Camping

I made it to Slidell. I've got extremely spoty cell phone coverage at the campsite. My buddy Gordon is orchestrating the construction of a bio diesel processing plant & solar farm that will eventually be selling at cost fuel to grass roots relief organizations.

They just tore done the house he's been staying in, so he's in an RV, we're still cooking and craping outdoors though (not in the same place). We got wifi and electric. I plan to once again catch on work and then we're going to paint the bus and rehose the fuel pump... maybe I'll get another one to keep in my pocket...

Get the Skinny on the road trip to NOLA.

Over Pass Texas

The bus has 2 brand new batteries thanks to DG & BMcG. The old batteries were testing as Bad/Weak/Replace; when fully charged. so we thought that might be the "alarm" issue. Also, since the "alarm: would not repeat it's performance for the guy who could fix it... I've been instructed to disconnect the battery if it happens again. Problem Solved?

The Skinny Chef and I headed off to New Orleans for the O27 weekend.

We broke down again on the way, in Beaumont, TX. The New fuel pump bought in Junction had cracked wide open ...

Getting AAA to tow it again only took an hour and a half of arguing instead of 4. However, at 4am, after 2 hours of trying to fix it and an hour and a half of arguing; they said they couldn't get it towed until 9am. Since we were precariously perched on an off ramp over pass with semi's whizzing past a foot away as the bus bounced and swayed a foot from the rail and 40 feet up... they also suggested that I call the cops and they could get it towed quicker and then I could petition AAA for reimbursement... we waited until 9am.

The tow guy showed up about 9am and said they had just called him 20 minutes ago. They had told me at 7:30 am that the truck would be there in 45 minutes. He also said the real reason nobody wants to tow me isn't because of the bus but because the tow companies have as much trouble getting AAA to pay them as I do getting them to agree to honor my card.

So he towed us to his "buddies" place. They found the cracked fuel pump and replaced it but we decided to bypassed the veggie system completely (for the time being) because I was running on veggie when it blew.

I'd spent almost all available funds on veggie oil and diesel when we left Austin. So she payed the repair bill 200 bucks. I scrapped enough together to diesel us into New Orleans and sent her home yesterday with a check she can cash tomorrow...

Solo, bus in New Orleans, I need to get 40 more miles down the road to Slidell to get the bus painted but I don't have enough $ or diesel to get there without risking "running low" again; UNTIL LATER TODAY.

Look for a NO27 video on MBN.

How Do You Turn Off The Alarm?

I went in to settle up with the repair shop yesterday. After the pleasant surprise of a smaller than expected bill; the guy say's .. "oh yeah, and the oil change guys couldn't figure out how to turn off your alarm and had to disconnect the batteries."

"I don't have an alarm"

"Well, when they started it up the horn started honking and all the lights came on and they couldn't get it to stop..."

"That's part of the problem..."

"oh... you sure you don't have an alarm?"

"It didn't come with one.. and I sure didn't put one in..."

... so the bus ain't done yet.

This "alarm" type behavior seemingly happens at random. It did not happen at the previous day working on it. We started it up on the lot after the discussion and.. repeatedly no alarm. They'll be looking at it Monday, seems like a short, but the mechanic said that the horn COULD NOT do that without an alarm device...

RV Classism, Shysters & Experts

I found a lovely International truck repair place to take the Bus, unfortunately their tow company didn't accept AAA. So I called the AAA # and they said they'd have someone out to get it in an hour or so. ... "this is easy" ...

Then came the tow company, questions, stalling, questions and finally they sent someone to determine what kind of truck they'd need. The first guy who came out to check if my bus was an RV; illegally entered the bus in my absence, rummaged around a bit and reported back that it was "unlivable" and that it was a "semi-truck" even though when he left he had agreed that it was an RV and they'd be back with a bigger truck. 10 minutes later, his tow company called, claiming to be AAA, denied the tow and asked if they should send someone over to tow me on MY Dime.

After the ensuing 4 hour argument with numerous REAL AAA representatives from multiple states, I was able to convince them that since the bus is TITLED as an RV; that some asshole redneck fuckwad's personal opinion of my RV was irrelevant. They signed off on the tow and said they'd send someone.

Minutes later the Shyster tow company called, again claiming to be AAA and wanted to know if they should send the driver and how would i like to pay... they got an ear full.

Eventually Jeff from Ohio showed up. Good Guy from Good Guys towing. he'd driven an hour to get to me (minutes from downtown Austin) because no one else would accept the tow. He says that's Normal, that most of his tows are RVs and/or buses because no one else wants them.

I spent today at the truck repair place. I was afraid that they would try to shuffle me outa there when they found out about the veggie oil.. but they didn't bat an eyelid. My savior Fernando took some interest in the workings of it and was satisfied that veggie was not the problem at hand.

The short answer... there was still a bunch of debris in the fuel lines (from running out? from running crappy oil?) and it had blocked the fuel from reaching the engine. Being an expert INTERNATIONAL mechanic he was able to immediately point out yet another fuel filter that no one else had know about. It had large chunks of black .. stuff all over it. Then we pressurized the fuel tank opened up the fuel line and shot diesel out like a garden hose for a while. hooked it back up and ..Ta da!! it started right up. They're going to do the oil change tomorrow. :)

24 Hours to Move the Bus

...OR BE IMPOUNDED.
I vandal stuck an orange sticker on my bus, claiming to be the police, threatening to impound the bus if not moved by 9:30 am tomorrow.

I'm on a mission...

Bus? What Bus?

I've been ignoring the bus completely. Working for $ to fix it, editing for Lloyd & Josh and enjoying a bit of unexpected "normalcy".

Once caught up, I will seek out a School Bus mechanic from the bus yard and get back on the road. Thanks to a few more donations I will be getting A FEW new batteries when the fixin' gets under way. I'm still looking forward to the 27th in New Orleans... hope I can make it.

Tried to move the Bus today

Today I tried to move the bus into my friends driveway to get it off the street so that the mailman would deliver her mail again.... It started, died, started honking and flashing even with the key off.. and won't start again.

Of course now the battery's dead again.. the interior lights and horn would not stop until the it was completely dead. ... looks like I'm stuck here for awhile, too. It's not nearly as traumatic as being stuck on the side of the road; but it is becoming far too frustrating... I just worked off the advance i got to get it fixed in Junction. I'm currently broke but fed. I don't even want to look at the damn bus... until I've made enough money to get it fixed and be broke again, again. You're lucky this isn't an audio blog. The neighbors weren't so lucky.

Anyone with a suggestion as to what the fuck happened; I'd love to hear it.