Yes, the bus still exists.

And yes, we will be driving it to the Burn this year, dog willing and the creek don't rise. We've gotten a passel of stickers that I'll be putting on soon, but we can always use more. The address is over there on the right. :)

This weekend I'm planning to start up Philip and drive him out of the backyard and start the process of getting him ready to party. This year, it starts with a powerwasher and a LOT of soap. We're going to try to keep the mods to a minimum this year. Last year we did a lot and I think we'd rather focus on maybe getting the shade structure working better (and on making it bigger).

Once I get Philip out, I'll post some new pictures. It's been a while.

Tada! A post!

Every year we get back from the Burn and a promise myself that I will update the blog and post pictures and blah blah blah, and every year I totally don't do any of that. Instead, we empty Philip, wash him fairly thoroughly, then I park him in the back yard and go do other stuff for about 6 or 7 months. Right about now The Swordfish and I start thinking about upgrades. We're slightly ahead of schedule this year because we've already removed all the old seats and junk in order to reconfigure the inside of the bus for more harmonious ridership and a lot more reasonable storage. 

What does that mean to you? Absolutely nothing at the moment. Eventually I'll post some pictures of the reconfiguration and new stickers and such, but in the meantime SEND US STICKERS. HALP. 

A long winter's nap

Philip sleeps quietly under his blanket of snow and ice, dreaming of warmer days and the places he'll go.

Saturday was a productive day.

Today dawned bright and early (for me) at 9:00 am. The overall goal for the day was to get Philip ready to head down to his spa visit on Tuesday. I got most of the way there, but got distracted by multitasking too much. At one point I was doing laundry, dishes, mopping Philip, taking the air conditioner apart, and building sawhorses. This worked fine until I nearly brought a sawhorse in the house to wash it.

So, sawhorses done. Well, as long as the table narrows significantly at one end.






Air conditioner is still taken apart, it works great, but I want to make sure it dries out completely before I put it back in the bus. Really taking it apart and permanently installing in the bus is going to have to wait until next year. I think it looks a lot like a droid from Star Wars with the covers taken off. Hopefully it won't try to run off or anything.



In other news, the smoke detectors are in (Safety third!) and I've also got a filter secured over the roof vent to keep the majority of the dust out. I'll use blue tape to seal the edges, but I wanted to have metal hold downs so that it wouldn't sag.



Lastly, Philip is all mopped out now. As much as I love the smell of playa (and believe me you get a heady smack of it when you turn on an air conditioner that was run there. It's pretty much a mini dust storm), it's nice to have the bus smelling fresh. This will not last.

Tomorrow, it's all about getting the bus contents organized so it can be loaded next weekend.

Storage!

Last year, once we loaded the bus it looked like several suitcases, a kitchen, and part of a garage exploded into it. Other than the 4 seats and the 2 lockboxes, there was no storage or shelving in the bus. The Swordfish and I (based on his design) installed the shelving yesterday, and today I found a dresser just the right size for the platform over the wheelwell. I think I've got the dresser anchored appropriately, barring a rollover (which we are going to avoid, thank you very much). Next up, permanent placement for the speakers, outputs for the extra movable speakers, an amp to drive those speakers, mounting of the house battery, mopping, reconfiguration of the air conditioner in the bunkroom, and other assorted fun.

The Man burns in 49 days!

More Stickers!

These are from various folks, including a few from Burning Man last year, lots from my friend Jim (Thanks Jim!), and a few from the Jet City Roller Girls roller derby up in Everett. I'd love pointers on how to photograph shiny stickers if anyone has any.

Swordfish and I started cleaning up the bus today. There's mold inside, not bad but on the roof and windows. I think a dehumidifier is required for next year.

Time to crank it back up!

Well, I've neglected this blog (and the bus) long enough. The pollen and moss have congealed into a rock-hard coating on some parts of the bus, and it's time to scrub it off and get started prepping for this year's Burn. We still need lots and lots of stickers, and the address is the same. I'll post pictures this weekend of the newest ones. Philip still runs great, I pulled him out and turned him around and mowed underneath. No mold inside, batteries are string, etc. I still have to find a place to get an oil change and a good once-over sometime relatively soon, so if you know of a good bus mechanic, let me know!

Your Canvas is Ready

Major milestone this weekend: the bus is painted! The roof will still get a coat of Henry 587 Elastomeric Roof Coating, but the rest of the exterior is now a pristine white, ready for stickery goodness. It was a fair bit of work, but luckily The Swordfish is a heck of a painter. He did so well I'm hiring him to paint my house next.

We're ready for any stickers we get. We'd love to get some. :) The address is right over here--->>

Bus Update

It's been a little slow going so far. We've procured a few stickers, but even though the cool factor of at least one of them is high, the actual numbers are low. The cool one, from "To The Sea"'s guitarist (brush with the stars!) is understated, yet elegant. You can hear their music on MySpace (which seems to be the only thing anyone uses MySpace for these days). I like "Little Book". We'll put the sticker somewhere highly visible. :)
The other three stickers my 5 year old picked up at the Rock N' Roll Marathon registration.
I started painting the back of the bus with a brush, using Rustoleum oil based enamel. It looks like hell, but should be a decent base for stickers. The weather isn't quite good enough to keep painting (high humidity, low temps), but I have hope. The Man burns in 70 days!

Getting Started

Well, we're starting with the 38 stickers I found around the house. Most of the black ones I bought in a bundle from J!nx way back when. The white-on-white one is for Nautique ski boats. I put Wilwood brakes on a Camaro I once owned, and my daughter plays a Fender (and pretty well too). My VW Bus is for sale, Ron Jon was kinda cool, and O.A.R. was even better. I survived Rose-Hulman with the help of my Delta Sig brothers, and you can never have too many flames on a vehicle. And No, I will not fix your computer. :)

The Bus

There are many like it, but this one is ours. It's a 1984 Thomas Saf-T-Liner with a Caterpillar (Cat) 3208 engine and an Allison MT643 transmission. It smokes when you start it, but it clears up. We're converting this bus into an "RV" to drive to Burning Man and want to decorate it with as many stickers as we can obtain. We're getting some locally, but we'd like to have ones from all over. As we get them, we'll post pictures of each on the blog. If you'd like to participate, you can send them to:

Cover Our Bus
#303
16625 Redmond Way, Ste. M
Redmond, WA 98052