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

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/

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

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"

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/

Its " WOW " been a year!

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/

The Trip, Quartzsite Bus Rally.

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/

2 Weeks till "The Q"Rally

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/

KUDOS to DALLAS (michael)

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/

Mrs. Jones and a Busnut (michael)

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/