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Old 10-18-2015, 09:45 AM   #1
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The Newman Skoolie!

We haven't come up with a name for her yet, but the conversion is started!

I bought this bus in Iowa two weeks ago and drove her home successfully to Virginia - 24hrs. of driving in 2.5 days! She's a 1998 65 seat, Freightliner/Thomas with a Cummins 6BT 5.9L, Allison 2500 tranny and 102K miles. This must have been among the last all-mechanical 12v 6BTs installed since the 24v ISBs became available in mid-1998. She was built to the tough Iowa spec and was well maintained in her district.

This is a family RV conversion which will have the typical bedroom aft, composting toilet, shower stall, galley kitchen, 2 way refrigerator, convertible seating up front, propane cooking and heating (+ fridge), and a roof raise to make room for the loft up front and more storage throughout. I also plan to add the WVO option, solar and wind supplemental power.

We have 18 of the 24 seats out and we're starting to take on the interior panels. The current floor plan calls for removing and skinning over six windows and moving the left emergency widow next to the one on the right. I thought it would be nice to have those next to each other at the galley kitchen so that when we're in camp and have the outside canopy up (simple homemade oilcloth canvas) and dining, entertaining, etc., the emergency windows can be held up and open for pass-throughs, discussion, etc. It just seems more inviting that way.

I also plan to reinstall the six removed windows above six of the existing windows after the roof raise to let more light in and allow fellow travelers to better see the sights. I haven't seen this done in any of the other conversion projects. Am I missing something? Would anyone advise me not to?

Other than that the adventure has officially begun! Thanks for looking, come back soon!

About to drive off the lot in Marshalltown, Iowa:



One of my earth-dog daughters loving the grinder (we burned this little 4.4amp one out pretty quickly on the case-hardened bolts, "allowing" me to get the choice 11amp Dewalt - WooHoo!)!



Half the seats out with the help of some neighborhood friends:



All but four seats remain:



Being the family project that it is we want to reuse and recycle whatever we can. I hoped we'd get more out of the seating parts and pieces but it just wasn't possible. We disassembled them, kept all the plywood that was usable, trashed the upholstery and recycled the steel framing at the landfill.

If anybody has a suggestion on how to reuse the steel framing please let me know. It's tubular, so even cut up and refabricated I don't see much of a use for it but I'll be kicking myself if I do end up needing some. I have half the seats left so if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance!


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Old 10-18-2015, 09:59 AM   #2
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Welcome Guys & Gals! --- Man, what a great combo you found there. Between the mechanical 5.9 and a newer 2000 series Allison, that's about as good as it gets in my book. And it appears to be pretty rust free as well.

And it looks like you have a solid handle on the build too. A shared family project like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Best of luck on the build and please do keep the pix coming.
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Old 10-18-2015, 10:01 AM   #3
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How about Johnny 5

My bus is number 50.

Although after getting a copy of the classic piece of literature known as Roll Your Own, I've sorta started calling it that.
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Old 10-18-2015, 10:11 AM   #4
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Wow! Thanks a lot you guys, that was quick! I didn't really know about skoolies four short weeks ago. The only reason I found such a great platform and have any kind of handle on the design is because of the great people on this site!

I didn't intend to buy a bus that day, it really was just for research so I could step onto and off of the 2+ dozen they had just to get a feel for them. But when I saw this one and its spec and configuration I knew it was a really good match and I'm so glad I pulled the trigger.

Thanks for the kind words already!
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Old 10-18-2015, 10:15 AM   #5
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Old 10-18-2015, 10:23 AM   #6
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EastCoastCB - BRILLIANT!
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Old 10-18-2015, 10:28 AM   #7
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LOL some don't think so but that's fine! Glad you liked it. Made me chuckle... But I'm a clown apparently!
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Old 10-18-2015, 10:38 AM   #8
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Well I've LOVED the connection forever so it's fine with me. My first job out of college was at a microbrewery and the guys would holler it from the bottom of the tanks they were cleaning and it sounded so spooky!
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Old 10-18-2015, 11:07 AM   #9
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...and I've got some light reading to do...

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Old 10-25-2015, 09:33 PM   #10
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Milestone! Seats are out, first panels removed. We got the seats out with lots of fanfare and even knocked out the first few lower interior panels. I am delighted to find very little rust, so far...She looks really solid all the way to the floor.

I can't get the lowest pieces of fiberglass insulation out, the stuff behind the chair rail at the very bottom. The remnants of the screws are holding it in plus it's pretty much out of reach and all I can get are bits and piece and not much of it either. Any "major" issue with just leaving it?

My kids love the sparks...and who can blame them!



I love this shot, my daughter Madeline hard at work at the chair rail...very eerie....



A nice clean panel, and thankfully, the rest were similar.



Not a lot of rust to go after, thankfully...



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Old 10-25-2015, 11:59 PM   #11
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Very nice, solid looking bus for sure.
The fiberglass in the lower part of mine just lifted right out, some required the shop vac.
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Old 10-26-2015, 07:09 AM   #12
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Thank you! Part of the issue is just getting a hold of it. It starts 2"-3" down and I can only pinch off it a little at a time. I don't want to leave it but I don't see removing the outer skin to get to it either (obviously I'm leaving the chair rail in place). I wish I could vac it out for sure!
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Old 10-26-2015, 07:42 AM   #13
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stick a tool or a small hand in there to get it out.
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Old 10-26-2015, 09:23 AM   #14
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Very clean indeed!
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Old 10-26-2015, 01:05 PM   #15
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Thanks Tango!

EastCoastCB: Exactly, I'll just have to go after it harder, like with a crowbar or breaker bar, something stout and thin enough. It'll come out for sure!
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Old 10-26-2015, 04:02 PM   #16
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we used a shop-vac too, of course ours is taller than us and weighs 100lbs or so that they use in factories. try to fashion a tube about an 1 1/2" wide by however long you want and duct tape it to the end of your shop vac. We had a long metal attatchment that i just pounded down to reach all they way and it got every last bit. you'll probably have to bust up the batting with a long metal rod first though, as it may be too clumpy to get sucked up.
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Old 11-05-2015, 10:18 AM   #17
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Thanks for the replies guys! I was able to get the bottom pieces of batt insulation out with a 1x2 and just leveraging it out. No bigs....

I've been reading as much as time allows, mostly the Millicent project, and I have some questions.

1) I haven't yet seen any references to using the interior ceiling panels for exterior skin or other places once it's removed. Mine are installed with screws so it "should" be relatively easy to take them out.

Is there any reason not to reuse them for skinning over the openings for windows I'll remove? What about using them for storage boxes under the bus, that kind of thing? I see talk about using plywood or aluminum or plastic RV panels and wondered why go through the hassle and cost if the ceiling panels are just as good.

2) Should vertical framing members I'll add for the roof raise be run inside the window pillars all the way to the floor deck for structural integrity? I see Millisent stopped his short but I thought another project drove them all the way down.

That's extra material and cost that may or may not be necessary? If it is I'll do it but if not I won't. Either way, there will be screw threads inside window pillars that were left over from hacking off the heads to remove the interior wall panels that may prevent me from doing so.

3) Do most folks run electrical conduit through the window pillars? Do you drill through them and run the conduit along inside the wall or put them elsewhere?

I know these are pretty basic questions for most on this great forum, but while I've been reading and researching I haven't see these covered yet and have been noting questions as I proceed.

As always, ANY response is appreciated!

BTW, I have all the interior wall panels and insulation off now. Not a huge milestone worth pics but worth mentioning nonetheless!
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Old 11-05-2015, 11:41 AM   #18
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Hat channel / support rib splices cant run all the way to the floor due to the chair rail. Chair rail is structural and must stay. I over lapped my splices one foot on each end.

Unless your raising from the floor up. In that case the outer skin at the floor height must be removed, as well as the chair rail rivets must be removed.

Do not drill large holes through the hat channels. You will destroy their structural integrity.

Many of us "Strap" the inside of the bus with 2x4's running horizontal, every 16 inches starting from the floor up. This gives us a proper thermal break from the metal shell, and a place to run electrical tubes and plumbing pipes.

Later in the build, the 2x4 strapping becomes the Only mounting point for interior things like cabinets, counters, furniture, ect. At no point should any interior fasteners pass into the outer metal shell. This is a thermal bridge that will cause condensation and water buildup / mold rot.

Detailed pics can be found here.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/th...ime-10138.html

And here.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f27/ar...rust-8870.html

Nat
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Old 11-15-2015, 08:02 AM   #19
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Thanks nat_ster, all very helpful, the learning continues! Hadn't thought of framing out with 2x4's like that but I definitely will.

I FINALLY had some skoolie time. All interior panels and insulation are removed and I was able to do a thorough cleaning of all the debris. I'm going to have to pause there because the roof raise prep is next and I don't want to open her up as we head into winter.

For now it will be some rust remediation above the wheel wells and then boning up on the three service manuals I have and going through the 100k mile bumper to bumper service interval which is a biggie.

For now here are the progress pics:

Right side...


Left side...


First section framing, to be removed as the raise starts with the second rib...


Full view of the ceiling which is in perfect shape...and by perfect I mean there is the leaking section that roached out the wheel wells that I'll have to fix...more on that a little later.
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Old 01-02-2016, 03:27 PM   #20
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Merry Christmas/Happy New Year, blahblahblah...I hope all on skoolie.net are well!

Things have gone quiet on my project, I got her as close to the roof raise as I'd like to with winter setting in. I did score a free 7' base cabinet (the perfect length) for my galley kitchen out of a horse barn, will need some cleaning up and some Kilz primer but it's going to work perfectly. I also found a one man natural felled lumber mill where I picked up some really nice, and cheap, ash for the countertop - four pieces 2"x9"x9' for twenty five clams - not bad! However, one step forward ALWAYS requires one step backwards, right?

The one thing I did take on was removing the rear heater and looping the hoses as close to the forward heater bulkhead as possible next to the driver's seat. I got myself all set up with clamps and towels for the inevitable spill and was very happy with my approach.

Then I proceeded with my approach and managed to cut the first hose too close to the #$%^ heater wall to be able to both clamp it off on the engine side AND install the elbow fitting - F-up #? now?!!

So here you see my predicament. First off, the patch hose I now have to use is about four times as long as expected and bends closed (large red arrow), so it's no good and I need to pick one up pre-bent.

Second, and much worse, is the pipe on the left which I cut first and in the wrong place. I have a bar clamp with two pieces of small scrap angle steel keeping it closed right now. I'm not quite sure how to proceed. If I release the clamp it will immediately gush coolant.

My plan right now, in the absence of any other, is to do just that. Having premade the replacement loop I would release the clamp and install the second elbow while the pipe is gushing coolant.

I know that sounds ridiculous because it is but I can't get a clamp further towards the heater compartment and I can't think of another way to proceed.

Any ideas?


URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/jman6631/media/da55145e-d172-44f8-9be0-bef7325a4b2e_zpstsro2jjn.jpg.html][/URL]



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