The Cal-look Lounge

Thought I'd share some pic's from my annual Flxible Bus Rally held in Quartzsite AZ, U.S.A.

QTZ is the home to the largest gathering of "Snowbirds" aka retired campers / travelers who make the trip out west from the east to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather.

Motorhome conventions, vendors, flea markets, any food you could imagine are the order of the day... much like a county fair atmosphere full of retired folks.

My group "Flxible Owners International" are some of the most interesting yet laid back folks you'll ever meet, sharing the common interest of these cool old buses. Many hours are spent checking out each others rigs, telling tall tales, soaking in the heat from a large campfire, and of course eating and drinking way too much... good times for sure.

Our buses are rear engine pushers, nearly everybody tows a "dinghy" many of them are VW's

My pic's are from my i-Phone, I'm not hip to resizing so please bear with the quality (or lack of it ;D)

I know this is not VW related, but if it helps think of my bus as a king sized Barndoor...

Hope you enjoy the ride... ;D


The first shot is I-10 East heading in to Qtz... second shot is the town... all those white specs are campers.. they go on for miles!

Some more...

Some of the rigs in attendance...

Two of my favorites... The red '47 is awesome! I'll try to find some interior shots...

The black bus you can find on Jay Leno's Big Dog Garage. Leno does not own the bus, but his Chief Mechanic / Shop Foreman does!

Try a 400 horsepower, 1300+ ft. lbs. of torque Detroit Diesel in your rig if you never want to worry about a hill again! Both of these rigs are unbelievable!

In typical "Dave" style, I didn't take any photos of the campfire, flea markets, food... so sad... Anyway, I do have some shots cruising home with my Brother.

Lunch break in "Desert Center" CA...

How about some high octane Chevron Supreme "White Pump"? O-yea, the good stuff from the old days...

How about a rear view  ;)

The back side of Joshua Tree CA.

Wide open spaces to say the least...

(Please note on first photo: "Ding Dong" on dash turned to trash by second photo  ;D)

All in all, a great little roadtrip...

My Brother as seen in my mirror as we parted...

Looks like a cool trip. My friend is into Apache campers and goes to a few of their gatherings each year. He and I are currently scheming to build a couple of tear drops to pull behind our VWs and do some camping as well.

--louis

You didn't go by Havasu for 'Buses at the Bridge' This weekend????

your bus is cool !!!! Had a chance to buy an old bus a few years ago --- but I have a wife

Great pics, Dave.  Looks like fun!  And your bro's Baja looks real nice, altho I like your orange one a little better, I think.   ;)

I don't know what I'd do with it but I want one. Cool pics, looks like a good trip.  8)

Find me one Dave

Thanks for the nice words guys...

Of all the vehicles I've owned over the years, the old Flx has provided the most smiles per mile ;D

Funny how VW owners are drawn to it!

Mat & Fiatdude, with the current economy, some good deals are out there: http://prescott.craigslist.org/rvs/1556881852.html

Hey Mike, just between us-- I like my Baja better too ;) Thanks buddy ;D

~DR.

Love your rig!      It's way better than the Fleetwood junk I've owned.

Hi Dave,I really love your bus.I really like one to ,for my hollidays to Andalusia,the south of Spain,and the "vert" in tow.That would be great.  8)
(but where should I store it?,you must have a big garage  :D ).I've never  seen one of those here in Belgium.(or in Europe)
Your brothers bus (bigger and younger?)is also nice,with that baja in tow.What is the brand of the motorcycle you have at the back of yours?
Thanks for posting those pics,and have fun with it.

Peter  ;)

Hi Peter,

The bus is awesome on holiday my friend! It makes getting there the fun part ;) (And yes, the bus fits inside my garage ;))

My Bro's bus is a 1959 Flxible Vistaliner... a very cool bus indeed... it even has torsion bar suspension :)

The motorcycle is a 2002 Honda XR650R that I dual sported so now it's street legal. Normally I tow my '60 Ragtop Baja or an 1982 To#¤ta 4X4 pickup.

Back in the late 40's Flxible teamed up with Ansair of Australia to build a limited number of right hand drive "Ansair Flxible Clippers" to be built and sold in Austrailia. Some U.S.A. built buses were shipped to Mexico... imagine something built in the U.S. exported to Mexico ??? Times have changed... Anyway, as far as I know, Australia and the U.S.A. were the only places these buses were built.

So... the question is... should I find one for you to pick up here and have the "ultimate" roadtrip home?? ;D

Glad you guys like the old Bus... it really is special to me.

And Phil, How about it man! You know you want one! Let's git-r-done ;D

Thanks for the link, it's a lot of bus for the money. If I had some decent extra storage over here that woulld be tempting to say the least. 8)

I'm going to have to stop reading this thread now!  :D  :o

Dave --

Give me a e-mail -- I need to find out what questions I need to ask and what i need to know before I call this guys about the Bus -- It has been setting for a year

Harold

E-mail done Harold...

Mat, c'mon man! we're just starting to have some fun here ;D

I actually have a rust free '47 Flx shell at home... hmmm... what to do... I think I should shorten and lower it! Cal-look style! Sweeeeet ;)

I wasn't going to be checking back on here. :o

We have stuff to sort out at the moment so vehicles are low on the list apart from the two VW's  ::) but I did talk to someone today about getting a share of a yard out there somewhere so I have somewhere for one of these, I figure it's got to be worth two or three road trips over a couple of years and then drive it over to Florida or New York and ship it back here though the whole thing depends on having some good storage available here too. In reality it depends on a lot of things but this might run as it buys the opportunity of some superb travelling Stateside.

 8)

Dave, if I get the opportunity to consider one of these at some point can I get in touch with you? Obviously I know nothing about these except that it beats the hell out of buying more wheels! Is that your '47 in the picture? Looks sweet. What's it like getting parts for them and what's fair money for a straight runner. Not perfect, but clean and good to roll 3000 miles straight off? I'm assuming the $2K one would need an overhaul of some sort.

Hey Mat
Need a partner in crime? ;)

Dave,
Thanks for the pics. Very cool. I'd love to see one of these in real life, maybe next year on holiday.
Don't cut up the 47 shell :'(

Frank

I knew you'd come back Mat ;D

I'm happy to help in any way I can to share the madness... I have storage if needed.

Prices vary wildly... anywhere from free to 100K+

Average for a good running, done coach is 10-20K  -But- good deals often turn up.

Most parts are not a problem including windshields.

Seriously, if you can swing it, you can travel in vintage style ;)

Yes, the '47 is mine too... not sure what to do with it at the moment... (Don't worry Frank-- it's safe for now)

Shoot me a message anytime... I always have time for "Bus Talk"

"Keep on Flx'n"
      Dave

I thought of you Dave -- so you gotta check this out

http://www.vwcampervanblog.com/walter-the-worlds-largest-vw-split-screen-bus/

http://www.worldslargestvwbus.com/biggestvw/Welcome.html

Cool link Harold... What really put the size of that monster in perspective for me was the photo of an actual VW Transporter parked next to it :o

(Just to show how warped I am, I REALLY dig the old Semi they used to flat bed the donor truck used to build the "VW")

I need to add a vintage "B" model Mack Truck to my bucket list ::)

See, things like this keep me from finishing simple projects like my Oval... it's the A.D.D. kicking in...  I need to focus! ;D

Q - How many kids with ADD does it take to change a lightbulb?

A - Wanna go ride bikes? ;)

My Buddy Mark that ran the IE Autohaus -- Is heavily involved with the antique truck clubs and restores them for a living -- Let me know when you want one and he'll probably be able to find it for you

You might be on to something Frank, got to be worth at least a conversation.  8)


 :)

Thanks Dave, the input is appreciated. That all makes sense price wise, in some ways it's the same sort of price range as a Bug. As I say there are a couple of other priorities currently but it's also quite a draw and I know Frank has had an idea previously which may sit OK with one of these. Do you need anything more than a standard driving license for one?

Mat,
As far as I know, a standard license is all you need unless you plan to hire it out (Limo, etc.)
My bus is reg as a housecar.

For more info and buses for sale, I'd start here:

www.flxibleowners.org and www.sellabus.com/flxible.html

Neil-- you nailed it! ;D

Oh what have you started now  ???

I do like those Vista Liners, surly there's enough space in the back to convert it and put a Bug in and then tow a 65 Olds Vista Cruiser behind  :o

(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k148/autobutcher/Olds65vc.jpg)

How long is your coach Dave?

In feet please. ;)

Dig the Vista Cruiser idea!!

Roughly 34 1/2 feet bumper to bumper. Two other models were offered, roughly 30' and 27'

The "short" buses are tough to find... Oh yeah, I know of two Vista Liners for sale ;D (both around $20K)

Enjoy the madness ;D ;D

If anyone wants this thing I can do an inspection, I live close.

Frank,
Why don't you post some pics off your uber cool racecar transporter!

Jelle

We just went through there this weekend going to Scotsdale.....we wondered what was going on. I've never seen so many motorhomes in one area.