Nearly There
So this last week has been very busy, very productive, and very quiet on this blog. I apologize for that last bit, but time has been sparse, and we were always on the verge of something, so I kept pushing back updates since something bigger and better was coming. That’s still the case – we still have more to do, but I’m going to update anyway.
I should start last week, when we brought the bus by the DMV to see if we could get it registered. From all of the research I did online and over the phone, it seemed like there were no requirements for a converted school bus to be registered as an RV, so we rolled into the inspection lane to see what we could get done. Unfortunately, we showed up just as they were closing, because apparently they don’t stay open as late as the main DMV building. Oops. I managed to briefly talk to the inspectors who were there, and they told me that there was indeed an inspection required, and it needed to be “habitable.” One of the requirements of habitable was a “vented stove,” which both the inspectors agreed on. They couldn’t give us a complete list of what we needed, only that it had to be “habitable.”
A vented stove was something that was not going to happen on the bus if we could help it – cooking outside is far cheaper, easier, and practical for our purposes. We went into the main building to see if anyone could supply us with a list of the requirements that would make the bus habitable, but no one had a clue – it’s not a very common question. We finally found someone in the Commercial Vehicle Saftey department, and he supplied us with a list of what we needed, which mirrored lists I had seen elsewhere.
We spent this week trying to meet those requirements, and when we brought the bus to the DMV earlier today, they deemed it habitable (though they didn’t seem to care about that list). They had a slight issue with our veggie system, and didn’t really know what to make of it. It turns out the guy who would know doesn’t work there anymore, so they put in a call, and we waited. We made Tang in a coffee can from DMV bathroom water. We ordered a pizza. And waited some more. Eventually the call was returned, and now we know what we need to change for the veggie system, so we’ll be making changes over the weekend and registering on Monday.
Other things we’ve been up to: enjoying attention from local press, a new snazzy paint job which I’ll show off tomorrow, plumbing installed, electrical installed, and Ned’s blog launched. He’ll be writing about the trip at that website for the duration of the summer, so I highly recommend subscribing.
At the moment, it looks like we shall leave Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Final Preparations
Stencil Man
We passed DMV inspection, should be leaving tomorrow.
Road Day #1
Our first real day on the road was great. I was actually going to be driving, but I had some work on my laptop that I wanted to do on my laptop, so Mike drove first, and ended up staying behind the wheel for the whole day.
We hopped on the highway from Cabella’s in East Hartford, Connecticut, where we had spent the night. They had a parking lot in the back designed for campers, and John knew a guy who worked in the restaurant inside who promised to fill us up with veggie oil. The oil ended up not coming through, but we were able to spend the night there, and had a great time doing so. Lisa, my girlfriend, and a friend of Ali’s named Melissa came to hang out with us, since we were still in driving distance from them. A little later into the evening, a Cabella’s employee named Laura came and sat with us on the bus. She told us stories about drunk people who tried to buy guns, and listened to our stories about the characters back in Middletown. A good night was had by all.
To finally be on such a long stretch of road felt really good. For most of the day, I got my enjoyment from watching the other drivers and the scenery go by. Anyone who’s ever ridden on a school bus knows how much nicer it is to be able to move around when you’re driving, and when you tear out all the seats and replace them with shag covered benches, it’s all that much better. At one point, when my butt was starting to get particularly numb, I actually took a nap by lying down in the aisle. Try doing that in your Toyota.
More updates, photos and video to come soon.
Parking Lot Hopping
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