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Old 04-13-2017, 01:30 PM   #881
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
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Originally Posted by browncrown View Post
It's looking fab East Coast!
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Nice, I haven't seen the bus since you painted it!
Lookin good man!
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Your work is amazing...looking great!
Thanks, it's nice to get feedback.

We have been living in the bus for about a week and a half now - our house is getting pretty bare looking.

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Old 05-08-2017, 05:20 PM   #882
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
May update

Plumbing (expensive!)
Propane (heavy!)
Cats
Working in the rain


The water setup is complex because I have hot water preheat to each fixture with a temperature control, and I have a reversing valve shunt set up so I can connect a pick-up line to the water panel, and pump water out of fixed vessels and other things you can't pour.

The bottom of the propane tank is higher than the front axle. It's also about 17" or so from bottom of the tank to the ground.









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Old 05-08-2017, 05:25 PM   #883
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,757
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
sweet lookinfg setup!!.. I didnt realize you guys were full timing in the buys.. i was thinking it was a camper..

are those Burgaclip fittings on the water lines? Love those things!
-Christopher
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Old 05-11-2017, 08:56 PM   #884
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Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Knoxville,TN
Posts: 8
Year: 2000
Chassis: International/Amtran
Engine: DT466e/MD3060
Rated Cap: 78 Pax
Dude... ah ****. That's all I got. All 89 pages and all I can think about is getting mine to the house so I can rip through it like a damn hurricane. This is damn fine work sir! What you have done for this community, is nothing short of batman-like. Tip of the hat to you and your family! And should you and yours ever cross paths with me and mine, you will see the influence you have forged. Nice damn workmanship. Very nice.
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Old 05-15-2017, 12:51 AM   #885
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
Thanks for the compliments,
it's always cool to get reminded that folks read through all the pages!

We are hoping to get out to some of the skoolie get togethers.


Quote:
Originally Posted by CrackedConch View Post
Dude... ah ****. That's all I got. All 89 pages and all I can think about is getting mine to the house so I can rip through it like a damn hurricane. This is damn fine work sir! What you have done for this community, is nothing short of batman-like. Tip of the hat to you and your family! And should you and yours ever cross paths with me and mine, you will see the influence you have forged. Nice damn workmanship. Very nice.
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Old 06-18-2017, 02:39 PM   #886
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
Propane and hot water work now, also I got the onboard water pump situation squared.


I can cook things.


Accumulator tank and instant hot water heater.


Hot water is nice. Girard GSWH-2


Proof of concept for capactive tank level monitoring system.


The cat has taken well to living on the bus.
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Old 06-18-2017, 03:05 PM   #887
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Billings, MT
Posts: 1,269
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: HDX
Engine: Cat C7
Rated Cap: 84 passenger
Put that darn cat to work!
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Old 06-18-2017, 03:08 PM   #888
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,757
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
nice!! what board are you using for the tank level... it looks familair like one ive used before.

does that measure from outside the tank?
-Christopher
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Old 06-18-2017, 03:31 PM   #889
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Willamina, Oregon
Posts: 6,409
Coachwork: 97 Bluebird TC1000 5.9
Dip that cat in a bucket of warm water and it'll make a nice shammy to wash the vehicle with. You should probably wear welding gloves.

My cats are willing to live in my bus while it's parked. Hmmm, maybe I should take the cats for a ride then let them out.
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Old 07-31-2017, 08:28 PM   #890
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
Progress report

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted an update. We have onboard electrical, propane appliances, showers, and tv now. (the kids also play minecraft on it)

If you have any questions about anything, please ask!

























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Old 08-01-2017, 08:52 AM   #891
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Salt Lake City Utah
Posts: 1,635
Year: 2000
Chassis: Blue Bird
Engine: ISC 8.3
Very impressive as always! That's some nice looking DIN rail. I think I see circuit breakers, terminal blocks, and up in the top-right corner.. a pair of contactors? I'm interested to know their role (transfer switch, I guess?) and more about the panel-mount meters, too. And I recognized the arduino (pro mini?) and the empty-full indicators on the LCD, but couldn't figure out what Wt and Ft mean.
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Old 08-03-2017, 06:10 PM   #892
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: SW New Hampshire
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That's gorgeous work inside that junction/breaker/whatnot box.
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Old 10-16-2017, 05:11 PM   #893
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
We took a trip a couple weekends ago, two passes in the PNW, I-90 and US-2.

I-90 pavement expansion joints are a bit of a boneshaker. I am going to try dropping tire pressure 10 psi in the front (100 right now) and replace shocks in the front.







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Old 10-16-2017, 05:16 PM   #894
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,757
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
great to see your rig out and about!!!!!

expansion joints rock both of my busses pretty good.. I found on my DV bus that new shocks helped, I also found the Lash in my steering box was out of spec and the alignment was bad. I fixed the lash myself and had it aligned.. much better!!.. tire pressure made a Little difference.. not as much as id thoght it would.. but being im front engine I couldnt go down too much... I still have a lot of weight up there..

-Christopher
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Old 10-16-2017, 09:33 PM   #895
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Excellent journey! Great to see these rigs out and about. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 10-16-2017, 10:24 PM   #896
Traveling
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,573
Year: 2003
Coachwork: BlueBird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9L Cummins
Rated Cap: '00
The LED lights really make it look clean and modern. I have some on order, are taking forever to arrive.

Bet you all are making some great memories for the little ones.
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Old 10-17-2017, 09:05 PM   #897
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Kent, WA (Seattle)
Posts: 414
Year: 1987
Engine: 6.9L Diesel
Hey Aaron,
I haven't checked in on your build in about a year or so, but I really enjoyed blowing off some of my sleep last night to catch up with your build-truly outstanding seeing it all come together. I agree with many others that your build has been an inspiration to get off my butt and make progress on my own.

How has that water heater been treating you? I was thinking about getting a takagi instant water heater, but I'm very attracted to a 12v water heater to reduce the load from my modest inverter. The reviews on amazon seem mixed so I would be very interested in your personal review.

What is your family doing for washer/dryer right now?

I got lots more questions but I cannot think of too many at the time.

Also excited to see those solar panels go up!

ps: All your precise craftsmanship puts me in awe, I love how that activity table/bunk bed came together.
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Old 10-18-2017, 03:18 PM   #898
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
Well, we have been living in the bus full time since April. We own a house, so we have rented out the house but park there. Our washer and dryer is still used in the house, so there's some water/heat that is not part of the bus yet.

I filled up the propane tank in May, (30 gallon, 27 usable) and as of today it's a little less that 1/4 full, so time to refill soon. The consumers for the propane are hot water and the range/oven.

We all take showers and wash dishes in the bus, so I'd say I'm highly satisfied with the water heater (Girard GSWH2)

Take into account I have a dual water pump (just common shurflo pumps) and a 5 gallon accumulator tank. When taking a shower, (standard residential showerhead) the pumps turn on after about 10 seconds of flow. During the shower, they cycle off and on, so the pressure accumulator helps even flow out a lot.

If someone is doing dishes and taking a shower at the same time, there is a about a 3 degree drop in max temperature, but thats with both fixtures max flow. We have a bosch aquastar tankless in the house, and it has similar heat/flow characteristics.

I think the most annoying thing is the cold sandwich, but I've solved that with a thermostat controlled hot line preheat. The temp sensor is right at the junction for the hot return, so if the line temp drops, it will attempt to keep the cold part of the sandwich out of the main loop. It works well, but there's some "fighting" for pressure at times. Overall, the preheat works well too.


Quote:
Originally Posted by TAOLIK View Post
Hey Aaron,
I haven't checked in on your build in about a year or so, but I really enjoyed blowing off some of my sleep last night to catch up with your build-truly outstanding seeing it all come together. I agree with many others that your build has been an inspiration to get off my butt and make progress on my own.

How has that water heater been treating you? I was thinking about getting a takagi instant water heater, but I'm very attracted to a 12v water heater to reduce the load from my modest inverter. The reviews on amazon seem mixed so I would be very interested in your personal review.

What is your family doing for washer/dryer right now?

I got lots more questions but I cannot think of too many at the time.

Also excited to see those solar panels go up!

ps: All your precise craftsmanship puts me in awe, I love how that activity table/bunk bed came together.
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Old 10-27-2017, 05:49 PM   #899
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Kent, WA (Seattle)
Posts: 414
Year: 1987
Engine: 6.9L Diesel
Awesome! Thanks for getting back to me. Living out of the bus and renting out the house. Sounds like you're living the dream!
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Old 04-27-2018, 12:27 AM   #900
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 722
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3l Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
I'm working on installing the lithium battery pack now. 2.5kW of panels on the roof feeds the pack. Two synchronised inverters will provide 120 and 240 split phase power, at 3kw per leg. This is basically a 50A onboard power source.

With the air conditioning attached to this, the numbers look like we'll be able to run 18k BTW A/C all day and through to the next day to stay cool, and recharge. Hopefully, anyway.




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