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Old 08-16-2011, 10:13 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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New Project!

Hi all,
My husband and I have been following several conversions on skoolie for the past few years. We finally bought our own bus and are eager to get started on our project. It will be a conversion for full-time living suitable for Canadian winters which means we plan on lots and lots of insulation.

We just purchased the generator we will be using both for the conversion and in the completed project as a back up power source. It is an Onan commercial 4500 RV generator. We now just have to get a gas tank, a battery and a suitable plug and it will be up and running.


The first order of business will be gutting the interior followed by the roof raise (No big deal right )

We are blogging our conversion at:
http://angieandalex.blogspot.com/
and will keep everyone posted on the project here : ).
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Old 08-17-2011, 06:08 PM   #2
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Re: New Project!

congrats on the bus, your going to have a blast with it, where abouts in are you?

gbstewart
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Old 08-17-2011, 10:22 PM   #3
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Re: New Project!

Thanks gbstewart!
We are in the Niagara Region of Ontario.
Today was our first day working on the bus and we had a great time!

We started pulling out seats and were able to get some of the stickers pulled off the outside. We started later in the day because we had to get the generator all up and running. Definitely looking forward to putting in a full days work tomorrow and getting the rest of those seats out. What we are not really looking forward to is removing all of those rivets! But no way to get around it : )

Here are some pic's from our day:
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Old 08-18-2011, 06:58 AM   #4
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Re: New Project!

glad your haveing fun, did you check withyour insurance company? Im in northwesteren ontario, Its hard to find someone to insure a school bus convertion.
you have to have a saftey check, the your propane has to be inspected, then I had to get an apraiseal done, thats what I had to do anyway. the first company gave us a year to do the conversion, and all that stuff had to be done, then they jacked the price to 1800, a year!!! after a dozen phone calls All state in thunder bay insured us, for under $300. but it took them a while to figure it all out.

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Old 08-18-2011, 07:09 AM   #5
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Re: New Project!

wow talk about jumping through hoops huh!
We figured insurance was going to be one of the big hurtles to jump. We actually talked to a friend of the family who is an insurance agent who said he would have no problem insuring the bus after the conversion.

We had the bus towed from the yard so that we can avoid registering it until it can be claimed as an RV. We are really fortunate to have someone in the insurance business giving us a hand with this : ).

I'm glad you eventually got yours insured at such a good rate! I'm excited to be at that stage in the project and hit the road : )
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Old 08-18-2011, 08:54 AM   #6
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Re: New Project!

A&A --- Welcome to the Loony Bin! Great looking starter unit there and sweet find on the genset. Best of luck and don't hesitate to post inquiries, questions, whatever. Great bunch of (experienced) folks here. Some newbies, some pros and more than a few mechanically clever wizards.
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Old 08-18-2011, 03:51 PM   #7
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Re: New Project!

Thanks so much Tango!
I'm so happy to have the forum as a resource, we have followed several of your conversions and will definitely pick your brains on more than one occasion!
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Old 08-18-2011, 08:40 PM   #8
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Re: New Project!

Today we got the rest of the seats in the bus out and started to remove the interior sheet metal.
Tomorrow is demo day! We will be removing the rear heater, stripping out the floor and possibly begin to tear out the dash.

We put up a new blog post if you want to check out todays progress.
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Old 08-18-2011, 11:52 PM   #9
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Re: New Project!

Nice job! Do you have any idea for the layout yet?
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Old 08-19-2011, 12:27 AM   #10
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Re: New Project!

Rivet removal? Get a good air chisel and a rivet removal bit for it. It only takes a couple seconds to pop each rivet. I have an old Mac air chisel that is great. Looks like the new ones are $77 from Mac. If you do a lot, the better chisel retainer is worth the money too.

Mac air chisel:
http://www.mactools.com/shoponline/prod ... ammer.aspx

Snap-On rivet removal bit:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... oup_ID=853


Arbor
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Old 08-20-2011, 08:12 AM   #11
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Re: New Project!

Quote:
Get a good air chisel and a rivet removal bit for it.
Have you actually tried this on a bus? My experience was, the rivet is much harder than the bus, and all it did was tear the rivet out leaving a bigger hole.
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Old 08-20-2011, 09:25 AM   #12
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Re: New Project!

The cleanest way to shave rivets...is with a "rivet shaver". Used one years ago on my old BB. Won't damage the sheet metal and leaves the hole clean and ready to re-use. Some are made for aluminum and others for steel. Here is an example...

http://www.hpwetmore.com/Rivet-Shave...te-Drills.html
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Old 08-20-2011, 10:43 AM   #13
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Re: New Project!

Quote:
Originally Posted by somewhereinusa
Quote:
Get a good air chisel and a rivet removal bit for it.
Have you actually tried this on a bus? My experience was, the rivet is much harder than the bus, and all it did was tear the rivet out leaving a bigger hole.
Yes, I have removed hundreds of rivets from my bus. I raised the roof and removed all the interior panels that way. At least on mine ('89 bluebird) it works well. It just cuts the rivets off, which can then be easily punched back through. You'll need an air chisel if you're installing any rivets too.

Arbor
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Old 08-20-2011, 06:21 PM   #14
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Engine: T444e
Re: New Project!

Quote:
Originally Posted by dgorila1
Nice job! Do you have any idea for the layout yet?
Thanks : )
We pretty much have the whole project mapped out. Since we waited so long to begin the project we have had three years to dream up the whole thing! We had 3D models on our old computer but unfortunately it was stolen so we don't have any pictures to show the vision. From the back on the drivers side will be the bedroom, the kitchen counter a wood stove and then the couch. On the passenger side will be the bedroom, a closet, the bathroom, a pantry and then the dinette.
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Old 08-20-2011, 06:40 PM   #15
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Engine: T444e
Re: New Project!

Quote:
Originally Posted by 00Arbor
Quote:
Originally Posted by somewhereinusa
Quote:
Get a good air chisel and a rivet removal bit for it.
Have you actually tried this on a bus? My experience was, the rivet is much harder than the bus, and all it did was tear the rivet out leaving a bigger hole.
Yes, I have removed hundreds of rivets from my bus. I raised the roof and removed all the interior panels that way. At least on mine ('89 bluebird) it works well. It just cuts the rivets off, which can then be easily punched back through. You'll need an air chisel if you're installing any rivets too.

Arbor
Both the air chisel you linked and the Rivet Shaver tango suggested look like excellent options. We actually just cut the rivets in half with the grinder and then went along with a hammer and a chisel knocking them off. This worked really well for us. At this stage we are trying to work with the tools we have and avoid buying one time use tools.

Here's our progress today:
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Old 08-21-2011, 08:53 AM   #16
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Re: New Project!

Lookin' good guys! --- Too bad you are so far away, I have a really nice wood stove that I just took out of my '46. Just wish I had room for it in the new floorplan. Can't even imagine what shipping one would cost.
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Old 08-21-2011, 09:50 PM   #17
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Re: New Project!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango
Lookin' good guys! --- Too bad you are so far away, I have a really nice wood stove that I just took out of my '46. Just wish I had room for it in the new floorplan. Can't even imagine what shipping one would cost.
Thanks!
Wow shipping would be unbelievable for sure! : )

Today we managed to finish removing the interior rivets, take out the three heaters and finish stripping the floor. Tomorrow we will be moving onto removing the windows and the interior sheet metal and preparing for the roof raise.
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Old 08-23-2011, 06:50 PM   #18
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Re: New Project!

Looks like a great bus, mind if I asked why you just didn't drive the bus to its new home? I as well did a roof raise, not that big of a deal but plan a head for un seen problems... where in Canada are you guys. I am from seattle and wondering how close you are to that. good luck with the project as I will be following your progress.

and again welcome to the madness.

dogfinn
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Old 08-23-2011, 07:46 PM   #19
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Re: New Project!

"This is really an ideal location for us as it has ample space, is close to home, and comes with the added perks of home made italian meals and access to a swimming pool!"

Ouch! You really know how to hurt a guy! As if I didn't already have enough issues with the sweat-box, scum hole I'm working in. All that and home made Italian too!? No more sympathy for you guys ! LOL

BTW...just how far are you raising the roof? I took my old Bird up 19 inches and it really wasn't that big a chore. Just plan carefully and keep safety in mind. Once free, you don't want it coming down with a crash. One more thing to pass on...I spoke with a Blue Bird tech in Georgia when I was contemplating my raise and he suggested (very strongly) that I alternate the position of the cuts to avoid creating a "weak line". Seemed to make sense, especially considering the source. I cut one at the base of a window and the next at the top. And I wound up buying repair roof ribs that I cut to size to lay over the inch and a half square tube that slid inside the existing ribs. Turned out very stout. And finally, regarding raising...make sure to tack-weld or otherwise attach a series of cross braces from side to side in a number of places both on the top and the lower segments of the body before you cut them all free. Otherwise it will tweak all out of shape before you can get the pretty, new, extended ribs attached (not a good thing and a bear to correct later).

Anyhow, that my $1.87's worth for now ( that's a real $.02 cents in 2011 dollars ).
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Old 08-23-2011, 10:29 PM   #20
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Engine: T444e
Re: New Project!

Quote:
Looks like a great bus, mind if I asked why you just didn't drive the bus to its new home? I as well did a roof raise, not that big of a deal but plan a head for un seen problems... where in Canada are you guys. I am from seattle and wondering how close you are to that. good luck with the project as I will be following your progress.

and again welcome to the madness.

dogfinn
Thanks dogfinn : )

We decided to have the bus towed for insurance purposes. This way we did not have to get plates/temporary insurance, so when we have completed the conversion we will be able to register it as an RV and get the insurance to fit that.

We are in St.Catharines, Ontario across the bridge from buffalo, NY so quite a way from Seattle.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango
"This is really an ideal location for us as it has ample space, is close to home, and comes with the added perks of home made italian meals and access to a swimming pool!"

Ouch! You really know how to hurt a guy! As if I didn't already have enough issues with the sweat-box, scum hole I'm working in. All that and home made Italian too!? No more sympathy for you guys ! LOL

BTW...just how far are you raising the roof? I took my old Bird up 19 inches and it really wasn't that big a chore. Just plan carefully and keep safety in mind. Once free, you don't want it coming down with a crash. One more thing to pass on...I spoke with a Blue Bird tech in Georgia when I was contemplating my raise and he suggested (very strongly) that I alternate the position of the cuts to avoid creating a "weak line". Seemed to make sense, especially considering the source. I cut one at the base of a window and the next at the top. And I wound up buying repair roof ribs that I cut to size to lay over the inch and a half square tube that slid inside the existing ribs. Turned out very stout. And finally, regarding raising...make sure to tack-weld or otherwise attach a series of cross braces from side to side in a number of places both on the top and the lower segments of the body before you cut them all free. Otherwise it will tweak all out of shape before you can get the pretty, new, extended ribs attached (not a good thing and a bear to correct later).

Anyhow, that my $1.87's worth for now ( that's a real $.02 cents in 2011 dollars ).
Hi Tango : ).
No question we are so lucky with our location!

We are planning on 28" but have not completely decided yet. Alex is fairly tall so we want to go as high as we can without limiting where we can go with the bus (woods etc.). We will definitely be safe when raising the roof, we have been taking our time getting to this step and planning it out. We bought four farm jacks that we will be using and it will be supported by guides. We are pretty much using the exact same method as Elliot Naess did on Millicent for the roof raise. (see: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate)

Thank you for the advice on the roof raise we will be bracing the roof, it is especially important for us because the front cap is staying and we will be making a slanted filler piece.

We follow both your conversion and dogfinn's and are happy to get your advice!
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