Jacuzzi Bus V

[lapeer20m]

I have the bug again! A guy from work said he's looking for a side gig to make a little extra $$. so i suggested we build a jacuzzi bus.

going to look at this and another bus tomorrow.




this one has under 70K miles and a diesel engine believed to be a cummins 5.9.

once we purchase a bus we're gonna try to finish it in 30 days or less.

[timbuk]

yaahoo here we go again! if you cut the hole in the roof you could bolt that tree in for shade.... have a ball!

[lapeer20m]

i dug up this post that elliot made, but i'm still not sure what trans is in this bus....not that it matters. I'm pretty sure the bus is coming home tuesday. It is by far the nicest used bus i've ever seen. Less than 70K miles. It was never a school bus, it was purchased new by the kawanis club (some charitable organization) and used exclusively by them, and serviced exclusively by school bus mechanics. The gentleman who showed me the bus is in the kawanis club and also principle of one of the schools. It's a super clean bus, cummins 5.9. Unsure about the rear end, it was poring rain.

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

The side mounting pads may be a good clue. On my buses
they were not used and easy to see.


AT545. Note simple mounting pad with two holes above each other near the front.
Nothing on oil pan.




MT643. Note complex mounting pad with four mounting holes.
Temperature sender on oil pan.

[/quote]

here's my actual trans......., it might not even be an allison. It doesn't seem to have the complex mounting holes up front, but it does have a plug in the oil pan....hmmm

[paul iossi]

looks like a 545 by the way the cover on the governor is bolted on, diamond patern vs square.
look closely at the cover on the rear portion of the trans case.

[the_experience03]

I vote AT545 also. My pan has a drain plug in it as well. I know there was a shallow and a deep pan. I'm sure with or without a drain plug (and location of the drain plug) varied as well. Have you had a chance to drive it, Jason? You should be able to feel the converter locking up or at least see it happen on the tach if it were an MT643.

[lapeer20m]

called the guy back today to tell him that i definately want the bus, and he said they want to wait until they take delivery of their new (1 yr old) bus in a week or two. Which works out great because i'm in the middle of remodeling my kitchen, and the fience will be much happier if she has running water in the kitchen before i start working on a new project!

so i sent him a deposit, and i hope to start ordering bus stuff today. might have found a jacuzzi to pick up tomorrow...

[Anomalous]

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

once we purchase a bus we're gonna try to finish it in 30 days or less.

Do you really think you can finish the conversion in a single month? I've read that people often end up taking one or two years to complete (more or less) a conversion. I know you've done this a few times before, but that still seems really ambitious!

I look forward to seeing this project in progress. Please keep us updated! Lots of pictures are preferred, but if you're doing all the work in only 30 days, you might not have time to pick up a camera.

[lapeer20m]

i ended up not getting the 10 acres. My constellation prize is a new bus!

[lapeer20m]

as far as finishing a bus in 30 days.....It may not be realistic, depends on how busy our lives are.

while waiting for the client to pay me some money before i started jacuzzi bus III i did a couple of free things, but i started work on this bus in earnest on May 2nd and finished it on june 3.

http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtop...er+jacuzzi+bus

[elkoskoolie]

If it's an MT-643, there should be an ID plate on the passenger side, towards the rear, just above the pan. not sure about the AT-545. Good luck with the new bus. Will we see you at the Burn this year?

[lapeer20m]

no bm for me this year. i'm getting married aug 1st then leaving for hawii for a couple of weeks.

I ordered my inverter, and a pair of pumps for the jacuzzi.





i e-mailed several craigslist people with used hot tubs but have yet to have any decent prospects. I'd like to try and buy most of the items i need for the conversion in the next week or two while i'm waiting for the bus to become available.

[bbbrt76]

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

i e-mailed several craigslist people with used hot tubs but have yet to have any decent prospects. I'd like to try and buy most of the items i need for the conversion in the next week or two while i'm waiting for the bus to become available.

this one is on e-bay, in michigan for cheap

http://cgi.ebay.com/7-8-Person-Tiger-Ri ... _655wt_729

[swinada]

looking forward to seeing this new project. I am sure its gonna turn out nice.
I just wish people would start posting pictures on Picasa and not photobucket and flickr. My work network policies block bucket and flickr.

I also wish the temperatures would come back up for us that we can start working on the bus again. -30 C this morning again.

[lapeer20m]

Originally Posted by swinada

looking forward to seeing this new project. I am sure its gonna turn out nice.
I just wish people would start posting pictures on Picasa and not photobucket and flickr. My work network policies block bucket and flickr.

I also wish the temperatures would come back up for us that we can start working on the bus again. -30 C this morning again.

i have the same problem when using computers at work....so i took the time to add my photo's to skoolie's gallery and edit the above posts. It's easy enough to upload to skoolie, i'll try to do the entire project on skoolie's gallery. It's only slightly more time consuming than flickr.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

i have the same problem when using computers at work....so i took the time to add my photo's to skoolie's gallery and edit the above posts. It's easy enough to upload to skoolie, i'll try to do the entire project on skoolie's gallery. It's only slightly more time consuming than flickr.

If you download the program Gallery Remote you can upload lots of photos very quickly.

http://gallery.menalto.com/wiki/Gallery_Remote

[lapeer20m]

hey, that's cool! Why didn't i download that years ago?

[lapeer20m]

we brought home our "new" jacuzzi last nite. It's a very nice color. Slightly smaller than some of my previous tub's, but it's about 82" by 75". Should look real nice inside a skoolie!

There was a little bit of frost on the jacuzzi when i took the photos this morning. I sure wish spring would get here!



There was a little mishap while loading. The tub fell and landed on the foot of the person we bought the tub from. It's quiet likely that her foot is broken, she was on her way to the ER last nite. I told them (her and him) that i'll take em out for a nite on the town in the bus when i get her finished.

Also got an alpine car stereo head unit and it sounds really nice! Much higher quality sound compared to a sony xplode unit i had laying around.

Now if only i had a bus i'd have a place to store all of this new stuff! lol

[swinada]

thanks for posting the pics so I can view them too.

[lapeer20m]

The new bus made it home today. She has 67,001 miles on the odometer.



this is by far the nicest bus i've ever purchased. She'll cruise 67 mph on flat ground (confirmed with gps, and police interceptor crown victoria with "certified calibration" speedo.) There is no rust anywhere on the body. She is just a nice clean bus! The rear axle ratio looks to be a 4.33:1





I started removing the seats tonight, but it got dark and cold and the bolts just were not cooperating. I work 24 hours tomorrow, but hope to get some work done the following day.

[smitty500]

1 month is a quick build, I got mine almost done in 6 months. good luck.