I am a Treasure Hunter from way back. I have all the standard Th'ing toys for coin shooting, cache hunting, nugget snipping and placer mining... So when coins start popping up, the hunt is on. I was not going to blog about this because we Th'ing'ers tent to keep our finds close to the hip. But, it made me wonder what other Bus Nuts have found while ripping their buses apart??? We found pens, about 30 of them, pencils, casino advertisements, buttons, photos, notes, a token, a commemorative coin, nuts, bolts, screws, a few coins, a small diamond ear ring and a small gold nose ring. The most interesting thing we found was wedged in the front drivers compartment. It is a card with a quarter glued to it and it reads "HELP, Although I cannot leave the accident scene, I must still notify my company as soon as possible. Please use the attached quarter to call my employer at: Then the driver and bus info. followed by, Thank you for your assistance. We didn't find this card until now because we are keeping this small upper locking compartment intact. I will come in handy on the road for maps, bus info... I was prepping it for the end cap when I found the card.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Tiling the Shower (michael)

2009-04-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

Tiling the Shower Today, the shower got its skin. Beautiful tile. My dear adopted dad, Randy Smith provided the laying skills and I made all the cuts. Wow, it sure looks good. Christi is grinning ear to ear. Dad says "piece of cake". I'll call him to come grout it and help me with the wood flooring. Thanks Dad.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Painting, Priming (michael)

2009-04-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

Painting, Priming.

Christi started priming all the bare bead board in the bus. She used Killz 2 and we think it looks great. She will be painting the walls in off white and lite earth tones. Nice job.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Venting Through the Roof (michael)

2009-04-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

Venting through the roof. For some reason, I did not want to do this. Putting a hole in the roof is just wrong. I put it off as long as I could. Momma want a bathroom and a kitchen sink. I used a 2.1/4inch all purpose hole saw and a drill motor. I cut a hole in the 2x4 plate and then carefully cut through the aluminum ceiling. I stopped to inspect for wires and sure enough, their they were. A whole bundle of them. I moved them out of the way and drilled a pilot hole through the roof in the center of the hole. I climbed up on the roof with all the tools and supplies I need to complete to task at hand. Using the same hole saw, I cut through the roof. Wheew! Not as bad as I thought it would be. Using a 50 year silicone caulk and 1/2 inch self tapping screws, I applied the flashing to the roof. I will paint it white later so it will blend. I then cut the ABS vent pipe at a slant and put it through the flashing boot with the slant facing the rear. I read that on someones web page. A small piece of P-tape and 2 screws held the pipe in place. I'm glad that is over with!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Re: Can you remove the A/C frame work on a MCI 102A3 with a 8V92????

2009-04-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

This is a ? we posted on the "MAK Publishing Bus and Coach Conversions Bulletin Board" We removed the compressor and rocking mount in the rear of the bus. Now we have the 2 supports (frames) that is welded to the side wall and the main frame that supports the 8V92. Her is the link; http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=11690.0 I found a good use of this space without cutting a thing.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The Crown Super Coach has found a good home. (michael)

2009-04-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

The Crown Super Coach has found a good home. Our 1952 40' CSC Skoolie is now in a good home. Our " Who's Your Phil Guy" Phil and his wife Jane are now the proud owners of ol' #10. Our Phil Guy knows all and is a wise sole. They will do well with this old classic. They plan on fixing her up and go to the craft shows, bike & bus Rallies. We, Christi & I, are glad she has gone to a place that will give her the love and care she needs. For pics see Crown Supercoach. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Jones said "You Got 6 Weeks MISTER!" (michael)

2009-04-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

You Have 6 Weeks MISTER! That's what Mrs. Jones told me last night in my minds ear. You see, I didn't spend any time with Mrs. Jones yesterday. Who is Mrs. Jones? That is the name we gave the Bus. On my 1st album I recorded the song "Me and Mrs. Jones". Now, Christi says I spend more time with the bus than with her, which, she agrees, is a good thing, (unlike another woman). So we felt the name was fitting. Mrs. Jones is a very demanding ol' girl. Back to the 6 week thing. It's just 6 weeks 'til we move out of our house to start our full-timing life. Mrs. Jones looks like she has been abused by a ship load of sailors. Then there are the real jobs that have to be completed before we leave, along with the 2 more jobs I still need to find to put money in the "BUS FUND". Other than that, we need to do our shows, yard sale this weekend, taxes, clean out my garage, put a tow hitch on the Jeep, untold trips to storage and clean the house out, "Oh" and book all the 2009/2010 tour stops/shows. I could go on but you get the point. We have alot to do. And while all this is going on we still have to complete the bus. What ever are we to do? Now Iv'e got 2 "Honey Do" lists. I can't win! All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Window Skins Installed, Part 2 (michael)

2009-04-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

Window skins installed, Part 2

The skinning is going well. The rain chased me away so I went back inside to do some more wiring. Only have 2 more skins to do. Bob said "Pictures, We Want Pictures", so here they are.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Cabinets, Install Uppers (michael)

2009-04-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Cabinets, install uppers.

Honey has uppers. To install uppers 1st make a cardboard pattern of the arched corner. Make it as close as possible. Then scribe and cut the cabinets. We used a jigsaw. I made some "L" brackets from the scrap aluminum of the upper compartments and installed them to the inside front upper oak trim. Mmmm, Salvage! This holds the front up. I used 1/2 inch self tappers to affix them to the ceiling and 1-1/4 inch wood screws to hold them to the wall. And there you have it. Uppers for my baby.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Window Skins Installed, Part 1 (michael)

2009-04-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

Window Skins Installed, Part 1

We installed 4 of the 9 window skins. Only because we wanted to see what they looked like. We found the skins to be OK for now, but need a little bit more work on the finish. Some PUNKS stoned all the glass on the bus before we got it. Yes, ALL THE GLASS! *%#@* PUNKS! Here is what we did. Removing the windows was easy. Unscrew the keeper screws at the top right and left of each window frame. Then swing the window frame toward you just about level to the ground, then gently push and lift the window frame from the track. This is a gravity hinge, not a pin hinge. Place the window frame on a flat surface outside down. Remove the panic bar by grinding off the rivets but leave the window lock/keepers intact. Now remove the the inner compression gasket with a flat screwdriver. Then clean gasket for re-use. The glass will come right out by lifting from under the frame. You may find some corrosion in the framework. We used a wire brush, small flat screw driver and WD40 to remove it. We then placed a good bead of window sealant along the inside of the outside gasket. Place the window skin in the frame and press down along the edge for a good seal. Clean inside skin surface. Now you need to put some type of filler that is the same size and thickness as the glass. If the glass is un-usable then you can use 1/4 inch plywood, plastic or alike. Apply contact cement to inside skin surface and your filler. Then set the filler in place and press firmly. Now you can replace the inner compression gasket. We used WD40 as a lubricant and the gasket pressed into place. Flip the framed skin over and press down on the skin for a good seal. We put the skin frames back in the hinge, set the lock/keeper and added a set screw so the frame cannot move. The finish will do for now. We will get a pro paint job as time and $$$ allows.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Painting the Side Window Skins (michael)

2009-04-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

Painting the side window skins I woke up this morning, got a cup of coffee and even made one for my gal. She is the best. She made us pancakes. Mmmm. Now with a full belly, I'm out the door. I set up the saw horses and used the long pallet the sheet steel came on as a table. First, Christi cleaned the skins with acetone. I sprayed a fine coat of primer and let dry for 1 hour. Then I applied three coats of white Rustoleum paint. Yes, from a can. This is a poor man's build. My fingers are killing me. We will finish four panels, mount them in the frames and see how they look.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Tin Ceiling for the Bathroom (michael)

2009-04-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Tin Ceiling for the Bathroom

We have been looking at ceilings among everything else that goes into one of these behemoths. We have seen wood, as in: paneling, shiplap, bead board and exotic woods. Then there was carpet, both fine nap and shag. Plastic, cloth, mirrors, wallpaper and more. We did not see any embossed tin. We wanted something different in our bus. We had some tin leftover from a home we built, so I used it on the bathroom ceiling. Its a small space and Honey can see how it will look. Yes, I went right over the existing ceiling. The 2'X2' panels were quick to install with self-tapping screws. Tin snips were used for all the cuts. I backed out the screws in the ceiling trim, tucked the cut end under the lip then tightened the screws. Christi came out when I had two panels hanging, gave me a stink face and left. Then she came when I had over half of the ceiling up and said "this just might work". Then our dear friends Michael & Shirley Trotter came over and she was showered with compliments about it. I think she likes it. I put it on the shower ceiling also, it flowed better. I will seal the edges with clear caulk once I get her seal of approval. I love it. I think its a great solution. Its quick and we did not lose any head room.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Plasma Cut Window Skins (michael)

2009-04-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Plasma Cut Window Skins Today my good friend, George Couch, plasma cut the window skins for our bus. George is the owner of Desert Rose Iron Works here in Tombstone, AZ. We picked up 5-4'X10' sheets of 20 gauge cold rolled steel. I took it to George's shop along with a side window frame. He put a tape on the frame, scribbled some numbers in a pad. Then he entered the numbers into his computer and this machine came to life. I helped him put the sheet steel on the table and the plasma cutter went to work. This thing cut through the steel like butter. It was fast and accurate. The plasma cutter made short work of of my steel. Thank you George, you're the best! Now, home to clean, prime and paint.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The "Must Have Tool Kit" for a bus (michael)

2009-04-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was on the the MAK bus conversion site on-line, Chating and we starting talking about tools. I realized I didn't have a clue as to what should be in a bus tool box. So this AM I posted the question and bam! The respounces started coming in and still coming. So I will up-date this post as needed. Here is the question; What is your "Must have" Over The Road Tool Kit? We are converting our 1987 MCI 102A3 and would like to know what tools you would have on board? We will be on tour for aprox. 2 years+. And where do you stow them? PIC"S PLEASE. We will be making a list. The LIST:Coach-Net road service and a high-limit Visa card. Everything else is optional.Sean Two full sets of combination wrenches from 3/8 to 1-1/4. 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2" socket sets in English 3/8" drive metric sockets, 50' of air hose with tire chucks and a blow nozzle, Multimeter, wiring pliers, side cutters, vice grips, water pump, pliers, needle nose pliers, forceps, Drawer full of screwdrivers from jewellers' to really big, Hot glue gun, soldering kits, hammers, 3/8 cordless drill & a complete drill index, 3/4" drive socket set, 1" impact with tire sockets to fit the bus, 1" breaker bar with a 4 foot snipe, 2 x 20 ton bottle jacks, a variety of C-clamps, staple gun, caulking gun, electronic leak detector, Cat 5 cable tester, 2 really big (like 14") Crescent wrenches, Oil and fuel filter wrenches, 2 1/2 gallon yellow diesel can, filled, crimper and a selection of crimp-on electrical terminals, 5-tool combo kits, (the kit came with a drill, sabre saw, reciprocating saw, mini circular saw, chain saw, and flashlight, right-angle drill, Jack stands & cribbing, big channel locks, A/C guages, Magnifying glass, dremel tool, bullseye glass repair kits, hacksaw, butane torch, step ladder, those little stretchy numbers with the round ball on the end (?), And as we discussed last night, that most versatile tool of all --- the IR thermometer, utility knife, hammer, handheld grinder, heat gun, 5 foot folding ladder also stows under a bunk bed inside, I carry a parts drawer set of various lamps ( marker, turn sig etc), peumatic connectors, Tee's, valves, of various sizes,DOT tubing, 6 amp 12V battery charger, Don't forget the duck tape! (DreamscapeEagle) LOL, up-dates to come. Now I know what to get the bus for X-Mass. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Laundromat Blues (christi)

2009-03-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Laundromat Blues So here I sit at the local laundromat/carwash combo in Tombstone, Arizona. I found a tablet of neon pink paper in my Jeep console, to record this moment in time. I didn't expect to find myself here for at least two more months. But let me explain my dilemma. (Those of the male persuasion may find this terribly boring, so consider yourself warned.) There I was crunching on my usual breakfast of yogurt and homemade granola, when I noticed a strange smell. Kind of a cross between burning rubber and an electrical malfunction. I actually stopped in mid-sentence (no comments from the men that are still reading, please) and said, "What is that smell?" Before I could get the whole thought out, Michael was flying off the barstool, headed for the washing machine, which was billowing smoke. OK, maybe not billowing but the room was filling with smoke. As Michael unplugged the smoking beast, I opened windows and doors to clear the air of the stench. Fortunately it's a warm Spring morning, so we didn't have to choke and freeze at the same time. It's not like we weren't warned. The washer has been making a loud roaring sound for the last two weeks during the spin cycle. But with bus obsession and all, we just ignored it. I just hoped it could hold out a couple more months. I needed that time to acquire the appropriate laundromat attitude. The laundromat is the only thing I can think of that I don't look forward to about going on the road. I just want to throw in a load of clothes and get on with the other chores of the day. The laudromat requires sorting, packing and loading the laundry into the car. Gathering hangers, detergent and softener. Then there's the quarters. I have actually started saving quarters for our tour. You never can trust the change machines. And you have to have reading material or something else to keep you from the boredom that comes with waiting for the rinse cycle. There's also the other issues: packing 6 loads of laundry into the back of the Jeep, only to get there and have all the machines full with a line of people waiting OR have all the machines full, but no one there to extract their clean clothes. Now, I have been guilty a time or two of that one, but it's still annoying! Basically, it's just the inconvenience of it all. I know, put on my big girl panties and deal with it. And I will. I just wanted some attitude adjustment time. Instead, I was thrown headlong into the laundromat blues. I was lucky today, I was the only one there. And for the next couple of months, I only have to wash the clothes there. I still have a working electric dryer and my favorite solar dryer, commonly known as the clothesline. I'm really going to miss that. I actually find it very relaxing to hang out the clothes and there's nothing like the smell of clothes hung out in our clean Arizona air. I know, corny. But now that I have been thrust into the laundromat life once again, I will accept it with grace, and patience and a good book. Maybe even a glass of wine. After all, it's five-o'clock somewhere. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Refrigerator, Freebie. Well, almost. (michael)

2009-03-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

Refrigerator, Freebie. Well, almost. We got a call from our dear friends Doc and Mary Roach. They asked if we could pick up some appliances from their rental house 30 miles away. We said we could. Then he came back with, "OK, then you can have the refrigerator for the bus." Say What! And you can have the oak cabinet island. $$$CHA-CHING!!! They are just the right color that Christi wants in her kitchen. Another check off my list. The refrigerator will fit through the side window. Not bad for a half days work. We are going to need 4 strong men and a small boy to do it. Lol.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Ramp Framing (michael)

2009-03-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ramp Framing

Its been covered over long enough. Honey picked me up some 2X4's, so I had to use them. I ripped one down to 2X2's. Using big self-tapping screws we fastened the 2X2's to the metal floor supports. We added a 1X6 as a kicker to the front transition/step. 2X4 supports were added every 24 inches. Then 1/2 inch OSB decking affixed with 1.1/2 inch wood screws. Done! Flooring next. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

New Hinge for the Battery Door (michael)

2009-03-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

New Hinge for the Battery Door The battery door hinge had the original rubber hinge on it that had failed. I asked around for a new hinge but thought to myself. Hey, I got parts. I looked through the ever growing pile and, Eureka! Stainless hinge. Found it on one of the inside storage compartment doors. I drilled out the rivets. Salvage! I removed the old hinge hardware rivets with a grinder. When I put the door in place we found there was a 3/4-inch gap/void between the top of the door and the frame. We have a piece of angle iron. I have an old bed frame in the garage that should do the trick. We cut it to size and screwed it in place. Then we set the door in place, marked and pre-drilled the fastner holes. Set the door in place and wedge it up to the correct plane. We then applied screws. Wow, thats nice. No more tape holding the door on.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

air conditioning system Removal (michael)

2009-03-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

air conditioning system Removal. Phil came over to finish the air conditioning system removal.

He looked like a mad man tearing into that bus. Grind this, take that off, any coffee? You bet we do. next thing I knew, it was 5:30pm and the A/C system was sitting on the side of the bus. Wow, what would we do without our Phil.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

"O"nan Geney (michael)

2009-03-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

"O"nan Geney An oldie but goodie. This two cylinder job was a gift from the Hendersons here in Tombstone, AZ. It is going striaght to the shop to be re-built. Here is all the power we will ever need. Phil is going to re-build it.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Tile, floor (michael)

2009-03-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Tile, bathroom floor. We prep'ed the the perma Base by making sure all screws were counter sunk then we swept the surface clean. We applied Type 1 mastic to the base with a 1/4 inch V grove trowel. We set all full tiles and let dry for 24 hours. Then, using a diamond wet tile saw, we cut all the remaining pieces and set them. We will let the floor dry for 1 week then grout. Next, the shower.

All the Best, Michael & Christi

See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Bathroom Sub-Floor (michael)

2009-03-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Bathroom Sub-Floor

First, place the toilet in the area you want to mount it. Draw an outline of it on the floor. Then look to see that the area is clear of any supports or obstructions under the floor. Then check to see if you have a straight line from the toilet to the black water holding tank. Drill a pilot hole into the floor and re-check. The toilet requires a minimin of a 3-inch waste pipe. Using a 3-1/2 inch hole saw and a strong drill motor, cut your hole. We found this used toilet at the local thrift store. Now we will prep for the tile by decking the floor with 1/2 inch hardiboard. This will be glued with PL400 construction adhesive and screwed in place. We are ready for tile. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog; http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

TIPPING, what the heck are you thinking? (us)

2009-03-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

TIPPING, what the heck are you thinking? When I started in show business, I was too embarrassed to ask for tips. I felt so bad about it that I would actually refuse a tip when offered. I couldn't even put a tip bowl out. I felt like it was begging for hand-outs. Then I met an old saxophone player, Doc Diamond. He asked me, "What the heck are you thinking?" He explained that the people watching your performance, your fans, want to tip you. They want to show you how much they appreciate your hard work on stage and that it's part of the show. If you shun their tips, you are not only insulting them, but you are not performing 100%. Learning to accept tips with grace and gratitude is not only important to our fans, it is necessary for us, as it is a big part of our income. In learning to accept tips for what I do, I also have become more aware of my tipping practices. I appreciate even more, those who give good service and care about the job they do. Here are some tips on tips. Who gives a tip? Everyone that receives a service, should give a tip. Whats a tip? A tip is a gratuity. A gift. A little something extra that someone gives to a person who performs a service. When that service is performed above and beyond your expectations you want to tip them well. When the service is not so good, then what? Most folks will still give a minimum tip. Sometimes you may not be sure when a tip is appropriate or not. Some of the usual places you would tip would be when you are served by valets, street acts, performers, wait staff, chefs, hosts, baggage handlers, paper boys/girls, anywhere or anywhere there is a tip bowl. You can also ask at a check-in counter or information booth as to who should be tipped. Sometimes giving a tip is as easy as adding it to your bill or tab. Sometimes, when the service is especially good, you want to give it directly to the person who performed the service and thank them face to face. In our particular profession, we find that people may be shy about coming up to the stage to put something in the tip bowl. They don't want to draw attention to themselves. To those of you who feel that way, just remember that when you step up, others that are hesitating will gain the courage to do the same. And of course, if you have a child with you, send them ! They love to run up and put it in there for you. So then, how much do you tip? Well, for food service it's about 20% of the total bill. Drinks are about $1.00 for each drink. Other professions have different expectations. As for performers, it really depends on how much you're enjoying the show. If the show is a "pass the hat", the only pay the performer receives is tips, so please be as generous as you can. Speaking for ourselves, we appreciate every dollar that goes into that tip bowl. We do a lot of "pass the hat" shows due to today's economy and our audiences are generally very generous. It keeps us able to do what we love doing. In case we ever pass your way we say, "thank you very much" in advance for your generosity and appreciation! As a matter of fact, we are basing this Summer's, "Rolling With The Flow Tour", on the economy and our appreciation for our fans. 90% of our shows will be, "pass the hat" shows. All the Best Michael & Christi All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Electrical Wiring, AC (michael)

2009-03-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

Electrical Wiring, AC

I started installing the the wiring. It is pretty standard, 20 amp to the ref, micro and the roof air conditioners. 15 amp to all the other receptacles and light switches. Romex 12/2 and 14/2 was used. We will putting the roof airs over the roof exits. We drilled then reamed holes in the frame, set rubber grommets and strung the 12/2 romex. In the Bays, We drilled and added plastic grommets. More as we do it.

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

The Pooper (michael)

2009-03-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

The Pooper.

Pooper, Pooper, what to do with the Pooper?

I went to the Net. That is always the 1st step to my research. Most of the time you can find the answer you are looking for in the archives. Sometimes you have to post your question on the Boards and wait for the answer. This topic had a lot of information on it. It told me that it was a long, hard and dirty job. Can we remove the pooper, "yes". But, with all the other things to do, we will leave it for now. We can still use the space though. It will be our walk in closet. I removed the door, handles, the "I'm in here" light and the seat cover. I took a piece of sheet aluminum salvaged from the upper storage compartments. This sheet will be caulked over the hole. The tank is clean but we will put in a small amount of bleach and rinse. Now, Christi can design her walk-in closet. Honey has closet, will travel.

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Electrical System (michael)

2009-03-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Electrical System I got a call from the thrift store here in Tombstone that they got in some trailer parts, so off I go. Wow, I found some good stuff. One of the things is a 50amp breaker box with a long pig tail. Score! Now, where do I mount it? I search the MAK board, looked around the inside and outside and settled for the driver side back bay mounted on the rear wall. I attached it to the wall with 1/2-inch self-tapping screws. I will run a ground to the frame when I run and mount the wire. All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Plumbing, Shower (michael)

2009-03-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Plumbing, The Shower. We picked a single handle, anti-scald, Moen fixture. It has a nice clean look and is easy to install. Just follow the instructions and you will do fine. If you are not comfortable with plumbing, call a plumber. You don't want this to leak. You will have to rip the wall out to fix it. Not fun! I used 1/2 inch PVC, because we had it. Short runs don't expand and contract like long runs. The long runs, 8' or more, tend to pull apart when using the recommended primer and clear glue. Mostly on the hot water supply line. I found that you can use PVC pipe for both hot and cold supply lines if you use the purple primer and the dark purple HOT glue and let dry for 48 hours. Now, that's for short runs only. Less than 7'. I ran the lines down through the wall plate and floor into the storage compartment. I left them long and will cut them to suit later. Next, plumb the toilet.

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

IS IT HOME YET? (christi)

2009-03-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

IS IT HOME YET? (Christi) I've been spending the last couple of days going through stuff. Right now I'm working on our tool trailer. It stores everything we need for the construction business. Needless to say, it's a mess. I know there are neat, organized men out there. My wonderful man is not one of them. His idea of cleaning up a job site is putting everything; tools, half empty caulk tubes and leftover hardware all in one coffee can or nail bucket. Then, if I'm lucky, that container will make it (barely), to just inside the doorway of the tool trailer. That's where I come in. Well, if I ever want to find those parts again. So, the biggest part of this cleaning and sorting project was finding at least 7 of these potluck containers. (I know, I better get used to potlucks.) I was actually surprised that I only had a handful of, "Honey, what is this and can we toss it?" Five years ago, me in a hardware store was like Michael in Victoria's Secret. I've come a long way, baby. But that's another blog. Anyway, as I was sorting and tossing, I heard a lot of sawing and screwing. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) I went to take a peek. Wow! I can see us living here. The walls are defining our living space. It reminds me of when we're building a house. The owners always have the same reaction. The foundation/slab looks small. Then as we start framing walls, it looks bigger and the 'wow factor' kicks in. Then the drywall makes it look smaller again. And as the paint and finishing touches go in, they see their home. As with them, I stand in our compact 40 x 8 foot space and see our place, our space, our home. We're building this for us, for our adventure. The building of it is an adventure in itself. Michael is finding himself in somewhat unfamiliar territory. He finds that he has jumped the gun now and then, and will have to back-track a little, or do something 'after the fact' that will make it a little more difficult than it might have been. Yet, he keeps moving forward, undaunted. I find myself once again amazed at his diligence and patience. Two qualities I lack miserably. I see my man working hard to fulfill his dream to go on the road again and I fall in love with him all over again. Honey, is it home yet? All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

The Shower (michael)

2009-03-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

The Shower. First. check that there are no supports or cables under were you will be cutting the drain and supply lines. We framed for a 3' x 3' deep well shower and YES, I had to move it over 1 1/2 inches due to a cable! Placed the pan and marked the drain. Moved the pan and cut a 3" hole for the 2" drain pipe. Install the brass drain to the pan, then set the pan. We will be tiling the walls so we affix Dura-rock to the walls up to the ceiling. Set the regulator and shower head. Ready for tile.

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Framing (michael)

2009-03-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Framing.

Wood or steel? Steel or wood? Both have their good points. We are going with wood. I like wood. Metal studs are nice and lite, but I know wood. Daddy always said, "Go with what you know". And so we frame. We build all the walls 1-1/2 inches thick save for plumbing walls, they will be 3-1/2 inches for the water and vent lines. We are installing a king size bed. I know it takes a lot of room, but every time we stay in a hotel Christi says, "I can't wait to get back to our bed!" So, we are taking it with us. Next, I will frame the pantry. Mmm food. Let's see what Christi is cooking. Oh, Hmmm, OK back to work. All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

The BUS Forum (michael)

2009-03-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

The BUS Forum. There are lots of forums on the web now. Everything from sewing to sex. If you have an interest, there is a 95% chance you can find somebody talking about it in a forum. If you have read any of our posts, you will see we have a "new to us" bus. I needed to find some information about it. So I went surfing and found some website with good stuff on it. Yea, it was ok, but I needed more. I needed to ask some real questions. Some hard questions. I needed to find the experts. Not just expert sites. I needed to find the guys that wrote that stuff. That good stuff about my bus. As I wrote before, converting is not for the faint of heart. Its down right tough. You must have passion for your bus. I needed to find the people with that same passion. I FOUND THEM! MAK Publishing Bus and Coach Conversions Bulletin Board. Here is the link: http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php Now don't be afraid. When you fill out your request to join, you will get an e-mail that sounds like an armored 10' tall guard at the iron gates shouting, "Who goes there and what do you want here?" Just answer the questions and you will receive your welcome, link and password. You will find that the cold, stern e-mail voice is in reality a kind, knowledgeable and helpful expert that is ready, willing and able to help you. And not just him. There is a whole team of bus fanatics that can't wait to get involved in what ever question you present. I have only been at MAK for 2-3 weeks, but I have been posting, polling, commenting, helping, asking, chatting and making lots of new friends. I am having a blast. So, if you have a bus or are thinking about getting a bus, come on over and sit a spell. Get comfortable. Have some fun, ask some questions and watch the experts work miracles on a daily basis. But, I must warn you! This is addictive. All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

The Best of Both Worlds (michael)

2009-03-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Best of both Worlds. I have been in the RV Community since 1994. My 1st RV was a 1973 Kayot 22/24 class A. What a piece of..... I loved that old wreak. It was my ticket to freedom. Through the years I up graded. A nice Terry travel trailer. Then to a Bounder and the last one was a class A Gulf Stream. I bought a membership and went to all pot lucks, outings and Mexican train get togethers. I have always dreamed of owning a bus. A real bus. But buses are for the rich. Right! They would never except people like us into their world. Not we are bad people, we are quite good acutely. But the bus people live on lakes and golf courses.Right? Now, we are still the same people only now we own a bus. a nice bus. A MCI Tour bus and we are getting to know the bus people. We are finding out that the bus people and the RV people are the same people. They are helpful, friendly and kind. Turns out, we have always been a part of this great big family. Who knew? "Honey? were gonna need another happy hour".

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Who's your Phil? (michael)

2009-03-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

Who's your Phil? After reading more and more on-line about buses, I started to swim in doubt. Just as most, if not, all of you other bus nuts did. I stepped back and looked at this thing in the driveway, ripped apart, sub-project after sub-project opened and scattered about the yard. A grand vehicle that I drove home under its own power only 4 weeks ago now calls to me in my waking hours and in my dreams, "fix me, complete me, take me for a ride". Now I build houses in 3 to 6 months. Remodels in less time than that. Why does this seem so different? So alien? I am doing the same thing. Approaching the project in the same "git'er done" game plan. Then I start to question myself. "Can I do this?" What do I mean? I have to do this! "O, STOP IT"! I know what I need, I'm going to call Phil. You see, we've got a time constraint on our hands. We have to be in a bus, in Blue Mesa, CO for July 4th weekend for a 3 show stand. I need Phil. Phil will get me back in the groove. He knows everything. Phil will show me the way, give me the straight path to go on. But, how will we pay Phil? I don't have the funds for expert help. Ahhh, my old friend barter. Hey Phil, what do you need? How about this and you help me with this? Deal. Wow, Phil came over yesterday and started removing the air conditioning system. I started hearing the old Mighty Mouse song, "Here I come to save the day". Phil took charge. Get this. Cut that. Bring this over to that. I was safe again. Things are moving along at warp speed again. My thinking is back on track. I think we all need a Phil around from time to time. But I don't think Phil knows just how much we need him. Not just his expertise. We need his great attitude and hard charging "lets get it done" and "you can do it" ways. He puts it all back in perspective. I can do this! So, what's your "Phil's" name? Grumpy? Nick? Tom, Dick or Harry? The point is," WE NEED OUR PHILS!" To teach us. To show us the way through the dark. To show us how to become a Phil for someone else. So all you Phil's out there, the next time you get that stupid question, that call in the middle of a rainy night, remember you're the hero now, the go-to guy. When all is wrong in the world, only you, in our eyes, can make it right. And one day we will take that torch and carry it proudly in your honor. Thank you Phil for how you are and all that you do. All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

The Bright Side (Christi)

2009-03-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

THE BRIGHT SIDE I was watching the news a couple of days ago as they were reporting a story on a tent city that has emerged in Sacramento. These are not the mentally ill or veterans suffering from PTSD or drug addicts or those we normally think of as homeless. The folks that have found themselves there were like many of us living paycheck to paycheck. But their paychecks had stopped. They are in a situation they never dreamed they'd be in and are making the best of it, while trying to find jobs. While I have had some extremely hard times, I have never had to live in a tent. A feeling of gratitude came over me. I felt grateful that even when I have lost sleep over money problems, I have never been where they are. Close yes, but not quite there. I realized how lucky I am to have the opportunity to work with my husband, to build our bus. To know that we will never have to live in a tent. We understand that it could get really tough but we will have a home. This has actually been a very comforting thought for me. Growing up, I was lucky enough to be able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents. They, of course, lived during the Great Depression and were always very frugal. I learned alot from them about not being wasteful, something our kids and grandkids may have not learned, had it not been for our country's current economic situation. I was also very lucky to have a mother who taught us to look on the bright side. Looking back I realize how hard that must have been for her. She was a single mom in the 70's. Wages for women sucked. My father didn't pay child support. Yet, we were never on welfare. We never went hungry. We always had a roof over our heads. And Mom always had a positive attitude. I come from a line of strong, hard-working women and I am grateful for that. Yes, I give into that temptation to whine, but when it gets the best of me, I try to remember what those before me have been through and remind myself that they went through much more. I need to just put on my big girl panties and deal with it! Living in this situation our country has found itself in, I choose to do as those before me and "look on the bright side" and know that all things happen for a reason. We have been living in a "throw away" society. Now, we have a big fat wake-up call. How will we handle our personal struggle with this? I think that the majority will stand up to the challenge. History is repeating itself. Those of us who learned from those who lived through this before need to teach those who have not had the experience. So, fellow bus nuts, raise your glasses to our good fortune to have this opportunity to travel this great country of ours and remember to always, "look on the bright side." And if your having trouble seeing the bright side, move your bus for a better view! All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

A Thank You to Mr. Trevor Hall (michael)

2009-03-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

A Thank You to Mr. Trevor Hall. Christi & I would like to thank Mr. Trevor Hall for all his help with our life changing MCI Bus adventure. He sold us this great bus. He sent us an e-mail. Trevor wrote "Hey Mike and Christi! I just checked out your blog and you guys are making great progress! You will be on the road in no time! And at least you got all the "no fun" stuff out of the way, now its on to the fun "clean" work. Well, I just wanted to drop you guys a line and say hello. Hope all is well! Keep up the good work!-Trevor". Thank you for believing in us and helping to make our wish come true.

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Start Framing & Insulation (michael)

2009-03-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

Start Framing & Insulation After walls are stripped it's time to affix 1"x 2" furring strips along the base of the side walls and about 1/4" below the window frames. I pre-drilled the base holes. A self tapping screw would not go through the sub-frame without pre-drilling. The self-tappers worked fine on the top run. We put a screw about every 2" or so.

We bought 4' x 8' x 3/4" backed insulation. I measured every 8' to

get a good fit. The MCI bus

seems to be shorter in the rear???

We used 3M spray adhesvie to hold the insulation in place and to keep it from squeaking later on. Spray the wall on the top, sides and bottom, then do the same to the foam. Wait 3 mins. and set in place. Installing the beadboard. I may have jumped the gun on this one.

After putting half of it up, I stopped until we skin the windows.

I am using 1/4", 3 ply wood beadboard that comes in 4' x 8' sheets. Again, because the couch gets shorter to the rear, we took measurements every 4' starting in the rear. This amounted to a

1/2" gain every section. To cut down waste, I took the smallest measurement in each section and square cut the beadboard. I affixed the panels to the furring strips with PL200 construction glue and 1" brads. This made a small 1/2" to nothing gap along the bottom that I will cover with baseboard later. Walls next. All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Plumbing, where to begin? (michael)

2009-03-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Plumbing, where to begin?

1st things 1st. Hit the Internet. Hmmm, Busnut, MCI Bus nut, Bus conversion. The plumbing tree, this looks good. Hmm, by Evangelina. "I can do this". OK, make a list. Give it to Christi. She comes back with all the right parts, she's good. Print the picture from the site. Scratch my head a little and Walla. Find and paint a piece of plywood, a little 1x2. Some keepers. Bam, just like Evan did it. "Now, where do I hang this thing?" Scratch, Scratch.

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Different Other Stuff (Christi)

2009-03-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Different Other Stuff It's interesting that Michael wrote on this topic of stuff. I've been thinking about it myself for the last few days and wanted to write about it, but wasn't sure what direction to take. It's interesting that as we get rid of stuff that we have been lugging around for years, we must at the same time gather new stuff for our pending adventure. By the way, we have lived in an RV before, though it was more of necessity than choice and we were parked pretty much the whole time. Living that way was much like the proverbial, 10 pounds of crap stuffed into a 5 pound bag. After almost 2 years, I was so anxious to get out of that rig, that we bought a trashed fixer upper (house) and moved into it in 2 weeks. We had plywood floors and just the bare essentials. But it felt like a mansion. So why would I even consider moving back into an RV again? Well, this time is much different. This time we are doing it because we want to. While Michael has toured before, this will be a first for me. I've had a small, but sweet, taste of what touring will be like and I can't wait to get on the road. As usual, I've gotten off the subject. This recent focus on stuff started about a week ago. We've been seriously down-sizing around the house, although there is still alot that must go. We sold one of our vehicles to a neighbor who, hearing of our plans, asked if we were interested in selling. It seemed the flood gates opened after that. Living in a small town can be a pain in the neck, but it has it's good points, too. It's hard to miss a 40 foot bus in someone's yard, so word go out. People slow down and gawk as they drive by. Another thing about a small town is that, after some trial and error, you find out who your real friends are. Almost all of our real friends have shown up with a contribution to our new venture. It's as if they want to be a part of it. Either that or they can't wait till we leave! I have to say thanks to Rocky, George, Doc, brother Bill and we can't leave out another Bill who gave us redneck decorating advice. (It is a bus after all). He suggested leaving the carpet runner on the ceiling and add rope lights. But the best yet...I told him about Michael wanting to keep our king-size bed because his feet hang over the end of smaller beds. He said, (you have to read this with a southern accent), "You don't need no king size bed, just push open that winder and stick yer feet out!" Thanks again, Bill. But the best and most surprising part of this has been the feeling of rightness. I was stressing about getting this bus, right now, in this economy, with our construction business verrrry sloooow. Money is tight. What the hell are we doing?? But as I drove behind Michael the day we brought the bus home, I knew it would be alright. I didn't know how for sure and I knew we had a lot of work ahead of us, but it would be OK and fun. And since the day we sold my car, it seems everything is falling into place. As if it's supposed to happen this way. I can't help but glance up at the Big Man Upstairs and say, "Thanks". All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Other Stuff (michael)

2009-03-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

Other Stuff Stuff is a cunning beast. Just when you think you have gotten rid of the dead weight, it changes it's tactics. Oh yes, the Thrift Store still sings our praises as we arrive for our weekly deposit. Bags and boxes are carted inside while my hard fisted, eagle eyed wife stands guard like an Amazon warrior (a dream of mine) at the SUV making sure the beast doesn't sneak back into our realm. But then the oddest thing occurred. Other Stuff started showing up. Our friends began bringing Stuff. Good Stuff. They see a large MCI in our driveway as they follow the small town rumors to our door step. They give a courteous "hello", slow down and say "Hi" or start an idle conversation to get a peek inside. "Oooos" and "aaahhhs". We tell them our conversion plans and how much there is to do. Then, as if we asked them to volunteer to vanquish a rabid wolf, they vanish! I did say odd things were happening. An hour or perhaps, a day goes by and they come back with Stuff. Good Stuff. Each time they arrive with this Stuff, Christi stands with wonderment in her eyes. "Hey, this is good Stuff". We are getting water tanks, both fresh and gray, tile for the bathroom and kitchen, a power converter, an RV toilet, a gas generator and lots more and it keeps coming. Good Stuff. Great Stuff! Today, Christi went to the computer and started making a list of all the good Stuff. She showed me the Stuff list. "Look, look at all this Wonderful Stuff", she says. Can you see what has happened? The Beast! The Beast has changed into a cute, cuddly, little have to have it. My Amazon warrior has been hood winked. And I must say that I too have fallen back under the Stuff Spell. The sleepless dream of swimming in Stuff. I love Stuff, but we must keep our heads. Now it has to be the right Stuff. The Stuff that will help us get on the road again. The Stuff that dreams are made of. All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Removel of the Int. Side Panels (michael)

2009-03-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Removal of the Int. Side Panels I had a idea. Let's save some work and leave the side panels in place. We can insulate and cover them over. But the wall chair support has to go which also supports the panels. So I got some self-tapping screws and set them at the bottom of the lateral supports. With a 1/2 inch drive drill motor I removed the large Phillps head screws and........... BANG. The whole unit hit the floor. LOL, so much for saving time. Back to the old addage"if you do it right the 1st time...". On the bright side, we have more salvage. Now I have to remove all the self-tapping screws. Once I got it cleaned up, I found a nice clean wall we can properly insulate and cover with bead board. Also, the panel spacers are held in place with a sealant and come right off. I can't wait, I have to do some framing.

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

About our MCI Bus (michael)

2009-03-04T21:09:00.000-08:00

About our MCI Bus

MCI 102A3 Bus 1985 - 1992 Advantages - great value, high quality, designed for 30 years/3 million miles, sub-frame/engine area 90% stainless steel/aluminum, easy to find parts, after market parts and body upgrade kits availableDisadvantages - popularity increases priceNotes - 102A3 means 102" side with 3 axles, heavier than the 102A2, only the passenger section of the bus was widened, with front windshield and assembly remaining 96-inches wide, body widens at an angle from the drive backwardsConversion Issues - good for all conversionsSpecifications - Length: 40 feet, Width: 102 inches, Height: 133 inches, Wheelbase: 285 inches, Turn radius: 44 feet, Typical Engines: DDA 8V-71, DDA 6V-92TA, DDA 8V-92TA, Seating: 43-49, Luggage: 319 cubic feet, Aisle width: 14 inches, Front door width: 24 inches

What more could one wish for and have it come true?

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below

Removal of the ramp (michael)

2009-03-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

Removal of the ramp Everything on this rig is built like a tank, even the ramp. 1st we need to clean the crud out of the screw heads. Lots of dirt crammed in them. I used a knife blade to break it up then blew it out. Remove the large Phillips screws then the small screws along the front sides. Then take your trusty flat bar and work it under the edge of the ramp to pry it up. When it pops loose, place a wedge under it so you can grip it with hands and lift it up and out of the floor. Do not step into the void as the plywood decking is only 1/4 inch thick and you may go through it. You will find more trash and coins here. Mmm, treasure! This ramp is stout, I'll have to find a good use for it. Mmm, salvage. Tomorrow, we frame in the void. Honey, get me the hammer and saw. We're Building, Baby!

All the Best, Michael & Christi Please Comment Below