Well. It’s official. With baby Brynna joining the family, we have outgrown the Suburban.
That means until we get a larger vehicle, we are going to be driving two cars anytime we all need to go somewhere. Thankfully for now, that just means church, so we won’t have to drive two cars very often.
But, we like going on random drives over the summer, and are working out the details on some travel plans for July, so the hunt is on for a larger vehicle.
Most larger families I know graduate from the Suburban to the 12 or 15 passenger van. But we don’t want to. Here’s why…
The 12 passenger has zero storage space, which means a wheelchair won’t fit. Neither will a months worth of groceries. Not good.
You can get storage in the 15 passenger by taking out the backseat. But this van has a huge risk factor for flipping over. We live on a road that gets really slick in the winter and we just don’t want to take a chance with our precious cargo.
So what will we do? We’re looking for a shuttle type bus with a wheelchair lift. Though we don’t currently use Owen’s wheelchair for transport, we want to have that option as he continues to grow so we don’t wear out our backs.
In searching online, I had a hard time finding any information about families using a bus. So I thought I’d document out process in case any other families are in the same place.
Here’s what we are working on:
Searching Craigslist for appropriate buses.
We’re looking for one that seats 12-14 with a space for a wheelchair tie down. Extra bonus points if it has a passenger chair!
We’re also looking at other used vehicle vendors, and surplus sales. We know we might have to travel a bit to get the right bus at the right price!
Talking to the insurance company to find out rules/regulations for our state of Washington. We are hoping to get a bus that doesn’t require a CDL to operate as it looks like those require a different type of insurance (a commercial plan even if it’s being used for private use.)
Praying that the Lord sends the perfect vehicle our way so we could enjoy family outings again, you know–as a family!
As we move forward in this process, I’ll let you know what else I find out. In the meantime, I’ll close with a recent picture or two of Brynna. Hard to believe she is already three weeks old! (Thanks to my mom for taking the first picture below!)
Take care, and if you have any experience using a bus for personal use, I’d love to hear from you!
You know, my uncle works for a transportation company up in Whatcom County and is around the kind of buses you’re talking about all the time. I’ll email him and see if he knows where to find one for sale.
Also, could Steve be a good resource?
Thanks Drew!
Steve is checking out government surpluses for us. He’s also looking into CDL laws for me. It sounds like as long as we stay under 16 passenger we will be fine.