By Nick Russell

Everybody knows that converting a bus is an expensive project, not suitable for the faint of heart or the thin of checkbook, right? Wrong! If you are reasonably intelligent, are not afraid of getting your hands dirty, and are just a little bit resourceful, you can build a very comfortable, entirely reliable bus conversion for much less than you might think.

After almost two years of fulltiming in a gas powered 1998 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision motorhome, we realized we had just two choices - find another way to enjoy our life on the road, or go back to our old 9 to 5 rut. The RV we had paid over $100,000 for was literally falling apart around our shoulders! After fourteen major breakdowns in eighteen months, not to mention dozens of lesser, but just as irritating problems, we were frustrated and discouraged. There had to be a better way!

We had fallen in love with bus conversions, but with all of our nest egg buried in our motorhome, knew there was no way we could afford one of these magnificent vehicles. Or could we? After a few months of reading Bus Conversions magazine, I became convinced that it might be possible for us to own our own bus conversion, if we did much of the labor ourselves and used some cost cutting techniques to keep within our budget.

Now all I had to do was convince Miss Terry, my bride and co-pilot. Actually, that didn’t take nearly as long as expected. Somewhere between the time the hydraulic system failed for our our bedroom slide room and ruined the carpeting with fluid, and the incident where the fiberglass side of the motorhome began to delaminate, she stopped rolling her eyes every time I pointed out a bus conversion rolling down the highway and actually began spotting them ahead of me and calling them to my attention. After months of looking at, walking through, crawling under, and driving all kinds of buses, we became the proud new owners of a 1976 MCI 8 and began the long conversion project.

With a limited budget to work with, we began searching for ways to do things on the cheap, yet still create a classy conversion we would be comfortable living in and proud to show off to our friends. A bus converter we talked to told us that when he was doing a budget project for a friend, he sometimes purchased wrecked RVs or fifth wheel trailers and stripped them, using the components in the bus he was working on. Suddenly a switch clicked on somewhere and we saw the light! Forget the inflated prices the local camping supply store demanded for the things our bus needed. We were going to build our bus with surplus parts as much as possible and save a fortune!

At an RV rally in the Elkhart, Indiana area, we discovered what I love to call the bus converter’s Candy Land. Here you will find just about anything you could ever possibly want or need to build or remodel your bus conversion, from furnishings and appliances, to system components, to accessories.

Located on Interstate 80/90 in northern Indiana, Elkhart and the surrounding area is the center of recreational vehicle manufacturing in the United States. Many of the top names in the industry have assembly plants in or near Elkhart, including Newmar, Jayco, Coachmen, Damon, Forest River, Gulf Stream, Monaco and Shasta. A huge support industry has grown up around the RV manufacturing operations in the Elkhart area, with small factories turning out RV furniture, holding tanks, parts, and equipment. Other small local operations build specialty vehicles, such as ambulances, horse and cargo trailers, and shuttle buses.

Of special interest to bus converters are several surplus and salvage stores that sell RV parts and accessories at deep discounts. The inventory offered in these stores ranges from RV furniture and appliances, to windows, awnings, plumbing and electrical fixtures, carpeting, in short just about anything and everything from the tires to the television antenna. The merchandise is dated stock, manufacturer overruns, scratch and dent, and some used equipment.

We recently spent a week shopping the various surplus stores in the Elkhart area for equipment for our bus conversion. We visited most of the businesses selling RV surplus, comparing prices, talking with the owners and managers, and came away with a busload of components that we saved a significant amount of money on. Our experience might help other RVers take advantage of the savings to be had in the Elkhart area.

One of the biggest and best RV surplus stores, and a favorite of ours, is RV Surplus Salvage www.rvsurplussalvage.com  located at 1400 W. Bristol Street in Elkhart. Here we found anything and everything, from water heaters and furnaces, to furniture, replacement RV windows, bathtubs, appliances, even graphic striping and exterior trim pieces. The store is a huge warehouse, packed with goodies, and the prices are very reasonable.

Manager Trina Ambris is very friendly, and in our several visits to the store never hesitated to greet every customer and went out of her way to answer our many questions. Among items we purchased at RV Surplus Salvage were a 40,000 btu Suburban furnace, which is listed in RV store catalogs for $765. We paid a little over $300. We also purchased a Suburban 10 gallon combination gas/electric water heater, with electronic ignition, for $350. RV store catalogs list this item at $625. Several 12 volt dual tube flourescent light fixtures, which sell at Camping World for over $50 cost us $28 to $32 each. We purchased two 55 gallon fresh water holding tanks for $60 each, while the best price we could find on comparable tanks online was over $200 each. 12 volt high intensity exterior "scare" lights, designed to deter suspicious activity when boondocking, were $11 each, compared to $25 or more for the same item at RV supply stores. In addition to the discounted prices already marked on the items we purchased, Trina also knocked a few extra bucks off our overall bill since the tab was over $1,000. This is one store we will return to many times as we build our bus conversion. The telephone number for RV Surplus Salvage is 574-264-5575.

Just down the street a block or so on the opposite side of the street is Factory RV Surplus, located at 1537 W. Bristol. Here we purchased a beautiful expandable drop leaf table with an extra leaf for just $25. A comparable table in an RV store would have been well over $200. Another purchase from this store was our Wedgewood 22 inch three burner range with oven. Catalogs list the stove at $532. We paid $250. We also saved about $10 or $15 on a propane tank over retail camping store prices.

Factory RV Surplus has a good selection of wiring equipment, some good prices on rooftop air conditioners, (typical savings $125-$200 over Camping World), holding tanks, windows, and lots of other items bus converters can save money on. Owner Bob Conde and his staff are all friendly and helpful. The phone number is 574-262-3327, and they are more than willing to answer your questions when you call.

Elkhart Surplus Salvage, located at 28301 West Franklin, has very limited parking, so don’t take anything bigger than a pickup truck when you visit. The owner was friendly and helpful, even getting on the telephone to call other stores and help us track down a couple of items we were looking for. The store carries lots of electrical and plumbing supplies, LP tanks, and a good selection of miscellaneous RV equipment. A bit smaller than some of the other stores we visited, but well worth your time to check out. George Myers reported that when he was building his bus conversion, they had the best prices on his furnace and rooftop air conditioners. The telephone number is 574-295-8903.

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Another favorite of ours is Bontrager’s Surplus, located a couple of miles east of White Pigeon, Michigan at 18719 U.S. Highway 12. The place consists of several buildings full of everything from cabinets and furniture, to electrical and plumbing supplies, holding tanks, lighting fixtures, bathtubs, and appliances. Prices were very good, and they knocked a few additional dollars off our bill when they totaled it up. Here we purchased a Shurflo Whisper King water pump (Camping World President’s Club price $80.97) for $45, and saved quite a bit on 12 volt electric switches and our bedroom light fixtures. Bontrager’s is another place we’ll return to as we continue our project. Their telephone number is 616-483-7017. White Pigeon is about a half hour drive from Elkhart.

There are several other RV surplus and salvage stores in the area, including Graber Industries, in Constantine, Michigan; L&M Salvage in Mishawaka, Indiana; State Line Salvage in Middlebury, Indiana; and Tom’s Borderline Bargains in Constantine, Michigan, to name just a few.

We found that most of the surplus outlets have comparable inventory and prices on larger ticket items, though some will negotiate a bit. All are worth visiting, since one may have just the piece of equipment you’re searching for that the others don’t carry. Since these are surplus and salvage items, do your homework and know what you are buying. Also, look items over carefully, some may have dings or dents. All of the stores we visited in Elkhart said they would guarantee items like stoves, water heaters, and refrigerators, but ask before you buy, just in case. At all of the surplus outlets, the inventory is constantly changing as new merchandise becomes available and older stock sells out, so if you see something you just can’t live without, better grab it while you can.

If you are not in the Midwest, don’t despair. There are three very good conversion sources on the west coast to help save you money. Affordable RV in Chico, California has anything and everything your bus conversion needs, all priced at wholesale or less. Stocking manufacturer overruns, closeouts, and scratch and dent merchandise, Affordable RV is a great place to find appliances, furniture, lighting, vents, gauges, and just anything else that goes on, in, under, or on top of your bus. Located at 546 Hickory, just two blocks from Highway 32, Affordable is open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, and Saturday until noon. Their toll free telephone number is 888-326-5470, or you can visit them on the Internet at www.affordablervsurplus.com 

Further north in Oregon, Discount RV Supply is located in Tigard and runs a very good catalog operation offering products from Stag Parkway, Coast, Northwest Truck Sales, United Shade, Hehr Windows, Flexsteel, Sunburst refrigerators and several other suppliers. Discount RV Supply is strictly a catalogue store and does not have a showroom open to the public. Owner Webb Hardy tells me they send out over a hundred catalogs to new customers every month, and take orders from their toll free telephone number, 800-524-5592 and their website, www.discountrvsupply.com.

Also in Oregon, Northwest RV Supply in Eugene stocks over 5,000 square feet of merchandise that will delight any bus converter. Featuring surplus and obsolete parts and model year changeovers, Northwest RV Supply purchases inventory from such high line RV manufacturers as Country Coach, Monaco, and Safari. They can help you with furniture, appliances, televisions, and anything else your converter’s heart desires. Open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., they are located at 86325 College View Road, or can be reached by calling 541-746-9092.

Can you save money shopping the RV surplus stores for your bus conversion? No doubt about it. But be prepared to spend some time comparing prices, and be aware that what you are buying may not be the very latest on the market, with all the bells and whistles the newest stuff has. But when I am saving up to fifty percent or even more, my checkbook tells my ego to shut up and forget about keeping up with the Joneses.

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Nick Russell is a fulltime RVer, publisher of the Gypsy Journal RV travel newspaper, and author of the books Meandering Down The Highway, A Year On The Road With Fulltime RVers, and Work Your Way across The USA, You Can Travel And Earn A Living Too! His website is www.gypsyjournal.net