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Old 01-16-2018, 09:29 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
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Year: 1991
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Rated Cap: 72 - 27800
Willamina Phase I

So I bought a bus, I already made an intro thread so I'll just get right to it. A lot of Phase I will be just a repeat of what you've seen a million times.

Drove the bus home and got her up the driveway (barely)
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Old 01-16-2018, 09:34 PM   #2
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Year: 1991
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Chassis: TC/2000
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Rated Cap: 72 - 27800
With the bus home it's time to start about getting the seats out.

To those that haven't done this, it might be more lame than you're expecting. The bolts on the isle side go through the body and have lock nuts on the other side. The best way I found to get the job done was to cut the heads of the bolts off using a death wheel.

I stripped the seats down and saved the seat back foam because it was really clean. 8-10 of the seat cushions were brand new looking too so I saved those for use later. Everything else was recycled.
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Old 01-16-2018, 09:42 PM   #3
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Nice job. Yeah, the seats are the first test after getting it home. It's a very, very, very long string of tests to get one of these done. It's therapeutic.
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Old 01-16-2018, 09:43 PM   #4
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
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Chassis: TC/2000
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Rated Cap: 72 - 27800
Removing the rubber floor revealed soaking wet plywood with the most disgusting slimy adhesive gook ever. The plywood was peeled back to exposed the rusty underbelly.

The rust wasn't that bad really, I ground out the scale with a wire wheel on a 4.5" grinder and gave it a dusting of self etching primer (I hate sanding)

I'm not sure whats more of a pain in the neck, moving the heater all the time or just disconnecting it.
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Old 01-16-2018, 09:53 PM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Year: 1991
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Rated Cap: 72 - 27800
With all that dealt with I set about sealing the holes in the floor. I could've welded them but I didn't. I squirted liquid nails in all the holes and covered them with aluminum tape. Now a tar vapor barrier and after much consideration on sub flooring I ended up using plywood. I framed around the fuel pump access... because.
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Old 01-16-2018, 09:59 PM   #6
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Rated Cap: 72 - 27800
I used 2" coated self drilling screws for the floor, they have a countersunk phillips head. Best results were experienced with the drill on low speed.
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:05 PM   #7
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The rites of passage ...

Removing seats, stripping floor to metal if the ply is bad. Fixing holes.

Removing ceiling and walls. What to do with the ton+ of material cluttering up the yard.

All of that is free save some shop supplies. It's just hard work.

Then you get to the fun bit, and the spending starts.

Oh, and while that is happening, a full service of everything "bus".
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:07 PM   #8
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For the sake of redundancy I'm putting another layer of vapor barrier on top of the subfloor like one would in a residential house. By the end of the day today I was starting to frame a wall and now I can't wait to figure out what I'm going to do for a sink, stove, and fridge.


Robin - I forgot to mention that I left one hole by the front door to cover with a lucky penny! Any idea what the wires are there to the left when you walk in? Looks like there was an FE mounted there or something but I'm not sure what the wires would be for.
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:14 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Enrico Carini View Post
For the sake of redundancy I'm putting another layer of vapor barrier on top of the subfloor like one would in a residential house. By the end of the day today I was starting to frame a wall and now I can't wait to figure out what I'm going to do for a sink, stove, and fridge.


Robin - I forgot to mention that I left one hole by the front door to cover with a lucky penny! Any idea what the wires are there to the left when you walk in? Looks like there was an FE mounted there or something but I'm not sure what the wires would be for.
Be aware that it is possible to trap moisture between two impermeable layers.

I wouldn't do it. Houses have only one vapor barrier.
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:27 PM   #10
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hi Enrico, you are going pretty fast . Not sure what your head room is but this would be a good time to throw an inch or so foam under the plywood.

later J
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:31 PM   #11
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twigg View Post
Be aware that it is possible to trap moisture between two impermeable layers.

I wouldn't do it. Houses have only one vapor barrier.
thats a good point, I'll get rid of that
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:33 PM   #12
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Originally Posted by joeblack5 View Post
hi Enrico, you are going pretty fast . Not sure what your head room is but this would be a good time to throw an inch or so foam under the plywood.

later J
Someday when I get a taller bus, I'm 6'4" in a 6'2" bus
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Old 01-16-2018, 10:44 PM   #13
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Welcome !

Sounds like you have carpentry background. I can't wait to see what you do with those pretty timber beams in the first set of pics.

Like Robin said, it's like a few dozen old Kung Fu episodes- just a series of tests culminating in your arms get burned in the end.

Fixing roof/wall/window leaks and insulate at this stage of the build, presuming it runs great.

Others have built before waterproofing...All those lights on the roof are holes...all the rivets are holes...the seams are not holes but leak like holes....so many holes. Holy cow.

Thanks for sharing build pics. We like to critique others instead of actually working on our buses.
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Old 01-17-2018, 07:34 AM   #14
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I can't believe how fast you're moving on your bus.

The wires to the left as you enter the door; mine was video wires for the bus vcr system.

I haven't heard anything about you cutting wires yet. That's often an issue about the time the ceiling panels start to come out.

I'm thinking you've done your homework since you already know what to do.
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Old 01-17-2018, 11:34 AM   #15
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Chassis: TC/2000
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
Sounds like you have carpentry background. I can't wait to see what you do with those pretty timber beams in the first set of pics.

Like Robin said, it's like a few dozen old Kung Fu episodes- just a series of tests culminating in your arms get burned in the end.

Fixing roof/wall/window leaks and insulate at this stage of the build, presuming it runs great.

Others have built before waterproofing...All those lights on the roof are holes...all the rivets are holes...the seams are not holes but leak like holes....so many holes. Holy cow.

Thanks for sharing build pics. We like to critique others instead of actually working on our buses.
Racecars mostly, woodworking is fairly new to me I only started playing with wood a few years a go when I bought a house. With the house needing new decks (and pretty much everything else) and having so much wood around I got a mill and ended up with as much wood as I'll ever need without cutting a single live tree. That stack of timbers is one of many, most of those are 9' 12x12's. I still have so many logs to mill... I'm behind on all my projects

...but back to the bus - So far it doesn't leak (that I know of), not even through the roof vent. When the weather is right I'll attack the outside with bus kote and a sweet paint job. The interior roof is pristine so it's staying and I got all the seams with liquid nails and aluminum tape so I'm feeling cool with that. I plan to tar in the access holes for the heater lines, fuel pump, and any other holes I put in the belly for amenities.
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Old 01-17-2018, 11:41 AM   #16
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
I can't believe how fast you're moving on your bus.

The wires to the left as you enter the door; mine was video wires for the bus vcr system.

I haven't heard anything about you cutting wires yet. That's often an issue about the time the ceiling panels start to come out.

I'm thinking you've done your homework since you already know what to do.
Maybe that's what it was, the wires were cut and hanging there. There's one switch on the switch panel that is unlabeled and lights up but I haven't found what it powers yet. Is your bus from Willamina too?!

Still wondering how to get the steering wheel apart. I really don't want pry on the center horn button thing unless I know where to do it. It's totally cherry and I want to repaint the steering wheel spokes
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Old 01-17-2018, 12:33 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Enrico Carini View Post
Maybe that's what it was, the wires were cut and hanging there. There's one switch on the switch panel that is unlabeled and lights up but I haven't found what it powers yet. Is your bus from Willamina too?!

Still wondering how to get the steering wheel apart. I really don't want pry on the center horn button thing unless I know where to do it. It's totally cherry and I want to repaint the steering wheel spokes
It seems every one of these buses has at least one electrical issue. You'd think the same model and year of bus would have exactly the same wiring as a like model and year, but that doesn't seem to be true. That's why it's so hard to help anyone. Then again, there's the electrician types that don't need a diagram because they know how it works anyway.

I also have extra switches and don't kow what they go to either. I have no impulse to trace and remove any wires just because I don't know where they go. My interlock system is still fully functional two plus years later. There's been a few times when the buzzer has reminded me of a door adjar. If I took the extra switches out there would be a hole, so I leave them alone. I may want something hooked up through the start battery later.

I'm not sure what kind of streering wheel setup you've got, but if it's like mine you can pull up the edge of the rubber horn button and remove it carefully without tearing it. It's on there kind of like tupperware. There should be a shiny plate in the center of the steering wheel under where the rubber button was. You should be able to pry it out gently with a screwdriver or something to expose the steering wheel nut. Are you taking the steering wheel off just to paint it? So you are going to have to mess with that cherry horn button after all.
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Old 02-01-2018, 08:22 PM   #18
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Year: 1991
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Chassis: TC/2000
Engine: 5.9l Cummins
Rated Cap: 72 - 27800
I got a little more work done and I bought some stuff.

I started working on a double sided bench cabinet that will sit just rear of a sort of lounge I framed in. The foot well of the lounge will have a place to put shoes underneath. The seat back of the bench seat opens to expose the cabinet inside and will prop up to be a table. This is the first attempt at building a cabinet ever in my life so Im sure there was a better way to do it. There will be a drawer that pulls out into the aisle but I haven't made it yet (I've never built a drawer before either).

The walls will get wired and insulated soon. I left the banister long. I'd like to make a piece that joins the lounge and forward bench together to make a bed.
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Old 02-01-2018, 08:34 PM   #19
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
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Year: 1991
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Chassis: TC/2000
Engine: 5.9l Cummins
Rated Cap: 72 - 27800
I scored a propane range on CL, bought a sink and faucet, and a hot water heater. Next I'll build a cabinet for the range and frame in the driver side wall
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Old 02-01-2018, 10:14 PM   #20
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I scored a propane range on CL, bought a sink and faucet, and a hot water heater. Next I'll build a cabinet for the range and frame in the driver side wall
Looks beautiful-

Are you insulating? Don't want you to get all the cabinets in too early, is all.

I can't wait to see what you do with that bus.
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