I-bus ready to roll

Cynthia and I, in preparation for her retirement, and subsequently to our travels plans, purchased a new RV. We’ve had a small Class B, or B-plus, that we’ve been using the last couple of years, but we decided it was time to go larger (see comparison in related photo above). To us, it’s a beauty, even though we bought it used.

A friend of mine, Teri Holbrook , re-named it the I-bus (Inman bus). I liked the new name, so I stuck with it. Chuck suggested I write a blog about it, prepping it and loading it, especially since I’ve kept everyone updated about Cynthia’s retirement. We spent a little over two weeks, since we bought it, loading it, because it has room for everything we need. It has several compartments in the basement (a term used for all the places underneath the RV). This time, unlike previous times, it has a place to keep the “blue ox” (a device used for towing a vehicle), all the tools we think we might possibly need, etc.
It has plenty of closet space, so we can just keep the clothes we want in it all the time. It has plenty of drawers to keep our unmentionables in, drawers to keep our cooking utensils in, cabinets to keep our plates, glasses, drawers to keep our eating utensils in. The bathroom has towel rack, so we just keep them in place. It has a compartment in the basement to keep a small folding table (to set up outside when we are camping), a compartment in the basement for all our hoses (water and otherwise), a compartment for all our electrical needs, one for our sewer hoses, and another to keep all our OU stuff (flags, canopies, chairs, etc.) so there’s no mistake where our loyalties lie when we’re out camping. You can tell by the accompanying photos (1 bedroom, 2 a nice recliner, 3 a small picture given to us by some friends, and 4 Cynthia in the driver's seat what it looks like.

For final loading, I have a “supply” list saved on the computer, so we don’t forget anything when we have a chance to go camping anywhere. A checklist, if you will. We have things like charcoal (we have known people to actually forget this before), charcoal lighter, food (God forbid we forget that), medications, shoes (regular and shower – in case we use the campground’s bath houses) – CDs (to listen to some oldies tunes), DVDs (to watch when the TV isn’t on) and pretty much all the comforts of home. Oh, this RV has a satellite dish (just like we have at home) to keep up with all the local news (wherever we are at the time) and movies. We only have to park where there are no trees to the southwest, so the dish can pick up the signal. For that we must take along a compass and when we don’t have a pull through campsite, we have walkie talkies (one for the driver and one for helping to spot) to use when we have to back it into a campsite.
We are keeping it stored at Lake Tawakonie , in dry storage, because it costs about the same as a storage facility around here in Tyler . That way, when we’re ready to go camping, it’s already there and we don’t have to pay the gasoline coats to drive it back and fourth. Or, it we decide to go up to Lake Texoma , or anywhere else, Tawakonie is on the way.
Oh, if we park on a campsite that is not entirely level, it has automatic hydraulic jacks that lower and make it level. So, we’re ready to roll.