# BOV ideas



## nopolitics12 (Mar 20, 2013)

I'm looking into several option for my first BOV. The ideas I keep coming back to are either a standard size school bus or a short bus. There are five of us in the family, so I'm not sure if the standard bus would be cost effective. Opinions, ideas?


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

You can pick up motorhomes and camp trailers cheaper than buses. I picked up a 76 that is awesome for $500 and I am putting a motorcycle carrier on the back for the new bike... Love it.

If you are thinking that you may be traveling over rough country then I would go with the bus as those are built stronger than a motorhome.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

I went the motor home route. It is amazing the rough roads I have traveled with it(as long as it is dry). A camp trailer has the advantage of still having a separate vehicle for running around.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

Remember when you buy an OLD bus you are buying a lot of repairs. Most of the time the Engine is shot or about to go. You also have a vehicle that is hard to negotiate in traffic and has very little power to negotiate hills if you have to go off road. If you are going to take it to a location and let it serve as a temporary shelter, I would say okay. 

As stated above I too prefer the travel trailer and cargo trailer options. If things get too bad and you cannot go on with them you can drop a trailer and go on with your tow vehicle. When we lived on Gulf Coast we had two trailers. Our main trailer was a Casita type of unit 19 feet long that we could live out of short term and our other trailer was a double axle cargo trailer for supplies and items we needed when we got to our safe place. We used them during Hurricane Season when we had to evacuate. GB


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## nopolitics12 (Mar 20, 2013)

Okay, so busses are pretty much a no. So you're all saying that a tow vehicle and a camper is the best rout. In that case, how old is too old for a travel trailer? What are your opinions on pop-ups? And thank you, as novice in BOV I am glad for all the help.


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## HamiltonFelix (Oct 11, 2011)

Start with what *you* need. One person's needs might be met by a dual sport bike, while another wants an "expedition class" vehicle.

You said five people.

OK, how far to travel? Some folks just want to make 50 miles on blacktop to a well stocked home. Some plan hundreds of miles on questionable roads.

Now much will you carry in addition to five people? Some just need to make it home with minimal gear, some are taking a household worth of gear with them.

Some just need transportation from city to country, some intend to live in their rig for anywhere from a few days to months or years. 
Some anticipate excaping riots and mobs, bucking fences and gates, making their own paths at times. Others don't see a need for that.

What's YOUR intended use? Take a hard look at that, then we'll go from there.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Another issue with buses that I have experienced first hand is that in very cold weather, they will simply not run. The engine will just shut down and you are stranded.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Toffee said:


> Another issue with buses that I have experienced first hand is that in very cold weather, they will simply not run. The engine will just shut down and you are stranded.


Just curious how being mounted in a buss chassis would make an engine more prone to cold weather failure. Buses run in the arctic. poor maintainance or prepperation is not the busses fault.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

nopolitics12 said:


> Okay, so busses are pretty much a no. So you're all saying that a tow vehicle and a camper is the best rout. In that case, how old is too old for a travel trailer? What are your opinions on pop-ups? And thank you, as novice in BOV I am glad for all the help.


 a mid sized school bus especially those built in the late 80s, early 90s (pre electronic) has a good solid drive train, the skin is tough, it won't disintegrate if a smart car hit it. RV type construction is meant to be used 2 weeks a year and is most often poorly constructed especially the newer stuff. but as Hamilton Felix pointed out you have to decide what is right for you. if you already own a big 4x4 pick up, an enclosed cargo trailer might be a good plan, they are usually built to be used more often and are sturdier. 
Personaly a good running buss painted a flat color with the side windows blacked out and no obvious "camper" stuff sticking out would be fairly intimidating on the road.


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## nopolitics12 (Mar 20, 2013)

HamiltonFelix said:


> Start with what you need. One person's needs might be met by a dual sport bike, while another wants an "expedition class" vehicle.
> 
> You said five people.
> 
> ...


I need something that'll work for short term shelter as well as haul my water storage and stored food. My BOL contains a run down cabin from the early 1900's, so I'll need a BOV that can haul my tools as well. I have an infant in my family, so it has to be a safe ride for him. My BOL is less than 100 miles, but the terrain is rough the last half of the way and very steep the closer I get.


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## HamiltonFelix (Oct 11, 2011)

Hmmm.... Will a mid to short bus do it, or are we talking 4x4 to make it if the weather is not good? 
Just wondering what that "_rough the last half of the way and very steep the closer I get_" might mean if you are fully loaded and it's winter.

What do you drive now? If you already had a sturdy SUV or pickup, the right trailer to haul your stuff and live in could be a choice. So could the right camper.

I'm thinking WAY back to when a friend converted a late 50's Ford schoolbus into his personal home on the road. The heavy chassis allowed him to include his upright piano and a cast iron Franklin fireplace. It was a very substantial vehicle, but very big.

My K2500 Suburban would haul a lot, and drag a heck of a trailer to boot. The 4WD got me into some fairly rough places, though full length 3/4 ton 4x4's are not best for soft ground or tight quarters.

Most motorhomes of any size are not well suited to rough terrain; they are bulky, have long rear overhangs, not not much ground clearance. But if it's just a somewhat rough and rocky road, any RV on a one ton truck chassis should get you there.

At work, we have a number of stepvans of varying ages and sizes. The guys often call them "pie wagons," but the big "box on wheels," whether built by Grumman or Kurbside or others (on a common GM or Ford chassis), does ride on a one ton or better chassis and has a lot of space for mobile shop or support vehicle purposes. It has crossed my mind more than once to pick up a surplus stepvan and make it into a less than obvious camper. I'm sure fuel mileage is lousy, but it's a vehicle that everyone from utilities, to package delivery services, to contractors of all sorts will tend to use. It does not look out of place in most locations, unless garishly painted. Even an onboard generator is "normal." Is the improved durability of such a body a worthwhile tradeoff against the labor to make it livable and the better livability of a purpose built RV? I don't know. I do know there is a range of sizes and GVWR's available. But if very long or with much rear overhand, it's almost like the motorhome in lack of rough terrain capability. Be a shame to have a rig that could ram a gate, win a bumper car contest, but get stuck on the home stretch.


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