Featured Short Bus Conversion Experience

[anyiki]

sick wagon wheel shelf !

 

[jack boy]

We got new license plates in AZ! had to install solar panels and a few other things to meet the states requirements but it all worked out. When we registered the EGR valve was stuck (yes, it is a 6.0) and we had an engine light on so we used a PO box in red rock, AZ to avoid emission testing. Red Rock is between Pima and Maricopa counties...But we are now titled as an RV. If anyone has any questions about the steps to change title in Arizona I can help with that! The rubber tramp life has been good to us this year and we made it to Oregon to see the eclipse. The only problems on the road were two blown tires near Eureka. Right now we are back in Tucson for the winter. Hopefully getting a new phone with a hotspot feature so I can stay in better touch.

 

[jaws]

Dope dude, what's your opinions on box trucks?

 

[mustardoncake]

I realize everyone has different perceptions of what allows you to be "free", but automobiles of every form are endless money pits that you become chained to. I must confess that I own one (a relatively cheap to maintain Toyota Tacoma w/camper shell), but I'm in the process of ridding myself of my beloved Earth destroying internal combustion engine in favor of bicycling. The benefits include:

+Healthy for you
+Healthy for the planet and its inhabitants
+Super cheap (often free) to purchase and maintain
+No insurance, registration, or driver license required
+Easy to stealth camp anywhere
+No police hassling
+Couchsurfing/Warmshowers for when you need a break from the road
+People admire/envy you and often offer a meal and or place to crash

You can fit your bike with racks and panniers (luggage) and carry the necessities of life (less is more). You can go anywhere you want, including roads and trails that an automobile can't. You can ride from Alaska to South America and beyond. You go slow (really, what's the hurry?!), stopping as often as you want to check things out. Once you're in a little better shape, 50-100 mile days become the norm. Yeah, hills suck, but you get to the top and you get to coast down.

I'm not here to bag on rubber tramps and bus/van dwellers; that was previously my dream. I just wanted to offer another option that's worth a serious look. There's a lot of info and inspiring stories in the Bike Touring section on here, check it out. Peace.

Unfortunately bikes don't

- Keep you safe from harsh weather
- Keep you from getting robbed and/or attacked by a thief
- Get you long distances in a decent amount of time
- Hold any of your necessary stuff, including your beloved doggo or tools for work
- Allow people with physical injuries to explore the world

I'm sure bicycling is nice for people with homes to go to during the off season, but some of us need the security of our "Earth-killers".

 

[Dunedrifter]

I know plenty of people living on their bikes without “homes to go to during the off season”.

Granted, a bike won’t protect you from being robbed or attacked, but they will allow you to travel to less sketchy places where you can sleep outside in peace without your vehicle being an attention magnet and the harassment that ensues.

Regarding getting long distances in a decent amount of time, do you ever ponder why you’re always rushing from one place to the next, and is it worth it? Isn’t it really about the journey after all?

Do you consider the impacts of driving all over the planet, polluting the air, soil, and water, while running over wildlife? Bikes may not hold all your necessary stuff, but maybe all your stuff isn’t really necessary.

Again, I’m not trying to pick a fight, or tell people they’re wrong for what they do. I’m just offering some food for thought. There are alternatives to money sucking pollution machines; lot’s of folks are doing it if you look closely.

Peace.

 

[mustardoncake]

I know plenty of people living on their bikes without “homes to go to during the off season”.

Granted, a bike won’t protect you from being robbed or attacked, but they will allow you to travel to less sketchy places where you can sleep outside in peace without your vehicle being an attention magnet and the harassment that ensues.

Regarding getting long distances in a decent amount of time, do you ever ponder why you’re always rushing from one place to the next, and is it worth it? Isn’t it really about the journey after all?

Do you consider the impacts of driving all over the planet, polluting the air, soil, and water, while running over wildlife? Bikes may not hold all your necessary stuff, but maybe all your stuff isn’t really necessary.

Again, I’m not trying to pick a fight, or tell people they’re wrong for what they do. I’m just offering some food for thought. There are alternatives to money sucking pollution machines; lot’s of folks are doing it if you look closely.

Peace.

I honestly can't think of a situation where a bike allows me to travel in less sketchy locations. The city that I'm currently in has absolutely no safe place for a bicyclist to sleep and that isn't an exaggeration. All of the homeless vagrants and drug addicts travel by bike. If you're somewhere a bike would probably go or could get to, you're probably in a bad or unsafe area. You are much safer inside a vehicle and much less likely to be harassed. A homeless guy was straight up set on fire a few years back here. I'm sure there are many other cities where it is unsafe to not be in a vehicle, especially as a woman. I'm in a very expensive and prestigious town, yet it is riddled with danger and violence. I would never let someone I cared about bicycle through this town alone overnight.

Sure, life is about the journey, but if I have a job opportunity in a different city, I absolutely need to get there on time. I make numerous stops in my vehicle on a trip and can stop to enjoy the flowers as often as I like. I can't get to chocolate falls in AZ on a bike, but I can by car. Same goes for quite a few of my favorite locations.

I'm a firm believer that this world is too far gone to be trying to convert rubber trampers into homeless bicyclists. If you really want to make an impact, get an oil company to shut down. Get one of the hundreds of thousands factories to stop polluting the air with its chemical waste. Why don't the people with homes who have a short commute to work get on bicycles instead of the homeless folk that have an affinity for travel? Why don't home dwellers take the "clean air emission" buses to work and school, instead of the people that rely on traveling in search of a sense of freedom from the mundane 9-5 life? I'm a realist, not a dreamer.

There is a forum for you and people like you. It's called Bike Touring. I believe your original post belongs there. It's kind of a low blow to direct your activism towards rubber trampers. It should be directed elsewhere, like at Big Pharma, or the countless other Earth-molesters. I'm just saying.

 

[Wild Ty Laserbeam]

@Dunedrifter

Get your off-topic ass out of here. You wanna help the planet? Kill yourself. That's about the most any one person can do for the planet. The enemy of environmentalism is not a handful of poor people who live in vehicles. It's corporations, lobbyists, and capitalism. Have you considered that simply not living in a house has more positive environmental impact than the negative impact of driving one vehicle 200 miles a week? Have you ever even lived in a vehicle? Are you even fucking poor? Sorry to blow up on you but I don't appreciate being told that my simple way of life isn't good enough for you. Mind your own goddamn business.

 

[Matt Derrick]

ok folks, you've all made your points. there's different modes of travel for different people and situations. How about we get things back on topic, shall we?

 

[jack boy]

The bus is still running great and I've learned a lot over the last two years. Seen some amazing places and met some great people. Back in the Midwest for now. No more GF so taking out the big bed and putting four bunks in. Trying to start a trash folk band and get back out one the snow melts. Midwest to SW probably and then so some friends in Eugene/Tacoma. Got space for crusty musicians with bummy skills and two months before I plan to take off. What yall think?

 

[Deleted member 23824]

I rode the short bus, my entire life. Works for me.

 

[jack boy]

Got bunks now