‘Hoosiercruiser’ ready to hit the road from Shadyside
•Dorris Jr. converts bus to tailgate vehicle for IU football season
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SHADYSIDE -- Bob Dorris Jr. has taken fandom to a whole new level.
It's evident by what's sitting in the driveway of his home -- what's affectionately known as the 'Hoosiercruiser.'
So popular is the 'Hoosiercruiser,' it even has its own Instagram account. And the former school bus turned RV hasn't even hit the road yet.
''It's a hotel on wheels; it's a tailgate bus,'' Dorris Jr. beamed, while sitting inside the 1991 Blue Bird model, which has been transformed from its traditional yellow and black to Indiana University's maroon and white.
After going to every Indiana home football game last fall, where his son, former Shadyside High all-Ohioan, Austin, plays, Dorris Jr. had had enough of the high room rates he said hotels were bilking fans for. So, he decided to take things into his own hands.
''Even though Austin didn't play because he was redshirted, I still went,'' he said. ''There are only about 15 hotels in the area and they jack up the rates depending on who the Hoosiers are playing.
''I always had it in the back of my mind I didn't want to do it for five years.''
A confessed ''YouTube-aholic,'' Dorris, who has an account (Bob Dorris Jr.) and had already been posting videos on it for years, started watching videos of others converting buses into RVs and tailgate vehicles.
''A lot of those people were living in those, and I never planned on doing that,'' he laughed.
Dorris Jr. said people who do that are called ''Skoolies.''
''They take a school bus and convert it,'' he said. ''I guess I'm in a type of a fraternity now.''
Last fall, Dorris Jr. contacted Shadyside Schools Superintendent/Principal John Haswell to see if the district was going to be ''retiring'' any buses soon. They were. So, after successfully bidding on the bus, he became its owner.
Now, it was up to him to turn it from a carrier of schoolchildren to one of Hoosier hypesters.
It was easier said than done.
''It sat in my driveway until late winter and then I started gutting it,'' Dorris Jr. said.
It wasn't easy. First, he took up the floor including the plywood, down the bare metal.
''You talk about work,'' Dorris Jr. said. ''They attach that plywood on those buses. …whew! It took over a week to get it off.''
All told, by doing the work a little bit at a time, it took him about two weeks to remove the floor and seats.
''That was a strenuous battle,'' he said.
Dorris Jr. said he had plenty of offers of help along the way, but outside of some cosmetic help from his mom and some help from his daughter, all of the work was done by him.
It's been a labor of love that, at times, as left Dorris Jr. jokingly questioning his sanity.
''Austin's buddies think it's incredible,'' he said smiling. ''I'm just a little crazy when it comes to this kind of stuff.
''People are like 'Why didn't you just buy a camper?' In April, I was asking myself the same thing.''
Once the bus was gutted, Dorris Jr. started giving the 'Hoosiercruiser' his personal touch. With the help of the YouTube videos, Pintrest and other social media sites, he took the ideas and combined them with his own. The result is something that isn't finished yet, but something that's fully functional and ready for the Hoosiers home opener Saturday, Sept. 10 against in-state foe Ball State.
''It's now gone from bus to RV,'' he explained. '''Its titled as an RV; anyone can drive it.
''But, in the State of Ohio, it has to go through an inspection (by an Ohio State Highway patrol officer). They have certain criteria you have to meet. I met the criteria.''
The bus has a new paint job inside, along with futons for couches, a kitchen area, a bathroom and a bedroom. Next year, a shower will be added. There is also a stove and an air conditioner/heater/dehumidifier.
''It's a fully-functional RV,'' Dorris Jr. stated
His plan is to make the 356-mile trip to Bloomington on Aug. 20, where he will store it in a facility for a monthly fee. When he drives out for a game, he'll get it out, go to the game and then put it back in the facility. At the end of the season, he'll drive it back to the Ohio Valley.
''There's still some things I want to with it next year,'' Dorris Jr. explained.
In the meantime, he can't wait to get it to the Hoosier State and get the season under way.
''I think it'll attract some attention,'' he said smiling. ''With the social media aspect of the thing I've attracted myself, it's gotten really popular. People that I know that camp in the sites out there and the families of the other players, they can't wait to see it.''