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There’s More Than Just Buying A Bus
I am in a position of being able to talk to a lot of people who are contemplating the purchase of a bus. 100% of the time the conversation will include a recognition of the cost of purchasing one goes beyond the purchase price, especially if the coach lacks maintenance history records.
But every winter we see posts regarding how to protect coaches against the cold, but rarely do pre-purchase discussions bring out the fact that besides license plates and insurance owners need to consider how the coach is going to be protected against heat, cold, and damage from the elements. And that is a big deal. And I have failed to include that in discussions and it ends up being an afterthought.
As much as I want there to be people standing in line to buy coaches so all of us who own one will see values being retained, I think prospective owners of a coach need to think about how they will protect their investment in the coach. I never gave it a thought, but luckily had space in a barn so my first coach could be kept out of the wind, cold and sun, and have a 50 amp power supply. There was no master plan. I was just lucky. If you buyers do not purchase a coach because you don’t have a storage plan and my coach drops in value because of lack of buyers I am willing to accept that.
Now I can say for sure if I did not have inside storage with ample power, we would not own a coach. Unless we used a coach full time there is no way I could bring myself to subject a coach to the problems brought about by inappropriate or no storage. The sun and heat are as damaging as cold which makes storage so important.
So my free advice to potential buyers is to make sure you have a well thought out plan for storing the coach when it is not in use because it needs to be protected.
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20 Replies
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I don’t see it that way…
I’ve only been garaging for about 10 years and had various fiberglass coaches that sat outside. I would not let the fact that I didn’t have a garage prevent me from RV ownership. They’re made to set outside and the vast majority of RV owners do not have garages.
So if your looking to buy a bus and don’t have a garage, don’t let that hold you back. Maintain it, keep it waxed, cover the tires if you think that will help, keep the top of the slides clear of debris and be diligent about keeping the roof in good condition.
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And if you are lucky the pipes won’t freeze or you can spend the day winterizing it. And luckier still if the sun doesn’t fade the fabrics, the heat doesn’t crack or delaminate the plastic, and the humidity doesn’t cover it with green mold.
But keep in mind I am one of the people that doesn’t understand why people park $50,000 cars in the driveway while keeping a $5000 boat in the garage along with all the cheap kids toys.
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I’m with Tom on this one, even though I can see Jon’s point. We don’t have a cover/garage for the coach, but we do have a 50 Amp receptacle (and one for a guest!). We always kept the shades down on our last coach, so no sunfade on fabrics inside. We also kept the heat on inside and underneath in freezing weather, which doen’t happen much here in San Antonio, TX. Last summer, we started to keep one AC unit running when it was hot, and it kept temperatures reasonable inside. Would love to have a garage, but the coach will probably spend a third of it’s life in the open anyway, either on the road or in maintenance. We just love RVing too much to let lack of covered storage stop us.
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I just can not imagine owning a Prevost and letting it set out and weather. They loose their value so fast anyway. My coach set outside evidently most of its life. Which has caused the paint to fade and chalk out on the roof and the top of the front and back caps.
It will spend the rest of its time with me inside the barn heated and cooled unless we are out traveling. It was quite an investment and I want to protect it. Although others may not feel the same.
If I had a Rolls Royce (like some folks I know) it would not set outside either although they are made to do so…
Steve.
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I’m in the same camp as Jon and Steve. I have had 3 different coaches since 1996 to current. One XL, and 2 H’s, and if I did not have or could not lease a bus garage to protect them from the Florida sun and elements, I simply could not bring myself to spend this kind of money for this nice of a unit and let it sit outside. Please don’t misunderstand me. I realize this just may not be possible for some, but this Florida heat and sun in summer can make a 5 year old bus look like a 20 year old bus if not protected. For me I would have to know I have a place to protect my coach, or wait until I did before purchasing. Just my 2 cents.
Bill S.
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If anyone is looking for a shelter, here is a link to what I did in 2007. A crew from the company came to my place and installed it. Took three guys 2.5 days to get it done. They took a picture of my setup before they installed the front panel, and I signed permission for the company to use my pic in their marketing. The 24 mil is warranted for 15 years. Protects against uv, snow, rain, wind, no property tax affects, no permits required.
http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_garages_vehicle_storage;2d771a11.html
Yikes, it was four grand in 2007, now it’s seven.
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I appreciate what Jon is saying. I have had 5 different coaches throughout the years (non prevosts) and until about 3 years ago never had a bus barn. Then I bought my current Eagle and built a barn for it with 50 amp power. It is MUCH easier to do work and keep clean….But here is my issue, we are getting ready to full time for at least a couple years. THe coach will be outside 24/7 forbidding any breakdown that puts it inside. While I agree having a building to put one in is great, driving and using one is greater. I believe if you are that concerned about it being inside you enjoy ownership more than use.
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Jon I agree as I have had 2 coaches that I had to leave outside and it was a job keeping them clean and looking good. I finally built a Busport that was 50×14 with siding that goes to the ground on the side wear the sun hits the hardest. Added power and i am good.
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I have to agree with Jon…our bus is stored inside, right next to our Lobster boat…wouldn’t own it if we didn’t have inside heated storage with 50 amp service.
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Brett, you are missing my point. We are talking about keeping the coach out of elements when not in use. Certainly not saying do use the coach for the fear of sun shinning on it while driving down the road. And no I do not enjoy ownership more than traveling in my coach.
Bill S.
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Roger that. Believe me, I enjoy haveing a bus barn way more than not….lol It just makes life easier. And I must say that I get asked all the time what year my coach is becasue it looks new. SO yes out of the elements is the way to go. But we are switching to fulltime in March, so it will be in the elements allt he time and I am looking forward to that way more than having a barn to park it in, if that makes sense. ALL I wish now was that I had a Prevost to full time in. But I guess the ole American Coach Eagle will just have to suffice….lol
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As some of you may know I am starting the quest to purchase an older Liberty (97-00) with the prospect of hopefully owning same sometime this fall or winter. At the moment I am planning to construct a Bus Barn or more specifically a shelter. I am having issues with the building permit process as they will only allow a shed as opposed to a fully enclosed garage…..it has to do with my zoning. At any rate I will be building a shed to keep the rain and sun off the coach. I will design the shed to a full garage standard and may enclose once the building inspectors are long gone. I don’t like cheating, but give me a break!
The questions I have are (1) What size of concrete pad would you construct, and (2) What depth of concrete and size of rebar is appropriate.
Thanks………Allan
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When we moved to Wisconsin from NYC the race car was under contract so I looked for a place I could put the race car and if necessary build a modest shop for it. We bought a nice house in a semi rural area … well, septic, and one acre with farms and farmettes (mostly horses) down the road. House came with a 2.5 car attached garage and a 12 or 14×20 garage I could store the car in during the winter.
After a few years of working on the race car in the attached garage I wanted something bigger and investigated replacing the little garage with a modest shop. I was STUNNED that the town of Cedarburg limited us to a 600sf detached building. Too small. So I talked to a former town board member and my then current town supervisor about a variance for a larger detached building and they said “NO” … no variances unless you can show a hardship. An article in the Milwaukee paper alerted me to the fact that many of the rural townships and even some of th villages had much larger limits for detached buildings.
So I worked with the town board and found them to be receptive to larger detached buildings. The town staff and the contract building inspector all said they get regular requests for larged detached buildings. I asked for an increase to 1,500sf and said I could live with 1,200sf. They agreed to go to 1,000sf even though adjoining townships have larger limits on one acre. The town board members conceded that this was the first formal request from a resident that any of them could remember and that they were kinda behind the times with their limit. I think it took me four meetings to get the job done. First meeting to pitch the idea, second meeting for town staff to review what other municipallities had and get an idea what direction the winds were blowing, third meeting for a formal ordinance proposal which got automatically tabled for planning commission hearing and review, and then final considering and passing at the fourth meeting.
My recommendation to Allan and others facing a similar problem is to go to the municipality and explain what you’re trying to do and encourage them to consider making changes to their zoning laws to accomodate you.
I would think that the municipality would be more receptive to an “enclosed garage” than a large “shed” given my perception that garage would look much nicer than a “shed”.
Good luck! Keep us posted.
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Any protection from wind, sun, hail, and possibly cold is going to be better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. When you use the coach you are living in it keeping the interior temperatures moderated. You occassionally wash and wax it to protect it from the elements and dirt from driving. But when it is parked any protection is better than none.
Tom disagreed with me after my first post, but now that his is living in his until his house is finished he feels blessed to have just a cover over his. The elements are very damaging.
Make the garage or shed or pad as big as you can get it. If it is possible allow at least 5 feet all around, meaning the minimum length should be 55 feet and the minimum width should be 18 feet. Size does matter so make it as big as possible. My slab is 7 to 8″ thick. A bus should be on concrete. Ashphalt will break up or develop hollow spots.
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We have owned three class As and have spent the money to store the motorhomes in a enclosed garage. In the complex that we used each coach had it’s own stall. I did not want the coach to be in the elements between the times that it was used.
Reese
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