Jacuzzi Bus III

lapeer20m · 04-05-2007, 05:03 PM

I'm going to build a bus for a "client" He just bought her off of ebay last nite. I'll be spending someone elses money, and i have a deadline. The plan is to have the entire bus finished in 90 days, jacuzzi and all.

It's a 1991 IH with a DT360, underbelly storage, ward body, 71 passenger from southwestern mo. Good tires, good glass, rebuilt AT545. The add says it cruises 65, so i'm guessing it has a decent rear ratio...hopefuly something in the 4.xx range.

wish me luck!

I'll be sure to post updates along the way

lapeer20m · 04-05-2007, 08:05 PM

he wanted to buy my bus....but i didn't want to sell it. A friend of mine suggested i build a bus to order, so that's what i'm gonna do.

phillbus914 · 04-05-2007, 09:50 PM

Sweet...

Tell him not to drive this one on the beach.

pete c · 04-06-2007, 06:52 AM

what's the fun in stayin' off the beach. Just rig up some inflatable pontoons.

lapeer20m · 04-06-2007, 11:41 AM

after he's paid me for it, he can drive it wherever he wants. I know a really great tow company in south texas if he's looking for some non-skilled tow truck operators.

Steve · 04-06-2007, 06:51 PM

So do you have the tub for it? Are you going to try to find another used one?

lapeer20m · 04-07-2007, 04:54 AM

trying to find a used one. A friend of a friend has one for $500, so i might go with that one....although that's more than double what i've payed for both of my other jacuzzi's combined.

pete c · 04-07-2007, 02:32 PM

Sounds like you got a client with a little cash to throw around. Looks like the perfect opportunity to do that lift jacuzzi you mentioned awhile back.

If not a lift, how 'bout atleast putting it on a platform so that it sticks up through the roof?

Probably wouldn't corner real good with a full tub, but, it would be neat.

lapeer20m · 04-16-2007, 09:41 AM

photos to come. Got the new bus yesterday, started removing seats about 6pm. If the entire conversion goes as perfect as seat removal we'll have her finished in no time. Most of the seats didn't even need a wrench to hold the not on the bottom, the imapct wrench rattled em right out. WE had to cut off zero of the bolts. In under 2 hours we had all the seats out, the fabric removed, and the scrap metal piled on the trailer.

I love southern busses!
i'm sure that's the reason the seats came out so nice.

Elliot Naess · 04-16-2007, 10:38 AM

Southern, western... Out of the rust belt! I keep telling you guys it's worth the trip to
buy rust free buses! As much as I appreciate the quality of life and the caliber of
people "up there", those chemicals on the roads are a bad thing for vehicles.

I also keep thinking how much better my third or forth conversion would be -- based
on the past "training". Is your client planning to take this one to Burning Man so we
can see it there?

wmah · 04-16-2007, 10:56 AM

I got mine near st louis missouri and I guess I either didn't go far enough south or not far enough west since I still had to cut the bolts off. But I didn't have a bunch of rust holes all over the body. And it is only at about 100,000 miles new still.

the_experience03 · 04-16-2007, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

As much as I appreciate the quality of life and the caliber of
people "up there", those chemicals on the roads are a bad thing for vehicles.

One trip across Montana and you'd find that the chemicals are a lot better for vehicles than no means of ice control.

It's amazing how hit or miss it is. My bus is rust-free and lived its whole life in northern Minnesota. All I have is surface rust on things like the brake chambers that were poorly painted from the factory. On the other hand...I have a Toyota parts truck that spent its whole life up here as well and I'm fairly certain that the carpet is the only thing holding the cab together.

Elliot Naess · 04-16-2007, 02:59 PM

Any thoughts about rust in Wyoming? This looks like a FABULOUS bus.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... escription

lapeer20m · 04-16-2007, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

Is your client planning to take this one to Burning Man so we
can see it there?

as a matter of fact he is!

Today didn't go as well as yesterday. Spent all morning grinding, drilling, then using a hammer and punch to remove what seemed like thousands of rivets. I'm sure there were less than 200. We removed all the rivets from one piece of roofing sheet metal. Had that done by about noon, but spent the rest of the day trying to get the metal separated from the bus. Those ward folks used some super sticky glue to keep out moisture and we can't seem to separate the exteroir panels. GRRRRR! We might have to buy a new piece of sheet metal, not sure if we'll get this piece off without some serious maiming. Too bad i took the old bus sheet metal to the scrap yard last month! We'll get her figured out.

On the plus side, I did bring home a "new" jacuzzi today. I'm not sure if it'll fit in the bus though. It's HUGE! It might end up at my house as i have a line on a more suitable jacuzzi that measures about 7'x7'.

i'll work at posting photos on wednessday, but it's not too exciting to look at yet.

Elliot Naess · 04-16-2007, 10:48 PM

Quote:

...it's not too exciting to look at yet.

The idea of somebody wrestling with hundreds of rivets and acres of stiff, sharp, balky glued
sheet metal is amusing, though.

the_experience03 · 04-17-2007, 10:42 PM

Ok, I have to ask...where are you sourcing these hot tubs from? The ones on Craigslist locally are all expensive and in need of repair. I've often thought of making my own with some fiberglass. We did make one on the lake during ice fishing season once with a wooden frame and a tarp inside it. We heated it with a submerged woodstove and circulated the water with bilge pumps. It was a sight to see, but I'd want to make mine a little less booty fab.

Steve · 04-17-2007, 11:33 PM

Okay I would loose the tarp but heating a the tub with a wood stove sounds like a great idea. At for those of us who have an unlimited amount of timber.

Of course hot tubs are supposed to be heated all the time unless you are going to drain the water after each use so a wood stove has some downfalls.

the_experience03 · 04-18-2007, 12:20 AM

It was only on the lake for a week or so before it became a bonfire (it was a celebration of nothing at all), but it really did work well. There was a log chute that you put small pieces in from the top, a watertight pipe up to the regular flue pipe, and dual 3 inch air ducts going to the outside horizontally below the water level with little guillotines to control air flow. The stove is still floating around somewhere...

lapeer20m · 04-18-2007, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

Of course hot tubs are supposed to be heated all the time unless you are going to drain the water after each use so a wood stove has some downfalls.

who sais? I think the only reason they are hot all the time is because with the usual electric heaters it takes several hours or more to heat the water. Bacteria would grow at a much slower rate in cold water.

i'm getting ready to install one at my house, and i've been thinking about also installing a fuel oil boiler just to heat the water. that way, it's much more efficient. I can turn on the boiler a half hour or so before i want to jump in and i'll be all set. For those fortunate enough to have an outdoor wood boiler, that would be an even better solution if you're cheap like me. Outdoor wood boilers are all the rage here in michigan now, but they're too pricy for me.

lapeer20m · 05-02-2007, 08:48 PM

IT HAS BEGUN!

Finally finished our negotiations and recieved a large sum of money so we can beging working on the project in ernest.

Ground all of the rivets off a while ago......Spent all freaking day trying to get the one roof panel off. It took three of us, A 500,000 (that's five-hundred-thousand) BTU propane torch, grinders, hammers, chizzles, a welder, chains, a come-along, A really big tree (to tie the chains to the bus) about a hundred little wooden wedges, some paint thinnner, a few scraps of steel, one grade 8 bolt, a sawzall, various crow bars,a large flat head screwdriver, and a little luck to finally get that piece of sheet metal free. It's a big piece of metal, about 5 feet across and 10 feet long.

The only thing holding it on today was the glue/sealant put on by the factory.

photos to come! i'm too tired to post them now.

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