[vcf-midatlantic] VCF Museum on Wheels!

[Bruce]

I "spoke" up because, over the decades, I've come across a number of cases
where such plans have fizzled.  The experience of a friend of mine was one
such case, but for privacy reasons I won't detail his case.

This would not be my decision.  I'm really a lurker here, interested but
not involved.  I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I suggest you
do your "due diligence" before committing yourselves.

Considerations you should make:

   - Price of the vehicle
   - Repairs to make the vehicle roadworthy -- especially the tires which
   dry-rot on stored vehicles
   - Budget for maintenance and repairs
   - Official ownership of the vehicle, and possible complications (taxes,
   etc.) thereof
   - License and registration for vehicle
   - License required for driver(s) (CDL may be required)  Would the driver
   be a volunteer or (I shudder to consider) an employee?
   - Storage location, security, and costs
   - Insurance for vehicle and contents.  (Two distinct policies likely
   needed -- and how do you insure irreplaceable antique computers anyway?)
   - Effect of owning/operating a vehicle on the club's general liability
   insurance premium
   - Administration and control of the bus, including dealing with storage,
   drivers, maintenance and repairs, and dealing with unforeseen issues.  (Who
   takes responsibility?  It can't be ad hoc.)

I have volunteered for a number of clubs over the decades and from time to
time have seen enthusiasm wax for the possible ownership of a vehicle for
purposes like this.  Fortunately, none of those came to fruition.

The closest actual experience I've had was when an employee organization I
belonged to decided to purchase a bus to transport employees the one-hour
drive from a major city to the relatively rural lab where we worked.  It
was a nightmare.  I was closely involved with some of it but somehow missed
out on many of the complications, like licensing,  hiring the drivers from
amongst the employees of the site, etc.  I *was *involved when the bus
broke down on the highway, full of passengers, possibly due to the diesel
engine not being broken in properly by the inexperienced drivers.  About
the time I was leaving that employ, I believe the decision was made to sell
that bus and buy a few commuter vans instead.

Less relevant was the case when our local ABANA Affiliate (blacksmithing)
chose to fit out a trailer for hauling our equipment to demonstrations
state-wide.  We avoided the ownership and insurance questions by leaving
the registration in the name of the original owner -- who thereby took all
the risk for the thing, a fact that was driven home when one volunteer
failed to couple the trailer to his truck properly and the trailer *passed
him* on the (fortunately small) roadway. We had to equip the trailer with
brakes due to its potential maximum weight.  The towing vehicle had to have
the mass and capacity to pull such a load and had to be equipped to actuate
the trailer's brakes.  Fortunately, the trailer's owner was a highly
competent mechanic and did this work (with help) for free.  The whole
matter devolved upon the actual owner of the trailer and one or two of us.
Ultimately we abandoned the trailer and came up with an alternative
solution.

My point is that any sort of vehicle, be it bus or even trailer, could
prove a major headache for the group.  Headaches like this can cause
friction within a volunteer group and lead to totally unnecessary
divisions.  Do what you will, but think it through first and address all
possible issues before purchasing the thing.

Bruce
NJ


On Fri, Apr 2, 2021 at 9:01 AM Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:

> Sometimes, an old bus can be bought for little money. One could easily be
> gutted and fitted with anything we could arrange to showcase in it.
>
> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/180150850286348/
>
> On Fri, Apr 2, 2021, 8:45 AM Bruce via vcf-midatlantic <
> vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
>
> > Jeff:
> >
> > Consider scaling back the idea.
> >
> > Instead of any sort of vehicle (the major cost, especially considering
> > insurance, licensing, maintenance, storage, repairs, etc.), consider
> > putting together some portable containers or crates, possibly modeled
> upon
> > the ones used by professional musicians on road tours.
> >
> > There are lots of ways to do this, but one way would be to have two
> > displays in one crate, connected by hinges on one side and clasps on the
> > other.  (Putting this hardware on the corners would offset the displays
> by
> > 90 degrees, should that matter.) Place the crates on folding tables,
> > trestles, or intrinsic fold-out legs to raise them to a useful height.
> >
> > Now you just need a vehicle to carry them in, and if nobody in the club
> has
> > one, rent it.  All the complications of a club owning a vehicle (and they
> > may be considerable) are avoided this way.
> >
> > Bruce
> > NJ
> >
>