TRANSIT ANTENNA

TRANSIT ANTENNA is a mobile living experiment, creative project and artist collective comprised of various folks living and working while traveling the roads of North America. My wife, journalist Jamie Self, and I were part of the original group with our collaborators, the Snead family (Bob, Dawn and their son Taylor) We lived on a retired city transit bus converted into a veggie oil powered RV named Walter. Our bus was as much about a living artwork as it was functional mode of transportation and living space.

Our family of artists, writers, filmmakers, chefs, and musicians, traveled the roads of North America for two years. Our crew made it through Mexico, Canada, and most of the US states including Alaska, visiting communities and collaborating on art projects and finding work along the way. Because Walter was our home, we were free to move spontaneously, staying put for a week or shooting across the continent on a whim. TRANSIT ANTENNA defined itself by the people, places, and experiences revealed by the unfolding, open road.

The project came to an end in 2010 as Walters engine officially cracked after 30 years of service outside of Palm Springs, California. Walter was given a proper burial in East Jesus, Slab City next to the Salton Sea where he currently operates as a guest home for weary, adventurous travelers.

BUS INTERIOR

Walter had two bedrooms, a full kitchen, a living room, a full bath, and a small kid's bed above the clothes cabinet. A pedal-power system was installed on the navigator's chair to supply additional charge to the house battery array while exercising. The living room table lowered into a L-shaped couch to form a third full bed. A large propane tank was pulled from an ice cream truck and installed under the living room to provide power for the refridgerator, stove, and hot water. The bathroom had a toilet, sink, and standing shower. Two water tanks were installed under the middle bedroom which also collapsed and converted into a full desk/work space. Most of the cabinetry and other woodwork was repurposed from recycled, scavenged pallet wood.

Vegtable Oil Power

Walter had a dual tank SVO (straight vegetable oil) fuel system. The bus was started on diesel fuel to allow the engine and vegetable oil to heat to full operating temperature before switching over to vegetable oil, and the bus was switched back to diesel to fully flush out the lines, fuel injector and engine before shutting down. The system required vegetable oil to be heated at a temperature of 160-180 deg F to operate at it's best. The SVO fuel tanks were placed at the front of the bus and the SVO fuel lines were run inside of coolant lines for direct heating and maximum heating times. A coil of coolant lines also coursed through the primary SVO tank for in-tank heating.

The SVO system was comprised of two tanks, 4 filters, and a collection hose with a pump and inline filter. Used vegetable oil was collected for free from restaurants out of thier outdoor waste oil containers. Our favorite collection spots were Olive Garden, Pizza Hut Wingstreet, and Arby's.

Projects and Performances

Over the course of two years and across 30,000 miles with Transit Antenna, our crew produced and collaborated on dozens of art projects throughout North America. The projects spanned any number of sizes and scales and ranged in discipline from public performances and murals to books and videos. Here are a few images from a selection of projects.