Complete newbie seeking advice

[Ryan Wright]

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