The Newman Skoolie!

[Robin97396]

I have searched extensively for wiring diagrams, but the oldest ones I can find are 2002 and that's only on a few models. Most electrical diagrams are 2007 or newer. And that's what I've read here in the past. It would seem the information we are looking for was intentionally taken off the internet. Interesting.

[Jman6631]

I may have it, actually. The seller had a pile of stuff and I haven't gone every single piece of paper yet. And there may be something in the Thomas manual I have as well. I just haven't had time to dig into it all recently.

[Jman6631]

Until I find any wiring harness diagram in my possession I can tell you about a fantastic deal I just got on eBay for some windows.

I found a guy parting out a shuttle bus and is selling me all the windows and doors for 600 clams. There are more than I need so I can sell some and recoup some of the cost but what is left has turned out to be the perfect window and enclosing solution for my project.

I've been struggling with the whole window decision anyway, knowing the old salts say get rid of the crap, to which I agree. I do like the look of the stock windows but also appreciate their lack of screens, sealing, and security. I've searched for suitable window replacements for months, knowing the re-enclosure effort after the roof raise will depend heavily on them, not to mention the floor layout.

What I've found on craigslist and ebay are a bunch of mismatched windows that left me underwhelmed and frustrated. I didn't like having to chance my way into hopefully finding windows of good quality that matched reasonably well so the final product doesn't look too awful.

Then I found this deal on ebay and realized what a superb solution it will be. I was able to rework my layout a little to accommodate them and found that I can and it will work out beautifully. I'll get:

Windows
7 - 36x36
1 - 36x42
2 - 22x24
4 - 12x36

Doors
1 34x80 bifold glass entry door
1 48x72 rear side double door
1 38x60 rear door

I'll use four of the 36x36 units up front starting behind the driver's seat and entry door (two on each side) in the living room over the couches. I'll use the 36x42 unit in the galley kitchen on the right side. Then I'll use two more 36x36 units in the very rear in the master bedroom where, conveniently, the last bay is larger than the other bays and ready to receive them as-is.

I'll use the 48x72 double doors singly when I build in the storage below deck. These are hinged the full length and will be perfect access doors. I'll need to remove and cover the smaller window in each. Question: Should I install them with hinges on top or on bottom?

I'm not sure about the rest. I could potentially use one of the smaller windows in the bathroom but I had planned on not having any windows in the bathroom. Thoughts? The bathroom is going to get plenty of insulation all the way around for privacy (as much as can be expected) but I hadn't thought seriously of including a window.

For the five units in the front and in the kitchen I'll have to cut out the structural members that will be in their way and build the rough opening to accept them, obviously. Not that big a deal and totally worth the effort.

They are located six hours from me, so I'll leave at O dark thirty this Saturday morning to get there before noon. Thankfully the seller is going to assist with the removal. Depending on how long that takes I may end up staying in town (on points!) and return home Sunday.

Here they are still attached:

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Whiskeyjr

You could buy or borrow a "fox and hound"



I've used ones like this for years. It will positively locate the wires for you.

I use these "toners" in my work all the time... (im a telecom geek).. you tone out wires 2 (1 pair) at a time.. and when you think you got the correct wires.. you short them together and the tone will cease... its an excellent way to find wires in a bundle (that are not connected to any power or shorted)...
-Christopher

P.S. i see that one will track live circuits.. so of course dont shrt the wires...

[Jman6631]

Thanks cadillackid, hopefully I can find one a little cheaper...

[cadillackid]

this one is cheaper thogh you cant use it on Live wires..

Robot Check

[Jman6631]

Very cool cadillackid, thanks a lot!

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by Jman6631

Question: Should I install them with hinges on top or on bottom?

I'd hinge on top, keeps the rain from entering in the compartments when their open

[Jman6631]

Thanks Scooternj!

Attaching at the top is my first preference, but I was wondering if someone might point out a not-so-obvious advantage to hinging at the bottom. The only one I could think of was not needing to hold it up while open, with a stick or hydraulic arm, such that it wouldn't come down on my head, which it would!

[Robin97396]

Nope, not going to bite on that one. Hinged at the top, otherwise it might tend to open while traveling sometimes. You'll get a bald spot on your head from holding the door up, but you'll get used to it.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Jman6631

Until I find any wiring harness diagram in my possession I can tell you about a fantastic deal I just got on eBay for some windows.

I found a guy parting out a shuttle bus and is selling me all the windows and doors for 600 clams. There are more than I need so I can sell some and recoup some of the cost but what is left has turned out to be the perfect window and enclosing solution for my project.

I've been struggling with the whole window decision anyway, knowing the old salts say get rid of the crap, to which I agree. I do like the look of the stock windows but also appreciate their lack of screens, sealing, and security. I've searched for suitable window replacements for months, knowing the re-enclosure effort after the roof raise will depend heavily on them, not to mention the floor layout.

What I've found on craigslist and ebay are a bunch of mismatched windows that left me underwhelmed and frustrated. I didn't like having to chance my way into hopefully finding windows of good quality that matched reasonably well so the final product doesn't look too awful.

Then I found this deal on ebay and realized what a superb solution it will be. I was able to rework my layout a little to accommodate them and found that I can and it will work out beautifully. I'll get:

Windows
7 - 36x36
1 - 36x42
2 - 22x24
4 - 12x36

Doors
1 34x80 bifold glass entry door
1 48x72 rear side double door
1 38x60 rear door

I'll use four of the 36x36 units up front starting behind the driver's seat and entry door (two on each side) in the living room over the couches. I'll use the 36x42 unit in the galley kitchen on the right side. Then I'll use two more 36x36 units in the very rear in the master bedroom where, conveniently, the last bay is larger than the other bays and ready to receive them as-is.

I'll use the 48x72 double doors singly when I build in the storage below deck. These are hinged the full length and will be perfect access doors. I'll need to remove and cover the smaller window in each. Question: Should I install them with hinges on top or on bottom?

I'm not sure about the rest. I could potentially use one of the smaller windows in the bathroom but I had planned on not having any windows in the bathroom. Thoughts? The bathroom is going to get plenty of insulation all the way around for privacy (as much as can be expected) but I hadn't thought seriously of including a window.

For the five units in the front and in the kitchen I'll have to cut out the structural members that will be in their way and build the rough opening to accept them, obviously. Not that big a deal and totally worth the effort.

They are located six hours from me, so I'll leave at O dark thirty this Saturday morning to get there before noon. Thankfully the seller is going to assist with the removal. Depending on how long that takes I may end up staying in town (on points!) and return home Sunday.

Here they are still attached:

is he selling the air-conditioners?

[Jman6631]

Yep, I hear you, I'll prolly go with top hinged unless I hear a really compelling reason not to. And, top or bottom I'll need a good closure and locking method.

I like the full width garage-door type hardware with the center handle especially. Should be able to find a couple at the junk yard, I hope.

[Jman6631]

I'll ask...stand by...

[Jman6631]

Cadillackid: PM me and I'll send you the seller's phone number.

[Jman6631]

With the replacement windows coming home this weekend (WooHoo!) and the re-enclosure challenge much more in focus I can turn my attention to the roof raise itself.

I've read the Millicent Chronicles and the New Project raise inspired by Millicent in detail (links below), and I'm pretty sure I will go by way of the vertical-frame-inside-the-hat-channels-to-the-roof-deck route. I like the combination of the ease of raising the roof squarely while adding back in some structural integrity lost from cutting the top off, perhaps making it even stronger.

The challenge that's been itching the back of my mind is 1) exactly how far do I raise it, and 2) how do I incorporate a roof top AC unit (or not, and then what do I use in it's place). I can go to 13'6" in Virginia but will stay at 13' jus' cuz. That maximizes the headroom in the loft (not to mention more storage in the bulkhead amidships).

The kicker has been the AC solution which, with two teenage girls and being in a fairly humid area, is something I really should do. The only non-rooftop solution I've found on the forum that I like is a split DX system. The condenser is mounted below the floor deck and a nice louver unit is built into a bulkhead somewhere inside. The trouble I have with that is using a residential house unit in an application it wasn't meant for (bouncing around under the floor deck "this close" to the road), not to mention a more complicated installation (for me, I'm no HVAC guy).

IF I can incorporate a rooftop unit my life would be so much easier but I just couldn't figure out how to do it even reasonably well IF I wanted to maximize the height of the raise. That is, until looking through those two other killer builds.

Suddenly it dawned on me that I don't HAVE to do a symmetrical raise, right? There aren't any rules to this...I mean, it's a free country, right? I could do a hybrid, asymmetrical raise where the front ~2/3 is the full height of the raise and the rear ~1/3 is something less than that and low enough to accommodate the height of a rooftop AC unit. The rear section would have the exposed frame like in the New Project. I'll make room for the AC unit to mount on the roof (as designed), and I can also add solar panels in the future. The front section would be the full height of the raise without the exposed frame. Voila, I have my tall roof where I need it and room for the AC in the rear.

Thoughts?



http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/new-project-6893.html
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/th...gate-1564.html

[cadillackid]

im lost as to why the roof raise has to be assymetrical for a rooftop unit. wouldnt the A/C just be sitting ontop of any roofline your create? there is very little protrusion into the interior on a rooftop RV unit.

as much as I love mini split units, the outdoor units are large.. they run on R-410A which isnt designed for the extreme temperatures you put a bus through day after day.. (its pressures run roughly twice as much as R-134A).. and the flair fittings have a tendency to leak on stationary units... let alone bouncing them around...

-Christopher

[Jman6631]

The asymmetry allows for the full 13' height up front where I need it while accommodating the ~12" height of the RTU in the rear. If the raise were full-length as well as full-height then the ~12" height of the rooftop unit would make the bus 14' tall (and get sheared off at the first 13' overpass with my luck!).

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Jman6631

The asymmetry allows for the full 13' height up front where I need it while accommodating the ~12" height of the RTU in the rear. If the raise were full-length as well as full-height then the ~12" height of the rooftop unit would make the bus 14' tall (and get sheared off at the first 13' overpass with my luck!).

wow thats a serious roof raise.. whats the height of a normal un-raised conventional school bus?

I always thought these shuttles rode lower on the wheels and had taller roofs already.
-Christopher

[Jman6631]

Actually this isn't a shuttle, this is a full size school bus. I think the shuttle you're think of is the one I'm getting the windows out of this weekend?

My bus is the usual ~9'9" height, so yeah, it's a serious raise!

Hey did you see my post earlier asking you to PM so I can give you Shuttle Man's phone number?

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Jman6631

Actually this isn't a shuttle, this is a full size school bus. I think the shuttle you're think of is the one I'm getting the windows out of this weekend?

My bus is the usual ~9'9" height, so yeah, it's a serious raise!

Hey did you see my post earlier asking you to PM so I can give you Shuttle Man's phone number?

wow! definitely serious raise.. the lowest profile A/C unit ive seen is 8 inches... carrier used to make a 6 inch rooftop but they got out of the mobile A/C business.. what about Basement A/C?

-Christopher