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Old 10-21-2015, 06:29 PM   #1
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Big yellow toy hauler project underway!

I should be picking up the start of my project at the end of this week. (Theoretically...)

It is a 2000 AmTran, 72 passenger, FE bus with the extended "acoustic" ceiling and aluminum wheels. 215 hp DT466E, Allison 2000 push button trans, gearing apparently will do 60 in 4th (5 speed trans) so it should be good to go for long highway trips. It's got alot of miles on it (270k), but has a reman engine that apparently was in-framed at some point as well. Hopefully all is well in that department.

The plans are to basically cut the back door off and re-weld it further up so you have a short bus on a full bus frame. This leaves a place to park my Jeep on the back and yet still have a mini RV! I don't have pix yet, but I will when I pick it up.

I have a lot of questions about all the bazillion switches, service info, etc. Hopefully those who have done this before can help! I called the international dealer and they want $30 for the operators manual, $150 for the service manual, and $150 for the diagnostic manual. That's hard to swallow but I might have to. I plan on doing all fluids and filters when I get the bus before I go into anything else. (fuel filter, oil and filter change, coolant and coolant filter, air filter, transmission fluid and filter, rear diff fluid, etc.) Anyone have resources on those services?

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Old 10-21-2015, 06:36 PM   #2
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Welcome! --- Sounds like a fun toy hauler project. I've seen a couple that were similar but left the roof in place and just built a new rear wall. Makes a nice, shaded patio when the toy is away.

And do be careful pulling switches. Many of the buses are built with a dozen or so interlocks that will shut down the engine or prevent starting if a door or emergency exit is sensed as open. They can be a real beotch to track down.

And you might try Ebay for manuals. The 466 is a great motor but that "E" on the end makes it a lot trickier to deal with. A proper manual would be a great start.
And whatever else you do here...post some pix!
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Old 10-21-2015, 11:29 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tippyman View Post
It is a 2000 AmTran, 72 passenger, FE bus with the extended "acoustic" ceiling and aluminum wheels.
Is yours a dog-nose or flat-face bus?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tippyman View Post
The plans are to basically cut the back door off and re-weld it further up so you have a short bus on a full bus frame. This leaves a place to park my Jeep on the back and yet still have a mini RV! I don't have pix yet, but I will when I pick it up.
I hope you mean back wall not "back door." On mine, the previous owner cut off the back wall, added a dovetail, and built a new back wall that doubles as the ramp.





I built an interior wall between the garage and the house where I ended up with 16 feet for the RV section (makes every inch crucial). I intend to keep the car inside the bus over the winters and use the RV section as my man-cave during that time. I will be traveling in the warmer seasons to several racing venues and car show while living on-board.

The reason I asked about the dog-nose has to do with weight on the wheels. I have a dog-nose with an extended front bumper where I store all my heavy equipment, tools, and spare tire. This does not overload my front axle but brings some of the weight forward. I'm within a 2000 lbs of the capacity on my rear wheels when the car is loaded and it drives WAAYYY!!! different than when empty.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Tippyman View Post
I have a lot of questions about all the bazillion switches, service info, etc. Hopefully those who have done this before can help! I called the international dealer and they want $30 for the operators manual, $150 for the service manual, and $150 for the diagnostic manual. That's hard to swallow but I might have to. I plan on doing all fluids and filters when I get the bus before I go into anything else. (fuel filter, oil and filter change, coolant and coolant filter, air filter, transmission fluid and filter, rear diff fluid, etc.) Anyone have resources on those services?
Those prices are about right and I'd recommend you decide soon if you want them. These manuals are getting harder to find every day.
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Old 10-22-2015, 05:31 AM   #4
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It is a flat front. Actually the finished project should look like this:

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/anyone-looking-for-a-toy-hauler-8893.html
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Old 11-05-2015, 10:15 PM   #5
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Picked up the bus today!

And... didn't make it home. Had an electrical problem. Driving along, all good to go, then the gauges/engine cut off... then back on... then off... then on for a few seconds, then off for a few seconds, etc etc. Right when I go to turn it into the guys driveway that I'm buying it from the thing goes completely and won't restart, blocking traffic. I directed traffic for about 10 minutes until the guy came back and pulled me off the road. We fiddled with it for a while to no avail. The bus won't crank and even if we jump the starter manually while the key is on, won't start.

Ugh. Is this what this whole skoolie thing is like?
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Old 11-06-2015, 05:35 AM   #6
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A lot can go awry real quickly buying a used school bus. My first bus was "free" and ended up costing me thousands and thousands of dollars in the few short months I owned it.
I do believe that luck is a huge factor with these things.

Just out of curiosity- is this a Craigslist bus?
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Old 11-06-2015, 06:55 AM   #7
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Just out of curiosity- is this a Craigslist bus?
Maryland auction bus re-sold on C.L., yeah.

The guy works for a diesel shop and they're gonna fix it and deliver it to me. It's in his fron yard now so he kinda has to lol.
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Old 11-14-2015, 11:19 AM   #8
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Bus is fixed and in my driveway! It was a little 16g wire running to a starter relay. There was a broken butt-connector. It was sitting in my driveway when I got home last night:



Got it parked in its new home for now:




She's got some nice aluminum wheels:




65 gallon fuel tank:



PA/Radio:



Interior:






View from my living room:



She's just over 35 ft. The local International dealer gave me the build sheet so I have all the specs of what's actually on it.

GVWR 31,000
423" OAL
72 Passenger, 78" Headroom
DT466 HT 215HP/225HP Peak 2400 RPM Gov
Allison MD-3060/CR 5-SPD Auto Trans
International N-190 19,000# Rear Axle 4.44 Ratio
Philips 120V/1250W Block Heater
Bendix Tu-Flo 550 Air Compressor
130 Amp 12V Alt.
Etc...
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Old 11-14-2015, 05:44 PM   #9
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Excellent bus, man. Great drivetrain for sure.
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Old 11-14-2015, 06:53 PM   #10
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Good score!
Do you have enough threads sticking out on the front studs? Hard to tell from pic. Ministry here likes at least 2 - 3 threads past the nut. ...my $.02

...got any pics of your Jeep?
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Old 11-15-2015, 01:34 AM   #11
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Nice gearing. That thing has potential to rip down the interstate.

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Old 11-15-2015, 12:09 PM   #12
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Nice gearing. That thing has potential to rip down the interstate.

Nat
From what Ive read the trans is actually a 6 speed trans with the 6th gear electronically disabled? So I could actually have two overdrives. I'm not exactly comfortable driving it yet, so ripping down the highway isn't my main concern right now haha.
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Old 11-15-2015, 12:56 PM   #13
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And here are some Jeep pix! She's all loaded down for a trip in this pic, something I'd love to avoid doing in the future if I had a big ole toy hauler!



My (tolerant) sidekick/wife:



This should explain why I need a rig to tow the Jeep to events instead of driving it there and back:

https://youtu.be/nYiyEj38syM
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Old 11-15-2015, 01:16 PM   #14
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We all love pics.

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Old 11-15-2015, 03:29 PM   #15
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Before I even got the bus I started making a wood stove for it. I like the fact that the wood stove actually removes moisture from the air (unlike propane which makes moisture), doesn't use electricity (I'll be doing nothing but boon-docking), and if I'm out camping, what's better than gathering up deadfall and having a little campfire inside the bus?

Started off with some super professional plans drawn by state of the art software:



I made the whole thing out of 1/4" thick steel, and there's a baffle up top to force air around the baffle to get to the chimney. This should, theoretically, make the hot air stay in the stove longer and force it along the top, making more heat and a better cooking surface. We'll see if that theory pans out.

I started out by making the main stove body:



Then made the opening for the door:





Welded in some crude baffles out of scrap I had to help with airflow:



Made the air flow control. Simple, but hopefully effective:




Painted with stove paint and added a nifty handle:



Made some door hinges kinda like a Wrangler. The door can slide up and off the hinges, not sure why I did that, but there ya go:




Welded in a thick 4" chimney adapter, 1/4" everywhere for longevity. Don't want it burning out while on my bus! This will connect to a Duravent pellet stove chimney system with a rating of 1" clearance to combustibles.



As it sits now:




Need to fab up legs and a latch system, and she's ready for cleaning/paint!
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Old 11-15-2015, 05:21 PM   #16
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Nice stove.

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Old 11-15-2015, 06:19 PM   #17
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Nice stove.

Nat
Thanks! Hopefully it works. The bus will be essentially cut in half, so it shouldn't need to be too big/efficient. We're used to camping in a tent or a hammock, so even if the fire dies after a couple of hours, it will still be much more comfortable in our spray-foamed box.
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Old 11-17-2015, 10:14 PM   #18
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I had my brother and 6 other friends at the house tonight helping rip the seats out. The fact that we all work on cars and have really nice tools made the job 100x easier. Three impact guns were ripping up top while two people underneath were keeping the seat nuts from spinning. We were done in around an hour. Must be some kind of skoolie record. Anyone want 24 bus seats? Come and get 'em!

We first gathered necessary supplies, aka pizza and beer.




Then we began the tear down.







First seat out!



Making progress up top and below...





We decided to start at the back and toss them all out as we went along.








Relaying messages as to what bolt to go for next became the name of the game for fast removal.





There's a bunch more room in a bus without seats! One might even attempt to skate inside a bus...







I'm not saying that we then went for a drive in the bus with no seats, but if we did, it would have been a lot of fun. Buses are fun to drive when they work correctly and you've got friends on board. I'd say tonight was a success. Hopefully the other stages of the build go as smoothly.
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Old 11-18-2015, 06:14 AM   #19
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Ahhhh, the ol' pizza and beer trade! Nice!


Its awesome taking a victory cruise in the bus!
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Old 11-18-2015, 11:29 AM   #20
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That looks like the most rust free bus underneath I have ever seen.

Good job, now have them help with the conversion and it will go fast too.

Nat
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