Unfortunately, this is happening. There’s very little logic behind making riding schools as a traveller these days, as people are afraid to commit and meet up in groups. Travelling will surely become a possibility again some day, but meanwhile, we’re making other plans (more about them later)
While it’s all nice and dandy here in the outskirts of Puerto Escondido, this trip unfortunately no longer really makes sense. We’re obviously bummed that we didn’t get to travel more in this fantastic home on wheels that we put a lot of effort into building, but that’s the situation we have to deal with right now. So we’re putting El Gordo for sale and hope somebody else is ready to pick him up and take him out for all the travelling he deserves!
This bus is right now perfect for the person(s) who know they want to travel Mexico or nearby countries once this Corona thing is more under control; and they can totally capitalise on the fact that many people are selling their RV’s at a discount. Also it could be perfect for a mexican who simply wants a super comfy vehicle to go to the national races in or go for tours with his family and bring all their toys. Or simply somebody who just want to try to live off-grid for a while.
Info
- Ford E350 1997 Shuttle Bus
- V10 6.8 Gas Econoline Superduty
- Approximately 300.000miles (the odometer stopped at 114.000miles but the various owners always kept track of their miles and so did we)
- Had oil and filters changed just when we picked it up, (1000miles ago
- 10 new spark plugs put in by previous owners (1000 miles ago)
- 6 new tires put on by previous owners (1000 miles ago)
- Dual rear wheels & rear wheel driven
- Huge living room with a Yeti cooler, a gas cooker, pots, pans, cups, plates etc. All you need to cook and eat.
- Extra battery and converter with 220V outlet.
- Elevated queen size bed with mosquito net.
- Seat belt on the bed for passenger.
- Great storage room for big boxes underneath the bed.
- Basic kitchen and dining table, that doubles for work.
- Plenty of shelves for books, boxes and miscellaneous.
- Camping chairs and outdoor table.
- Custom made iron safe, bolted through the bus, covered by a tree box.
- Big garage for motorbikes, mountainbikes, surfboards etc.
- Step up box for the garage
- Ramp for the bike
- Tie downs
- Gas can (5 gallon)
- Canopy
We bought it because we thought we would be okay with the bike hanging on the back. Reality was different and we decided to take everything out, reopen the rear door that the previous owners had closed off. Long story short, we:
- Ripped everything out
- Reopened the door
- Put a lock in it
- Laid out new linoleum floors
- Painted everything
- Elevated the bed, so we could fit boxes in underneath
- Had a custom build safe built + box to cover it up
- Rebuilt and designed the kitchen and working/dinner table
- Build shelves in the back in order to keep our toys, tools and gear organised for surf and enduro
- Had it checked by a mechanic who said it was in great condition and all he did was to polish the front lights as they were yellow and didn’t shine very bright and changed 2 bearings for the aircondition, put new brake pads in for the parking brake and then good to go!
It has some scratches and dents but exactly THAT is what made it perfect for us. Nobody knows you’re carrying expensive toys, computers, cameras and values worth much more than the bus itself. It’s so stealth and nobody cares! Also, here’s a fun little detail: We built a wall between the living room and the garage and exactly because of that wall, none of the police officers who has entered the bus, ever cared to check the back; they simply thought that the living was all of it. Not that we have anything to hide in the garage, but we have been transporting an enduro bike on another man’s name and just to avoid giving officers a chance to shake us down for a bit of money, it’s really helped not having anyone go back there and start asking too many questions.
The price for El Gordo? It’s hard to put a price on something you’ve put so much work into, yet used so little. So we’re asking 7,000US$ or the equivalent in Mexican Pesos (175,000) and it’s currently in Puerto Escondido. Unless we get it sold around here, we’ll most likely leave it with friends in Mexico City, as we’re planning on flying out from there on May 31st…. 2020, that is ;-)
Contact:
Email: peterweiss243@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +4560146475