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05-05-2015, 11:32 PM
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#1
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New Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 9
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The Yellow Palace - the conversion begins
I'll post pictures soon (waiting on my new phone to come in the mail), but I'm trying to pin down a plan for converting my 1988 40-foot Bluebird school bus into my new tiny home. The seats have already been pulled out and the previous owners have put down a hardwood floor. However, one of my first plans of attack are to pull up the floor and insulate the dickens out of the bottom. I don't know that they insulated the floor at all. They did put up plywood boards along the walls beneath the windows and filled the spaces with wool and carpet foam, but I'm going to rip that out too because a lot of that insulation looks like nesting material to me, and I want to be the only pest on the bus, thanks.
My main concern right now is in putting in a new floor with insulation - how able am I to add stuff later, like a grey water collection tank under the bus with tubes draining into it (through the floor), or wiring, or other....stuff? I feel like I need to have every detail of the bus planned out NOW and lay the floor around what I want to do later, or do I install a whole solar power system now, and do the flooring later? Do I need to install a water heater now before I have water, or after?
I feel so overwhelmed right now - I don't know where to begin. I've started by making a small to-scale replica out of paper so I can play with what-goes-where, but I just don't know where to begin. I don't want to make a mistake by putting down a floor and getting it all nice, and then have to rip it up again later.
So, wise ones, where do I begin?
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05-06-2015, 04:56 AM
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#2
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: EHT New Jersey
Posts: 1,134
Year: 2003
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: International 3000RE
Engine: T444E/AT545
Rated Cap: 75
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Welcome!
You've already got an idea- pull up the floor and the plywood off the walls. After that, the best bet is to get a couple of rolls of masking tape, figure out where you want to put the major areas, and then sketch. And look at some of the other conversions on the site.
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05-06-2015, 05:47 AM
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#3
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: hills of sw virginia
Posts: 889
Year: 1996
Chassis: thomas
Engine: 8.3 cummins
Rated Cap: 11 window
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tear it all out. do your layout. most pluming will run through the floor. power both ac and dc will run in the walls and ceiling. any windows being blocked out? lots of builds here to get ideas.i was in a hurry when i first got here, now not so much. get those pics up we love bus porn!
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05-06-2015, 06:58 AM
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#4
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 584
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: I.H.
Engine: DT360
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Welcome. Mine is also an 88 Bluebird. Its a good base. Dive in and get started. You will find that once you do, it is addicting. Place your drain for your tanks on the drivers side, also your generator if you plan to stay in campgrounds. Most "hookups" are on that side.
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05-06-2015, 09:15 AM
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#5
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
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I live full time in a bus. I fight the cold northern Canadian winters off with my wood/coal stove.
I too hate the idea of giving the pests and mold somewhere to grow.
Don't make the mistake of using wood.
Floor needs to be stripped, cleaned and painted. Holes repaired.
Contact cement rigid sheets of Styrofoam directly to the metal floor.
I use galvanized 14ga metal vs wood for my subfloor. Again, I contact cement that to the rigid Styrofoam.
Now your finish floor covering. Don't make the mistake of using laminate flooring. Again, it contains wood that likes to mold and buckle when gotten wet.
Vinyl plank flooring looks and installs like laminate, but is all plastic and will last forever.
Walls are another chapter. PM me if your interested in my building methods. I have a bit higher standard than many members here when it comes to materials and methods.
Much of this depends on how many years you want your bus to last.
My latest build.
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/th...ime-10138.html
Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."
Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
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05-06-2015, 10:28 AM
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#6
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 352
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: 466DT
Rated Cap: 65
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Nat, what contact cement are you using? The stuff I used, ended up destroying the pink styrofoam I used. At first it melted it alittle, but it kept getting worse after couple years.
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05-06-2015, 10:36 AM
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#7
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hvbuzz
Nat, what contact cement are you using? The stuff I used, ended up destroying the pink styrofoam I used. At first it melted it alittle, but it kept getting worse after couple years.
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I had to search to find it. Most do melt the Styrofoam.
I will get the name off the can tonight.
Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."
Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
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05-06-2015, 12:24 PM
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#8
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New Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 9
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Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm going to take some time to look around at all your conversions. I plan to live on my bus full time, for as long as I can. I travel around a lot, so I need my bus to be able to function well in the heat as well as the cold.
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05-06-2015, 01:29 PM
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#9
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: ...little north of Toronto Ontario
Posts: 606
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Thomsass
Chassis: FreightShaker
Engine: 5.9 Cummins 5 speed
Rated Cap: 2 ATV's and friends
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hvbuzz
Nat, what contact cement are you using? The stuff I used, ended up destroying the pink styrofoam I used. At first it melted it alittle, but it kept getting worse after couple years.
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LePage PL300 for blue or pink, PL Premium will attack the foam.....like pouring gas in a Styrofoam cup.
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05-06-2015, 01:33 PM
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#10
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REDD
LePage PL300 for blue or pink, PL Premium will attack the foam.....like pouring gas in a Styrofoam cup.
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I have liquid that I use a paint roller to role it on.
Nothing in a caulking gun will give the coverage you need for a good bond.
Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."
Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
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05-08-2015, 01:38 PM
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#11
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Ocala, FL
Posts: 635
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Bookmobile body by Farber
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Navistar DT466/Alison MT643
Rated Cap: 1
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Welcome!
I agree the first thing to do is strip the interior down to bare metal to check the condition of the "bones." Then start to think about building it back up.
If you have any desire to model your interior virtually using computer software, check out my thread on SketchUp for tips on using that free app.
And as with every construction project: "Measure twice. Cut once."
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05-08-2015, 10:44 PM
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#12
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New Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 9
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Ha ha!! I tried to create a model on SketchUp, but reverted instead to a paper model to scale. I just posted pics of my Yellow Girl in the pictures area. Now that it's road legal, now it's time to tear down the interior. Whoof, the thought of it makes me tired, but I can't wait to see my bus come together! I'm also enjoying looking at all the projects on here - what a wealth of information. Anyone happen to be in Eugene, Oregon, or thereabouts? I'd love to meet other skoolie people.
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06-10-2015, 07:02 PM
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#13
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New Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 9
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I'm getting ready to get in an drip everything out. The phillips screws won't be an issue, but how to I get rid of these:
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06-10-2015, 07:03 PM
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#14
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New Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 9
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06-10-2015, 07:04 PM
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#15
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New Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 9
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OK, the link works (for me) - don't know how to upload a photo plain in the comment box - sorry. :-/
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06-10-2015, 07:04 PM
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#16
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Dowdy Lakes, Colorado
Posts: 1,444
Year: 1989
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf-T-Liner ER
Engine: 3208 CAT/MT643 tranny
Rated Cap: 87
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Either an air chisel or a metal grinder will get the job done.
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06-10-2015, 07:28 PM
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#17
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Salt Lake City Utah
Posts: 1,635
Year: 2000
Chassis: Blue Bird
Engine: ISC 8.3
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It depends on whether it's acceptable to damage the sheet metal in the process!
If you want to shear the heads off the blind rivets, first use a pin punch to drive the center mandrel out the back side. The rivet will shear easier with the mandrel removed. Use a chisel and big hammer, or air chisel, to peel the head off. I found that my air chisel worked much better after re-grinding it to have a single taper (like a wood chisel).
As M1031A1 suggests, a grinder is good to remove the head. It can also be drilled off. Removal of the mandrel first can speed these operations a bit too.
If you can find a plasma cutter for a few hours, it'll burn off rivet heads nice and quick.
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06-10-2015, 08:05 PM
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#18
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Oklahoma aka "God's blind spot"
Posts: 2,446
Year: 1989
Coachwork: 1853FC International/Navistar
Chassis: 35' Retired Air Force Ambulance
Engine: DT466, MT643
Rated Cap: 6 souls and a driver
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at bottom left of page hit
A REPLY TO THREAD page opens....
above the MESSAGE: box is a
click the paperclip
a new box pops up with the BROWSE feature
BROWSE for your image on your computer.
Click UPLOAD, after it's uploaded...
close that box, and hit replay on REPLY TO THREAD BOX.
DONE
I think the "quick reply" feature messes up a lot of people, but the message above is pretty much the same for all VBB Bulletin boards.
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06-10-2015, 08:52 PM
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#19
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New Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 9
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Thanks everyone.
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06-11-2015, 05:45 PM
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#20
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Bus Nut
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 502
Year: 92
Coachwork: Thomas Built
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 5.9L
Rated Cap: 77
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Also ive found if you use a drill bit thats the width of the bolt/screw and drill it until it goes through the head and it should pop right off without too much damage.
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