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200,000 Miles Driven
Update:We hit the mark, 384,479, 200,000 miles for us, early in the morning December 7 in Colorado.
Our bus, the BoggsMobile, is a 1996 Vantare built on a 1995 Prevost XL.As of today, it has 384,447 miles AND we have driven 199,968 of those miles! 32 miles after we leave Colorado Springs in a few days, we will roll over 200,000 miles driven.
The bus shell was built in early 1995, driven to Sanford, Florida and the conversion was completed in late 1995. It will be 26 years old early next year.A Bit of HistoryThe bus was built for a family that ordered it from southern California. The first owner purchased the shell from Prevost the way he wanted it (Mid door, two escape hatches among other things) and then shopped the conversion to several converters.In a few years, the ownership changed to a family in the panhandle of Texas. A few years later, that gentleman traded it for a newer used coach at Florida Luxury Coach in Sanford, Florida less than 1/2 mile from where it was converted.For a variety of reasons, it sat on the lot of Florida Luxury Coach for over a year waiting on us!On March 21, 2008, we completed the deal to purchase our bus. We drove the bus away from Sanford that evening and I was completely overwhelmed.We drove about 300 miles into the night. I parked in the RV parking area of Flying J and sat in the driver’s seat ALL NIGHT LONG wondering, “What in the world have I done?” “Is there anything I can do to take this thing back?”I did not sleep a wink that first night.The bus was advertised as having178,xxx miles, but we discovered the odometer was not working correctly and soon quit altogether. When we drove away from Sanford, the actual mileage, according to the computer, was 184,479 miles.Seven years and one day later, while driving north on I-65 in Alabama, it turned over 100,000 miles since we owned it to 284,479.We averaged 14,285 miles each year those first seven years which was way down from pulling our fifth wheels 35,000+ miles each year from 2003-2008.We have had a couple of high mileage years since then and those years have driven our average up, but not to extremes.However, it took us seven years to roll the first 100,000 miles and only five years and eight and 1/2 months to roll the second 100,000 miles.That means our average for the second 100,000 miles was about 17,520 miles a year and 15,800 for the whole period of ownership.By the time the BoggsMobile gets to 500,000 miles, it should be 32 years old and I should be in my 60s. We should be able to drive the second 500,000 miles at a more leisurely pace!??????It is not the nicest looking bus on the road and the clear coat needs lots of attention, but it still shines up nicely with water and a good soft brush. A few recent pictures.
We are very thankful for our home on wheels and we are thankful for all of you that help us keep it on the road. We appreciate Prevost Community and our friend, Jeff Rowe, deserves a disproportionate amount of gratitude. Thank you, friends.Davy -
6 Replies
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Davy,
Congrats! Good stuff!
Bill
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Man, that’s just inspiring. I’m about to launch on my first real trip of leisure since buying my 1984 Liberty Coach four years ago. I made the Evansville rally a few years ago on the way to see Jeff, then took the long way home for about 3000 miles total, but the bus was in the early stages of “overhaul.” It hasn’t moved much since then, but I’ve kept chipping away at projects. I was running out of show-stopping squawks, so I made a final push this month so I can take it with me down to Florida for a few weeks. Of course, I have work scheduled along the way.
Thanks for sharing your story. I hope to start creating my own now.
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Great post Davy, hope there are many more miles in your future.
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That’s really cool Davy!
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Awesome, Davy! You have seen and done so much! Best wishes for continued awesome travels 🙂
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Great stories Davy and Chad.
If my wife would ever retire we might get to put some real miles on our Prevost too.Jeff and Lindsay
91 Marathon XL
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