Big skies, lots of open lands and pretty stuff. That’s what Montana is supposed to be right? A cat should be so happy here! I should be out chasing buffalo or rounding up cattle. We’ve now been in Montana for almost a month, and I have to say – I’m not impressed. My view all […]
Life on the Road
Disassembling and Dissecting a Detroit Diesel 8V-71
What to do with a broken down 40 year old Detroit Diesel engine? After pondering our options, we decided to give Interstate PowerSystems the go-ahead to pull Zephyr’s engine for a full dissection with intention to rebuild. We had grown comfortable with their expertise, openness, and professionalism – and felt that they were the right […]
Our House is in the Shop (Living in a Parking Lot)
One concern that many people have about life on the road is this – how will you handle things if your ‘house’ breaks down? This particularly comes up when considering the ‘towable vs motorhome’ question for the ideal full time RV to live in. We’ve had both towable trailers and now a bus conversion motorhome. And […]
Announcements: Handbook, Video Chat & Android?!?
Ok.. enough bus mechanical stuff for a couple days, eh? How about some other exciting stuff up … The Mobile Internet Handbook The launch of the our new book earlier this month, The Mobile Internet Handbook, was amazing! Thank you guys so much for supporting us, and helping spread the word! We’re excited that we’ve […]
To Repair, Replace, Rebuild or Repower our 8V71?
So there we were – broken down and ending up in Billings, MT – pondering our options to get back on the road. Last Monday morning the techs at Interstate PowerSystems (where we had been hauled to over the weekend) confirmed what we already suspected – that the overheating almost certainly had caused non-trivial damage to […]
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Just a quick update for those not following along in real time on Facebook and the Bus Conversion Forums… On Monday the mechanic here in Billings did some initial diagnostics with us, and confirmed what we already pretty much knew – there’s considerable damage to the engine. The words ‘cheap’, ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ are officially […]
Just a Bump in the Road
We’ve said it over and over again, building a nomadic lifestyle does not get you out of “bad stuff” happening. It still happens. Life on the road is still “life”, and it is not all beautiful sunsets and 50Gbps LTE. Sometimes the unicorns fart rainbows, and sometimes they just plain fart. At the end of […]
Operation: Montana Father’s Day
We left our beautiful spot along the Snake Creek near Platte, SD and headed westward. As beautiful as a spot is, we always have to keep in mind that future adventures await us too! Badlands – Not so Bad! First up, our routing change would have us passing through the Badlands of South Dakota, which […]
The Journey Continues Upriver
Since we last left you, we’ve continued to follow the Lewis & Clark Trail northward through Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. And it seems each location we arrive at is better and better. Weston, MO It never really stopped raining on Wednesday when we were leaving Kansas City, and we weren’t too terribly excited […]
The Journey Begins: Following the Lewis & Clark Trail
We extended our stay in St. Louis through the weekend so that we could attend a small family reunion in Carondelet Park for a concert in the park. It was great to catch up with family members we don’t see often, and definitely worth sticking around a couple extra days. It was also exciting to […]
