Hi all,
I'm new to the site, though I have been reading this forum for months. I am located just outside of Los Angeles in Pasadena,CA. A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine and I decided that we are going to buy a bus and convert it into a camper for Burning Man 2015. Our plan is to purchase the bus before October of 2014 and work on it for about a year.

Here are the parameters for the build.

• • 40' Crown Supercoach (2 axle diesel preferred)
  • No windows will be boarded up or covered from the exterior. We want the bus to be something of a "sleeper" (meaning most people should recognize the camper as a bus and not a camper) even though the bus won't be yellow.
  • Bus will be re-insulated
  • Generator for on-board power
  • A way to manage sand intrusion from dust storms (keeping sand out of interior and engine compartment)
  • Amenities for 8 people.
  • Limited use of cabinetry in kitchen
  • Full LED lighting
  • Wooden Floors
  • Off Grid Compatibility (solar power, solar hot water heater)

My friend and I are very well versed in design, electronics, and engineering (We run an augmented reality startup). So the bus will have these special features as well (which we will design and have fabricated):

• Head Up display for driver
  • One of a kind LED Tail lights and turn signals
  • A DJ Booth
  • Rearview camera
  • SNES emulator derived from a RaspberryPi
  • One of a kind A/C system that will automatically separate the sand from fresh air.

Here is how we plan to tackle our ambitious project.
Phase 1 Body Work and demo:

• • After sourcing the Crown we will remove all decals, and sand the paint.
  • Remove seats and flooring
  • Remove all of the windows, mirrors, and exterior lights.
  • We will then coat the exterior with grey primer
  • Finally paint the stripes with metallic black paint. We will resume painting the exterior once all of the interior has has been completed.

Phase 2 Underbody Utilities:
We will be installing all power, HVAC, plumbing in this phase. We want to ensure that we can fit everything want underneath the bus to keep our sleeper appearance.
Additionally we want to know where all of our holes for vents, pipes, etc will be coming through before we install the floor and ceiling.

• • Install LP Generator, 11 Gallon Tank, and route exhaust
  • Install Fresh Water tank
  • Install Grey/Black water tank
  • Install in floor drink cooler
  • Install breaker box
  • Install Battery bank
  • Install beer lines for beer taps
  • Install Sand shield for engine bay
  • Reroute air inake for engine and install bypass route for sandy conditions
  • Create additional storage areas underneath
  • Service engine, fluids, brakes, and tires

Phase 3a/b Interior Mock Up/Install:
We will be making a 3D CAD model of the interior of the Bus, so we can have an idea of what fits inside of the bus before purchasing and installing it. We will be starting at the back of the bus and working our way forward. Additionally, to hide the wiring, HVAC, and wireless routers will be installing a dropped ceiling inside of the bus. The dropped ceiling gives us the flexibility to change the lighting and location of outlets, and add new components without rewiring the whole bus.

• • Install rear sleeping quarter
  • Install toilet room and shower
  • Install kitchen area
  • Install Media/living area

Phase 4 Testing:
We will be driving the bus around some pretty horrible roads looking for anything that is loose and listening for squeaks and rattles so that we can fix what we can. We plan on owning this Crown for decades and plan on this being a labor of love (and squeaks and rattles will make me love this a lot less)

• • Reinstall windows
  • Drive. Find a problem. Fix it. (repeat)
  • Cycle generator and charge batteries

Phase 5 Finishing Touches:

• • Paint the bus in Vanilla color
  • Paint roof white
  • Install roof rails
  • Install new headlight and turn signals
  • Install antennas

This will be a pretty different Bus conversion and I will be posting updates as they happen on here. We are looking for feedback and help with questions as we go along. I will be posting pictures and youtube videos as well. When we are done, I will post a link to the 3D CAD model of the interior and some of the custom components as a resource for others who want to do a Crown conversion. I figure the more info the better.

Thanks for reading this far. We are really looking forward to this!

Welcome to the Asylum Raymac & company --- Sounds like a plan to me. Crowns are great platforms to build on and there are several folks here in various stages of completion with whom you can share war stories. And given all the references to "keeping sand out", it sounds like you've been to Burning Man before. And no ordinary sand it is. Very fine and caustic as well. Really nasty stuff. Especially when propelled by 40 mph winds.

Good luck on the build. It sounds like you have an excellent talent pool so please...do keep the pix coming as you progress.

Welcome aboard. We love Crowns and their owners.

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You Gotta Let Me Fly

Welcome, too bad the DMV in Pasadena just closed down, registering my bus as RV was easy at that location.

http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auctio ... uc=1143419

Welcome Reymac!

My only thoughts on your build with the requirements you've outlined is that you're going to need to find a Crown pusher, or no Crown at all.

The Crown's with the mid-ship engines don't have a lot of room underneath, but you might already know that.

Good luck!

-serpent

Thanks! I was wondering if the volume was any different since we would lose the trunk with the pusher?

Good to know. Were there any sticking points or any surprises with registering your bus as an RV?

I don't believe the volume actually changes. You'll lose the trunk but gain more usable floor space with the storage compartments underneath, at least for a 'sleeper' camper build. Some conversions with the mid-ship Crowns end up installing roof racks and putting things like water storage/etc. up top in order to keep usable floor space inside.

Like you, I intend to keep my Crown looking more like a Crown than a camper. No ugly stuff on the roof, etc. But, I'm already running into certain issues without having the underfloor storage that most 'regular' buses have:

All my electrical, plumbing, water and grey tanks are all above the floor, and I have to install things like waste pumps to move things around. I'm basically wasting quite a bit of floor space to build all the systems that make it a camper.

But, I also don't intend to have accommodations for 8 people, and I won't have a DJ booth, media lounge, LP, on-board generator, or black tank. Hell, I may not even install a place for a shower and will probably build something more portable for outside use. ;)

However, either way you go (pusher or not) you're going to have a great time building it. You might just have to reconsider your requirements depending on the Crown you get.

BTW- when you say 2-axle 40' Crown I think the only option is the pusher. I'm not 100% sure (some other Crown guy jump in) but I think all the 40' Crown's with mid-engines were 3-axle tandems.

This is more good info! Some of the parameters will change once we have the bus in hand and once we scale it up. For instance, the original goal was to bring 10 people with us, but there was no way for us to this because of the trunk/engine bulkhead. I think that by the time everything is done capacity may be reduced to 7.

I just assumed most of the crown's out there were mid engine. We'd prefer is if it were a mid-engine tandem for more under floor storage and the air suspension. BTW how does the ride on the air suspension compare to that of the conventional leaf spring? Are your airbags in pretty good condition (not dry rotted)?

Does anyone is the LA are have a crown? We'd like to take some measurements and poke our heads around a bit.

You may not want a crown. They are getting expensive. The mid engine design has very little room underneath. You can find thomas and blue bird pushers or even front engines for a couple grand, and have a full 40 feet of space. If you are willing to drive it down they get cheaper in texas and washington.

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Just some things to consider with a Crown:

The pushers are the only Crown's with 'real' underfloor storage. Also, you won't actually get any more underfloor storage in a 35' 2-axle mid-engine vs a 40' 3-axle tandem mid-engine; that 3rd axle eats any extra underfloor storage that could have been there.

Mid-engine Crown's will have the following underfloor bays (not including trunk):

1 up front on passenger side (generally used to hold a spare tire, and only in rare cases is this bay enclosed.)
1 up front on driver side (this is for the engine radiator.)
2 center bays (access to either side of the engine.)
1 rear driver side (this contains running batteries and engine air filter.)
1 rear passenger side (often enclosed and usable, unless used for rare engine A/C.)

So, normally you only get 1 usable underfloor bay with a mid-engine Crown. Best case will be two if you get lucky.

This doesn't mean I'd stay away from a mid-engine Crown for a conversion; obviously it was my preferred choice for a few personal reasons. However, if my intention was to have the most usable space for a conversion without a ton of headache I would go with a different bus make altogether. Also, running all sorts of plumbing and electrical under the floor of a mid-engine Crown isn't going to be fun; there's a lot of moving parts to stay away from. It's best to avoid too many large hoses/cables running long distances.

Crown's look awesome (in my opinion the best looking bus on the road.) And the mid-engine and ride height make it drive like nothing else. BUT they are a BITCH to make into a 'proper' conversion when compared to all the other great buses out there. Unless you don't mind butchering it by putting all sorts of 'ugly' crap on the roof. ;)

As for the Air-Ride. Not a lot of the Crown's have it installed by default, it was more common in the later years. My bus had no signs of dry-rot but it was basically straight from the school district so most things were fairly well maintained. Personally I don't think the air-ride makes much of a difference when compared to springs in the rear. My front-end still has leaf springs so from my perspective it's just as 'bouncy' either way. ...haven't been in one with air-ride all around to compare.

I should clarify (I really don't want to scare you away from this endeavor):

You will get two usable underfloor bays with a mid-engine Crown as long as there is no factory engine A/C (or if there is, you remove it), and if you don't mind doing some 'work' on the front passenger side bay (you can move the spare tire to center front (many buses have a place to mount the tire there) and then enclose it. Or, if you want an on-board generator, it makes a nice place for that.

Take some time to browse through these forums. There's a few REAL nice Crown conversions out there.

...just one more thing before I come back (hopefully after I do some more work on my bus today and take some pictures.)

THERE IS NO WAY YOU ARE GOING TO KEEP THE DUST OF THE PLAYA OUT OF YOUR BUS.

I would only add that painting the exterior in primer and then leaving it until later for the final paint color may not be a good idea. I had a Mustang that was primer gray for [too long] and it rusted terribly. Primer is designed to adhere to the metal and give the color coat something to stick to, but it's also porous and water penetrates to the surface. It's not supposed to be a protective layer.

Probably better to do both priming and painting first or last, but at least around the same time.

I'm taking a short break and would like to add something else... more of a question really.

What are your ideas on this?

• One of a kind A/C system that will automatically separate the sand from fresh air.

Normal refrigerant using A/C units already generally do this. The evaporator coils are normally isolated from the condenser coils. In normal operation the condenser coil and fan would be the only part exposed to the dust. The evaporator coil and fan will use (probably not so fresh) air from inside the bus.



Interested in your idea as A/C units have always been an issue in the dust.

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LOL. We really ant to use the crown. We were wanting to turn any available open space under the bus into new storage areas.

This is a good point, but we are not planning on stripping it down to where it's a white body. The conversion will take place in a warehouse away from the elements. Did you mustang project go don to the bare metal or was thee any top coat left?

This is fine if we only had to worry about a cooling portion of the project. It is more so getting a nice mix or fresh dry air. We don't want to recirc the interior air too much or the air will become muggy. The sand separation is not project, but my friend's. He wants to use the concept that those dyson vacuums use where there is a vortex.

Crown it is. But if you want any available open space under the bus a mid-engine isn't going to give you much to work with. Another though, there recently there was a Crown Atomic Articulated for sale. Now THAT would give you some space!