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Old 04-07-2016, 07:30 PM   #21
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DT Rutledge View Post
Well said Aaron. I think the comparison should not be with an intact school bus, but with a manufactured motor coach. In that case, a modified school bus is much safer than sticks and staples.


No joke there. The reason I plan to construct s Skoolie instead of spending similar money on an RV is that I saw a crash video of a low-cost class A. Couldn't put my kids in that. I hope I could build mine better.

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Old 04-12-2016, 11:24 AM   #22
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OK great--- so we have a well-rounded perspective on the strength of the ceiling if panels are removed/not removed, and how to remove the rivets, if desired! Thanks!!

Any other thoughts on the general steps to prepare the inside of a bus?

Floors 101, walls 101?
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Old 04-12-2016, 01:18 PM   #23
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seat belts

I have spent the past few months gutting a 89 ford Wayne Schoolie (short bus).
We are moving from PA to FL. Because of our circumstances, we needed to build in bunks, kitchen and full size bed. This didn't leave room for actual seats. The only seat in the schoolie is the drivers seat. It has a seat belt. I have a son who is taller than me and a daughter who is my size. My son is 15 and my daughter is 16. This is what we have downsized to. We are packing what fits and the rest of our house we are selling with the house and auction.
I am unsure what to do about seat belts. There were no seats or seat belts to begin with in the original camper layout, so I didn't even think about it till now that it is redone. Any suggestions? Can I put seat belts in a bottom bunk? Maybe fasten them to the wall? I am clueless. We will be traveling through States that would normally require belts for my kids in a car. Is it different for a camper/bus? Any suggestions? I do not have the time or money now to rebuild everything.
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Old 04-12-2016, 02:25 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by Ladybird14 View Post
I have spent the past few months gutting a 89 ford Wayne Schoolie (short bus).
We are moving from PA to FL. Because of our circumstances, we needed to build in bunks, kitchen and full size bed. This didn't leave room for actual seats. The only seat in the schoolie is the drivers seat. It has a seat belt. I have a son who is taller than me and a daughter who is my size. My son is 15 and my daughter is 16. This is what we have downsized to. We are packing what fits and the rest of our house we are selling with the house and auction.
I am unsure what to do about seat belts. There were no seats or seat belts to begin with in the original camper layout, so I didn't even think about it till now that it is redone. Any suggestions? Can I put seat belts in a bottom bunk? Maybe fasten them to the wall? I am clueless. We will be traveling through States that would normally require belts for my kids in a car. Is it different for a camper/bus? Any suggestions? I do not have the time or money now to rebuild everything.
An uncomfortable option is a ratchet strap as a lap belt and a bungee cord as the shoulder strap. If you have them laying around you could probably use them. I do not know the seat belt laws in other states so i cant offer anything there.
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Old 05-15-2016, 07:16 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by SharkBus View Post


OK great--- so we have a well-rounded perspective on the strength of the ceiling if panels are removed/not removed, and how to remove the rivets, if desired! Thanks!!

Any other thoughts on the general steps to prepare the inside of a bus?

Floors 101, walls 101?
I'm a month late to this post here, but I figure I would put in my two cents about floors based off very little experience, and no professional construction experience. The flooring should be insulated atleast 1/2inch, ideally with a radient barrier between the insulation and plywood. A member here Nat who used to be pretty active and appear knowledgeable suggested that it was not necessary to use mechanical fasteners to secure the insulation and plywood to the ground, but using adhesives would be adequate.

For the final flooring, I have read a lot of regrets from people who used laminate, hardwood/bamboo also is not suggested because it will likely rot eventually. I can speak from first hand experience that due to some leaks in my bus and neglect that my hardwood flooring went from beautiful to rotting and warped after one rainy season, if you are in Washington I'll give you all of it for free. Using rubber or vinyl imitation hardwood flooring seems to be the best choice IMO.
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Old 05-17-2016, 03:56 PM   #26
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Hey gang,

Speaking of flooring, do most school buses tend to have the vinyl flooring AND plywood subflooring when you go to rip it out? How thick are these materials, typically? One inch, three-quarters of one inch (combined)? Sounds like an odd question, I guess. Just trying to estimate actual vertical height in potential buses... sans-flooring.
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Old 05-17-2016, 04:11 PM   #27
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I would say about an inch total, or maybe a pinch under an inch. The plywood was not less than 3/4 inch and the rubber was maybe about 1/16 of an inch, maybe, give or take.
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Old 05-17-2016, 04:31 PM   #28
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I was reading in another thread that someone on here only had the rubberized flooring in their skoolie when they bought it......can't remember for the life of me though.
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Old 05-17-2016, 09:14 PM   #29
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You will need to check to be 100 % sure. When you remove either the cap at the front of the bus or the rear ot will expose either just rubber or rubber and wood. The wood seems to be 3/4inch plywood (measure yours to be sure) and the rubber dependant on manufacturer as to its thickness(again measure).
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Old 05-18-2016, 05:17 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by Docsgsxr View Post
I was reading in another thread that someone on here only had the rubberized flooring in their skoolie when they bought it......can't remember for the life of me though.
My bus came from the factory without the wood flooring. Just a rubber puke mat.
Saved me a bit of work.
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Old 05-18-2016, 05:24 AM   #31
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Hey gang,

Speaking of flooring, do most school buses tend to have the vinyl flooring AND plywood subflooring when you go to rip it out? How thick are these materials, typically? One inch, three-quarters of one inch (combined)? Sounds like an odd question, I guess. Just trying to estimate actual vertical height in potential buses... sans-flooring.
My stock floor is about 1/2 ply with the rubber puke mat on top.
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Old 05-18-2016, 10:24 AM   #32
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...and how many of you insulated your floors? In doing so, how much vertical space did you lose?
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Old 05-18-2016, 10:33 AM   #33
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Originally Posted by rjnye79 View Post
...and how many of you insulated your floors? In doing so, how much vertical space did you lose?
I'm planning on 2-2 1/2" of insulation on the floor. When it's all said and done, I'll have probably lost about 3-3 1/2 inches of vertical
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Old 05-18-2016, 12:11 PM   #34
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I'm planning on 2-2 1/2" of insulation on the floor. When it's all said and done, I'll have probably lost about 3-3 1/2 inches of vertical
Damn. That sounds like a lot. I was hoping to only lose 1.5-2".
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Old 05-18-2016, 01:58 PM   #35
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Originally Posted by rjnye79 View Post
...and how many of you insulated your floors? In doing so, how much vertical space did you lose?
Floating floor frame 2" +3/4th "plywood base 1/4" for flooring is my plan. So 3 inches lose in height.
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Old 05-18-2016, 02:00 PM   #36
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So I just had a guy come out yesterday and look at the bus to do spray foam. He mentioned spraying the bottom of the bus so I wouldn't lose as much floor space. I don't know how well that would work and would still prolly do 1/2 of foam board under my plywood. Any thoughts on this? I figured I could use my old ceiling panels to protect the foam from debri while going down the road.

Reeses on recess has some great vids on floors and also just posted a vid on spray foaming the inside.
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Old 05-18-2016, 02:26 PM   #37
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Damn. That sounds like a lot. I was hoping to only lose 1.5-2".
I also have 12" windows and stand 6', so I can afford to lose some vertical distance.
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Old 05-18-2016, 04:18 PM   #38
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There are people here with foam under their floor. It appears to take the weather pretty well other than discoloring from road grime. Some threads have talked about spraying bed liner on the foam under the floor for protection.

I also want to insulate from underneath because I intend to frequently use the L-track that covers my floor. Besides, it's not a black rubber mat. My floor does have some issues and may need to eventually come out, but for now spraying underneath is the option toward warmer feet. Well, that and the big wood stove I got.
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Old 05-18-2016, 04:45 PM   #39
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I have 3.5" of foam in the floor and 3" in the ceiling. 3/4" OSB and then 10mm laminate flooring on top of that. I raised the roof 16" so I didn't lose any height. If you're concerned just do a small raise and you'll be good to go. It's really not as hard as everybody seems to think it is.
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:55 PM   #40
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Two Cents

I am 6'4 and the interior height of my bus (3800 international) is 6'2 and 6'4 to 6'5 with the roof hatches up but not open.

Now, I plan to do a lift just for my general brain health.

At first, I was going to lift the roof 16" but due to heavy outer skin rust and other big issues. I am going to lift it roughly 20" and extend the outer skin skirting down about 8-9". I want to give my Bus a semi-couch bus look with a lower skirt and it also helps with mounting under carriage storage containers.

If, I lift 20" I can hang new sheet metal panels vertically to include the lift and skirt extension. An interesting concept and hopefully it will pan out properly.

Also, being in Northern Minnesota our temps often vary 140 degrees from season to season.

I plan to add two layers of 2" insulation to the floor giving me roughly 4" of insulation. The same with the roof in time if possible. A flooring interior floor is the overall game plan.

Two inches of wall insulation should be plenty. I have always applied general home construction rules to my bus. A good set of boots and a good cover solves a lot of problems down the road.

Hope my words have helped a little.
Best of luck, keep us posted.
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