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03-05-2018, 07:16 PM
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#1
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Elizabeth WV
Posts: 124
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: 466
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Bought a bus
Well I pulled the trigger and bought a bus tonight and it's nothing like I envisioned when I started my research. It's a 98 international with a 466e and a 545 Allison.. It is a shorter bus though, 30 ft bumper to bumper, 20 ft from rear of drivers seat to the back. Ease of finding a camping spot in state and national parks ended up winning over in the end.. I wanted a longer bus but we love state parks and have had alot of bad experiences with private campgrounds in the past... I quess we all have to compromise...
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03-05-2018, 08:17 PM
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#2
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Fayetteville Arkansas
Posts: 419
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: GMC G3500 Vandura
Engine: V-8 5.7L Gas
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03-05-2018, 08:30 PM
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#3
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
Posts: 1,494
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: T444E 7.3L
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This is the same reason I chose a mid-sized bus. It's not easy finding a good parking place for a 40 footer.
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03-05-2018, 09:31 PM
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#4
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Posts: 1,413
Year: 2001
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Thomas
Engine: CAT 3126
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Congrats! Pictures?
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03-06-2018, 08:53 AM
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#5
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Elizabeth WV
Posts: 124
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: 466
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I'll get pics tonight when I go pay for it, we looked at it a few day's ago and the guy accepted the offer last night. I got it for $2500 and the guy's going to deliver if for me as long as I take him home... I was excited to do a big bus, see just what I could do in all that space... Smaller floor patterns are limited to where things can go. I'm going to have to combine two rooms together now so I'm thinking of putting the living room in the rear with a U shape couch that converts to a queen bed. "And so it begins"
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03-06-2018, 09:01 AM
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#6
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
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Congrats! And I agree that if you want to spend much time in state & national campgrounds...staying well under 40' is a big advantage.
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03-06-2018, 11:43 AM
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#7
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Elizabeth WV
Posts: 124
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: 466
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We love state parks, there small, quiet and quaint. The sites are wide open and not jammed right up against each other, and cheap.. Most of the time big outfits stay out of them because of septic hookups and the people that are there spend more time outside camping...That's us we love it outside we really just need a bathroom and a comfortable place to sleep... Are current camper is only 30 square feet inside so even a short bus is a step up to big living....LOL
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03-06-2018, 06:42 PM
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#8
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Elizabeth WV
Posts: 124
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: 466
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Here's the bus we bought, seems like it has a lot of rear cantilever over the rear axle. Seems like that's better for getting tanks under it though....
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03-06-2018, 07:55 PM
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#9
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Elizabeth WV
Posts: 124
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: 466
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One other thing, might be a good thing but who know's. All the interior and some of the exterior have Phillip screws and not rivets. Bad thing is the ceiling is perforated panels, there goes my free sheet metal for patching floor and small pieces for roof raise...
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03-06-2018, 08:08 PM
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#10
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Owasso, OK
Posts: 2,627
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf-T-Liner MVP ER
Engine: Cummins 6CTA8.3 Mechanical MD3060
Rated Cap: 46 Coach Seats, 40 foot
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonb8
One other thing, might be a good thing but who know's. All the interior and some of the exterior have Phillip screws and not rivets. Bad thing is the ceiling is perforated panels, there goes my free sheet metal for patching floor and small pieces for roof raise...
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Ironic as the perforated ceilings were an expensive option.
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03-06-2018, 08:53 PM
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#11
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Frisco, Texas
Posts: 829
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Dt466e
Rated Cap: 71
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I've got the same ceilings in mine. Tested 1 row of screws, none of them gave me any problems with drill and #2 Phillips
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03-06-2018, 09:33 PM
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#12
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Fayetteville Arkansas
Posts: 419
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: GMC G3500 Vandura
Engine: V-8 5.7L Gas
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Same here. Let's count our blessings
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03-07-2018, 09:43 AM
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#13
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 171
Year: 2004
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 40' Saf-T-Liner MVP ER
Engine: CAT 3126 7.2L
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We used a special bit as our screws were “hybrid” type. Meaning they have an inner square and also have Phillips.
So our bit had the inner small square as well as the Phillips sections on it.
With a standard #2 we ended up rounding off a bunch of them. No problems after we switched bits.
We only ended up having to cut off maybe 2-3% of the screw heads between the roof, walls and floors.
We used my ryobi impact driver
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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03-07-2018, 09:45 AM
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#14
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 171
Year: 2004
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 40' Saf-T-Liner MVP ER
Engine: CAT 3126 7.2L
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And big bummer on the perforated panels
We’re using our left over roof skins to cover our windows we’re removing as well as skin over our emergency hatches
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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03-07-2018, 10:44 AM
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#15
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Elizabeth WV
Posts: 124
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: 466
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mgulley82
We used a special bit as our screws were “hybrid” type. Meaning they have an inner square and also have Phillips.
So our bit had the inner small square as well as the Phillips sections on it.
With a standard #2 we ended up rounding off a bunch of them. No problems after we switched bits.
We only ended up having to cut off maybe 2-3% of the screw heads between the roof, walls and floors.
We used my ryobi impact driver
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Were did you get the bit from? Mine are like that also
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03-09-2018, 03:04 PM
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#16
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Skoolie
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: League City, Texas
Posts: 221
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonb8
Here's the bus we bought, seems like it has a lot of rear cantilever over the rear axle. Seems like that's better for getting tanks under it though....
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While I would prefer an FC bus, that is exactly the size I am hunting for. And for a lot of the same reasons too! Congrats on the score!
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03-09-2018, 03:06 PM
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#17
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Frisco, Texas
Posts: 829
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Dt466e
Rated Cap: 71
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonb8
Were did you get the bit from? Mine are like that also
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my #2 phillips worked fine on those screws. the only ones i had trouble with were ones previously stripped from someone trying to remove them
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03-09-2018, 03:16 PM
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#18
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjhwick119
my #2 phillips worked fine on those screws. the only ones i had trouble with were ones previously stripped from someone trying to remove them
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He was asking about the bit that was square and phillips combined.
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03-09-2018, 03:31 PM
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#19
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Frisco, Texas
Posts: 829
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Dt466e
Rated Cap: 71
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Quote:
Originally Posted by o1marc
He was asking about the bit that was square and phillips combined.
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i know. i was just telling him that i used my standard number 2 phillips on those screws with the square in it and it worked fine. I had no need to buy another bit
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03-09-2018, 03:38 PM
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#20
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Elizabeth WV
Posts: 124
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Engine: 466
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I think I found it, a #3 phillips bit is square in the middle... I went ahead and bought a couple.
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