First, thank mew to everyone who made it possible to get the bus re-wrapped. It looks gorgeous, and the mobile advertising is invaluable. With the cat bus restored to her former glory, we were excited for our spring Texas tour. However, if you follow us on social media, you know that the tour was a devastating financial and emotional disaster.
When the bus sat for a year and a half during Covid, some mechanical elements experienced dry rot, rusting and more. Buses are made to be driven, and when they sit for a long time, unforeseen trouble can strike. Even though we had the bus serviced before we left, we were unprepared for happened next.
We started having difficulties with the fan clutch, but made it to San Antonio, our first destination. On our way to Dallas, the bus kept overheating, and eventually broke down. We were stranded for a couple of days, while some local good Samaritans attempted to fix the destroyed fan belt. Unfortunately, this meant we had to cancel our Dallas shows.
We finally got the bus going again, only to have it break down just up the road. Defeated, we were towed to a shop in Austin, where it was determined that we needed a new fan clutch. While we waited for the parts to arrive, someone stole the axles that had been taken off when we were towed. This theft further delayed repairs. Not wanting to cancel any other shows, we rented a large moving truck and a van to transport the cats, stage props and supplies.
We arrived in Fort Worth just in time for a snow storm to shut down the city. This left us with only one night that patrons felt safe enough to brave the weather and see the show. We had hoped to pick the bus back up on our way to Houston, but it wasn’t ready in time. So, vehicles were rented again, to get us from Austin to Houston. Fortunately, both venues let us stay there with the cats, which was an immense help.
After our Houston shows, we were notified that the bus was finished. We found a driver to deliver it to us, but it broke down again just an hour away. The shop claimed that other issues caused this second breakdown and took no responsibility. (They did eventually refund a small portion of the $11,000 we spent there.)
At this point, I didn’t feel comfortable taking it anywhere else, so I sent the tour assistants and the cats back to Georgia. I waited with the bus for my knowledgeable Prevost bus mechanics to come and rescue me. They had to drive all the way from Georgia, which was a costly endeavor, but they got me and the bus back home safely.
We immediately began a thorough bus inspection. Diagnostics were run, and I have spent the last month working with my mechanics to address all the issues. This started with a front-end alignment. Next, the work that the Texas shop had done was fixed, because that install had been done incorrectly. They also fixed the wiring harness, removed and installed a new air charge cooler, installed a new AC for the cat area, and fixed some plumbing issues, among other repairs.
We aren’t quite finished, but here’s a list of expenses since March:
Parts and labor: $23,816.61
Texas rescue: $4,500
Vehicle rentals: $2,145.53
Towing: $930
Total: $31,392.34
(Fuel expenses and a full service of fluids and filters aren’t included.)
This list also doesn’t include the $11,000 we raised and spent on the bus wrap just before the Texas tour. We had planned on finishing the wrap & adding the donor pawprints when we returned, but since the safety of the cats and bus takes top priority, we need to postpone the completion of the wrap. Sadly, this will also delay fulfilling the various reward levels for the wrap fundraiser.
Rather than start a whole new fundraiser, I am amending our current campaign to include the losses in Texas and necessary mechanical repairs to get us back on the road safely. We have scheduled a short, local tour to Asheville, North Carolina, and Athens, Georgia, to test for further mechanical problems before we travel to Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago, in June. Click here to see our current tour schedule: https://
Once the bus is deemed roadworthy, we will print the personalized paw prints, finish the bus wrap, and begin fulfilling the rewards. Thank you all so much for your patience and continued support. Please share this updated campaign with your friends and family. We need one more round of donations to finally to reclaim our cat bus and tour again safely. We are so close to being back on our paws. Thank mew.
