I bought a bus! ‘97 Ford Diamond Coach Shuttle

[LouisvilleRambler]

Hey there everyone,
After a few months of looking, a shuttle bus hit the market that I couldn’t pass on. I purchased it yesterday and bring it home tonight so I’ll post plenty of photos later.
Here are the rough details:
1997 Ford Diamond v10 Triton
150k
Converted to house one person including lots of electrical inverters, chargers, batteries and other bits and pieces.
New tires all around
New rear axle
New front end tie rods
New transmission

Immediate needs:
Remove wheelchair lift (donate or scrap)
Get acquainted with the electrical offerings
Rebuild interior to suit my family (wife and two kiddos 6 and 9)

As mentioned, I’ll post photos in the coming days.

[LouisvilleRambler]

Here are some photos after I brought her home:

[LouisvilleRambler]

Here's my first question:
The two 6v golfcart batteries are in the rear where I intend to build a full size bed. Do I need to house them in a proper battery box to avoid leaking and offgassing?

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by LouisvilleRambler

Here's my first question:
The two 6v golfcart batteries are in the rear where I intend to build a full size bed. Do I need to house them in a proper battery box to avoid leaking and offgassing?

Definitely need to be vented, vent with a computer fan sucking it out.

[LouisvilleRambler]

Thanks o1marc

Any diy vented box suggestions. I was thinking about using a heavy black plastic storage crate, you know, the ones with the yellow lids. Then running a vent tube through the top. Am I correct in assuming I need to vent to the outdoors somehow?

[LouisvilleRambler]

Started pulling out some of the existing shelving and benches today. Will be repurposing the lumber for new benches and beds.
A fella from Craigslist came and removed the wheelchair lift. It was a real monster but we got it out and I to his truck bed. Now there is plenty of room in the back for a queen size bed.

[ol trunt]

It would be safer to have any fan blowing air from outside your battery box through the box and out the other side. Lead acid batteries out gas hydrogen--not something you want to suck through/across an electric fan due to the possibility of explosion.
Jack

[LouisvilleRambler]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

It would be safer to have any fan blowing air from outside your battery box through the box and out the other side. Lead acid batteries out gas hydrogen--not something you want to suck through/across an electric fan due to the possibility of explosion.
Jack

I've seen some models of battery boxes without fans that simply have a vent pipe through the top that vents through a hole outside the vehicle. This relies on the fact that hydrogen is lighter than oxygen and will therefore rise. Do you think that's enough? Also, how great is the risk of not having a vented battery box? Do two 6v golf cart batteries really offgas enough hydrogen to reach a saturation point that would be flammable? I'm not looking for trouble but was curious.

[ol trunt]

" Do two 6v golf cart batteries really off gas enough hydrogen to reach a saturation point that would be flammable? "

Yes they certainly can. I'll admit that it would probably require heavily over charging the battery to get the hydrogen level up but a close fitting closed box with poor venting could lead to a bad situation. Some of us are old enough to remember what sometimes happened with the 50's VW bugs whose battery was housed unvented under the rear seat. I actually saw one have a battery explosion--it made a very hard to clean up mess and a dandy little fire.
Jack

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

" Do two 6v golf cart batteries really off gas enough hydrogen to reach a saturation point that would be flammable? "

Yes they certainly can. I'll admit that it would probably require heavily over charging the battery to get the hydrogen level up but a close fitting closed box with poor venting could lead to a bad situation. Some of us are old enough to remember what sometimes happened with the 50's VW bugs whose battery was housed unvented under the rear seat. I actually saw one have a battery explosion--it made a very hard to clean up mess and a dandy little fire.
Jack

I had a battery explode under the hood in an old Honda civic that I was using to power a wood splitter - that's the last time that Honda ran

[LouisvilleRambler]

I've been quite busy getting the bus ready for out first excursion. My son had his XC State Championship race in Lexington KY today so we are boondocking at a hipcamp just south of the Wild Turkey distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY.
I tore out most of the interior, built a queen bed in the back, built two benches with seatbelts and mattresses for the kids beds / passenger seats. Bus drove well down the freeway at 65mph and handles the country roads even better!

[DoninTexas]

If I remember right, hydrogen can be explosive in concentrations from 2 or 4 percent all the way up to 96 percent. (Think Hindenburg.) I would definitely vent out the top to the outside.