What will happen?

[temccarthy1]

Need your advice! My boss's college graduate son and 3 buddies want to spend their first summer out of school to buy an old "short" school bus they think for about $5000, rip out the seats and install beds, paint it white and do a loop of the country for 4-6 weeks staying in private campgrounds, National and State Parks while seeing the sights in our country!
Then they plan to sell it at the end of their journey and think they can recoup most or all of their investment! Will they be allowed in to most parks with a ramshackle home made "camper" like this? I have had a 30 ft TT for 2 years and a Pop Up for 30 years prior and and have never seen a rig like this in any campground I have ever stayed in and I have been to probably 100 over all the years!
What will happen? Do you think they will be allowed in to most or all these campgrounds or will they be refused entry and have to bunk down at Walmarts? Will Walmart even allow them to stay overnight in a converted bus?
Appreciate your seasoned advice. If this is going to be a disaster, want to warn my Boss that these boys could be headed for a nightmare!
Thanks for your help!

[tragusa3]

Wish I had the opportunity to do it! Let me restate that...I had the opportunity, wish I would have acted on it.

To those that offered "bud out"...I commend the OP for a willingness to give input. Our society needs more of that. 🙂 Everyone stays at arms length these days.

[dodge_guy]

There are plenty of Class A`s and C`s out there for that price. Shop smart, don't jump on the first one and they will drive away in a really nice RV!

I hope they have a really good time.

[2012Coleman]

Sounds like a cool trip to me - and I don't blame any CG for not allowing them in - something to plan for, plain and simple. What I'd be worried about most is mechanical issues. You just don't take an old beast like that out on a cross country trip. Hopefully they have invested in the mechanics of this vehicle - or at least plan to/have a fund for emergencies.

Otherwise, I'm a little jealous.... Hope they have a good time.

[camperforlife]

It's all about attitude. With the right attitude they will have a blast. I did something very similar right out of high school with a buddy and a beater that we took out the rear seat for more room to stow our gear.

We would pull into a campground-many with no tent rules and simply stated that we were traveling the country on our college funds and needed to stay as cheaply as possible and asked for the cheapest out of the way spot to throw a tent and promised to be no problem. We were never turned away and 80% of the time we were allowed to stay for free. There were even a couple times that we received visits from the young ladies that were working in the office.

Those that were the most generous we offered to do chores like clean bathrooms etc. The generosity of the campground staff and owners was amazing and we were often offered meals and doggie bags to take with us. It was 5 weeks of my life that I wouldn't trade for anything.

[temccarthy1]

THANKS all of you( except the sarcastic ones that have nothing better to do) for the time you have taken to answer my questions. Some great advice that is much appreciated! My take away is that for the $5000 they plan to spend, a class A could probably be purchased that would be acceptable to most CG's and have the amenities they will need that an old bus wouldn't! Overwhelmingly, almost all of you said encourage them to go and gain the life experiences, some great , some not so great, to learn about life, meeting people all over the country and seeing this great land! Many Thanks all! This forum is always a big help!

[westernrvparkow]

Lwiddis wrote:
"We would turn them away, and I know of many other parks that would turn them away as well."

Be careful denying accommodations to anyone able to pay the charge. One of those kids could be a budding lawyer interested in federal lawsuits and say the reason was their age.

Actually, 20 somethings are not a protected class. Pretending they were actually a protected class, I could present plenty of reasons their schoolie is not acceptable. I would go with we only accept RVs with RVIA certification. We also can hang our hats on our standard "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason". Then we could also prove we allow plenty of 20 somethings (and blacks, Jews, Catholics, Mormons, Chinese, Dutch, Korean, Hindi, and every other race, creed and color) to stay, The only discriminating factor is they are driving and staying in a school bus, not in an RV.
Filing a discrimination lawsuit isn't as easy as you make it out to be. First, they would need to file in the proper jurisdiction, which would be Federal Court in Montana. That will cost them money. They would have to hire an attorney and have their case survive our attorney's motion to dismiss the case. Next would come actually proving they were denied accommodations due to their age. That would be difficult, since we would obviously argue and prove we turned them away due to the fact they didn't actually have an RV, and we specifically require the all guest stay in either RVs or Cabins. We specifically prohibit sleeping in cars, vans or other non RVs.
Maybe they can overcome all that and win. Then they will have to prove damages, which would be in the tens of dollars. So even if they win treble damages, they would maybe win a hundred bucks. I do not shake in my boots when I turn away a schoolie or some other home built junker no matter what the age of the occupants may be.

[Lwiddis]

Caveman, then since I'm 67 if I am loud or anything else...? That's 1983 time and 1983s can cost cities lots of money. "Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage, of any State or Territory, or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for..."

"Rousting" is a 1983 violation...aka "shaking them down."

[CavemanCharlie]

I didn't read the whole thread. In my area there are county and city campgrounds that they could get in. Finding small out of the way places would probably work best for them.


They will have to lay kinda low though. By that I mean that if they attract attention to themselves by being loud or anything else the cops are going to show up and shake them down. If they are quiet and keep to themselves mostly then they would have no problems in the small public campgrounds in may area or even state parks. They might have a problem finding spots though. Especially at state parks.

If they decide to come through SW MN (like on I-90) send me a PM and I can point them to some nice spots where they will have no problems.

[Lwiddis]

Terry, that's funny! Hotsey, totsey...

[Terryallan]

Really shouldn't be a problem with the buss. Just tell them not to try to stay in a hotsey Totsey Campground

[Lwiddis]

SCV, big difference in saying only Class As and never making an exception, and saying no kids or very young adults. All from the Civil Rights era when race, and sometimes religion, was the bar. "Class As" are not a protected class but if one of those kids is a Black American, maybe a Jew or member of the Islamic faith, looks Chinese, is disabled, etc. there could be problems that could bankrupt a small RV business. Those are protected classes. Privates cannot do everything they may want to do...nor should they be able.

[SCVJeff]

Lwiddis wrote:
"We would turn them away, and I know of many other parks that would turn them away as well."

Be careful denying accommodations to anyone able to pay the charge. One of those kids could be a budding lawyer interested in federal lawsuits and say the reason was their age.

I'd buy a ticket to that one,It'll get tossed out before lunch.

Privates can do what they want. Are you aware that there are CG's that disallow ANYTHING that is not a Class A... Even the $600k+ Super-C ? IMO this idea hasnt been thought through and someone needs to reason logic with them. After that stay is USFS, State, etc. CG's, and its done

[1stgenfarmboy]

To myself a better idea would be to pick up a 15 pass van rip out the seats, tent the windows dark set it up for 4 hammocks, pick up a 10x10 ez-up canopy and some camping gear and head out staying only State Parks and National Parks if they can't fine free camping elswhere, they will rack up quite a fuel bill alone on a trip like this, they will need to cook all they can as food can cost 1/3 or more of a trip.


We camped beside a group of 6 guys is Sequoia last year, they were right out of HS tenting across the country, we talked to them for a while and it sounded like they were having an awesome trip, they were from the north/east.


one thing I always tell young folks that want to go on an adventure is, In most SP/NP's you will have no phone signal so you need to be prepaired to use a map to navagate with and get the future plans made when you have a signal, don't wate till you get all snuggled up and think you are going to surf the web.


Dar

[Lwiddis]

"We would turn them away, and I know of many other parks that would turn them away as well."

Be careful denying accommodations to anyone able to pay the charge. One of those kids could be a budding lawyer interested in federal lawsuits and say the reason was their age.

[DiskDoctr]

In PA state parks, alcohol is prohibited by rule, so out in the open or the effects of it can get them in trouble. Making an assumption here, of course.

Be polite and respectful of your neighbors, it will go a long ways towards a pleasant and memorable adventure.

Laundry/clothes, food, firewood, fuel. Cookware and chairs.

If they pick a few places they really would like to go and a few options nearby or in between, they could have a looser schedule.

Sounds like a fun trip they will remember forever 🙂