Complete newbie seeking advice

[one_dusty_hoot]

HI Ryan,
Thought about this last night regarding your
coach requirements. My FC has a couch/sofa
that opens into a queen size. Maybe that would
work for you if you didn't want to go to the
back sleeping area?

Fuel-If you are going to drive it. Some FC's
with bragging rights tell of 10 mpg, some PT's
confess 4 mpg, at todays fuel cost that $.32
to $.81 a mile just for fuel tooling down the
road.

Tires: One a year, $550-600
Batteries: One a year, $150-170 ?haven't priced
You may never wear out a tire, and you may
never get as many charge cycles as the batteries
can deliver.

Oil changes/ filters, depending on use.
Motors: generally are killed before dying a
natural death.

Basically everything can be amortized for a life
time of depletion, and, depending on what you
want can vary considerably.

Based on what I know for one FC coach, +$4000 a
year, for a 3 year period, not counting cost of
fuel.

Bob Janes, '87FC35, Greenville, SC

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ryan Wright"
wrote:
>
> Hi Bob, & everyone else,
>
> Thank you all for your replies. I'll answer a couple more here as my
> morning progresses, but I wanted to tackle Bob's reply first:
>
> On 8/17/06, one_dusty_hoot wrote:
> >
> > Hello Ryan,
> > Err...yeah!, hope I don't offend you here.
>
> Nope - Virtually nothing you can say to me will offend me! I'm not a
> person who takes offense easily.
>
> > First, there is a rear bath FC (Front Coach)coach
> > '70-80's models where you would not be claustrophobic,
> > but it would have twin beds, sorry!
> >
> > Second, if $50K is going to be a stretch for you
> > as you say, you are not going to find a PT (Pusher Tag)
> > it in the '90's models.
>
> Right - I know I can't afford a 90's model - I'm looking at early
80's
> based on my budget. (Well, technically I could afford an early 90's,
> but that's beside the point - what I'm willing to spend and what I
can
> afford are two different things. $30k-$50k is my budget for this
one.)
>
> However, I saw two PT 40s listed at vintagebirds.com for that looked
> about right for me, which is why I "settled" into wanting that
model:
>
> http://www.vintagebirds.com/bill-bd.htm
>
> Dave Hardy's 1984 & there's a 1983 right below it. These may no
longer
> be available for sale, and I'm not buying this moment anyway until I
> do some more research, but they both look to have the bathroom
closer
> to the rear and neither have the twin beds. Unless I'm seeing
> something wrong here? The model on eBay has the door in the middle
and
> the bathroom right in front of it, which kind of divides the coach
in
> two. Whereas, both of these PT 40s have the bathroom toward the
rear,
> past the kitchen, just in front of the rear bed, which I like very
> much.
>
> > The coach on Ebay seems to be an excellent entry
> > level Blue Bird with repairs and current maintenace,
> > however, if it's not what you want, it won't work
> > ever.
>
> Agreed wholeheartedly!
>
> > My suggestion for you is to read the posts on this
> > and other Wanderlodge Forums, keep an eye on the
> > Vintagebirds.com, Birdconnection.com, and search
> > the web using "Wanderlodge. Become as familiar as
> > you possibly can with all the features, prices, etc.
>
> Will do - I didn't know about the Birdconnection.com site, thank you
> for that. I've been digging through the archives here as well.
>
> > Lastly, unless you do your own maintenance, you need
> > to be prepared with a "substantial" budget to cover
> > things that just happen with any RV, Blue Bird not
> > excluded.
>
> Thankfully, I do perform my own maintenance to large extent. I have
a
> well equipped workshop and will not hesitate to shell out money
when I
> need a tool I don't have. I do >99% of the maintenance on my '81
> DeLorean and have a solid automotive & mechanical background
(backyard
> mechanic, but I've been doing it for about a decade).
>
> That said, I'm curious: How often do you folks need to fix something
> greater than, say, ~$500, on your older coaches? Once a month? A few
> times a year? Every week? Assuming I buy a coach in good shape, of
> course, and not a basket case. I'm just trying to get a feel for the
> maintenance costs.
>
> > Welcome to this forum, hope I haven't shattered any
> > of you enthusiasm for a Blue Bird.
>
> Not yet.
>
> Thank you for your time!
>
> -Ryan
>