I have the same genny mine is a 6.5NH model. Don't give up on it...I recommend to remove the heads and clean the valves and crud off the piston(These unit's carbon up bad and it will run sucky) Cleaning the heads takes a 2 or 3 hours and a wire wheel on your drill) where the fuel line goes into the engine disconnect and use a short hose 2 feet long and stick it in a bottle of seafoam) much cheaper and faster than rebuilding a carb) will do wonders for that) these ofton get a surge issue from Clogged jet, carbon build up running this threw the engine will save alot of future or current headachs. It's a great genny and there are many tips and great tricks to keeping it running another 20years. It is very smooth and very quiet more quiet than many new rv gensets.
By stick hose into engine I mean fuel pump of course
Going thru the pics I noticed that people drills and welds chassis as they need. Every truck chassis carries several warnings against this practice because it creates stress points that will lead to chassis fracture. Safest method is to make a brace that will go tightly around the frame until it meets with itself again, then welded or bolted on itself.
well 90% of my stuff hang off the body not the frame except for the gas tank and some of the brakes stuff
Thanks Chadluc. Yeah, I ended up tearing the carb apart and cleaned it completely. It had some crap in the needle valve area and was restricting fuel flow.
It only has about 500 hours on it and runs real nice now. I'm probably not gonna get into tearing apart the heads and all that now. Its running great. I'll leave it alone.
Went down to the local junkyard where I knew there was a Thomas bus that was junked and picked up a couple good sections of rubrail. This is the bus it came from. This was a "Boston Public School" bus that actually had a blown 466E. Believe that?
Also happen to see this Genset in a junked but COMPLETE RV! Would have been nice if I had run into this a couple months ago.
Some framing for storage. There will be plywood on top that will be hinged.
Also got both rooftop A/C units installed. They are "scratch and dent" units from "FamilyRV" in Florida. Here is how they were installed...
First I marked off the 14"x14" opening centered.
Then drilled 4 holes in each corner through the inner ceiling AND roof skins. By drilling the holes all the way through both skins, you will know where to make your cuts when you move to the roof.
Cutting inner skin.
Then move to the roof. Connect the dots with the tape and cut!
You will want to support the 2 roof skins. I was able to achieve the width I wanted by using 2x3's with a couple pieces of 1x3 nailed to the 2x3, then stuffing them in between the 2 skins.
I then drilled a hole in the ceiling skin directly behind the wire chase cover. This will be where the romex wire will come out and go to the breaker panel.
Pulled it through the opening with a snake. There were NO ceiling joists that prevented being able to pull the wire right through!
Ceiling unit mounted. I realized when mounting this, these units seem to be designed for a thicker roof. I had to put a couple pieces of 3/8ths plywood in between the ceiling unit and ceiling because when I put the plastic shroud on, it would not fit all the way on because the ceiling unit was to high.
Here it is completed. Thought I had some pictures of the exterior. But I think you know what they look like by now.
When I attempted to install the rear unit, I realized the rear roof vent was going to be in the way. (after I already drilled the pilot holes). So I decided to eliminate it and patch up the hole. This is what it looks like with the cover off.
So I trimmed it flush with the roof with my handy grinder.
Cut a steel patch, screwed it on, then caulked it and primed it.
Also been working on the cabinet doors.
First I started with 1/4" oak plywood
Then pieces of 1x3 whiteboard pine. (oak boards are too expensive)
Glued them together
I stained everything and still need to polyurethane and install hinges.
We recently had a lot of rain here in New England. So Monday morning I head out of the house to go to work and I notice the Skoolie is leaning quite a bit to the left (driver's side). At first I thought.. flat tires? Nawww I doubt it. Leaning too much for just a flat. So I get to the other side and notice the left rear duals are in a sinkhole in my driveway!!!!!
This hole is a lot deeper than it looks. It goes down about 5 feet directly under where the tires are. Believe it or not.. I was able to DRIVE IT OUT!
It was resting on the rear bodyside. The only damage was the panel I replaced was just a little bent up on the bottom. Which works out great anyway because I didn't achieve the actual bend on the bottom of the panel when I fabricated it.
Thanks for the step-by-step on the A/C install - I've got an A/C waiting to be installed but just haven't worked up the nerve to cut that big ole' hole in my roof. Now that I've cut a few smaller holes and seen your work, I feel a lot more prepared for the job.
That is a scary lean to that bus BTW, especially when viewed from the rear. I think my heart would have skipped a beat to come out see my bus at that angle!
DD, I was nervous also about cutting the holes also. But its really no problem. Glad the step by step will help.
Yeah, I wasn't really nervous about it actually tipping over. I was more nervous about the suspension being very stressed on the left front and right rear. But everything seems to be fine. No broken springs that I can see.
Smitty, believe it or not.. No. I think the bus dropped down slowly and nothing really even moved. I figured the frig might have fallen over. I don't have that fastened down yet. But everything was fine!
Well.. its quite cold here in New England. As I write this its about 14 degrees. Also have had a lot of snow. But I've been still plugging away on the bus.
Here is some more progress..
Exterior shower completed.
Cupholders installed
Got the "wood floor" in kitchen area done. These are just adhesive planks. I found out later that these can not be used with OSB plywood because its not a smooth flat surface. A little carpet adhesive in addition to the adhesive already on the back took care of this problem.
The next big phase of the conversion was the upholstery. I know other folks on here are looking for some upholstery ideas they can do themselves. Hopefully my method will work for someone else here.
I saved enough old bus seat foam to reuse for my seats. I'm glad I did. Foam is EXPENSIVE!
I had to cut and glue together pieces to acheive the proper sizes. The method I am using is similar to a slip seat on a dining chair and also similar to the original bus seat cover technique.
First I started with cutting the foam. An electric bread knife works wonders!
Lots of cutting and shaving.
This is the adhesive I used to attach the foam to the luan plywood. Make sure its for foam.
These are the cushions cut and glued together.
I cut luan plywood about an 1/4" smaller than the foam. That way the fabric does not get worn through from the plywood.
I needed to come up with a method of keeping the plywood backed cushions from sliding off the seat frame plywood. I decided to use small machine screws and nuts through the cushion plywood. I drilled the holes through the cushion plywood and through to the seat frame plywood.
I tightened the nuts so they recess into the plywood. That way the plywood sits flush.
The screw studs will sit in the holes preventing the cushions from sliding off.
I moved the project inside and glued and taped the cushions to the plywood. I only used the screws on the seat bottoms. Hopefully I won't need them on the seat backs.
This is the seat cushion plywood sitting on the bench frame.
Now the fun stuff... Applying the batting and fabric. I watched a couple Youtube videos to get an idea of the technique for upholstering. The one I was most interested in was done by "DIYUPHOLSTERY.COM"
First I started with some 4oz polyester batting. This will help make the seams in the foam where I had to glue pieces together less noticeable.
Then the fabric. This a fleece fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics that caught my attention. Very soft and cozy. Hopefully won't be too hot in the summer.
When applying the batting and fabric, tack it down starting in the center and working your way to each end. Pulling down and over. Then do the same for the ends. Start in the middle and work your way out.
The tricky part is acheiving the pleat on the corners. I recommend watching the DIYUPHOLSTERY.COM videos. He explains this quite well.
The completed cushion.
I need to get some pics of the cushions in place for the real effect.
I also got 4 6X9 speakers installed and waiting on the head unit.
Also trimmed out the dinette benches and some other small areas.
Right now I am working on the closet and bathroom doors.
It took me several days but I finally finished reading the saga of this bus. Well done so far. Can't wait to see it painted, though I suppose that will wait unit spring.
I have a suggestion for the interior panels of your air conditioners. I own an Airstream trailer which also has a curved roof and ceiling, and had ro replace my air conditioner a few years ago. Looks like we both have the same unit, Carrier AirV. I'll try to describe the install but let me know if you want a pic.
The interior "guts" of the unit were able to bolt up snug to the ceiling. Those controls off on the side, the metal flexed enough to conform to the curve. For the inside cover, which has the air grilles and filters, I first made a cardboard template of the ceiling curve, then traced that outline on the front and back ends of the panel. It's tricky because the ends aren't flat but you can get it close enough. Down the long sides I simply connected the low points of the curves, using a straight edge and pencil. The end result for me was that about 1/4" had to be trimmed off the top edge of the long sides. Front and rear ends curved up from 1/4" at the low point to nothing in the center.
For trimming I used a hand held hacksaw blade. The end in my hand wrapped with a rag. It was slow going but considering the expense of the panel I didn't want to risk damaging it by using a saber saw. Final touch-up was done with sand paper. The fit was pretty good but I got some white, self-adhesive weather strip to put on the ceiling to act as a gasket where the panel and ceiling meet. I have seen others use white caulk but I wanted to be able to remove the panel easily, though there has never been a need for that.
Your install will certainly work, but I thought I'd pass this along.
I installed the same model of air conditioner in an Airstream trailer and trimmed the interior panel to fit the curved ceiling. Might work in a skoolie too.
About 1/4" was trimmed down the long sides. Front and rear end edges were beveled though the center above the vents was left untouched. Cutting was done with a hand held hacksaw blade. Slow, but after staring with a saber saw I didn't want to risk messing it up by bouncing it around. No good way to clamp it.
Some self-stick weather strip gaskets it to the ceiling and hides the not so perfect edges.
AHHHHHH.. Yes. I think I will do that! Thanks for the tips!
OK FOLKS.. I'm thinking of doing a real crazy theme for the exterior and will need some opinions because this will be quite time consuming.
I've always had a passion for road signs and have collected them over the years. So this is what I was thinking of doing for the exterior. I'm the kinda guy that likes the attention also. Makes all the effort worth while.
This theme will continue all around the bus. Your opinions, comments, positive or negative and maybe some advice would be appreciated!
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