BusBuilding

Just on the heels of Saturday’s post about Johnny Cash’s MCI MC9, I spotted the GMC 4905 bus used in the “Walk the Line” movie for sale on eBay. The auction ended a few weeks ago, but bus enthusiasts will be sure to get a kick from seeing the photos and the nifty little video the sellers prepared.

The man in black himself, Johnny Cash, liked his MCI bus conversion coach so much he wrote about it in his autobiography. And now the big, black coach is back. Bought on eBay by enthusiast Dave Wright, the coach has been lovingly restored and is on the road again. This time, it’s carrying The Tennessee Three, the band that played backup for Johnny Cash’s greatest hits.

The 1979 MC9 no doubt has many stories to tell, among them that the walnut in the stateroom came from a tree Cash’s father chopped down on the family farm in Tennessee, which was used by Ulysses S. Grant as his Civil War headquarters.

MCI is currently featuring an article on Johnny Cash’s touring bus with more interesting stories about the history of “JC Unit 1″ - its current new life, and eventual plans to donate the coach to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The American Camper: Profiles and Perspectives, explores the lifestyles and leisure travel preferences/intentions of active campers and RV owners.


RVing becoming emergent tool in Home Schooling
Parents under age 35 account for largest gains in RV purchases since 2002

Recreation vehicle ownership in the United States has reached record levels with 8.8 million American adults owning at least one RV. Though a leading force behind the upswing in RV ownership is the enormous baby boomer generation, a study by the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center found that high RV ownership now extends across a 40-year span, from ages 35 to 75.
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In a recent Escapees Bus Conversions thread, Driving a Bus Conversion? Tom asks:

“How much time do you spend on a well-cared-for-by-the prior-owner conversion to keep it running?”

Nick’s answer:

In five years we have had fewer mechanical problems with our 1976 MCI bus than we did in 2 years with our 1998 Pace Arrow Vision, which we bought new.

Now the purpose of this post isn’t to slam conventional RVs, but for those converters who may be concerned about the reliability of 20+ year old buses, you should know that commercial buses are built for extreme longevity. Most are made for 1,000,000+ mile service, and many are manufactured for an expected service life of 3,000,000 miles, for 30 years of commercial 24/7 service. I think it’s safe to say that all the converters I know expect that their coach will outlast them and will be on the roads for decades to come.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has an extensive list of commercial Vehicle-Related Regulations that should be of interest to all bus owners, whether commercial or private.

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Power output on a naturally aspirated diesel typically decreases 3% per 1000 ft. of elevation above 1000 feet, and 1% per 10 degrees above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

[Gary, on BNO]