Skoolie Jane

[cadillackid]

on most busses that is access to the fuel lines and fuel gauge sender that go to the tank... my own personal feeling is that it should be left accessible. but many cover it up...
-Christopher

[Santa]

Good to know. I'll figure this out when it comes to building out the floor and designing a trap door style panel.

While the floors need attention, I was happy to see a few things in the maintenance records.

1) New fuel tank & components
2) New instrument cluster
3) New fabricated stair well entrance
4) Motor work - replaced heads and the whole nine
5) Roof panel work due to a recall?
6) Random items replaced that I can't think of right now

I'm glad that these buses are so well documented. Or at least you would hope they would be, but they definitely give you a better history of the bus.

[Ninjakitty]

Possibly for your full pump. That is what was under mine. Make sure to keep it accessable when you put in flooring.

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[Twigg]

Deleted duplicate info

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by Santa

I hope my earlier post didn't imply that I wanted to skin over the existing floors with no prior rust removal.

It was more asking, what if I removed the rusted floor skins out entirely and lay new ones in their place. This also gives me an entire overview of the cross members from above that I can give attention to if needed.

It all depends on the construction of your bus. Mine (a 95' AmTran Genesis) is made up of segments that have the hat channel integral to the floor panel. It would not be so simple as grinding off rivets, removing sheets and re-skinning. Yours might be different though.

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

on most busses that is access to the fuel lines and fuel gauge sender that go to the tank... my own personal feeling is that it should be left accessible. but many cover it up...
-Christopher

Ditto on keeping access. If it needs replacing, at some point you will.

[Santa]

First purchase for the bus... RV doors!

Picked these up about 45min North for $100 for the two. These were stripped from a wrecked camper that was a few years old. Screen door too and still has some plastic on it. Win! No door locks, but I'll pick this up on a later date.

Entry and the other will be used for the emergency door. Now to figure out what to do with emergency door stairs since I have belly storage on that site. Scissor steps? Maybe mount a small ladder to the side of the bus?

[Santa]

Tomorrow will make a month since we've got the bus back home.

Our progress due to weather, work and normal life occurrences has been minor.

We've removed all the bus seats, rip off the side wall panels, 99% of the floor rubber mats have been removed and we're starting to wheel brush the floor of rust to get the floor prepped.

After a month's time, how far have you come with your bus?

[Ninjakitty]

I'm still wire wheeling g the floor after a month. But all interior items are out. No floors, no seats, no walls or ceilings.

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[PNW_Steve]

After a month I had seats out and a parking spot secured.

Not much progress for the first year.

Now I am 14+ months down the road and am making progress. Interior is completely stripped and much of the prep work for my roof raise is complete.

My goal is to have the conversion to a point that we can use it for weekend trips by the end of June and ready for extended trips by November.

Best wishes on your project!!

[Santa]

Originally Posted by Ninjakitty

I'm still wire wheeling g the floor after a month. But all interior items are out. No floors, no seats, no walls or ceilings.

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How was removing the covers for the heater lines (driver side)? I'm finding I have to grind (the screws) a lot of them off.

The same applies to the passenger side and those brackets that hold the floors down. So much gunk I can't get my phillips bit in it to remove.

[Ninjakitty]

Originally Posted by Santa

How was removing the covers for the heater lines (driver side)? I'm finding I have to grind a lot of them off.

The same applies to the passenger side and those brackets that hold the floors down. So much gunk I can't get my phillips bit in it to remove.

Mine were screwed in to the chair rail. Most of the screws had rusted out so mine came out pretty easily. I doubt that helps in your situation. Sorry.

I still have the inlet and outlet pipes running in through the front of the bus to hook my new heater up to.

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[Santa]

Originally Posted by Ninjakitty

I still have the inlet and outlet pipes running in through the front of the bus to hook my new heater up to.

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What new heater(s) are you going with?

I'd like to replace my heater cores on the bus to have heat while the bus is in motion. I see some people just rip those out.

[PNW_Steve]

After stripping the heads on a couple of screws I found a process that helped me get almost all of the floor track and heater hose cover screws out.

I took a #1 Phillips screwdriver and a hammer. Insert the #1 in the screw head and smack it solid with the hammer then followed up with #2 Phillips in an impact driver. I would guess that I removed close to 200 screws this way. I had to grind a few off. Maybe 6-8.

[Ninjakitty]

Originally Posted by Santa

What new heater(s) are you going with?

I'd like to replace my heater cores on the bus to have heat while the bus is in motion. I see some people just rip those out.

I bought this

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...70602/10002/-1



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[Santa]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

After stripping the heads on a couple of screws I found a process that helped me get almost all of the floor track and heater hose cover screws out.

When I was attempting to remove the floor strip covers from the center aisle, I snapped 2-3 Phillips bits. At this point I said the heck with it, used my pry bar which snapped some off.

The others I grinded off since I kept whacking them using the pry bar when I was lifting up the mats.

I'll give your method a shot because I need my lady to also lend me a hand instead of staring at my butt.

[JamieJackson]

I bought mine on the 3rd of this month and still have some seats in it. I'm too far away from power right now, I'm waiting until it gets dryer so i can move it closer to the house.

So far I've used hand tools too remove most of the seats and I've gone over the bus underside and checked for rust and such

It's a slow process but I've given myself two years to complete this project since i want to pay for things as I go, plus i work 65 hours a week. So timing will be interested.

Two steps forward and one step backwards is still moving forward.

[Santa]

Update...

Finished using the wheel cup today after work. I purchased a few flat discs as well that ranged from 40-80grit. Started with the 80 grit to try it out.

Floors are coming together! I can't wait to give it a good wash down.

I know this may be hard to describe, but the wall panel which is under the chair rail..does anyone ever take these out?

Most builds I see people have leave them alone. Looks like they're held in by rivets. Should I take these off and inspect or leave alone?

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Santa

Update...

Finished using the wheel cup today after work. I purchased a few flat discs as well that ranged from 40-80grit. Started with the 80 grit to try it out.

Floors are coming together! I can't wait to give it a good wash down.

I know this may be hard to describe, but the wall panel which is under the chair rail..does anyone ever take these out?

Most builds I see people have leave them alone. Looks like they're held in by rivets. Should I take these off and inspect or leave alone?

The chair rail, right down to the floor, is structural. It is welded either to the ribs or cross-members (or both), and shouldn't be removed.

There may be some bus bodies where this is done differently, but for most it stays in place.

[Santa]

Originally Posted by Twigg

The chair rail, right down to the floor, is structural. It is welded either to the ribs or cross-members (or both), and shouldn't be removed.

There may be some bus bodies where this is done differently, but for most it stays in place.

Roger! Just wanted to make sure since I don't see much people discussing this.

Thanks for always providing an immediate response Twigg.