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Old 11-09-2015, 09:10 PM   #1
Bus Nut
 
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
Posts: 681
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Meet the "BloeRV" (rhymes with swerve)

OK, Skoolie family - After many months of lurking and searching, we found the right bus for us! Picked it up in Florida - It is a 1998 Crown 9-window with a lift. "She's a beaut, Clark!" Has a DT 466e, but I am unsure of the tranny. I've been looking for clues/paperwork/manuals, but no luck yet. I'm gonna look around some more posts to see if I can identify it. She got us from Tampa, Florida to Kerrville, Texas without incident...over 1300 miles! I haven't done the final calculations, but we got around 10MPG! Granted, the thing is governed at 55MPH, so I'll need to find a place where I can get that disabled...any suggestions? (Tango, you're in Texas, right??)

We've named her "The BloeRV" (rhymes with swerve) Its a play on my last name and RV....

Another nice thing is that she has a pretty high roof - I'm 5'10" and am nowhere near hitting my head!



Here's some pics (I know you love 'em, Nat!!)

Here's just as we were buying her
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A night shot:
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She's really clean on the inside - virtually no rust!
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Getting ready to tear out some seats! Came out easier than expected...
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Lookin' pretty good underneath! Tons of room and hardly any rust... WOOHOO!
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First one's out!!
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Took 4 out of the back for now, going to leave the front 2 in for a bit while we show her off and give our friends rides, etc...
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Did some paint swatches to see what color of blue will look the best - we are looking to have the bottom part a shade of blue, leave the black strip for chalkboard paint and above that will be white up to the roof line...
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That's all for today....stupid time change - gets dark too early!

I'll make sure to keep everyone posted - I know how you all love progress and pics!!

John

I also would like to thank all the regulars (Nat, CB, Tango, Bansil, Nebuchadnezzar, etc.... too many to name you all!) for all your input and ideas - I have had so much fun reading all the threads and getting ideas to make into the skoolie that will work best for us...


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Old 11-09-2015, 10:03 PM   #2
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
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Year: 1999
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Congrats on the bus!!! Glad you got it home safe and sound.
I take it you bought from BGA?
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Old 11-09-2015, 10:19 PM   #3
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Location: Farmington, IL
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Year: 1990
Coachwork: Blue Bird
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Ooooh, nice! I wish I had airbags under mine!
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Old 11-09-2015, 10:57 PM   #4
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Join Date: Aug 2011
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Hard to beat a clean bus with air bagged rear.

Great find.

Nat
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Old 11-12-2015, 10:08 AM   #5
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
Posts: 681
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Just got back from the county clerk's office and got the title/license plates. Titled as a bus until we bring pictures showing bed/sink/toilet/plumbing, then an easy switch to motor home. Very nice people in the Kerr county, TX county offices - were interested in our plans and looked forward to seeing the pics once we get more stuff done.

Now we paint! Spent the last 2 days taping and figuring out the colors....I'll get some pics up later today showing the progress. We are using rust-oleum gloss enamel, and on our test patches looks pretty nice! Can't wait to see it done...

John
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Old 11-12-2015, 06:06 PM   #6
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
Posts: 681
Year: 1998
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Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Paint!

1st coat of white paint is done!

Will put on the 2nd coat in the morning - It is turning out better than we thought!

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Beautiful day for painting!! nice and dry and about 75....awesome...

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Old 11-12-2015, 06:09 PM   #7
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Fort Worth, TX
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Year: 1991
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 3700
Engine: Navistar 7.3 idi
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Very nice!
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Old 11-12-2015, 07:15 PM   #8
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Location: Spring Valley AZ
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Year: 2000
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Lookin' good!
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Old 11-13-2015, 03:52 PM   #9
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Location: South Florida
Posts: 112
Year: 1990
Chassis: Chevy Blue Bird Mini Bird (P30)
Engine: GM Diesel 6.2
It's coming along really nice!
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Old 11-13-2015, 06:14 PM   #10
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Year: 1998
Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Thanks!

Got all the white paint done today - Wifey was sick, so I was working solo today...Got the 2nd coat done! Really turned out nice

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All of the remaining yellow parts will be blue - Had to order the paint, as Home Depot only had pints of it. Hopefully it will get here soon so I we can finish the painting and get on to the interior!

Going to a wedding this weekend, so won't get anything done, will have to wait until next week...
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Old 11-19-2015, 06:12 PM   #11
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
Posts: 681
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Bed!

Made a bed platform today! It sits about 18 inches off the floor so we can have nice under-bed storage. Plan on securing the posts to the floor at a later date so we can figure out the exact placement of the bed as well as some other storage options.

Remembered to assemble it inside the bus! I don't think it would have fit through the back door had I put it together outside...

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another shot - trying to figure out if we put it sideways or longways...I think longways will win out...I like having space to walk on both sides.

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This sure is fun!
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Old 11-19-2015, 08:32 PM   #12
Skoolie
 
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What size bed will you be using? I currently have a really nice king mattress but it will leave virtually ZERO room around the sides.
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Old 11-19-2015, 09:59 PM   #13
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Leaving walk space on both sides is a big plus. Otherwise, you have to wake up your partner in the middle of the night to crawl over them. Lookin' good!
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Old 11-20-2015, 12:07 AM   #14
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
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Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
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Rated Cap: 16
Ours is a full size. We specifically wanted to make sure to have room...

Exactly, Tango! Thanks!
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Old 11-20-2015, 06:30 PM   #15
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Location: Montana/Texas
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Year: 1998
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Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
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More painting!

Another beautiful, dry day in Central Texas perfect for painting! Had her all taped up last night and was able to get all the blue parts done today. Now that the outside is mostly painted, now we can focus on the inside and getting it all cleaned up and start cleaning and re-sealing windows, get a plan for cabinets, etc...

Here's some pics - still need to take off the tape for a cleaner look - I'll take some more pics after that...have I mentioned how much fun I'm having!

Looks pretty sweet from the front!

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Decided to keep the reflective tape on the back - it was a real PITA to remove it and I kind of like how it looks at night.

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Lastly we will need to scrape off the "county schools" and we will be putting chalkboard paint on the black parts for fun at campgrounds!

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Tomorrow we scrub the inside clean!

John
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Old 11-22-2015, 11:02 AM   #16
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
I love that blue.

Nat
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Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
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Old 11-22-2015, 11:14 AM   #17
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: ...little north of Toronto Ontario
Posts: 606
Year: 2000
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Chassis: FreightShaker
Engine: 5.9 Cummins 5 speed
Rated Cap: 2 ATV's and friends
You can get the 2 inch reflective tape in white if you'd like to blend it in.....used on upper corners of trailers and rear of the cabs on tractors. Lookin' good so far.
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Old 11-22-2015, 11:43 AM   #18
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
Posts: 681
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Thanks!

Thanks, Nat!

Redd - Great idea! I will look into it -

Today, more inside scrubbing and cleaning. Ill post some pics later. Also measuring for the holding and freshwater tanks....

John
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Old 11-22-2015, 11:53 AM   #19
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They now also make reflective tape in black for anyone who might want it to blend in with a painted bumper or some such.
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Old 11-24-2015, 12:50 PM   #20
Bus Nut
 
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
Posts: 681
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Painting done!

The exterior painting is finally complete! Got all the touch-up spots done and we are pretty pleased with it. I'll bug you with the last bits of exterior shots before we move on to the inside...

we really like how the front turned out...
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The black strip really turned out better than expected.
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today we are tearing into the windows to get them all cleaned and sealed up. We ran into some rain on the trip home and some of them leaked like a sieve.
I also took off the c-channels to see how they looked behind them and I was pleasantly surprised to see how clean and rust-free they were!

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so, looks like there are complete pieces of the foam insulation missing which explains the leaks on the way home....

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I gotta get back to work! Those windows aren't going to seal themselves!

John
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