Jacuzzi Bus V

[lapeer20m]

Worked less than 8 hours on the bus but we made good progress today.

Removed the remaining seats



removed the 14,283 screws to allow the removal of a couple of interior ceiling panels (ok, not really that many screws, but a lot!)



started grinding off rivets on the exterior



and ended up removing a section of the roof.





and we also mounted some speakers, 12 inch perhaps?, in the front of the bus. My camera ate those photos.

I work another 24 hours tomorrow(wed). Hopefully we can get the jacuzzi in and plumbed on thursday and get started building the seating. I have four days in a row off starting saturday which should allow me to accomplish quite a bit.

i'm tired! goodnite

[paul iossi]

gotta luv the pictures, a certified EMT using a skillsaw with abrasive blade for a grinder,
sure hope that nyou had the "don't hurt me" safty meeting befor you started :P :P

[lapeer20m]

Originally Posted by paul iossi

gotta luv the pictures, a certified EMT using a skillsaw with abrasive blade for a grinder,
sure hope that nyou had the "don't hurt me" safty meeting befor you started :P :P

Safety 3rd! And that's Mr. Paramedic to you lol

actually, a skill saw with abrasive blade seems quite safe compared to a grinder, and it has more power. The actual story is that i couldn't find my grinder.

had a productive day today, i'll let the photos tell most of the story.



















also did some window tinting, and got the roof mostly put back together



once she is painted i don't think anyone will ever notice that we disassembled then reassembled the roof

[paul iossi]

mister paramedic; junior emt to me, lol

you just stole that bus out of my backyard, I'm at sibley between 75 and telegraph.

just remember the magic number is 911

seriously, it's looking good

[lapeer20m]

I totally finished the roof today. Rivets are all in, and everything is sealed with very expensive uv resistant paintable silicone.

This is the 4th time i've removed a rear heater from a bus. here's my little tutorial on how to do it and not loose much coolant at all.

First, i shut off the valves, i don't know if this really helps when it comes to loosing fluid, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside:



I don't think the unit was making much hot air, look at all the dirt stuck to the filter



I start by removing several feet of the tunnel that houses the coolant lines





then i move the heater and put it up higher than the engine/radiator. This is a really important step when it comes to minimizing coolant loss!



I simply cut off the hose with a razor knife, and put hose clamps on using a nut driver. i'm a big fan of a nut driver for hose clamps verses using a screw driver



This is the majority of the liquid that i lost...just a few cc's



and here's the nearly finish product. The plate heat exchanger/jacuzzi heater. The jacuzzi water flows through the unused ports



once the system is up to operating temperature, i like to go back and re-tighten the hose clamps.

[the_experience03]

You can't beat these things if you have a lot of cooling system work to do. I also have some cheesy orange plastic Craftsman ones I got off eBay for like $2 per pair because the packaging had a typo on it. Having a bunch of pinch offs is especially handy on GM LSx V-8's anytime you need to do a t-stat, water pump, etc because of the way the housing is set up. I can usually do a waterpump on one of those trucks and need under a gallon of coolant to top them back off when I'm done.

Speaking of coolant...anyone noticed how grossly expensive it's getting?

[bbbrt76]

I haven't looked at coolant prices in a long time but our distributor warned us last summer that there were some rule changes coming that were going to drive up prices drastically, I don't remember exactly what it was all about, but I know his company was looking for glycol alternatives to try and work around some new restrictions

[paul iossi]

where ae you getting the plate heat exchangers, and is the cost reasonable?

[lapeer20m]

Originally Posted by paul iossi

where ae you getting the plate heat exchangers, and is the cost reasonable?

ebay. i forget how much i paid for that one, but I think it was under 100 bucks. They are not cheap, but i have found no better alternative for that application. I bought this particular one a while back when i was working on a different project and ended up not using it.

[lapeer20m]

one thing i am doing different on this project is trying to stay organized. Sometimes i feel that i spend more time searching for tools than i do working. I put my toolbox inside the bus so that i don't have to go far or spend much time looking when i need a tool. I also have a pile of power tools in the bus, a sawzall, pair of circular saws, a pair of jig saws, flashlights, electrical and plumbing tools etc. So far my organization seems to be paying off. I also keep a list of any tools/parts/supplies i think we may need so i can minimize trips to town. And i've been on top of the budget. So far we're about 20 percent UNDER budget. I'd like to keep i that way!

Now i just hope the toolbox fits out the front door when we're finished

[lapeer20m]

Made some really great progress today.

Finished all the electrical and plumbing for the jacuzzi, and got her all framed in with treated 2x6's which i now think was over kill. It's in there real solid, i'm sure it's not gonna go anywhere. Finishing the jacuzzi was a HUGE project i can scratch off my list. Still need to build the deck around the tub as well as the steps.




I also did most of the remaining electrical in the bus, including the 110 volt uv lights.



Finished tinting most of the windows...ended up running out of tint so we'll have to buy more



We also figured out the layout of the bus as far as seats, a bar, possibly a tv (as long as we aren't way over budget.) I was gonna take all the seat frames to the scrap yard, then buy new steel to make seating. My buddy i'm doing the bus with suggested we use the steel from the bus seats. so we spent a few hours cutting, grinding, and welding the seat frames into something a more useful and much more attractive. Once with finish those, then put the padding and upholster they're gonna look really nice.

I worked about 16 hours today on the bus. I'm happy i work tomorrow, i need the rest.

[paul iossi]

jacuzzi install and roof repair look real good, carry on

[the_experience03]

Are those just UV bulbs in regular fluorescent fixtures? Where did you source them? Any idea on the draw from them? I like them a lot...

[lapeer20m]

Originally Posted by the_experience03

Are those just UV bulbs in regular fluorescent fixtures? Where did you source them? Any idea on the draw from them? I like them a lot...

the bulb and fixture come together in a package from wal-mart for under $11 bucks. Sometimes they are not in stock, but the yalways have them in october. The amperage draw is minimal, i'll see if i can find the actual watts for ya later on. Just the bulb from home depot is about 20 bucks, without a fixture.

[lapeer20m]

All the windows are finished being tinted now. also notice how there aren't any flashers on this bus, since it was never a school bus.



got the interior painted black....blue uv flames are coming next....well, technically black flames on a blue background. The paint is wet in the photo, it won't be quite so shiny once it's dry





we also got most of the deck built around the jacuzzi.



gotta work tomorrow, and weekend are tough, but i'd like to spend at least a few hours on sat.....then i get four more days off in a row starting monday

[lapeer20m]

it's pretty simple. Here is the basic not to scale layout of jacuzzi bus V



If all goes as planned, we should have her finished in the next 2 weeks or so.

[Elliot Naess]

Wondermuss to see, Jason! But still no toilet?

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

Wondermuss to see, Jason! But still no toilet?

...is it me...or did the water in this jacuzzi just get a little warmer...

Jason, you're the Jacuzzi Bus Master!

[Jarlaxle]

Who planted this seed? Who actuaklly suggested to Jason he needed a jacuzzi in a skoolie?!?!

(And what happened to JB I, II, III, and IV? )

[Sojakai]

I am not sure about 1-3, but JB4 was sold to a (strip?) club, they held it for about a year or so then stripped it of its fuzzy seats and were trying to sell it on ebay...

Why not put a Jacuzzi in a Skoolie? They have them in planes, trains, and in some limos.