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Old 12-07-2016, 06:22 PM   #841
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Well, in this case, my answer is... Marathon Coach, Coburg, Oregon. They'll fix you right up with sides so smooth and slick... you'll slip and fall on your butt just from standing next to it.

But I understand where your mind is working at this stage. We all go there. Brainstorming. The fountain of creativity. The well of ideas.

Then we sit back down and organize our priorities -- keeping those creative ideas that fit into our reality.

Now... with Christmas parties breaking out all over the country over the next three weeks....
If you can buttonhole a Blue Bird Corporation body structure engineer with a lamp-shade on his head, you might get some actual numbers on the rub rails.

Me... I flunked out of mechanical engineering college inside of a year.

So all I can go by is experience and eyeball. And maybe the good sense of a small horse.

The rub rails make the bus much stronger in terms of permanent damage, and much stiffer in terms of flexing and vibrating along the way.
I'm interesting in adding rub rails to Millicent, on the large plain skin surfaces created by raising the roof.

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Old 12-07-2016, 07:16 PM   #842
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When you have no bus of your own and your mind never stops you do explore the numerous things you could do to a bus and the only restraint is someone who has gone before to nudge you away from the abyss and back towards the black top.

That said I was considering adding interior support during the roof rising to replace the rub rails???
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Old 12-07-2016, 07:17 PM   #843
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Saw a coach conversion in Chattanooga last weekend and I liked the look
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Old 12-07-2016, 07:37 PM   #844
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Connecting the extended window pillars to each other behind the skin is certainly possible. If you tuck those connectors into the cavities formed by the pillars... well, that would be a lot of work. And if you add rails to the inside of the pillars, you lose interior space.

School buses are only eight feet wide on the outside. We can actually add six inches to the outside width and still be legal.

If I absolutely "had to" make a school bus smooth on the outside, I think I would attach a second skin on the outside, and fill the new cavity with insulation.
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Old 12-07-2016, 08:28 PM   #845
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If I absolutely "had to" make a school bus smooth on the outside, I think I would attach a second skin on the outside, and fill the new cavity with insulation.
This. For the win!
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Old 12-08-2016, 08:50 AM   #846
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The "rub rails" on skoolies adds significant side impact resistance. That is what they are designed to do.
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Old 12-08-2016, 09:21 AM   #847
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I know of one school district that has decided Blue Bird makes the best school bus on the market. As a consequence all of their buses are either Blue Bird Type 'D' FE or RE buses.

About 60% of the district has unpaved roads. As a consequence their buses take a real beating.

They were having problems with the body flexing and tearing at the edges of the "eyebrows" over the windows. To prevent that happening they now spe'c their buses with an additional rub rail above the "eyebrows".

Since the IC and Thomas buses have a full length drip rail down both sides of the bus you wouldn't need a rub rail above the windows because the drip rail acts like a stiffener.
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Old 12-08-2016, 09:42 AM   #848
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You need to start a new post with pics of all your buses. I sure would like a caddilackid picture post...
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Problem for me with a 3000 is leghth.. remember I don't camp, my busses travel in cities.. I park st hotels , parking lots and the like.

My latest red one is nearly a daily driver. Social outings , Home Depot trips, getting groceries, art tours , and the likes so they need to fit in fairly compact spaces..

The 8 window Thomas FE are nice And decent length but the one I drive I about sweated off the non existent body fat I don't have in that hour drive.. and that was with the air on max..

Thus far I've been mostly able to fuel up st the auto island with the shorter busses..

Gas pumps do have safeguards against being latched in so maybe one was broken if you sprayed diesel everywhere? I do always check anyway as I've found that second handle broken before so I always go get it out before I start.

As for truckers well it's only the few asses that make a pain.. many are cool and helpful.. I probably run into it more than some because I run my busses a lot!! At least comparatively.. I'm over15000 miles this year in the busses combined..
I'd have a tough time getting a filler neck across my conventional .. driveshaft, air dryer, air tanks, etc all obstacles I'd have to get around..

Christopher
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Old 12-08-2016, 01:02 PM   #849
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach View Post
... ...

They were having problems with the body flexing and tearing at the edges of the "eyebrows" over the windows. To prevent that happening they now spe'c their buses with an additional rub rail above the "eyebrows".

Since the IC and Thomas buses have a full length drip rail down both sides of the bus you wouldn't need a rub rail above the windows because the drip rail acts like a stiffener.
On that note.... I happen to have 80-feet-plus of a galvanized "hat section" material from an industrial source, which I'm considering installing over -- that it, covering -- Millicent's eyebrows. This would improve both beauty and strength. Bus rub rail does not have the necessary "interior volume" to "swallow" the eyebrows -- and I already own this material.
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Old 12-23-2016, 03:36 PM   #850
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https://blazinbelltech.com/
check it out
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Old 12-23-2016, 04:32 PM   #851
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Thanks for reminding me... that I have -- tucked away in the barn attic -- a pair of folding bunks/sofas out of a toy hauler.

And thanks for this link. I will take a closer look shortly.
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Old 01-01-2017, 10:11 PM   #852
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Atlanta Area

Do you know of anybody in Atlanta area? Would like to show my wife some busses if possible.
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Old 01-01-2017, 11:10 PM   #853
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No I don't.
But since you bring it up.... It might be a good idea if we all enter our home town and state in our profile. There is plenty of room -- notice I spelled the whole "Clearlake, Northern California".
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Old 01-23-2017, 08:33 PM   #854
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Happy New Year

I am looking at a second project that will come first. Have you ever seen any one talk about converting a bus into a farmers market bus
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Old 01-23-2017, 08:49 PM   #855
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moose View Post
I am looking at a second project that will come first. Have you ever seen any one talk about converting a bus into a farmers market bus

Watermelons & Peanuts.... What else is there

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Old 01-23-2017, 11:04 PM   #856
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And now we return to Millicent-related matters.
For some time... my buddy Peter -- co-owner of Millicent -- and I have considered finding a partner for Millicent.
And an unusual possibility has arisen. We have a lead on this:



Which could lead to something like this. (Please forgive my crude photoshoping.)
Stay tuned to this station for developments as they happen -- if they happen.

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Old 01-24-2017, 09:25 AM   #857
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LOVE it! And far more aerodynamic than your average skoolie. What is that, an old Albatross nose?
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Old 01-24-2017, 09:28 AM   #858
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That sure would help with any extra storage, but I want to watch you parallel park that thing.
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Old 01-24-2017, 11:47 AM   #859
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???

CDL or Pilots license
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Old 01-24-2017, 03:35 PM   #860
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Wow, Tango... you sure know your aircraft. Yes, Grumman HU-16 Albatross seaplane, built 1949 to 1961, often used for search & rescue.

But it is smaller than in the illustration. May get measurements later today.

Meanwhile, glued on a mouth.

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