Still on the Edge in Sumas

This weekend our friend Roy visited us from Bremerton; he's a mechanic fanatic and was full of curiosity about the bus. We (he) took it for a spin, then tried to remove another seat. The wall mounted seats (i.e. 25 out of 26 of them) are attached using rusty nuts, so my locking pliers that worked adequately on the previous seat proved annoying. Anyway we needed a better quality rachet than my cheapo import, so we went to the nearby Ace Hardware and picked up a 1/2" deep socket, a decent rachet, and a breaker bar (great name, handy tool). Then came back and proceeded to remove a second seat.

We had some time to kill since we had to wait for Mark to return from the vet with Sadie May, who has lately taken to removing the fur on her back due to 'hot spots'. At least this time she didn't break the skin. He returned with some antibiotics and some goo to go on her. Hopefully she'll feel better in a few days.

Some hints Roy gave me about keeping the bus in good condition--when parked for long periods, disconnect the battery (I knew that) and chock the wheels instead of using the parking brake. The shoes tend to stick over time he says. The battery compartment slides out (I hadn't noticed). The tires are regroovable (I'll call the school district to find out if they've ever been regrooved before). Not much tread left. Lastly, get some anti-corrosion spray for the battery terminals.

Hints Roy had about painting it--three kinds of paint sprayers. HVLP, HPLV, and some other Wagner type with a spool that vibrates (airless?). Anyway, he said the Wagner I have might work, but its performance depends on the paint. Certainly would be cheaper to buy paint in a can rather than a lot of little cans of spray paint. That was my former plan except for the roof, which I'm fine with rolling on. Here's my photoshop mock-up of one paint job:

Last night on the way back to Sumas (from Seattle) I stopped at the storage yard and puttered on the bus a bit. I took out a seat; it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, but it was still fairly painless as I didn't have to crawl underneath the bus to do it. Next time I'll take a real socket wrench (instead of a vise grip) which will simplify things a bit. Also I taped over the "School" in "School Bus" to minimize any problem with the cops.

Then I loaded the bus up with some free stuff from Seattle. As "seasonal residents" we get a one-time exemption to import goods into Canada, so our plan is to take the bus up to B.C. with stuff that is to remain there at the cabin. You only get one exemption, after that you have to pay duty on imports, so the bus will be filled with the expensive stuff--frige, microwave, etc. We've been accumulating a lot of stuff that's temporarily stored here in Sumas. Here's a pic of the cabin in B.C.:


Storing the bus at the cabin is free, which is why it's moving up there. The down side is that the conversion will go a lot slower since I can't actually live up there just yet. When's retirement again?

This time the trip to Seattle was easy, the ice has melted off the roads as we're between storms I guess. Work was the same. I stayed at one of my usual crash sites in W Seattle with my friend Randy, and made it over to Bremerton the next night to Roy's house. He'd offered me his old woodstove but its not up to Canadian code so I had to decline. I also stopped at my brother Dave's house the next day to pick up his discarded furniture, including a fabulous table made out of burl wood that he didn't want any more. Very cabin-esque. Also from him a neato old '60's chair that we grew up with. Definitely worth the trip.

Off to Seattle today for work. Twice a month or so my physical presence is required in the office. Otherwise I'm able to telecommute almost entirely. The wonders of the internet.

Anyway, I think on the way back I'll tape over the 'School Bus' signage and maybe even try a hand at taking some seats out. My hope is it'll be easier than what I've read about on other bus conversions on the web. With the Gillig all they did was sink four stove bolts per seat corner into the plywood floor. There are no nuts underneath that I can see, so hopefully nothing more than a socket wrench is needed!

Last night I talked to a mechanic out of California by the name of Patrick about all things related to the Gillig bus, and a whole lot more. He seems an incredibly knowledgeable and helpful guy; he's offered some help on how to go about getting the front door to lock from the outside. When I actually put a solution into motion I'll post it.

He was a surprise. After we covered my basic questions about oil changes and where to find the battery disconnect etc, we went into a bunch of other digressions about soil contamination, salmon recovery, the laws of physics, and even some political idealogy pertaining to Nicaragua! What a kick. Suffice to say we have at least one very helpful resource for future questions. During the time I'm on the phone with him he was trundling about his yard cussing, started up these diesel engines, and, he said, moving a truck using a forklift...

So by way of introduction this is Bus'n it on the Edge, our blog! The "on the Edge" part refers to our remote location on the Washington State map, which shows us spot on the border to Canada. Sumas is a ghost town of about 600, without much to speak of unless you're a dog (lots of room to run). On the other hand Abbotsford B.C. is a thriving small town that is closer than anything else; they've got CostCo, Wallmart, etc. Its where we go for groceries (except beef--hah).

At any rate, and on a completely different subject, I've recently discarded my illusional belief that all of my pet projects would one day be completed. And with that in mind, I find that I'm free to start new ones! I am definitely something of a junkie when it comes to working/playing with my hands. Two major passions, prior to the bus, were and are a fondness for sculpture and painting. I've got an art car that involves neither sculpture nor painting, but oddly enough requires both. There's also a cabin we've been very gradually renovating up in the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia, Canada. I'm practicing the Canadian language. Its difficult; I've got the vocabulary down but their accent is impossible. Badda bing. So I guess that makes a school bus conversion a redundancy on top of a whim. Life is short.

I only bought the bus a week ago (4 Jan 04) but I've got it insured now, and also managed to register it as a private vehicle. In Washington State, a commercial drivers license is required if the vehicle is over 26,000 lbs, and if less than that a CDL is still required if you are transporting 15 or more passengers. Neither case fits us; Mark and I are primarily interested in converting it for the pure pleasure of the experience. Believe it or not. There is an exception in the law for among other things, recreational vehicles, so in terms of a license to drive we're free and clear.

Still, I can see the benefit of extra training for anyone driving something so massive. Fortunately in this case its an automatic, and relatively managable on the road. I'm still pretty nervous driving it around, but from that standpoint I don't see it as any different from when I was an anxious 16 year old noid driving Dad's Chevette around. Besides the roads here in Whatcom County are pretty empty compared to what I am accustomed to living in Seattle. My (other) home away from home.