The WanderLust Bus

[CaptSquid]

MAN! That's a boatload of rust! Fortunately, there's very little rust on Brunhilde, and that was nipped in the bud by the previous owner (school district). We don't see much rust out here in Montana.

[EastCoastCB]

I hate rust!

Got the new tensioner and serp belt on and its purring nicely now.







The squeaking was the tensioner. It was a Dayco replacement fwiw.The new one is from the IC dealer. So this is the 3rd tensioner this bus has had in 170k miles.

[EastCoastCB]

I then took off the stupid passive vent. These things are worthless.


And as usual, it was full of bugs and nastiness-


I paneled over it, and used seam sealer. No more grossness.
Pics of that tomorrow. Phone died.

[EastCoastCB]

Well my step-dad texted me to let me know he's ordered my 18ga 4x10's. Sure woulda been nice to have a week ago!
At least now I'll have a few nice new sheets for future bus projects/jobs.

I'm gonna start watching Ebay/CL for a good deal on some RV roof vents.

[BowserJournal]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Well my step-dad texted me to let me know he's ordered my 18ga 4x10's. Sure woulda been nice to have a week ago!
At least now I'll have a few nice new sheets for future bus projects/jobs.

I'm gonna start watching Ebay/CL for a good deal on some RV roof vents.

Where did he order them from? I guess you don't need my help now with wrenching?

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by BowserJournal

Where did he order them from? I guess you don't need my help now with wrenching?

Huh? Why? The steel has nothing to do with my bus, really. Other than I'll use some of it for covering the usual leaking suspects.
I gotta get a hoist and a BIG puller for the harmonic balancer and then I'll be wanting to tear into my bus for sure. Still shooting for feb 10!

THANKS!!!!!!!!

[EastCoastCB]

Strobe delete-















The deleted passive vent-


Went heavy n sloppy with the seam sealer. Once riveted on its never gonna leak again. Stainless closed end 1/4" rivets.







Dixie's tail wags so much it can't be photographed.

[Twigg]

I'm thinking of keeping the strobe as an emergency flasher should I ever get stuck somewhere dangerous.

Any problems with this?

[EastCoastCB]

The paint is my only gripe. JUST MY OPINION- It would have been better to leave it yellow than to paint it with this stuff-


It flakes off real easy, can't be sanded, and didn't seem to lay down worth a darn. To remove this stuff and put on a lasting, decent paint job is gonna be a LOT of work. Rustoleum or an oil based enamel would have been a huge step in quality for this application and only would have cost you $20-$25 per gallon. Add in a bit of hardener and thinner and you'd still be under $100 to have painted it with a much more durable, better looking result.
Not trying to be mean or anything, but for the folks following along and dreaming of skoolies please take note- its much easier to take your time and paint it right once than it is to totally paint your rig in something that ends up just making it a mess and a lot of work down the road to do it right.
Also- surface prep is REALLY important. You have to wash the HELL out of the bus, then wipe it all down with some sort of solvent before painting. And that's after all the body work, sanding, etc. Not to mention masking.
Getting too eager can make for a LOT of work later, so bear that in mind. I just thought I'd take this and turn it into a learning experience for everyone.















Heres what happens when you try to sand it-



Ran out of battery again, but filled the dent in the rear door, too. Will try to get out there in the AM and do the chassis greasing.

And I need to get the bus to operating temp and check your trans fluid.
Remember to do the trans filter every oil change or at least every other oil change.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Twigg

I'm thinking of keeping the strobe as an emergency flasher should I ever get stuck somewhere dangerous.

Any problems with this?

IDk, but why not keep a magnetic one and use that so you don't have an old, crappy light mounted onto a hole in your roof just waiting to leak or get broken by some low tree branches?

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

IDk, but why not keep a magnetic one and use that so you don't have an old, crappy light mounted onto a hole in your roof just waiting to leak or get broken by some low tree branches?

I'll give that some thought, although it doesn't leak and I could bed it down on new sealant before I paint the roof. It is extremely bright. I've been fortunate with this bus, almost nothing leaks and most things work as they should.

[Tango]

Originally Posted by Twigg

I'll give that some thought, although it doesn't leak and I could bed it down on new sealant before I paint the roof. It is extremely bright. I've been fortunate with this bus, almost nothing leaks and most things work as they should.

That's not "fortunate"...that's Miraculous!

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Twigg

I'll give that some thought, although it doesn't leak and I could bed it down on new sealant before I paint the roof. It is extremely bright. I've been fortunate with this bus, almost nothing leaks and most things work as they should.

I learned about murphy's law long ago, bro.

[M1031A1]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I learned about murphy's law long ago, bro.

I can vouch for Twigg's bus. She's a BEAUTY!!!!

M

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by M1031A1

I can vouch for Twigg's bus. She's a BEAUTY!!!!

M

I'm sure it is. But I just don't see the point in keeping a future source of leaks mounted to the roof.
To each their own, but I delete all that garbage on any bus I get my hands on.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'm sure it is. But I just don't see the point in keeping a future source of leaks mounted to the roof.
To each their own, but I delete all that garbage on any bus I get my hands on.

You are all making good points ... 'preciate it.

[cadillackid]

I left the strrobe on my DEV bus.. it doesnt seem to leak.. though it could at some point.. I use it in heavy fog while im driving.. no MAG mount light is going to do that for me.. I had thought about adding one to the redByrd.. I drive in a lot of foggy conditions going in the eastern mountains.. if i cannot see the tail lights of a vehicle in front of me i go nice N slow. just in case.. so i always run the emergency flashers. and if in the DEV bus I turn on the strobe, i want to be visible..

my Last trip down to florida in RedByrd was through nothing but heaby rain and then once that ended it was heavy fog at night.. you couldnt see 20 feet in front of you if you were lucky.. I ran my 4 ways. but wouldve been nice to have had that strobe.. a box truck barrelled up on my really fast and swerved around me.. i was going 45 in the right lane up a hill.. didnt feel any more comfortable than that.. that strobe wouldve slowed him down or made him change lanes a lot farther back..

yes anything on the roof is a source of possible leaks... but i like being visible.. personal preference more than anything is what it is...

while i hate those roof hatches.. and wish mine were gone, i also think about how would I exit my bus if i turned it over on its side.. ive come to the conclusion that keeping a big hammer secured up front. and keeping my emergency rear door are enough ways for me to get out.. (big hammer to smash out the windshield or a rear window if the door was jammed.. )..
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I left the strrobe on my DEV bus.. it doesnt seem to leak.. though it could at some point.. I use it in heavy fog while im driving.. no MAG mount light is going to do that for me.. I had thought about adding one to the redByrd.. I drive in a lot of foggy conditions going in the eastern mountains.. if i cannot see the tail lights of a vehicle in front of me i go nice N slow. just in case.. so i always run the emergency flashers. and if in the DEV bus I turn on the strobe, i want to be visible..

my Last trip down to florida in RedByrd was through nothing but heaby rain and then once that ended it was heavy fog at night.. you couldnt see 20 feet in front of you if you were lucky.. I ran my 4 ways. but wouldve been nice to have had that strobe.. a box truck barrelled up on my really fast and swerved around me.. i was going 45 in the right lane up a hill.. didnt feel any more comfortable than that.. that strobe wouldve slowed him down or made him change lanes a lot farther back..

yes anything on the roof is a source of possible leaks... but i like being visible.. personal preference more than anything is what it is...

while i hate those roof hatches.. and wish mine were gone, i also think about how would I exit my bus if i turned it over on its side.. ive come to the conclusion that keeping a big hammer secured up front. and keeping my emergency rear door are enough ways for me to get out.. (big hammer to smash out the windshield or a rear window if the door was jammed.. )..
-Christopher

I think at least here in FL using the strobe on any public road is illegal if you're not a school bus for real.

[WanderWoman]

Looking good!
I’m going to say the other side of the bus looks way better than the side you’re working on. The difference between the two sides is the side that has the peeling paint wasn’t properly sanded and also wasn’t in direct sunlight.
The other side of the bus with painted with pretty much direct sunlight on it and that paint baked on and looks fantastic for the most part. I have noticed a couple chips in it from different things that I’ve hated her up and banged up against it but it didn’t peel like the side that wasn’t painted in direct sunlight.


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[Robin97396]

You could always tie your high up school flashers into your emergency warning lights. They're larger and more visible than your tail lights.