Diesel Dan's Skoolie

[Diesel Dan]

Last night I tore apart more of the interior stuff. Pulled out those bars that you hold onto when standing, and starting working on seat bolts and pulling up all the tin that hides the heater hoses and blowers. It looks like I have 4 separate heat zones, each with it's own blower, working off 3 heat radiators. One blower for each side of the windshield and the front area, another that ducts to about halfway down the bus, and another that goes all the way to the back. Once I get the seats out of the way I'll take pics and add them to this post.

I think I'll keep all of them: the ones that are used for defrosting the windshield for obvious reasons, and the mid-cabin heater really doesn't negatively impact my floorplan since I will have a dining booth there. Someone had an idea in another post to use a heater to dissipate engine heat when it starts running hot, and I actually did that on my way home from picking up the bus. I will likely set my rear heater up to blow into my garage area so I can use it to keep my spare WVO barrels warm, or alternately open the rear window to let the hot air escape outside if I just need help with cooling off the engine.

[cheezypsnookle]

those convex blind spot mirror are worth there weight in gold even the ones in front if i were you i would keep them
sounds like your coming right along

post sum pics im a visual person

[Diesel Dan]

This morning I got the bus inspected and did the title transfer, including re-titling as a motorhome with no problems whatsoever! I feel lucky considering the ordeals other people on this site had to go through. The place that does the inspections is also my mechanic so they know me and didn't hesitate to list it as "motorhome" on their inspection documentation. Then I went to my local branch of the tax office where there is never a line at all. Paid my tax, got my plates and motorhome designated title, and was out of there in 15 minutes. Yay!

[TygerCub]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

This morning I got the bus inspected...

What all goes into an inspection? When I get my bus to the shop, it will have to have an inspection too, and I was wondering what kind of stuff they look for so I can be ready. Any advice is appreciated!

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by TygerCub

What all goes into an inspection? When I get my bus to the shop, it will have to have an inspection too, and I was wondering what kind of stuff they look for so I can be ready. Any advice is appreciated!

I think that probably varies from state to state. My inspector was not evaluating whether or not it met any kind of criteria to be considered a "motorhome", he was just checking all the same things he would as if it were a car inspection, like lights, horn, wipers, brakes, etc. So I didn't have to worry about having a bed, sink, toilet, non-yellow paint job, or whatever other requirements other states may have. I think Texas has pretty relaxed requirements for our situation.

When he finished checking things, and was at the computer completing the documentation, I asked him to list it as a "motorhome" when that screen came up, and he was like: "sure, you can call it whatever you want". But then again, the guys at this garage know me so that may have been why it was so easy. And when I got to my local branch of the title/tax office, and asked them to title it as a "motorhome", the guy was like: "okay, here ya go". No questions asked. They just wanted my money.

[Diesel Dan]

I made good progress on tearing out the interior yesterday. Removed the seats and most of the wheelchair hold-down plates. For those bolts accessible from underneath I prefer having one person inside with impact wrench, and one person underneath with wrench/socket/vice grips. It went really fast using that method. I'll have to use the angle grinder for the bolts that were inaccessible, but I really dislike that method. It takes longer, and then there's all the dust/noise/sparks/projectiles, etc. The only advantage I see is you don't need an assistant.

Here I am relaxing after an afternoon of bus seat removal.

I still have two more wheelchair plates to remove (16 bolts each!) with the grinder, and also the wheelchair lift. I won't take that out of the bus, but just move it around as I'm dealing with the flooring. Same thing with the front electrical console. Hopefully I can just pull the plywood out from under it somehow, treat the rust, then slide the new plywood under it... Yeah, right... like it will be that easy!

[Diesel Dan]

Man, those big "school bus" stickers on the front and rear of the bus were a nightmare to remove! I used a razor knife, because anything less sharp wouldn't do any good. The stickers on the sides weren't as bad because they were just individual letters. Using acetone and steel wool seems to work okay to get the remaining sticky residue off, but I'm open to hearing other suggestions...

[sportyrick]

Dan: if you take a heat gun to any and all stickers it softens the glue and they will come off real easy with a blade or razor of some sort. Sportyrick

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by sportyrick

Dan: if you take a heat gun to any and all stickers it softens the glue and they will come off real easy with a blade or razor of some sort. Sportyrick

I can't believe I forgot to use the heat gun! I actually have one! Oh well, maybe it will help to get the remaining glue off.

[C00LR]

Originally Posted by TygerCub

What all goes into an inspection? When I get my bus to the shop, it will have to have an inspection too, and I was wondering what kind of stuff they look for so I can be ready. Any advice is appreciated!

One good thing about Kansas is.......WHATS an inspection??? Evedintly here in KS we are on the honor system and they will take your word for it. Unless you are titling something from another state. Then they check the VIN numbers against the title. You go stand in line and pay. And your on your way!

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by cheezypsnookle

those convex blind spot mirror are worth there weight in gold even the ones in front if i were you i would keep them... sounds like your coming right along..

I took a short drive the other day to haul yard sale leftovers to Goodwill, and paid special attention to the convex mirrors on the front fenders. I think I'm going to keep them as you suggested - they help to keep me centered in my lane, and also they are just easy to keep your eye on to monitor traffic without much effort.

As far as "coming right along"... man, I wish I had more free time to devote to this project. It's frustrating that I'm not able to get more done!

Next step is to pull up the plywood, which would seem pretty straight forward, but that stuff is really attached well! Those nails hold it better than I would have thought. I guess 'cause they are rusted on. Anyone have any tips on making this job go faster? Currently I'm using a 6ft pry bar, but so far the wood is just splintering into a thousand shards rather than coming up as a sheet. Maybe it would help to take a chisel and escavate around all the nails? I just don't want to put holes in the metal floor while prying with the 1" tip of that pry bar. I really haven't spent that much time on this yet, so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here...

[thesaltydog24]

Over this last summer I stripped my fathers shop roof of all the old shingles (3 layers thick ) using a shovel made for stripping roofing. I'm wondering if this would work in your situation. the shovel has a bunch of notches cut into the blade so you could pry the nails up as you go. they run around $25 or free if you know someone with one that would let you borrow it. here is a link to one at lowes but they can be found at most hardware stores that deal with roofing. They are typically called Roofing shovels.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none

[BUSBOZO]

Dan, what you are using is probably the best bet. The more leverage the better. I had the same issue with sections of my bus. Actually the plywood sections that came up real easy were the areas that the wood was wet and the screws were rusty. The dry clean areas were a bear.

Thomas uses screws to fasten the plywood to the steel floor. The first bus that I was going to convert was a bluebird and they use nails. I don't understand how they were able to get nails to go through the steel underneath. But I can tell you it was alot easier coming up than the Thomas.

[madpsalmer]

Wow now that is rust... Looks like you've got your work cut out for you lookin forward to seeing what you decide to do with it.

[BUSBOZO]

I'm basically in the process of grinding and wirebrushing and then a good rust preventative paint. I will have some more pics up after today's progress.

[newbusser]

Hay Dan!

Don't let the lack of time get to ya, I have been working on mine for 7 months and have just finished getting the floor up. Between a bout with cancer and the hottest summer we have ever had here in Pacific northwest, it seems like it will never progress, but it is. Just keep on poking away at it and soon you'll be into the fun part!!

Mine is a 40 foot blue bird with about a thousand pounds of nails holding the plywood down and construction glue around all edges, so prying up was fun. I also used a skill saw with old combination blade to cut flooring into 2 foot sections. It made it a lot easier to pry the pieces in sections instead of 4' by 8' pieces. just make sure you adjust blade depth so it doesn't ride on metal too much.

[Diesel Dan]

This weekend I make good progress on pulling up the floor. Once I got the technique down, it wasn't too bad. I'd drive in a large chisel, followed by the 6' pry bar, then wedge something in there to maintain tension, have another go with the pry bar, etc. It's mainly nails holding the plywood down, so if I apply enough force, they either pop up, or the wood just pops off of them.

I solved my main dilemma, which was how to get the plywood out from under the electrical panel. I ended up removing the top electric panel from the bottom part of the unit, which is mainly heater stuff. I suspended the top part using ropes, and pulled the bottom out of the way. That way I don't have to disconnect all the wiring. I'll just move that bottom unit around as I work.

Here I am in my moment of victory:

The floor overall is in pretty good shape. Just a few areas are rusty. Mainly the driver's area, and some spots around the wheel wells.

[Diesel Dan]

So I've made a little more progress on the Magic Bus. I've been grinding rust and treating it with a Permatex product sold at NAPA that is like Ospho or POR15. I also got my wheelchair lift detached so I could treat the rust on and around it.

In this pic you can see the difference between an area I treated, and one that was not:


Here you can see the extent of the rust on the back of the bus:


My plan for fixing it is to rivet a piece of galvanized metal that used to connect the flooring to the wall inside the bus. It has one curved edge or small lip, but I will just consider that to be either a rain diverter or aerodynamic tail fin, take your pick.


It will be cold and raining for the next couple of days, so I may be restricted to just continuing to grind rust on the floor. So far, I've only gotten the driver's area done, although that is the worst of it. I don't think I'll even be able to use paint or caulk due to the weather being below 40F.

I may also do some shopping for stuff I need. I like what cheezypsnookle has done with his flooring, and think I will do the same thing: red rosin paper, 1/4" sheathing, 3/4" plywood. I have headroom issues, so 1/4" is about all the insulation I can afford to put in there. Better than nothing I suppose. The plywood will be my final flooring with several coats of polyurethane on it and some area rugs. I'll probably use solid wood for the steps since they are more exposed to the elements, and I will likely pour a DIY bedliner in the back utility area.

[BUSBOZO]

DD, I have the same roof height as you and I am 6'1". I did 1/2" styrofoam insulation and 5/8" OSB plywood and I can actually stand upright on each far side of the bus next to the windows.

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by BUSBOZO

DD, I have the same roof height as you and I am 6'1". I did 1/2" styrofoam insulation and 5/8" OSB plywood and I can actually stand upright on each far side of the bus next to the windows.

I'm 6'4" (6'5" with shoes), and when I had the original 3/4" plywood floor and black rubber mat, I had about 1/2" headroom in the center of the aisle. So I'm pretty much not going to put any more than 1" total flooring.