monsinour
Active Member
Just got the phone call that the missus and I have been waiting for over a year for. The new bus is ready enough to order the plane ticket for me to go and get it. I will be leaving on wednesday next week and hopscotching around the eastern time zone to get there. I leave Albany and go to Detroit, then from Detroit to Baltimore, and finally from Baltimore to Atlanta. Its a 9 hour travel day so no way I can leave that night to come back. I will have all day Thursday to take pics and post them so that the missus can have her say in minor adjustments and I will probably leave on Friday or Saturday to come back. I have to save all the $ i can between now and then to pay for the trip back. I have no idea what kind of milage this thing is going to get and gas sure isnt as cheap as it used to be.
Here is what we are currently driving.
One of the first things that will need to be done is to somehow get the company logo and phone # onto the side of the new one. When we got the original van sides done, it was the best $ we spent on advertising. THe missus is thinking some basic vinyl letters and numbers. I was thinking that maybe we can some how trace the logo on to the side and then paint it on. Any ideas or suggestions? A vinyl wrap for the new bus would be way way too expensive. The wrap couldnt be done right away as it has to be done in warmer temperatures.
Here is what the bus looked like a long time ago:
Here are some shots after some work on the inside:
As you can see it is a Ford E-450 big arse bus. It used to be used to shuttle people around at an airport I believe. We took measurements way back when this whole thing started and it will barely fit in our driveway. With all the snow and ice we have, I dont think I will be putting it into the driveway until the thaw. It still has the wheelchair ramp/lift so we dont have to lift heavy dogs into the bus. It also means that our one wheelchair bound client can now enter the bus and watch his pet be groomed. The bus is completely self contained meaning all water and electrical comes from within the bus. It has a furnace and AC unit so it can handle any climate. It also has a hot water tank so no more cold baths for the dogs.
I dont have a laptop so I havent figured out how to post updates on the trip up. I have a DSi XL but it cannot pull up this site to make posts. The wife will probably be keeping her phone so I cant use that. Is there such a beast as a throw away cell phone that can browse the web and upload photos? I dont want a boost phone, I just want to go to a store, spend some $ and then throw the phone away when I get back.I haven figured out yet if I will be stopping at my parents house in TN on the way back. It would be great to see them, but I dont know how they would react to seeing this behomth enter their driveway. Anyone want to start a pool for total cost of gas for the trip home?
Here is what we are currently driving.
One of the first things that will need to be done is to somehow get the company logo and phone # onto the side of the new one. When we got the original van sides done, it was the best $ we spent on advertising. THe missus is thinking some basic vinyl letters and numbers. I was thinking that maybe we can some how trace the logo on to the side and then paint it on. Any ideas or suggestions? A vinyl wrap for the new bus would be way way too expensive. The wrap couldnt be done right away as it has to be done in warmer temperatures.
Here is what the bus looked like a long time ago:
Here are some shots after some work on the inside:
As you can see it is a Ford E-450 big arse bus. It used to be used to shuttle people around at an airport I believe. We took measurements way back when this whole thing started and it will barely fit in our driveway. With all the snow and ice we have, I dont think I will be putting it into the driveway until the thaw. It still has the wheelchair ramp/lift so we dont have to lift heavy dogs into the bus. It also means that our one wheelchair bound client can now enter the bus and watch his pet be groomed. The bus is completely self contained meaning all water and electrical comes from within the bus. It has a furnace and AC unit so it can handle any climate. It also has a hot water tank so no more cold baths for the dogs.
I dont have a laptop so I havent figured out how to post updates on the trip up. I have a DSi XL but it cannot pull up this site to make posts. The wife will probably be keeping her phone so I cant use that. Is there such a beast as a throw away cell phone that can browse the web and upload photos? I dont want a boost phone, I just want to go to a store, spend some $ and then throw the phone away when I get back.I haven figured out yet if I will be stopping at my parents house in TN on the way back. It would be great to see them, but I dont know how they would react to seeing this behomth enter their driveway. Anyone want to start a pool for total cost of gas for the trip home?