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Old 02-27-2017, 06:31 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
AlwaysSunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
Still Sunny: Our rolling land home!

So after lurking here a while, posting some ideas and questions, and receiving lots of useful feedback we've bought a bus! (Mostly)
We've put down a deposit and arranged with the owner to have some maintenance done on the bus (at the fleet repair center he owns) as it has been sitting for several months. The bus is a 2003 Thomas Freightliner FS65 with the 5.9 Cummins ISB and Allison MD3060 with about 200k. It had a few coach parts pirated like signal lights and a wiper assembly so I made an offer contingent on all those things being replaced, new front tires (rear are a year old), brake service (all done 1yr ago), and oil change and we ended up agreeing on $1800. I've checked that it is not a 53 block and the body appears in good shape once we sand and paint. It has the 6'6" headroom I was looking for and storage lockers underneath for our tools, tanks, wood, etc... This will be out home base once the house sells and our winter home when it gets too cold for the boat.

So now we wait for the bus to get fitted out and while I'm sure there will be more tweaking between now and when we actually pick up the bus the second photo is what we hope our layout to be. We'll have a king bed in the back with water tanks underneath to keep them warm inside the bus in winter, and an icebox style fridge with counterspace on top, woodstove to keep warm and a backup propane furnace plumbed in with the stovetop. Lots of storage since we'll need space to store boat stuff in the winter too and an entertainment cabinet that folds to computer desk up front for working and binge watching Netflix (lets be honest). Since people here and on a School bus Conversion page on FB were very helpful in choosing the bus that would work best for us I welcome any comments you have. We look forward to posting more updates and photos once we get to work tearing the bus apart and rebuilding! Check us out on Instagram @stillsunnyadventures and @sailingalwayssunny
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Old 02-27-2017, 07:30 PM   #2
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: SE Florida
Posts: 1,108
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 65 pax
Nice bus and like your lay out plans! Looking forward to seeing your conversion!

Sandi
www.thismidwifetravels.com
Living full-time on my Skoolie.
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Old 02-28-2017, 06:50 AM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 11
I'm interested to see what you do! I'm following along with!
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Old 02-28-2017, 07:29 AM   #4
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
So now while we wait comes the inevitable re-thinking and tweaking of the floor plan and locating better deals and more suitable items online (I realllly hope it doesn't take 3 weeks for our seller to get the bus road-ready but he is giving us a great deal to do it in spurts when his shop has downtime...)
Here are a few of the key items we are looking at purchasing for the build:

New lift pump, regardless of when the current one was installed I can't live in fear of this cutting out and killing the main injector pump...
https://www.bcdiesel.ca/en/fass-ddrp...fyanswodlq8fzg

Charlotte has requested a large non-RV type sink for the kitchen and I agree that it will make life much easier!
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.u...000735158.html

This wood stove will be our main source of heat along with the RV propane furnace that will serve as backup for when we are not there to keep the fire.
Welcome to Kent Building Supplies

Some combination of sizes of these ABS tanks will serve for fresh and grey water storage while we use the black tank and RV toilet from our donor camper.
https://www.amazon.ca/Valterra-R8030...002N5JBVY?th=1

I'll be buying a deep freezer (likely on Kijiji or similar) and using this controller to convert it into a chest-type refridgerator that we can cover in wood and have a nice large counter space.
https://www.amazon.ca/Inkbird-All-Pu...ure+controller

Most of our furnishings will be built from materials that we can repurpose or find at our local ReStore and we'll also be taking our bed and some furnishings from home and modifying them into the bus when the house sells. Planning a high density 1" foam on the floor with laminate flooring floating on top, polybead insulation adhered to the walls and ceiling with T&G pine fixed to it using furring strips. Then we'll plumb and build around that lining our plumbing needs up with the storage lockers underneath the bus to house the grey and black tanks. Does anyone know if simply cutting a snug hole in the roof, sliding a double walled stove pipe through and sealing around it with high-heat plastic cement on both sides (plus a nicer looking trim ring inside) will suffice for the wood stove install? The stove will also be sitting on a stone pad with a heat resistant panel behind it.
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"I don’t know how many years on this Earth I got left. I’m gonna get real weird with it"
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Old 03-15-2017, 07:33 AM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
So through complications outlined on our new build thread the FS65 didn't work out as planned but things happen for a reason as I got my flatnose that I wanted from the start.
Meet Still Sunny, a 2003 Bluebird TC2000 72pass 36' equipped with Cummins 5.9 ISB and Allison AT545 with hydraulic brakes (all new rotors and pads), 6 new tires and around 150k from the maintenance logs (had a new OD installed at one point) all for the nice price of $3000 cad.
We got her home last Sunday and got the seats out that day. We've since stripped the interior fully and are ready to begin painting and construction. I have written a bit about how I intend to construct the bus interior in modules after flooring and covering the walls and ceiling fully to create an interior that can be moved about in future without too much difficulty (don't worry the modules will be bolted to the walls and floor).
Here are some pics for attention and feel free to follow our build and put forward any ideas on the other thread titled "Got our bus, build thread begins!" And on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stillsunnyadventures/?hl=en
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Old 03-15-2017, 07:46 AM   #6
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Greenwood, Indiana
Posts: 669
Year: 1999
Coachwork: New Flyer
Chassis: D45HF "Viking"
Engine: 11.1L Detroit Diesel S60
Rated Cap: 51,600
Congrats! Always Sunny looks great! I hope it turns out better than you hope!
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Old 03-15-2017, 07:57 AM   #7
Bus Nut
 
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Join Date: May 2016
Location: Richmond Virginia
Posts: 932
Year: 1984
Engine: 366 Big block Chevy! :) w/ Stick shift
Just don't let Frank or Charlie drive
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Old 03-15-2017, 07:59 AM   #8
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carytowncat View Post
Just don't let Frank or Charlie drive
Haha don't worry we keep them locked in the back *Wildcard!*
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Old 03-15-2017, 08:06 AM   #9
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Meridian, Texas
Posts: 55
Year: 1967
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: Dodge S500
Engine: Dodge 318
Newfie eh

Welcome to the club, sounds like you got a great deal. Making great progress quickly too. Look forward to seeing your progress.

I'll post pictures of my. 25 year project soon maybe
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Old 03-15-2017, 09:44 AM   #10
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
So this is where we are as of today and the hope is to have the rust sanded down and patched, floor and walls painted with rust paint and the subfloor and wheel well covers installed by the end of this weekend
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Old 03-25-2017, 06:45 AM   #11
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
Got lots done for an afternoon today. We finished adhering the floor with PL and laid furring strips along the sides and began boxing around the wheel wells. Then we framed out our lower walls with 2x2 and screwed it into the chair rail and window sills. After sealing up a couple of small leaks Charlotte stuffed it full of fiberglass insulation and we used the two leftover Styrofoam panels to add some extra R-Value in what will be our bedroom. Finally we nailed on the 1/4" veneer plywood to seal it all in. Tomorrow we'll do the final two panels, caulk the seams and start paneling our ceiling!
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Old 03-25-2017, 07:00 AM   #12
Bus Geek
 
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,762
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
You'd finish faster if you had this-

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Old 03-25-2017, 07:04 AM   #13
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
You'd finish faster if you had this-

Absolutely dying laughing at this haha
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Old 03-25-2017, 07:05 AM   #14
Bus Geek
 
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,762
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
Me just made a Fight Milk shirt on Zazzle for our friend who we openly compare to Mac.
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Old 04-10-2017, 04:52 AM   #15
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Holyrood, Newfoundland
Posts: 34
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins ISB
Lots of progress since the last update. Subfloor, walls, and ceiling are now finished as well as all the windows have been freed up and resealed on the inside and outside. We've begun the framing for our bathroom and kitchen area and checked the clearances on the wood stove which will just require a heat shield to be installed behind it curving upwards onto the ceiling. This week we'll be purchasing all the big ticket things we need like tanks, water heater, fridge, cook top, a repurposed sink and shower/tub and our toilet. These will all be fit into place and then we'll build our cabinets around them. Plumbing and wiring will be chased through the conduits left at the base of the walls and then insulated around with rockwool when finished. It's starting to look more and more like home, and I should mention we can't slow down because we just accepted an offer on our house with a May 31st closing date...
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Old 05-31-2017, 08:20 AM   #16
Almost There
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Arizona
Posts: 75
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC 2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins
Looks great. You actually have a very similar bus to mine and I like the way yours is turning out. I see you used 2x2 for the chair rail and window sill and the 1/4 veneer for the walls. What did you use between the window frames? 1x3? Love the ceiling what did you use? Tongue and groove?
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