The Bus!
It's a bullet, it's a rocket ship?? No, it's a bus!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's been over two years since we moved into our happy new home, and we are still
loving it. Knock on wood, it has not given us any major problems which is amazing
considering how many miles we put on it. The only issues that have come up are
little ones that Frank, in his infinite wisdom, has been able to figure out and repair.
He is so handy to have around, and he loves poking around figuring out how
everything works. Aside from a few oil changes, transmission fluid changes and the
10,000 mile services that we have to do a few times a year, our little house on
wheels has been better to us than the brand new Monaco we had before. The birds
love having their own space, since they are now in the bedroom instead of the
middle of the living room. They love going to bed once it gets dark, and they
especially love sleeping in. The only downside is that they sleep right above the
motor so a few mornings when we have to wake up early to drive they get a bit
grumpy, but the nice thing is we can leave them covered until they cheer up. Since
we bought our motorhome at Marathon we still check on the various bus web pages
to see what's out there for sale, just for kicks, and we do have a couple of friends
that would love to find a bus as well. Frank is quick to do any bus research for them
that they need. Since we have bought ours we have sparked quite a bit of interest
into the bus conversion world by quite a few other couples that work at the drag
races, and have handed out quite a few of the Marathon business cards.
loving it. Knock on wood, it has not given us any major problems which is amazing
considering how many miles we put on it. The only issues that have come up are
little ones that Frank, in his infinite wisdom, has been able to figure out and repair.
He is so handy to have around, and he loves poking around figuring out how
everything works. Aside from a few oil changes, transmission fluid changes and the
10,000 mile services that we have to do a few times a year, our little house on
wheels has been better to us than the brand new Monaco we had before. The birds
love having their own space, since they are now in the bedroom instead of the
middle of the living room. They love going to bed once it gets dark, and they
especially love sleeping in. The only downside is that they sleep right above the
motor so a few mornings when we have to wake up early to drive they get a bit
grumpy, but the nice thing is we can leave them covered until they cheer up. Since
we bought our motorhome at Marathon we still check on the various bus web pages
to see what's out there for sale, just for kicks, and we do have a couple of friends
that would love to find a bus as well. Frank is quick to do any bus research for them
that they need. Since we have bought ours we have sparked quite a bit of interest
into the bus conversion world by quite a few other couples that work at the drag
races, and have handed out quite a few of the Marathon business cards.
Our search was a lengthy one when we began. Frank had been looking at about a half dozen Internet sites that sell bus conversions about 8 months to a
year before we bought ours. He had always wanted a Prevost, but there are only a limited few out there for sale. We had truly begun to give up on the idea
that we would ever find "the one". Frank found many that had a great floor plan, but I would usually veto them because of the pink fuzzy couch (YUCK!), or
the plaid chair with matching floral ottoman. DOUBLE YUCK!!! We of course did find a few that we both loved, but they usually ended up being in the
$400,000.00 - $500,000.00 range or were sold before we even called on them. The later 90 models were very nice to look at, but we've decided against
selling our house to buy a bus (yikes!). The years of buses we had been looking at were in the early 90's. Even though it sounds a bit old, the buses built
back then were built very similar to how they are today, and since they are all built to drive hundreds of thousands of miles on the original engine they are
almost the same as the newer buses, only without the 1.4 million dollar price tag. The 2005 and 2006 floor plans that we looked out (just for curiosity sake)
were amazing to see. They too had a few scary paint jobs I will admit, and the interior left a bit to be desired on most. Some I will say were beautiful, and
decorated better than my house back in California ever was, but then again my house in California was a bit less than the sticker price of a brand new
Prevost (for the time being at least). We can do without sculpted carpet and super fancy mirrors on the ceilings. (our mirrored ceiling is done very subtly -ha
ha) We had visited a dealership in Tennessee, and one in Oklahoma. Frank searched the Internet daily for weeks on end. Finally on the weekend of the
Fourth of July we came across one on the Marathon Coach website that looked very nice. It had a new paint job that didn't have a single stripe of pink or
purple. The interior was a nice beige with sage green accents on the couch and La-Z-Boy. It had two closets, which is great because we could put the birds in
one, and clothes in the other. We had struck gold, except for the fact that it was in Oregon, and we were in Illinois with no plans of heading to the west coast
for almost a month. We were sure that it would be snatched up long before we could get a chance to look at it. We continued on our search, and Frank kept
checking Marathon every single day to see if it was still there. We finished up the Denver event, and headed to Seattle Washington. We had only a day and a
half to get there, so there was no time then. After Seattle we again only had a very brief time to get to Sonoma, Ca, but we drove all night long to stop at the
Marathon place to look at this bus. I of course had convinced myself that it was an enormous typo, and it was really a 2000 bus that was supposed to be at
least twice what they were asking. I even told Frank that I was going to sleep in, and to come and wake me up if it looks anything like the pictures. He of
course came back within the hour and told me that it was even prettier inside than the website had shown, and I must come and see it. That it was. The
interior is amazing. The previous owner (who also was the original owner) had taken excellent care of it, and had redone pretty much everything inside in the
last few years. The paint job is only a couple years old, and it is a wonderful light beige with a greenish swirl (not scary at all) The salesman showed us all
around, and then we started talking price. To our surprise, it was well within our price range, in fact it was less than some of the new motorhomes, not buses,
we were comparing it to. We made them an offer, gave them all of our info, and left to drive to Sonoma to work. After quite a bit of thinking and negotiations
we came to a very nice deal, and agreed that we would come back up to Oregon before heading to Brainerd, Minnesota. Since Marathon only deals with bus
conversions we thought that they would have a problem trading in our Trek, but they gladly took it and did all of the financing for us as well. They have been
a wonderful company to work with, and we have not had any issues at all with the bus so far. I'm not sure how many of you read Frank's complaints on our
last motorhome but the list was long. We had 30 issues with that Trek within the first few months of owning it, and it was brand new. This motorhome is 15
years old, drives like a dream and works better than the last one ever did. The bus rides on air bags so it feels like you are in a hovercraft going down the
road. The Trek let you feel every bump in the road, while the bus just glides over them. The windows are huge, and take up the entire front and back, so
when the blinds are open you can see the beautiful countryside from any seat in the house while driving, and it makes you feel like it is even bigger then it's 9
feet in width. We are truly at home!!!
year before we bought ours. He had always wanted a Prevost, but there are only a limited few out there for sale. We had truly begun to give up on the idea
that we would ever find "the one". Frank found many that had a great floor plan, but I would usually veto them because of the pink fuzzy couch (YUCK!), or
the plaid chair with matching floral ottoman. DOUBLE YUCK!!! We of course did find a few that we both loved, but they usually ended up being in the
$400,000.00 - $500,000.00 range or were sold before we even called on them. The later 90 models were very nice to look at, but we've decided against
selling our house to buy a bus (yikes!). The years of buses we had been looking at were in the early 90's. Even though it sounds a bit old, the buses built
back then were built very similar to how they are today, and since they are all built to drive hundreds of thousands of miles on the original engine they are
almost the same as the newer buses, only without the 1.4 million dollar price tag. The 2005 and 2006 floor plans that we looked out (just for curiosity sake)
were amazing to see. They too had a few scary paint jobs I will admit, and the interior left a bit to be desired on most. Some I will say were beautiful, and
decorated better than my house back in California ever was, but then again my house in California was a bit less than the sticker price of a brand new
Prevost (for the time being at least). We can do without sculpted carpet and super fancy mirrors on the ceilings. (our mirrored ceiling is done very subtly -ha
ha) We had visited a dealership in Tennessee, and one in Oklahoma. Frank searched the Internet daily for weeks on end. Finally on the weekend of the
Fourth of July we came across one on the Marathon Coach website that looked very nice. It had a new paint job that didn't have a single stripe of pink or
purple. The interior was a nice beige with sage green accents on the couch and La-Z-Boy. It had two closets, which is great because we could put the birds in
one, and clothes in the other. We had struck gold, except for the fact that it was in Oregon, and we were in Illinois with no plans of heading to the west coast
for almost a month. We were sure that it would be snatched up long before we could get a chance to look at it. We continued on our search, and Frank kept
checking Marathon every single day to see if it was still there. We finished up the Denver event, and headed to Seattle Washington. We had only a day and a
half to get there, so there was no time then. After Seattle we again only had a very brief time to get to Sonoma, Ca, but we drove all night long to stop at the
Marathon place to look at this bus. I of course had convinced myself that it was an enormous typo, and it was really a 2000 bus that was supposed to be at
least twice what they were asking. I even told Frank that I was going to sleep in, and to come and wake me up if it looks anything like the pictures. He of
course came back within the hour and told me that it was even prettier inside than the website had shown, and I must come and see it. That it was. The
interior is amazing. The previous owner (who also was the original owner) had taken excellent care of it, and had redone pretty much everything inside in the
last few years. The paint job is only a couple years old, and it is a wonderful light beige with a greenish swirl (not scary at all) The salesman showed us all
around, and then we started talking price. To our surprise, it was well within our price range, in fact it was less than some of the new motorhomes, not buses,
we were comparing it to. We made them an offer, gave them all of our info, and left to drive to Sonoma to work. After quite a bit of thinking and negotiations
we came to a very nice deal, and agreed that we would come back up to Oregon before heading to Brainerd, Minnesota. Since Marathon only deals with bus
conversions we thought that they would have a problem trading in our Trek, but they gladly took it and did all of the financing for us as well. They have been
a wonderful company to work with, and we have not had any issues at all with the bus so far. I'm not sure how many of you read Frank's complaints on our
last motorhome but the list was long. We had 30 issues with that Trek within the first few months of owning it, and it was brand new. This motorhome is 15
years old, drives like a dream and works better than the last one ever did. The bus rides on air bags so it feels like you are in a hovercraft going down the
road. The Trek let you feel every bump in the road, while the bus just glides over them. The windows are huge, and take up the entire front and back, so
when the blinds are open you can see the beautiful countryside from any seat in the house while driving, and it makes you feel like it is even bigger then it's 9
feet in width. We are truly at home!!!
The closet where the birds will go The token engine picture for all the men to see
(grrrr grrrr grrrrr grrrrr)
(grrrr grrrr grrrrr grrrrr)
Our littleTrek served it's purpose for being close to home and traveling the short distances that we traveled while in California, but it lacked a bit and was
small for the long haul of driving cross country. We love having a real bedroom in the back, and the birds are in their own space instead of in the middle of
the kitchen. Now they can go to bed and not be disturbed when we have company. The extra room and comfort is amazing. Riding in the bus compared to
the Trek is like night and day. They had their new cages installed just after the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis of 2005. We drove over to Kalamazoo, Michigan
to a company called Corners Limited. Frank had measured the back area, and ordered a cage to the exact specifications that we wanted. They did a
wonderful job on it. It is beautiful, and fits perfectly in their room. The cage looks as though it was always there. The ironic thing is that the small mirrors on
either side of their cage have feathers on the glass, as does the vanity table on Suzy's side of the bed. This bus is so perfect for us. It was meant to be ours
many years ago, and God had it waiting for us when we were ready. Since Parrotbus doesn't flow as well as Parrottrek and we are still on a "Trek" so to
speak we will keep our name the same. :-)
small for the long haul of driving cross country. We love having a real bedroom in the back, and the birds are in their own space instead of in the middle of
the kitchen. Now they can go to bed and not be disturbed when we have company. The extra room and comfort is amazing. Riding in the bus compared to
the Trek is like night and day. They had their new cages installed just after the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis of 2005. We drove over to Kalamazoo, Michigan
to a company called Corners Limited. Frank had measured the back area, and ordered a cage to the exact specifications that we wanted. They did a
wonderful job on it. It is beautiful, and fits perfectly in their room. The cage looks as though it was always there. The ironic thing is that the small mirrors on
either side of their cage have feathers on the glass, as does the vanity table on Suzy's side of the bed. This bus is so perfect for us. It was meant to be ours
many years ago, and God had it waiting for us when we were ready. Since Parrotbus doesn't flow as well as Parrottrek and we are still on a "Trek" so to
speak we will keep our name the same. :-)
Out with the old (and small) In with the new (to us) |
Just a few pictures of what the other bus conversions that we looked at had inside. Most of the interiors have terrifying colors of
wallpaper or plaid or floral furniture, or the infamous pink and purple interiors that were popular in the early 90's for some scary reason. A
lot of them have very dark wood which makes them feel very small inside, or the bedroom in back transforms into another living room.
wallpaper or plaid or floral furniture, or the infamous pink and purple interiors that were popular in the early 90's for some scary reason. A
lot of them have very dark wood which makes them feel very small inside, or the bedroom in back transforms into another living room.
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