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Old 06-04-2015, 10:24 AM   #21
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Join Date: Apr 2015
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Something like this
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Old 06-08-2015, 06:22 AM   #22
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Made some progress this weekend. We put new tail lights on the bus. I used a grinder to grind off the aisle bolts for the seats. I had to use a socket wrench to disconnect the bolts from the wall (my knuckles are pretty busted now). I still have one seat left that I'll have to drill out the allen bolts. There's also a really long allen bolt by the stairwell/handrail on the front most divider/seat-back thingy that I'll have to drill as well.

It looks like I may be able to make use of some of the scraps. I took the padding/vinyl off of the seat backs (bundled it up and put it on the curb. We'll see if it's still there after the garbage men come today). There's a fair amount of sheet metal that I may find useful. We cut down the seats so they'd store better in my garage. I'm thinking I may be able to make some basement type storage under the bus using some of these scraps. I also thought they'd be good for making mounts for the tanks.

The plasma torch doesn't cut down the scraps as fast as the sawzall.

I'm thinking of removing the heaters entirely. Those strips along the base of the walls get in the way. Has anyone done that before? What are the challenges with that?

I also got some pics of the wheelchair lift working for Craigslist. I'll probably drop the price a bit and hope someone wants it in the next week or two before I take it to the scrap heap. I don't want it taking up too much space in my garage. The guy that owns the storage unit I'm parking at has a forklift that I'll be able to borrow.
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Old 06-08-2015, 06:45 AM   #23
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Bring lots of buckets, because you'll have around 40 feet of coolant in the hoses. Some of the builds have left the heater and built around the hoses.
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Old 06-08-2015, 07:37 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by austin1989us View Post
I'm thinking of removing the heaters entirely. Those strips along the base of the walls get in the way. Has anyone done that before? What are the challenges with that?
If you do, I'd make the trip from Katy to get them. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a bus to convert into our tiny home. We'll need heaters to keep warm in the winter.

Let me know, and I'll drive up there.

Thx,

M1031
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Old 06-08-2015, 08:52 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by M1031A1 View Post
If you do, I'd make the trip from Katy to get them. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a bus to convert into our tiny home. We'll need heaters to keep warm in the winter.

Let me know, and I'll drive up there.

Thx,

M1031
Sounds good. We'll see what happens when we get to that point. It may be easier to just work around it. I think this week we'll be worried about getting those last couple seats and the wheelchair lift/anchors out. I'll probably get it weighed after we take the lift out, but before we pull up the floor.
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Old 06-08-2015, 09:21 AM   #26
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M1031 --- So...you have the sweetheart in the bunch picked out?
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Old 06-08-2015, 10:58 AM   #27
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I gave my WC lift to a gentleman that needed it. He attached it to his front deck on his house and runs a solar/battery setup. He can barely climb steps so it's a big help.
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Old 06-08-2015, 07:57 PM   #28
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We pulled the heater from the rear of the bus. Cut down the hose and looped it back onto itself. We didn't really loose much anti-freeze at all.

We also kept the electrical wires hooked up that went to the rear heater. I'm not sure of Hubby's plans for it though.

This way we still have the heater up by the drivers seat to keep the driver warm and if push comes to shove I have plenty of blankets to wrap me & the dogs up with. Though the dogs generate enough heat all by themselves.
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Old 06-08-2015, 09:26 PM   #29
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M1031 --- So...you have the sweetheart in the bunch picked out?
Yep, it's in California. Praying the bidding doesn't go insane......
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Old 06-09-2015, 06:23 AM   #30
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Yep, it's in California. Praying the bidding doesn't go insane......
I saw on Craigslist a while back that someone had some CFISD buses. There's a slight chance that I rode one of those years ago.
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Old 06-09-2015, 06:27 AM   #31
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We pulled the heater from the rear of the bus. Cut down the hose and looped it back onto itself. We didn't really loose much anti-freeze at all.

We also kept the electrical wires hooked up that went to the rear heater. I'm not sure of Hubby's plans for it though.

This way we still have the heater up by the drivers seat to keep the driver warm and if push comes to shove I have plenty of blankets to wrap me & the dogs up with. Though the dogs generate enough heat all by themselves.
That sounds like a good idea. I may just pull the rear heater. I'll have to think up something cool to do with 12V power in my kitchen/bedroom area and a switch on my dash. Disco ball?
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Old 06-09-2015, 06:30 AM   #32
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Originally Posted by Scooternj View Post
Bring lots of buckets, because you'll have around 40 feet of coolant in the hoses. Some of the builds have left the heater and built around the hoses.
I have a spreadsheet for this at work, but the line lengths are in miles. 0.0075 miles (39.6') of line with a 1" ID is about 0.216 cubic feet (1.6 gallons).
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Old 06-09-2015, 06:40 AM   #33
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I gave my WC lift to a gentleman that needed it. He attached it to his front deck on his house and runs a solar/battery setup. He can barely climb steps so it's a big help.
If I knew someone that needed one I'd give it to them.

I considered holding on to it to build a lift out of it. My dad enjoys filling deer feeders at his camp in the hill country. I figured as he gets older he'll have trouble standing on a 4-wheeler rack or tailgate to fill feeders. But he's putting in feeders at ground level now to solve that problem.

My father-in-law thinks I should make a motorcycle lift out of it and mount it to the back of the bus, but I don't think it's strong enough for that.

I used to work at a nursing home 8 years ago. Maybe they need one?
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Old 06-09-2015, 12:47 PM   #34
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Our bus had two valves on the engine that cut off the heater loop. If yours has them, open both before you cut into the heater system. Wish we had known this before we cut into ours, we ended up losing more coolant than we should have.

Don't try to unscrew a hose clamp and remove a hose...just cut the hose off as quickly as you can with a razor knife, and get the hose in a bucket ASAP. Have a shop vac and paper towels to catch any coolant that does spill.

We ended up removing the drivers side heater and the rear heater. We left the heater by the front door in place. We are probably going to put both heaters back in, but we're still glad we removed them because the rubber and plywood flooring under the heaters and hoses was some of the nastiest in the entire bus.
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Old 06-09-2015, 12:57 PM   #35
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And...do keep in mind that for whatever reason...dogs & cats seem to love drinking coolant. But they only do it once per lifetime.
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Old 06-11-2015, 10:33 AM   #36
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Last night me and my father-in-law took out the last two seats and disconnected the wiring for the wheelchair lift. If I can't find someone to take the lift in the next couple of days I'll be taking it to be scrapped on Saturday.

This weekend I'd like to get the lift out and get the bus weighed. After it's weighed I'll be taking the bench over the passenger side rear wheel well out and start tearing up the floor.
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Old 06-11-2015, 01:51 PM   #37
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Quote:
dogs & cats seem to love drinking coolant
It tastes sweet.
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Old 06-11-2015, 02:48 PM   #38
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As I said in the insurance thread, just got my cancellation notice from Progressive. My insurance ends at 00:01 on June 21st. That's mildly frustrating. They said I can get a commercial policy for a little over $70/month.
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Old 06-11-2015, 03:05 PM   #39
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It tastes sweet.
Ethylene Glycol tastes sweet to animals...
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Old 06-11-2015, 05:15 PM   #40
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Quote:
If yours has them, open both before you cut into the heater system
I think you mean close them, that will isolate the heaters from the engine.
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