Homebrew of a Different Kind

[HomerBB]

In 1996 I resigned from the small Southeast Missouri church where I had been ministering for a few years and purchased a 1957 GMC coach that had been a Greyhound bus in it's youth. I would take it from the weekend camper a singing church band was using it as, and convert it into a full fledged motor home complete with a CB radio setup. A mobile antenna did the job on the road, but when parked an A99 was erected to make world wide contacts. My family of 4 somehow lived with all the comforts of home and no money, yet very happy as we preached the gospel across the country from church to church, and sometimes through the long lonely nights to some very fine 18 wheeler drivers who always treated the

Country Preacher with great respect.
The included photos are not our bus, but is the exact model of that run of coaches.
Have you anything similar you'd like to share... homebrew RVs, boats, cabins, etc?

 

[G-Golly Wally]

I just stumbled across this thread and my first thought was HOMER DUN MODIFIED A BUS !!! Then as I read the post I calmed down as I realized you hadn't. I don't have any, but you made me think about a rough neck I worked with years ago. He took the front end of a 4 wheeler and the back end of a golf cart and made a cart to drive around the lake when he went camping. I wish I had a picture, I know it sounds like an ugly combination but somehow he pulled it off. Actually I think it may have been the opposite, back of 4 wheeler front of golf cart? Either way he pulled it off, I never seen it in person but he would always show us pictures and give us updates on his progress. It looked good in the pictures I saw, he was happy with it so that's all that matters. He had to rework the linkage to make the gears work, electrical all kinds of things, I was very impressed. I know you're an ol rig hand, it's really amazing how many of these guys are so creative and SMART. I had a pusher that built his own drones, raced them in some pretty big races across the country. A lot of people think oilfield workers are all brawn and no brain. Not all are book smart, but when it comes to creativity and working with your hands and stubborn enough to make something work, I think a lot of people would be very surprised. I still see that in you Homer, your very creative and can take junk or whatever else you find and build an amazing antenna or some kind of gizmo.
Always enjoy see your projects.

 

[HomerBB]

Sometimes, at least when I was roughnecking, the only thing between poverty and a payday was the ingenuity it took to keep some of the antique equipment we ran going. It was a hard life and hard work, but my, how proud we all were of ourselves and each other. We had one abiding rule, "can't get it, can't stay". You had to measure up fast, or someone else took your place.
To work I've shared a tent that leaked and stood in water in storms, cooked on an open flame to eat, and never complained. There was no extra money for motels, but it was okay, the wife and kids at home were fed, warm, and safe.
The old bus we had was our home on the road in later times, and our safety net. Harder times were behind us . . . The modifications were living quarters instead of bench seats, and a paint job to freshen things up.
Life is as good as a good attitude, and as bad as constant complaining. Those are the choices.
Have a good day, Wally.