The Bus

"MoonBus" is a 2005 ALFA SeeYa.  It is a Class A 40' diesel pusher.  That means the diesel engine is in the rear like a tour bus.  ALFA stands for A Loving Family Affair.  ALFA Leisure was a family owned company in southern California.  They were known for making a coach that had a lot of features usually found in high-end coaches and selling them at an affordable price.  ALFA built Class A coaches from 2002 to 2008.  Unfortunately, in 2008, they were a victim of the RV market crash, and they went out of business, like a lot of other RV manufacturers.  Back in that era, several RV manufacturers used an outside siding material that was a wood based product, with a gelcoat finish.  The downside of this siding was the potential for moisture to get in the wood backing and then produce blisters in the gelcoat exterior finish.  There is lots of debate about whether the problem was the material, or the coach builder not sealing seams properly.  There was a lawsuit between RV manufactures and the siding supplier which was eventually resolved, but ALFA went out of business before that resolution, so ALFA owners got no satisfaction in the issue.

With the research I had done prior to purchase, I was aware of the blistering problem.  The coach that I found for sale was suffering from the blister problem, as well as several other exterior cosmetic issues.  It appeared the previous owner parked-by-feel.  By that I mean you make your movements in parking until you hit something.  All four corners had been damaged and poorly repaired at home.  There was also evidence of damage on the passenger's side of turning to close to something.  The good news was that the coach was priced accordingly.  The previous owners lived in Grand Rapids, MI, and I am guessing they took the coach south every winter, because it only had a few blisters when we bought it.  When we bought it, we stored it at my brother's house in NY state for the last winter that we spent on the boat, and thousands of blisters appeared.  We thought about trying to repair the blisters ourselves, either by silly means of putting some type of stickers over them, or by more serious means of filling each one and painting.  Instead of either poor option, we elected to resolve the problem in a permanent way, by replacing the siding and having a whole new paint job.  There are a couple of companies in Indiana who have made a business of rebuilding ALFAs.  We chose to have our work done at McMiller's Customs.  We had the siding all replaced, the cargo doors all replaced, the headlights and taillights upgraded, the roof replaced, and on the interior, the carpet removed and replaced with Allure vinyl tile.  It was a big investment, but given the original purchase price, it was worth it.  We now have a new coach for a quarter what it would cost to buy a new coach.

                                                                                                                                                                  More Exterior Before and After pictures here

                                                                                                                                                                  Interior Before and After pictures here

More technical details about the bus:

Freightliner Custom Chassis - Raised Rail XC

Caterpillar C7 350hp diesel engine

Allison 3000 6-speed automatic transmission

Basement electric heat pump or heat and a/c

Propane furnace

Propane/electric water heater

2000w Xantrex RV2012 Inverter/Charger

DISH Network satellite TV

32" flat screen TV in living room

19" flat screen TV in bedroom

AM/FM/CD/iPod sound system w/8 speakers

Microwave/convection oven

Propane 3-burner stove and oven

Samsung residential refrigerator

Engle 12v/110v freezer in basement

Pass through basement storage w/slide trays

TST 507 Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Magellan 9460 RV Navigation

16' Living room slide

9' Bedroom slide

3 Fantastic Fan roof vents

Ceiling fan in living room

Kwikee hydraulic leveling system

16' power awning