The Roving Party Machine

If you are here from Classifieds2000, looking to buy this bus, make sure you read to the notes at the bottom.

Welcome to my madness. This was the impulse buy to end all impulse buys. I've always wanted to get an RV and fix it up to be the ultimate roving party machine. I've just never liked the boxy look of most of the ones that I've seen. They either look like a van with a camper parked on top, or like an old school bus. I wanted something funky. When I passed this thing on the side of the road, it was love. It was just quite possibly the most funkadelic looking machine I'd ever seen.

Basically, the idea behind the party bus is to have a vehcile that you can take to concerts and take on road trips, etc.

The interior on the thing is actually in pretty decent shape. It needs a little work to make it funkadelic, but we are going to try to do it up with the funkiest 70's style we can find. Some nice beads and some disco lights. As for the general condition of the vehicle, its in great shape. It was well cared for and runs perfectly.

Ammenities currently in the bus.

Stereo tape deck
A PA system so that you can announce your arrival to the world
2 fans mounted on the dash
2 couches in the living room, each able to seat 3 or 4.
21 inch color TV
Kitchen with
- Sink
- Gas stove
- 4 gas burners
- Large fridge
- Mircowave
Coat closet
Much over head storage
Bathroom with:
- Toilet
- Sink
Queen size bed
Shower converted to kegerator.

We will be outfitting it with a nice stereo that thumps, including some subwoofers and some party lights. Disco balls, and strobes, etc. Basically, anything I can find in "spencers" that lights up. Theres also a shower in the rear that looks like it would be difficult to use, so I think it would be best if it was converted in to a place to store the kegs. Basically, the space would fit 2 kegs, and we would be able to drill holes through the side of the RV so that the taps could come out the outside as well as the inside.

On top of that, we're going to put marine speakers mounted on the outside of the bus, as well as an AV system inside that would have a TV and VCR.

And of course, if the bus goes as planned, I say we give it a name, and assign the slogan we used in college.

I already have a lot of components lying around, including speakers, tape decks, CD changers, subs, amps, EQs and some lights. I just seem to accumulate stuff, and this is where its all going. :) The budget for this project is relativly minimal, but I think we can still turn out a great party machine.

Stay tuned for more updates.

How can I rent the Shagbus, and other interesting questions.

Update 6/14/99

We were able to install the 21" TV in the front living area and sucessfully turned the shower in to a 2-keg keger-a-tor. There are now two taps that stick out the side and one that is on the inside. It all runs flawlessly off of a CO2 system. The shower has been modified to support the weight and keep about 8 bags of ice around it.

Thats my friend Scott holding the bus up.

The Bus was an amazing hit on its maiden voyage this weekend to the Jimmy Buffett concert. The way it got dirty, made me realize we need to re-think some of the upgrades we had planned. We were going to try to modernize it, but now the plan had turned to emphasizing the 70's style of the thing.

Update 8/24/99 Well, the Jimmy Buffett concert is the only event that this bus has been to. I have not used it nearly as much as I had planned, and as I'm now looking to buy a house, I'm trying to sell off some of the vehicles that I own. This being the least used, I think it should be one of the first to sell.

So, for potential buyers, here is the rundown. The bus is in good shape. The running gear is almost all GM. The motor is an Olds 455. I have to be able to produce documentation that the motor is pre-1972 , which I think it is, in order for me to get it inspected. Either that, or I have to install catalytic converters. I just havent had the time to attempt either, although, I think finding (and cracking) the number codes on the engine block should be the easier of the 2.

I bought upholstery to re-do the interior, but again, havent had the time. Or the urge for a vehicle that I'm not using. Its about $150 in material, and enough to do the whole bus. Its a very sharp looking steel-blue color.

The bus will make long trips. I had wanted to see if it could do a long excursion, but never had the time. My room-mate stole the bus while I was in Las Vegas and drove it to Virginia Beach, about 4 hours away.

We have a keg-erator in our house, and we use the CO2 tank from that when we take the bus, thus you will need a CO2 tank to use the keg-erator. They're about $80 including the fittings. I can help you pick one out if you're not familiar with tap systems.

The bus is in great shape, and could be a very good party machine with a few lights, etc. :)

Possible Designs.

This (below) was what we originally wanted to do (with house paint and rollers), but now the plan is to take 8 gallons of different colored paint to the Phish show, and have people there paint what they want on it.....

Or click here for some fun I had once I made the template to try out paintings.