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Old 05-02-2017, 02:30 PM   #21
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That's good advice of using it under a cabinet, not sure why i never thought of that.

I did end up buying a 46 g tank on Amazon for like 118 shipped. Now I need to decide on a pump and could use some input. I am looking at a Shurflo 4008 3gpm pump with an accumulator tank and filter. What I need to discover now is if 3gpm is enough especially since I have not ruled out a tankless water heater. Is an accumulator useful and worth the extra expense?

Got a week or so until the new tank arrives but with the demensions in hand I can begin to build around where it will be. Gonna be a fun weekend!

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Old 05-02-2017, 03:33 PM   #22
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Ultimately I think you'll be more satisfied with a rectangular tank. I like the barrels because I can take them out and rinse them easily, but then this bus will never become a motorhome in this state. I'm in van territory.

Three gallons a minute sounds just about as fast as grandma's garden hose. Pretty standard. As far as pump noise, recent threads indicate using some flexible clear tubing near the pump reduces the noise significantly. Mounting the pump on a padded base also helps.

The accumulator should cut down on how often your pump has to start and stop to maintain pressure in the lines. I have one but I've never used it. To me it doesn't seem practical to try to maintain pressure in the water system. I just turn the pump on when I need water. I believe there is less chance of leakage or water spills by not maintaining pressure in the water lines. Just my opinion.
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Old 05-02-2017, 04:22 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
this bus will never become a motorhome in this state. I'm in van territory.
The best part is we both live in Oregon! This state is definately its own world.
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Old 05-02-2017, 04:57 PM   #24
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We've gone from Oregon territory to Van territory.

I'm wondering how the DMV would handle converted buses already titled as motorhomes coming into the state? Perhaps that's the loophole, to go out of state and become a motorhome and then transfer the vehicle back to Oregon. I don't think they could downgrade them to vans because that would be a loss of value.

On the other hand I can do a lot with a van this size. Meanwhile they're afraid of people using buses for commercial purposes, so instead of allowing us to convert them to motorhomes the only option is a very large suspicious van.

Part of the issue is motorhomes can not be searched by police without a warrant. Motorhomes are considered legally to be equal to brick and mortar houses requiring a warrant before police can search it without your permission.

There has to have been some type of major abuse done with buses at some time to have caused the state to take action. Personally I wouldn't choose to use a bus as a truck for commercial purposes. It's not really practical for loading and unloading, not to mention being underpowered.
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Old 05-02-2017, 06:24 PM   #25
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It's always a good idea to check the water pressure requirements of the tankless water heater. 3 gpm is fine, unless your water heater wants 3.5 or 4.
I'm not saying it will, but it's good to check.
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Old 05-03-2017, 02:30 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
We've gone from Oregon territory to Van territory.

I'm wondering how the DMV would handle converted buses already titled as motorhomes coming into the state? Perhaps that's the loophole, to go out of state and become a motorhome and then transfer the vehicle back to Oregon. I don't think they could downgrade them to vans because that would be a loss of value.

On the other hand I can do a lot with a van this size. Meanwhile they're afraid of people using buses for commercial purposes, so instead of allowing us to convert them to motorhomes the only option is a very large suspicious van.

Part of the issue is motorhomes can not be searched by police without a warrant. Motorhomes are considered legally to be equal to brick and mortar houses requiring a warrant before police can search it without your permission.

There has to have been some type of major abuse done with buses at some time to have caused the state to take action. Personally I wouldn't choose to use a bus as a truck for commercial purposes. It's not really practical for loading and unloading, not to mention being underpowered.

I think the difficulties might have more to do with the region of the state. It was no problem having our bus titled as a MH back in November. It was essentially a non event and I think we even have almost the same bus. I have a 30ft Genisis. She did mention that there are "A lot" of these bus conversions going on in the area.

Next time your in Central Oregon hit me up and i'll buy ya a beer.
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Old 05-03-2017, 02:55 PM   #27
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Wasn't ready to buy my water heater yet cause I'm not even sure which way to go with Tankless or Regular. I read before that the gpm can be touchy on those but I dont recall if there were any specific GPM suggestions.

There is so much info and so many different ways people have done water heating i'm a bit overloaded.
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Old 05-03-2017, 03:01 PM   #28
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Tankless heaters are apparently the most efficient. I still use an electric water kettle.

I've been preparing to run up the pass. That's my favorite test for vehicles. So whereabouts are you in central Oregon, or do you move around a lot?
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Old 05-03-2017, 03:07 PM   #29
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I'm going tankless.
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Old 05-03-2017, 03:11 PM   #30
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Have you decided on brand pump etc?
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Old 05-03-2017, 03:48 PM   #31
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Pumps are a pain. You can't tell how loud they are until after you've got them hooked up. I just bought a cheapie $30 electric pump, knowing it was loud, until I find something better.
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Old 05-05-2017, 09:54 AM   #32
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I'm thinking of placing the water heater under the bus floor where the skirt is. I would only need to pipe 2 hoses up through the floor. Any reason that I am not thinking of to not do this? It gives me more space and we are going to use a standard water heater. We are not living in ours and with some insulation I'm not thinking this will be a huge issue.
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Old 05-05-2017, 10:07 AM   #33
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I'm curious about what kind of water heater you're putting under your floor.

Personally I put any heat producing appliances inside the bus to help during our long cold winters. Thoughts of wintering at a different latitude keep coming to mind.
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Old 05-05-2017, 10:18 AM   #34
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Thinking of a 6 gallon suberban or similar. In stead of punch a 1ft square hole in the hull portion of the bus I think placing the water heater under the bus attached to the skirt and frammed to the under body would work better for space concerns. Thinking It would still be boxed in but in an underneath cabinet and plumb the lines up through the floor.

I am very space concience about my bus. I am trying to stradle maximizing the openess of the bus while keeping as much storage as possible. Punching a 1ft square whole in the side of my bus that goes in 2ft is something im not against but would avoid if possible. My fresh water will still be inside the bus and I think I would punch a third line through the floor for the drain system. This would be in the same area as the water heater. I can insulate the short distance the lines would run up and through the floor.

Since ours is for camping and vacations and not to live in I do not expect to be using it in extreme weather. If I find myself in that situation I do plan to have a marine wood stove and would simply boil water on the burner. Not having an indoor shower also reduces the need somewhat I feel.
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Old 05-22-2017, 02:01 PM   #35
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Roof Paint and the amazing stuff it is
Because the floor hinted that there was rust possible running inside the bus I wanted to not only paint the roof but seal it. I know that buses actually shimmy a bit so I also needed something that was flexible. After a lot of review I settled on AMES Maximum stretch white rubber paint and the AMES Seam Tape products. I believe the Crabtrees used this same product.




Hi @Crozz! Thanks for these details...we are wanting to purchase the seam tape and use it. Do you think it would work with caulk under it?
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Old 05-22-2017, 02:58 PM   #36
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I assume it would however I dont know that it would be needed. The tape has about a centemeter of this putty material that sticks and molds the contours of what it is attached too. I would suggest getting some then take a look but I bet caulk will not be needed.

The white cloth is really to just help the putty apply better. For example that dirty area around that first screw? That is actually the putty pushed through the cloth. You can see a bit of it squished out the side there as well.

Most of the water damage appears to have come from the rear heaters and secondly from the doors. There was a leak somewhere on the roof but the way the water ran it was impossible to find. That leak though was not the main culprit. Since hitting the roof as I did it has been perfectly dry and much cooler inside.

One thing to note is that the paint will turn slimmy while it dries. It was that way for like 12 hours after it was painted. I still recommend the materials and this year had record snowfall and rain.
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Old 05-22-2017, 03:21 PM   #37
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thank you that is very helpful! we are excited to use this method.
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Old 05-22-2017, 03:40 PM   #38
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Couple weekends ago I decided on the type of flooring I wanted to use under the bed for the storage area. Since this is the area the water tank would be I needed a floor that was impervious to water and also take abuse for storage. I priced a few things and settled on the Allure vinyl flooring from HD. It was on sale which helps but it took 2 boxes and cost about $60 in total. I thought I would need to glue it down but it stuck with its grip bottom really well. It cut really easy with a carpet knife. The entire area is under the bed which is why it only goes so far.

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Old 05-23-2017, 02:59 PM   #39
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I have made some other progress on my bus. I changed things up a bit and decided on a bit more.

I did pick up a Natures Head toilet... expensive for a fancy bucket but I suspect it will be worth it.

The water tank I had planned to use came out of an older wynie along with the grey tank. I decided that the water tank was too tall for what I needed to do and since the shower is still in the highly debatable column I decided to sell the grey tank along with the fresh water tank. Interestingly enough the grey water tank sold very quick and no one buys fresh water tanks!

My new water tank will sit better under the bed and the best price I found was from Amazon of all places. I will link it below so others can look. I also picked up a sureflo pump and acumulator to match.

I started to build the bed but with a slight twist. Since I plan to have the bus for years I know there will be a time when my kiddo wont want to travel with my wife and I. Since my bus has an RV sleeper sofa why not build the Queen bed to be multi-purpose?

I am building the queen frame with a removable mid section that is 3ft wide. This also allows me to bring larger items through the door. By building essentially 2 bench seats with a removable mid section I can at a later date pull the queen bed out and lift the middle as a table and have a dinner table area. This means that we would just sleep on the sleeper sofa if it is just the 2 of us. I think I will sketch something up and show what I mean. Anyhow I started to build that this weekend.

I have a 5 day weekend coming up so I hope to make some good progress.

Picture concept of the bed


The water tank I got from Amazon and Water Pump etc (not installed yet but good reviews)
SHURflo 4008-101-E65 3.0 Revolution Water Pump

SHURFLO (255-213) 1/2" Twist-On Pipe Strainer

SHURflo 182-200 Pre-Pressurized Accumulator Tank

New RV 46 Gallon Fresh Water Tank T-4600 sold by ClassACustoms
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Old 06-12-2017, 03:37 PM   #40
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Been busy so a quick update. I built the bed frame as described. Took a day or so and is fairly heavy. Only thing I am not sure about is if I need to support the middle more or not. I also need to spray it with some clear finish I think.


As for the bathroom area I have a mock up so I could determine size and hights. You can see the bed in the background that is stained dark. There is a black tote underneath so it may look funny.

I'll post more once I have this area figured out or look for advice.
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